Access FIT

Do you know what you are selling?

There are plenty of “gurus” out there who will sell you sales training “secrets”.  Some of it is common sense (building rapport, pre-screening, overcoming objections, goal setting), some of it is, loosely, based on psychology (creating scarcity, social proof, authority, mirroring, positive reinforcement) and a lot of it is just plain weird.

The problem I have with almost all of the sales training out there is that it is a one-size-fits-all approach. 

I point out in The Evolution of a Health Club Member: Survival of the Fittest Is NOT a Retention Strategy that not all members are created equal and beginner, intermediate, and advanced health club members have their own unique needs, expectations, and values.

And yet most “gurus” still push a one-size-fits-all approach.

If you read The Evolution of a Health Club Member: Survival of the Fittest Is NOT a Retention Strategy (it’s free to down load to your right) you’ll see that I characterize the beginners as being in the survival zone (focused first and foremost on surviving the health club experience), intermediates in the expansion zone (focused on increasing their health club experience with more exercises, more information, more improvement), and advanced members as in the consolidation zone (focused on getting the job done).

Here’s the point…

You need to sell “survival” to beginners… “these classes are perfect for just starting out, not to hard and not too much choreography”… “we start you out on these machines so that you don’t have to learn complicated techniques, you just concentrate on lifting the weight”… “we put all of the heavy weights down that end of the club so you won’t see to many of the muscle men up here”… “we always have an instructor on the floor if you get stuck”…

You need to sell “expansion” to intermediates… “we have a dedicated functional training area so you can do kettlebells, ropes, and tires as well as your typical workouts”… “we have an Olympic weightlifting platform so you can really improve your big lifts”… “we have Zumba, Yoga, and Pilates as well as all of the regular classes like spinning, step, and hi lo”… “our instructors compete in power lifting, bodybuilding, CrossFit, and MMA so if you need extra help book in an they’ll sort you out”…

You need to sell “consolidation” to advanced members… “we have plenty of weights so that you don’t have to go looking all over the club”… “we put all the heavy stuff in one place so you don’t get too many beginners getting in your way”… “we have competition quality weights, benches, racks, and lifting gear so you can train with the stuff you’ll be using in competition”…

Of course, selling isn’t just about sales scripts, psychology, or sleazy tactics… selling is about understanding what your customer wants and giving it to them.

Seth Godin makes the point in many of his books that you can buy a watch for as little as $5 to as much as $10,000 (or more) and they all tell the time equally well. 

So if you are spending more than $5 on a watch you are buying more than just a way to tell the time… you are buying coolness, sophistication, style, feeling good, success, status…

You don’t sell a watch on the basis of its ability to tell the time… you need to know what the customer is actually buying and sell them that. 

And you don’t sell a health club membership on the basis of treadmills, bikes, classes (they all have that)… you sell survival to beginners, expansion to intermediates, and consolidation to advanced health club members because that’s what they are actually buying.

Sometimes you’ve got to choose

I was talking to a local health club owner recently when he revealed that he was advertising for a new manager.  After some further discussion I asked if I could see his ad.  It was fairly standard; there were a list of duties ranging from performing assessments, writing exercise prescriptions, sales, supervising staff… and business development.

While I applauded his inclusion of a business development function (which I have been recommending for years) the problem is these are two (at least two) separate people. 

The person who is highly competent at the technical skills (assessments, exercise prescription, exercise demonstration and supervision) is rarely highly competent at the business skills (sales, marketing, and business development)… these are two very different animals.

Of course, it would be good (especially for small businesses) if one person could fulfil all of these functions but it is rarely the case.

I suspect that the candidate that gets hired will be a serious compromise and the owners will be stuck with a mediocre technician with mediocre business skills… sometimes you’ve got to choose.

Situational motivation

Motivation can be defined as the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviours.  Motivation is affected by a number of factors both internal (values, beliefs, knowledge etc) and external to the individual (rewards, praise, recognition etc). 

However, situational factors can have a profound affect on motivation.  For example, otherwise rational, law-abiding, people can get swept up in herd mentality or peer pressure and engage in antisocial behaviours such a stealing, rioting, and even murders.   

