Planning Makes Perfect
By now, most of you probably have your maintenance budget number for 2018. In all likelihood most of you don’t like that number, wishing it was about 30% more so you can do the things that would make your course really shine. But in today’s world being a superintendent means playing part-time magician with your budget and making it stretch to maximum potential. That’s where planning really pays off.
Luckily for all superintendents, our industry has many opportunities to help broaden the reach of every budget dollar. Being a savvy business professional and taking advantage of these opportunities will yield real results on your course once plays starts us again.
EOPs. Early Order Programs have been the norm in our industry for as long as I can remember. These programs are both beneficial for the manufacturers and distributors in terms of production planning and increased buying power which trickle down to superintendents in the form of lower pricing when buying products produced and sold by these manufacturers and distributors. It’s truly a win-win situation for all the parties involved.
GIS Show Specials. Remember when the GIS didn’t allow actual selling on the trade show floor? Luckily that has changed. Now superintendents who want to walk the show in search of unique deals, often featuring new products and services, can typically find them fairly easily. Research tells us that superintendents come to show to find out the latest technologies and products to help you do all your jobs better and easier. Now there’s also an incentive to be one of the early adopters and also get a price break.
Distributors Specials. Being a distributor in today’s industry often allows more flexibility in being able to offer not only special pricing on products, but also can often be bundled with other products and services, like custom applications, that ultimately make it more financially attractive and crew friendly to explore alternative ways to maintain your course.
In short, it only makes sense to seek out these opportunities and take advantage of them as your budget stalls at a certain level but expectation continues to grow. “Doing more with less” has always been the unwelcome mantra for superintendents. But it’s nice to know that with some minimal effort we can plan for maximizing what’s available. See you all in San Antonio in Februrary!