The Closer PGA Tour Chief Jay Monahan on Gimmes, Slow Play, Cellphones, Bobby Orr & More

BEFORE I CAME TO THE PGA TOUR, I was in sales for the Fenway Sports Group, known primarily for owning the Boston Red Sox.

- Guy Yocom

I even have a World Series ring from when the Sox won it all in 2007. When I came to the tour in 2008, I went to work in marketing, which really is a branch of sales. Here’s what I know about selling: If you’re asked to sell something, and you look at it as moving a product, it’s going to be far more difficult than if you see what you’re selling as the answer to someone’s problem. You want to explore how it can fit a need they have. You need to listen to them, help them rationalize ways the product can help them. If you care about that person and are passionate about the product, it doesn’t become a “sale,” per se. It becomes part of a relationship, something mutually beneficial and larger than the product. And then comes the most important part, which is the follow-up. How your product is performing, and what you can do to help the client further. I’m still in touch with people I sold to 15 years ago. The idea is to keep the relationship going, as it can help you both in ways that maybe didn’t exist at the outset.