Recognizing the importance of situational motivation is important for how you run your business.  I’ve spoken about the downside of the practice of incentivizing the sale with freebies and gifts (sometimes referred to as buying the sale).  Effectively what you are doing is providing situational motivation… as long as you can replicate the situation (freebie high) the behaviour will be maintained.

Obviously, you can’t give away free stuff forever… and in the absence of that situational motivation there is no motivation.

Of course, the freebies are just to motivate the sale…I guess you can always worry about retention later... right?

Constructing a sale

The Australian Open tennis is on at the moment and keeping me up nights. But one interesting thing I did notice is how the expert commentators discuss how a point is well constructed.

What they mean of, course, is how a player takes advantage of their strengths, exploits their opponents weaknesses, and strategically out-thinks their opponent to win the point.

Now someone like me who brushes the cobwebs off his racquet a couple of times a year and tries to hit winners off every shot is unlikely to make it into the Open.

It reminds me of how a lot of owners and managers approach their sales... trying to make a winner (sale) off every shot (prospect). The problem, of course, is that not every prospect is ready to commit... or at least make the kind of commitment you want them to (lucrative long term contracts).

Today, more than ever, the sale has to be constructed. You can't rely on blasting winners off every shot... you have to be smarter. Set up the prospect with a trial membership, allowing them to recruit their friends into the club with them for support, give them the attention they need during their trial, and make their early experience a positive one.

That's how you construct a sale... not as spectacular as those miracle shots (that rarely come off) but much more reliable.

Buying the sale vs. earning the sale

You might have heard this advice from a number of sales consultants in our industry, “You buy the sale”.

Of course, the implication is that you have to incentivize the sale with various freebies (t-shirts, water bottles, workout towels, caps…) to convince the prospect to buy your membership.

Sure, buying the sale works on some people, at least for a while… but sooner or later the “freebie high” wears off and buyers remorse is never far away.

It is much better to earn the sale by focusing on negative reinforcement techniques, removing their barriers, and moving them up the expertise curve. These have a much more profound effect on the member/client experience and also have a much longer lasting effect on retention.

When you buy the sale you pay for it in terms of retention… but when you earn the sale you also earn their loyalty.

Has the month-to-month contract been a success or a failure?

Michael Scott Scudder recently wrote in his Fitness Industry Group newsletter that the “value play” of the last decade, open-ended memberships have by far the worst retention of any type (45% or higher)… plus a very short “shelf life” (average 7 months).

When month-to-month contracts first came on the market many industry experts and pundits were heralding them as the saviour of the industry. It made sense of course… remove the long-term commitment and hefty price tag and “cha ching”.

Month-to-month contracts continue to be a popular option with consumers so why the apparently poor performance?

Actually, it makes perfect sense… month-to-month contracts remove some of the risk for consumers (price and long-term commitment)… those consumers most interested in reducing those risks are going to be beginners… and beginners are going to have the highest attrition rates.

The fact is that month-to-month contracts often aren’t a “value play” as Michael describes them as much as they are a “low risk” play (month-to-month contracts are often priced higher per month than term contracts).

What month-to-month contracts don’t do is improve the member experience or improve their chances of success in the club… beginners simply fail a month at a time.

The law of supply and demand

The law of supply and demand is an economic theory that states that, all things being equal, an increase in supply will lower prices and an increase in demand will raise prices.

Makes sense of course… as more competitors move into a given market (increasing supply) prices for memberships tend to fall as owners and managers compete for a limited membership base.

Interestingly, the diversity of offerings and lower prices in the marketplace can actually stimulate additional demand and prices will settle at a new equilibrium point... although usually lower than the initial market price.

Why then do owners and managers discount their memberships during the New Year period… when demand for memberships is supposedly at its highest?

If the law of supply and demand holds true shouldn’t we be charging a premium, or at the very least not discounting our prices, during the New Year rush?

I recall one manager who recently boasted to me that he was discounting his memberships by a full 30 percent during the New Year rush but his competitor could only offer a miserly 20 percent discount.

Of course, many owners and managers today rely on the cash flow generated by the New Year rush… in fact without it many would not survive.

And because most of these New Year’s resolution members are not profitably retained owners and managers are forced to participate in the annual cash grab, and competing means discounting… and most often the biggest discount wins.

When you don’t know where your next member is coming from the pressure to compete, even when demand is high, is always present… and competing in our industry almost always means discounting.

