So the guy putting on the outing goes out and gets the local Big-Box home improvement store to donate a brand new lawnmower for his golf outing. A $349 retail red colored beauty. It looked great all set up at the registration table, and the sponsor’s logo was all over the thing.
I noticed the registration table girls selling the typical stuff that you would expect at any event. But I also noticed that each player was handed one little blue raffle ticket as a kind of afterthought. I didn’t think too much about it and proceeded to get ready to perform for the group as I normally would.
After the event was over, we literally poured three big bunches of cash on a table for the group and after I was asked “how it went”, I commented that only one group didn’t participate and it was the foursome from the home improvement superstore which kind of surprised me. The chairman of the outing was also surprised and commented that he thought they would be more willing to spend a few bucks as they were out there all day as his guests as part of their sponsorship/donation of the lawnmower we all saw at registration.
I was shocked as I was the one that worked the price for the group with the course and knew full well that they paid $79 per player for the round, plus lunch and dinner which brought the per person total fees to $110.
Now I knew I was hot, sweaty, tired and perhaps a bit confused but he was out of pocket $440 for this group on this day and their only “sponsorship donation” was a $349 lawnmower. I shook my head a bit in disbelief, but figured that my guy had a plan to recoup some of his money either through his raffle ticket sales or similar.
The microphone was tested, everyone was thanked for their participation and there was actually quite a fuss made over the big-box superstore that donated the big red grass cutter. The applause quieted down and then came the shocker….
Those little blue tickets that each person received upon arrival were freebie tickets for a door prize to be given away at dinner. “And the winner of our beautiful door prize donated by _______ is blue ticket number _______, come on up and get your lawnmower and if you want to break it in, stop by my house”
Even though most were laughing, I was questioning why the outing promoter had put on a golf outing that day. Clearly it was not to make money.
In his excitement to claim the biggest employer in this town as a “sponsor” he lost money doing it! At the very least he should have sold raffle tickets to cover the cost of the $440 in greens fees that he paid to have these guys out there. He even could have simply purchased the lawnmower outright and as he was doing so, showing this retailer that he was a good customer, made a pitch to have them field a foursome in support of his cause.
You pretty much have one day to make your money from a golf outing. Don’t give it away. There are some sponsors that you cannot afford to have.
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