Planning For Client Acquisition Success
After my last post about starting your own business, the logical follow-up is a blog about client acquisition. Yes, that post did go into details about how important it is to understand your customers. Also, there is no doubt that finding your niche is the key to success too.
You need a practical, step-by-step plan to acquire new members. What that means is a plan to get them in the front door, signed up, and working out. While you should build a funnel for membership sales, you don’t want to get caught in a formula that’s… well… formulaic, right?
Motivating The Sales Process
The problem is that sales scripts can get stale. If you repeat the same words with every new face and walk the same tour, it’s easy to lose your engagement. Distractions will pop up right at critical times. You’ll miss a look or a question and wonder why they head for the door at the first opportunity. Employees can be the worst or the best at this vital part of client acquisition.
If you do the selling to new membership prospects yourself, try to focus on the moment and make a connection with each one. Choose your sales staff carefully and give them commissions. Incentives that reinforce results are among the best things you can do for your team and your business.
Client Acquisition Is Worth The Commissions
Selling gym memberships is all about getting potential customers into your club and closing the sale. Assuming you know your niche and understand the membership you find within, your process has to make prospects aware of the value you can bring into their lives.
As long you want the same things as your customers and act in good faith, commission sales can be an ethical practice that serves everyone. Invest in training your staff in sales so they can earn rewards for their efforts that help you. Recognizing and rewarding what you want people to do is simple. It’s also an inexpensive way to build your business.
Consolidating Sales By Motivating New Club Members
Once the deal is done, new members appreciate some structure and communication, in my experience. Post sign-up, your job is to shift the focus of your new members to a first goal or activity that gives them a fast payoff. Once they are members make them glad they signed up. What that means is you have to follow up by consolidating the sale.
New gym members like any other consumers; they tend to automatically regret making a purchase or commitment just as soon as they walk away from the transaction. That might be a meeting with a free workout with a trainer or a client programming consultation. It has to be something that gives the new member immediate gratification.
There will always be the guys and gals who just need access, and they know what to do from there. For everyone else, a little coaching and directing will help them get into a routine of attendance that turns into a long-term membership and genuinely improved fitness.
Your Advantage Over Big Fitness Brands
Make sure your story stays fresh; know why you’re doing what you do, and use the human connection to beat the corporate brands at the marketing game. Personal relationships will always be to the advantage of small gym business owners like you.
The big box fitness clubs have to follow the pattern laid down by someone else, usually far away and possibly even a long time ago. Stories get lost in bureaucracy, and the apathy of over-management will suck the energy out of any brand.
You can be a success in the fitness business even if you start with limited resources. A dedicated gym management software system is one of the critical things that will put a framework around your business model.
Now you don’t have to invest like the big box gyms to have world-class information Systems. The Gym Insight software package has everything you need to organize your business, manage memberships, and get paid. If you don’t use Insight yet, connect with us today and find out how we can help you with client acquisition and retention.
Bibliography
Doherty, Neil. A Non-Cookie Cutter Approach to Marketing. November 6, 2017. https://clubsolutionsmagazine.com/2017/11/a-non-cookie-cutter-approach-to-marketing/ (accessed April 23, 2018).
Fagan, Lawrence. How Client Acquisition Is Like Client Programming For Marketing. January 22, 2018. https://blog.gyminsight.com/4846-how-client-acquisition-is-like-client-programming-for-marketing/ (accessed April 23, 2018).
-. Starting Your Own Business In A Fitness Niche Like CrossFit. April 21, 2018. https://blog.gyminsight.com/4977-starting-your-own-business-in-a-fitness-niche-like-crossfit/ (accessed April 23, 2018).