We make it harder than it has to be for beginners

Most owners and managers still don’t get it… its hard being a beginner. Thom Plummer wrote this tongue in cheek exposition of the typical big box experience. Of course, not every club experience is like this every time but there is certainly elements of this experience in every club, and probably more often than you’d like to admit.

I see it all the time… maybe you are too busy to see it.

It starts right from the beginning, with your advertising, and continues down the line until the beginner leaves defeated and demoralized.

And we scratch our heads wondering what we can do to improve or marketing, sales, and retention.

It all starts with improving the beginners experience… how we market to them… how we encourage them into the club… how we sell to them… how we overcome their information asymmetry… how we support them throughout their membership… and how we ultimately get them to stay.

It requires a dedicated strategy to move them through this process and your ad hoc marketing, customer service, sales, and retention tactics won’t get it done… the pieces just don’t fit together in a way that consistently and systematically moves the beginner up the expertise curve.

iPOS is designed specifically to market to beginners, remove the barriers beginners have to working out in a club, support them while they are in the club, and get them to stay and pay longer.

iPOS Release Update

The full version of our latest Business Development Report The Lead Box is Dead… Long Live iPOS: The Humble Lead Box Concept Reinvented for the Twenty-First Century will be available on the 1st of August 2011.

Read the summary here and download the Free Preview Chapter. Don’t forget the iPOS challenge which will close once the full report comes on line.

New Year’s resolutions members

The New Year is best known in our industry for two things… discount deals, and New Year’s resolution members. It’s no accident of course, the discount deals entice the New Year’s resolution members into the club.

I have said many times that this is less than ideal. Too high an acquisition cost (too big a discount required), too many beginners/new members entering the club all at once, too much pressure on resources (including staff, equipment, and space), and too many negative experiences for all members (overcrowding, tension between regulars and newbies).

It’s little wonder that New Year’s resolution members generally don’t last the year (many don’t even last the month).

Of course, it’s no picnic for the regulars either. In fact, the Wall Street Journal recently published an article detailing the trials and tribulations that the regulars go through every New Year. If you’ve read my think-piece The Evolution of a Health Club Member: Survival of the Fittest Is NOT a Retention Strategy you’ll know that a few departing regulars can be equivalent to losing tens or even hundreds of new members/beginners when Member Lifetime Value (MLV) is calculated. Therefore, pissing off the regulars is always a bad idea.

Even though many clubs have come to rely on their first-quarter revenues (and deep discounting is the go-to strategy for most) it’s obviously not great for new members (it’s terrible for retention) and the regulars don’t like it either… sounds like there must be a better way.

It’s no fun being a beginner

I thought I’d share my recent experience as a beginner ride-on-mower (lawn tractor) purchaser.

Not having ever owned one or even used one very much I was a complete novice. So I went to the first store and within a few minutes the salesman came over and asked how I was doing. Not knowing much about them I asked “How much does something like this go for?”… pointing to the one right in front of me. The guy replied I’ll get you a brochure and off he went to his cubicle returning with a glossy tri-fold brochure with the prices of the first three models written in pen next to their respective images.

He handed it to me and watched quizzically, albeit silently, as I examined it. After a minute or two I said thanks and began to walk away. To my amazement he didn’t say a word and simply returned to his desk. Odd…

The next place I visited wasn’t all that much better but at least this time the saleswoman did ask a few questions… how big is your block… what are you using now… but she really didn’t fill me with confidence either and when I did ask a few questions she seemed to struggle to answer.

I left the second store not knowing any more than when I started the day.

The third store was a big box national hardware store. These guys had a couple of units parked prominently out front with the price printed on a large A4 display… unfortunately there was no other information available… none at all. After eventually locating the operating manual I was able to determine some of the specifications. However, when I asked someone if they could tell me about them I was informed that the two guys who did know about them were both on holidays for a couple of weeks… no joy there.

The forth store… as the day dragged on, held a bit more promise. As the young saleswoman approached I indicated that I was OK and she went to assist another customer. I listened as she expertly told him of specifications, differences between models, warranty, asked him about his needs, and directed him to the model she though would best suit him. She even answered some of his more technical questions without hesitation.

