There’s a very simple rule when it comes to opening a gym or fitness facility that I’m not sure people 100% grasp.
It’s quite simple, really:
If you don’t sell contracts, you won’t be in business very long. Period.
Now I know what some of you are thinking – “Duh, Mike, I know that!”
But step back for a moment; you may know that, but do you really grasp this concept?
Because I’ll tell you one thing – I didn’t.
We all know going in that we have to have customers and clients to survive. But I’m not sure we always know and understand that when you open a gym, selling is part of the deal.
In my previous jobs (strength coach, rehab practitioner, 1-on-1 in home training) I had to do little to no selling whatsoever.
In a collegiate strength and conditioning environment, athletes are placed in front of you and you work with them.
In the chiropractic rehab field, same deal – the chiros get patients, and then you work with them.
There was maybe a little bit of selling in the in-home 1-on-1 deal, but those situations were few and far between. We were already very busy, and since we catered to an extremely tight niche, almost every single new client we landed was a referral, and they were already pre-sold on our services.
So when I opened IFAST, it was a totally different ball game. Now I have this prospect in front of me, who I know needs my help, but I have to ask them to give me their money in exchange for my knowledge and services.
It sounds incredibly easy, but until you actually have to sell someone your services and make them sign a contract, you have no clue how difficult it can be.
There have been volumes of books, magazines, webinars, etc., that are focused on selling, but I’ve found the two biggest issues are the following:
- Getting your own personal issues out of the way first. This could be self-worth issues, money issues, etc.
- Consistently over-delivering and making your prospect feel like they’re getting a bargain.
Let’s look at both of these.
As human beings, we all have issues related to money, our own self-worth, etc. I don’t claim to be a guru on this topic of anything, but I can at least get you started on the right path.
If you don’t feel you’re worth the money you’re asking for in return, you will not succeed.
Read that again.
If you don’t feel you are worth the money you’re asking for in return, you will not succeed.
You can’t have any reservations whatsoever that you are 110% worth what you’re asking for, and then some.
Unfortunately, a lot of selling issues are the result of a lack of self-worth by the seller, not an issue of value by the client/prospect.
Along those same lines, you need to put your own personal money issues aside. Maybe $200 per month is more than you’d care to spend for training, but that’s not to say that’s true of everyone.
DO NOT put your personal money issues in the way of selling contracts. Let each and every prospect tell you what they want to do – after all, it’s their money and they’re free to do what they want with it.
All you have to do is understand the value of your service – nothing more, nothing less.
Second, it should be a goal to consistently over-deliver each and every day you work with a client. At IFAST, we run a semi-private gym and our training options are definitely more expensive than just getting a day pass at the local fitness club.
To counteract this, we offer a discounted 30-day trial to get our prospects exposed to how we do things.
One of the keys to this trial process, though, is showing our clients every day the value of what we have to offer.
Because as my good friend Pat Rigsby always says, you never know what day they make the decision to either stay with you and sign on, or leave your facility forever.
So we give them a thorough total body assessment on Day 1.
After that, we develop a training program that’s customized to their needs and goals.
And every day following that we coach them up, to make sure they’re getting the most out of each and every exercise.
But perhaps most importantly, we genuinely show we care about them as human beings. We want to see our people get great results.
I tell you what – if you just show people that you care and that you want to help them, I don’t think you’ll ever have any issues “selling” a client from this day forward.
So these are two of the biggest issues I see with regards to selling.
What do you guys think?
What issues have you run into?
I’ll look forward to reading (and responding to!) your comments below!
All the best
MR
BTW – you have two more days to pick up a copy of the Fitness Business Blueprint for the discounted price of $197!
But don’t delay – the price goes up tomorrow at midnight!