Front-loading refers to concentrating the costs or benefits early in the relationship. For example, most of us guys will front-load the romance in a new relationship to woo our lucky ladies and, after a while… no more flowers, or chocolates for no reason, no more “tell me about your day”, and no more surprise romantic gestures.
In fact, after a certain time we are lucky to remember the things were are supposed to remember (birthdays and anniversaries) let alone all that other stuff (anniversary of first kiss, first date etc).
Now that’s not to say we care less… it’s just that life gets in the way.
Imagine what would happen if we didn’t front-load the romance… none of us would be getting any love. We would come of as disinterested, aloof, uncommitted, maybe even as jerks.
Guess what… you are probably coming off as a disinterested, aloof, uncommitted, jerk to your beginner/new members precisely because you are not front-loading their experience in your club.
In fact, when it comes to beginner/new members you need to front-load their experience before requiring them to make full commitment to your club… a big part of the experience that you want to give your beginner/new members is not feeling like they have taken a beating whether they buy their membership or not.
Research has confirmed that a “fear of the hard sell” is one of the reasons people don’t buy health club memberships.
Remember that beginners are hoping for the best but expecting the worst and asking them for a twelve, or more, month commitment is not only patently unreasonable but it is just bad business practice.
That’s why Trial Memberships are so successful; after all you wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive, or a house without the appropriate inspections.
And front-loading the beginner/new members experience isn’t all about just giving them stuff (discounts, water bottles, towels, hats, t-shirts, gym bags) after all if they don’t last the month what good is all that stuff?
Sure positive reinforcement is important but for the beginner negative reinforcement is even more important.
Front-loading the beginner/new members experience is all about moving them up the expertise curve, and demonstrating that you understand their needs, expectations, and values.
Beginner/new members make up their mind about you early (42% of new members will drop out within the first 30 days of joining) they won’t wait for the right experience… really, why should they?
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