I had finally learned something useful… unfortunately my salesman wasn’t anywhere near as good. He spoke for a couple of minutes, unconvincingly, was obviously trying to upsell me to a more expensive model without first evaluating my needs, and refused to budge of the sticker price (come on nobody pays sticker price).

The fifth store started out well but went down hill fast. As I looked at their extensive range outside their store the owner’s wife came out… waited patiently until I had finished talking to a friend who had happened by and asked if she could help. I said sure and she proceeded to regale me with her extensive knowledge of all things ride-on. Unfortunately, she explained that she was just on her way to a doctors appointment when she saw me waiting and couldn’t stay but she would get me a salesman to assist. I waited… and waited… and waited… no salesman ever arrived. I left disappointed again.

It was a long, long, day and I was no closer to making a decision.

I got on the internet and did some research to make me feel better equipped… that helped, I also asked everyone I talked to of their experiences with brands and businesses.

Armed with this info I stepped back into the breach… I visited each store two or three times over the next week or so and eventually made a decision.

Believe it or not I visited that first store three times (even took a tape measure to make sure their mower would fit into my trailer… if that isn’t a strong buy signal I don’t know what is) and in three visits a brochure with the prices written on it was all the information I was ever provided. In the end I couldn’t see myself doing business with a company that didn’t seem to care if I spent money with them or not and went to their competitor.

I did buy a ride-on-mower (and I am happy with it) but being a beginner… even for a week, really made my head hurt.

I am sure there are many “beginner” health club members out there that have had similar experiences with our industry.

It’s no fun being a beginner… so the faster you can move them up the expertise curve the happier everyone will be.

A trickle or a flood?

When it comes to marketing, advertising, lead generation, sales, and retention we almost always want more… more leads… more sales…and more retention.

When it comes to more members we don’t want a trickle we want a flood.

Makes sense… right? More members means more money… right?

Who in their right mind would want a trickle of members when they could have a flood?

Well it depends on the members.

The typical flood scenario is the big promotion (Christmas specials, New Years specials, Spring specials) usually coupled with a significant price discount. The flood feels good, wave after wave of money rolls in, the club is awash with new members, it’s all very satisfying for the owner or manager.

However, we know that [the following two paragraphs are excerpted from The Evolution of a Health Club Member: Survival of the Fittest Is NOT a Retention Strategy] deep discounting attracts a disproportionate number of beginner and early-stage intermediate members who are mitigating their risk. The health club numbers swell with the influx of new members. However, beginner and early-stage intermediate members don’t get the attention they require to survive. The health club always seems overcrowded, there are long wait times for equipment, the instructors always seem too busy, and the regular members always seem frustrated and annoyed. More and more out of order signs start appearing because of the overuse and abuse incurred by having too many members, especially ones who don’t know what they are doing (low expertise). Malfunctioning equipment means even longer wait times (resulting in even greater angst among members), especially given that every other health club is going through precisely the same thing and repair and maintenance providers are overwhelmed with the additional demand. In this environment, new members invariably begin to feel ignored, overwhelmed, and out of place. Buyer’s remorse sets in, memberships are allowed to lapse or are cancelled (the negative experience is compounded if the disenchanted member also has difficulties cancelling a membership), and beginners and early-stage intermediates dessert the health club like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

Even exceptional sales figures are typically accompanied by poor retention figures, resulting in zero net growth. This sales and attrition cycle is repeated year after year. In fact, as a strategy, deep discounting doesn’t scale very well. The bigger the discount the more beginners and early intermediates are acquired. The more beginners and early intermediates, the greater the burden on resources (including time and space). The greater the burden on resources, the more negative the experience. The more negative the experience, the greater the attrition.

When the flood abates everything goes back to business as usual.

The far less spectacular trickle (referrals, lead boxes, internet sales/enquiries, trial memberships) allows new members to be integrated into the club far more effectively with less competition for resources, better access to instructors, less impact on existing members, and ultimately better retention.

The trickle is not very sexy but it is better (and more profitable) for acquiring and retaining beginners. The flood is exhilarating but beginners brought in on the incoming tide are invariably left at sea when the tide turns. The flood is better for more advanced members who have no trouble staying afloat on their own.

The point is that member retention begins with member acquisition. The type of member (beginner, intermediate, or advanced) and how that member is acquired will have a profound impact on their retention.

A trickle or a flood… be careful what you wish for.

Complex vs. simple sales

Sales can be broken down into two broad categories, complex and simple.

Complex sales and simple sales occupy opposite ends of a continuum.

A complex sale is usually a high vale purchase that solves a specific (or a range of specific) enterprise issue. It is a strategic solution that will save the company a significant amount of money, generate a significant amount of revenue, or, ideally, both. It will generally require executive level buy-in, committee approval, multiple layers of input from a range of stakeholders, long sales cycles (months or years), the development of relationships with multiple vendors, and rigorous due diligence. For example, when an international franchise decides on an equipment vendor for their 100+ locations this is going to be a complex sale.

A simple sale is essentially the opposite. It is a more routine, even automatic, purchase. For example, once our international franchise has decided on their equipment vendor replacing a malfunctioning or obsolete piece of equipment may require some negotiation on price, servicing, delivery etc. but the decision is relatively straight forward it is going to be a simple sale.

If we take this simple concept we can apply it to our members and prospective members.

Think of our beginners as a complex sale. It’s a high value purchase (to them it’s a lot of money especially if they aren’t sure they will use it); they expect it to solve a significant problem (to lose weight, to get fit, to tone up); they often require committee approval and executive buy-in (what will my wife think if I spend this much money on a gym membership?... would the money be better spent on little Jimmy’s braces?); they seek input from multiple stakeholders (isn’t John a member at that gym? Yeah but Sally’s daughter works at the one across the street we should talk to her… Maybe but Paul said that they aren’t a serious gym); they will look at every option at least once, often multiple times, before making a decision (long sales cycles with rigorous due diligence).

Worse yet some beginners aren’t even sure they want a gym membership even when they do come in… “My wife has been nagging me to lose weight but I think I am in pretty good shape for my age.” This guy has to be convinced he has a weight issues even before he gets to decide which is the best solution for him… this is the most complex of sales because he isn’t even entirely convinced he has a problem.

Think of our advanced member as the simple sale. He knows he has a need (he has been doing it for some time already). He knows a gym can solve it (hopefully your gym). He needs it right away (if his old gym has closed down or he has decided to leave he needs a new one before his next scheduled session). He can make the decision unilaterally (his wife knows he’s a gym guy, and his family has already factored the expense into their budget).

Complex sales are a lot of work and often for a limited return because even when the beginner is convinced by your best sales person to commit to a membership when he is left scratching his head one to many times he will abandon the gym as a bad idea (the solution was not the right one for him after all). Very often the best sales person has the worst retention figures simply because they as so good a selling and do manage to sell to low quality candidates.

One size does not fit all when it comes to sales… complex sales require an entirely different approach (often an entirely different product) than simple sales and not just better sales staff.

A tale of three (new) members... the solution

And the winner is… Adam.

Remember not all members are created equal. And of our three brothers Adam knows exactly what he wants, doesn’t require staff assistance, doesn’t need instruction, isn’t even seeking a discount.

In this example Adam is going to be the most profitable member… he will cost less and stay longer.

If you haven’t figured it out Barry is a beginner, Ian is an intermediate, and Adam is an advanced health club member.

Barry the beginner may or may not join up after his sales tour. If he does he join up he will probably look for a low risk/low price option. Once he has joined he will need quite a bit of ongoing assistance to keep him on track and if he doesn’t get he’s going to quit and not look back.

Ian the intermediate is more likely to join (especially if he gets his discount), is less likely to need (or ask for) as much assistance, he likes all the new equipment that he doesn’t have at home, but he is also aware that he has a history of quitting the gym after a while. He might opt for a three or six month membership to give the gym another try.

In this situation Adam is the best bet. If you had to choose you’d choose Adam.

Guess what… it’s your business and as an owner or manager you do get to choose who you market to, what products and services you offer, your branding and positioning, your sales training and who ultimately becomes a member in your club.

It doesn’t happen by accident… we get the members we deserve.

A Tale of three (new) members

Three new members (Barry, Ian, and Adam) arrive at your front desk. It just so happens that these three prospective new members are brothers… and they absolutely hate each other. They all want a membership at your health club but each brother maintains that they will not join if one of their brothers joins.

Barry is a bit out of shape, has never set foot in a health club before, wants to lose some weight, tone up a bit, and get fitter. He slides a flyer across the counter and says, “I got this in the mail saying you guys will waive your joining fee if I sign up this month… I have never been in a gym before can someone show me around?”

The front-desk person asks Barry to have a seat and the salesperson will be with him in a few minutes.

Ian steps up to the front desk; he is in reasonable shape, runs a couple of times a week and does some weights in his basement at home religiously twice a week. He has been a member at a couple of gyms on and off but invariably goes back to his own thing after a couple of months. He doesn’t have a flyer but asks if he can get that deal too. To which the front-desk person says, “Of course, but only if you join up today.”

Ian is directed to take a seat also.

Finally, Adam walks up. He is quite well built, has been a member at various gyms all of his adult life, and doesn’t really need any help. He doesn’t have a flyer and doesn’t know about the promotion because while Barry and Ian were waiting at the front desk Adam walked around the club checking out if it met his needs. He looked at how heavy the dumbbells were, how busy it was on the gear he normally uses, how many other bigger guys were around, and made sure they had a boxing circuit which he like to do for his cardio. Barry says, “I’d like to join up… what does your 12 month membership go for?”

Now the front-desk person has a decision to make because she knows very well that joining up one brother means the other two will leave.

What do you do hotshot… what do you do?

Stay tuned… the answer will be revealed in the next post!

(Hint read my FREE report The Evolution of a Health Club Member: Survival of the Fittest Is NOT a Retention Strategy for the cheat notes).

The downside of the upsell

Lets face it our industry is notorious for the upsell. The whole pricing structure of term memberships is designed to extract more money from the prospective member. A one month membership is $100, a three month membership is $250, a six month membership is $450, and a twelve month membership is $600 (18,24, and 36 month memberships also represent better and better value).

An experienced/advanced health club member will purchase a longer term membership because they know that they will still be exercising in 12, 24, or 36 months. No big deal (barring death, injury, or relocation).

However, the inexperienced/beginner has a decision to make… buy the cheaper but lowest value membership just in case they don’t go the distance, opt for the six month to extract greater value, or go for the twelve month and hope for the best.

Of course it’s the salesperson’s job to assist the prospective member to see the better value/longer term commitment as the most attractive option and therefore produce the greatest revenue for the business (and the greatest commission for themselves).

It’s all about the upsell. We know it and the prospective member knows it too.

The first downside comes when, after the salesperson’s best efforts, the prospective member begins to feel pressured. The salesperson has to take care to represent themselves as having the best interest of the prospect in mind at every stage of the sales process.

The second downside comes when, after the salesperson’s best efforts, the prospective member has to think about it. “Hmmmm what to do? Maybe I should go home and think about it?” The salesperson has to take care to discuss only the best options for the prospect. Too many options are too confusing.

The final downside comes when, after the salesperson’s best efforts, the prospective member decides to take the lesser option that has been now been actively discouraged as the worst available option… buyers remorse anyone? The salesperson has to reassure the prospect that their purchase is still a very astute purchase and that they are doing the right thing even if it is the lesser commitment.

Upselling is an undeniable part of our business but you’ll be more successful if you can avoid the downside of the upsell.

Referrals… who’s doing who a favour?

I wrote a little while back about a friend of mine who came to me to ask for a recommendation on which local health club to join. Long story short, I equivocated for about 15 minutes and eventually made an unconvincing list of pros and cons. None of the businesses had earned my referral… and so I wasn’t willing to put my reputation on the line for them.

There has been renewed interest in referrals during the recent downturn and many businesses have become more systematic and more creative with their referrals programs. However, one of the biggest ongoing complains is that staff won’t ask for referrals… and those that will are still generating disappointing results.

There are a number of areas where referral programs go wrong… not asking is an obvious one… not being systematic… not capturing referrals efficiently… not following up effectively… not properly incentivizing (staff, referrers, and referrals)… not creating a win-win-win scenario…

There is a lot that can go wrong when it comes to acquiring referrals but the fundamental issue when it comes to referrals is that most referrals programs (especially POS programs) still feel like begging for leads… ‘please sir, may I have another?’

Not too surprisingly staff don’t like to feel that they have to beg, members feel uncomfortable being made to feel obliged to give… and those being referred feel like they are being spammed. It’s a lose-lose-lose scenario.

If staff feel like they are asking for a favour when they ask for referrals… they won’t ask. If members feel like they are doing you a favour when they provide referrals… they won’t want to give them. If the referral feels like no one did them a favour when their details were acquired… they won’t be happy to hear from you (and they might have one less friend). Lose… lose… lose!

But if staff genuinely feel like they are doing the member (and the referral) a favour… of course they’ll ask. If the member genuinely feels like you are doing them (and the referral) a favour… of course they’ll give the details. If the referral genuinely feels like the member (and you) did them a favour… they’ll happily call you (and call to thank their friend). Win… win… win!

Say what they are thinking

Customers have a variety of concerns when it comes to spending their hard earned money with your business… will you still be there tomorrow… will you ignore them once they have signed on the dotted line… will your commitment to them match your sales pitch… will they fit in… are your equipment/staff/facilities what they need to meet their goals…

Some customers have very concrete ideas about what they want and are able to articulate them clearly and concisely. For example, an advanced bodybuilder will want to know how heavy your dumbbells go up to, if there are other bodybuilders/strength athletes, if you have enough free weights, if the weight stacks are sufficient on pin weighted machines…

Some customers have very little idea about what they want and will have a difficult time articulating it. For example, beginners will rarely know what they want but they will be concerned about looking stupid, feeling out of place, being abandoned… even if they don’t articulate it.

The best way to overcome customer objections is to anticipate and address them before they are made. It demonstrates a deep understanding of the customer’s needs, expectations, and values and positions the business and sales person as experts.

Of course it means that you need to understand your customers well enough to know what they are thinking when most can’t even understand what they are saying.

ABC... Always Be Closing

ABC is an acronym for Always Be Closing a catchphrase used by sales and motivational ‘gurus’ to (very un-subtlety) reinforce in the minds of salespeople and managers that they need to be constantly moving their prospects towards the close.

It has been criticized by modern salespeople as an endorsement of antiquated ‘hard’ or ‘pressure’ sales tactics that bully and badger prospects into submission. I am certainly not in favour of those approaches that generally only yield low quality, unsophisticated, members ultimately resulting in high customer burn and churn.

What Always Be Closing means to me in the context of the health, fitness and wellness industry is this… once the member has joined you have the opportunity to reinforce in the mind of that member (with everything you do) to close their next membership sale.

Because you never know precisely when the member will decide to renew their membership businesses need to ensure that their accumulated experience over the term of their membership moves them one step closer to rejoining.

Every interaction has the capacity to make or break the sale.

Unfortunately, the majority of businesses do not have an adequate understanding of their member’s experience during the term of their membership. These businesses often rely on a computer generated ‘We care about your health, fitness and wellness goals… so please rejoin before your due date and receive a small discount…’ sales letter sent a few weeks prior to their member’s contract lapses.

For some members this is the only communication they have had with the business during the term of their membership.

Always Be Closing is great advice if you take every opportunity to create outstanding customer experiences with every customer interaction… but not if you only rely on transparent sales pitches, obnoxious high pressure sales tactics, and unconvincing computer generated sales letters.

Buyers vs. tryers

You only have two kinds of customers… buyers and tryers.

They are very different and they need to be treated differently or you risk losing both.

Buyers are committed, they are informed, they are cashed up, they are expecting to spend, they have defined their budget, they have defined their needs, they have checked out your competition and they are ready to buy.

All you have to do is demonstrate that you can meet or exceed their expectations and they are yours.

Tryers are uncommitted, not fully informed, have undefined needs and budgets, they have unclear expectations, they are concerned there is a better deal out there for them, they are risk averse, they may have a history of trying and failing and they are willing to quit.

You have to tell them what is best for them… you need to get them to buy-in, you have to be obvious (they can not connect the dots), you need to de-risk your offering, you need to prepare them to overcome the every-day challenges they will encounter, you need to offer them an experience…

Selling to buyers is much easier than selling to tryers. Buyers know what they want and need you just have to demonstrate to them that you can satisfy those wants and needs.

Tryers are less likely to buy, are more likely to expect discounts, are more likely to suffer buyers remorse, and are more likely to leave. You need to create dedicated offerings for tryers… 1 month, 3 month and 6 month memberships aren’t good enough.

The bottom line is you will need to try harder if you want to convert tryers into members.