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Many
times as a club owner, manager, or fitness professional
we get caught up in the daily grind of meeting sales
quotas and goals. Having been on both sides, it is
extremely obvious when a staff member from the club is
not completely interested in the potential member’s
goals. In order to help maximize profits while still
keeping the members interests at heart, follow these
simple steps:
1)
Listen
2)
Create a Goal
3)
Educate
4)
Be Active
Listen to the members concerns
They
walked through that door for a reason – and trust me, it
wasn’t easy! It took a lot of thought, determination,
and confidence – because the moment they walk through
your door – they are not part of the clan, part of the
club, they simply are not a member and that alone makes
them different than everyone else! Sometimes they may
feel as if everyone is watching them – or that they are
experiencing their worst nightmare (they forgot to put
on clothes before going to the gym and everyone is
staring). Meet and greet the potential member and be
sure to be genuine and sincere. Listen to what they want
and ask questions that lead to other revealing
information. Continue to ask questions. Establish
rapport and trust.
Create or help choose one specific goal
Now
that you have established some rapport with your
potential member and they have outlined some of their
key concerns you can help them choose one specific goal
to attain.
Help
them focus on specific functional goals and not
aesthetic goals. A specific functional goal would be
walking a certain distance in a given amount of time.
Sometimes a goal is hard to choose because they just
want to maintain their health, and this is why it must
be a functional goal. An aesthetic goal would be to lose
body fat around the thighs. The focus of the aesthetic
goal will eventually come as they start to develop a
habit with exercise (It typically takes up to 30 days to
develop a habit). If exercise is a habit then you now
have decreased your attrition rate.
Educate your prospective member
First
give them helpful information to use. Explain to them
the obesity epidemic and the associated health risks.
Explain the energy balance equation and that eating a
balanced diet is more nutritional and a healthier way of
living. Explain the difference between basal metabolic
rate and resting metabolic rate. Which of the two should
the member be most concerned? Explain the difference
between a high intensity and low intensity exercise
regimen and the advantages and disadvantages of both.
The more you know and the more information you give the
prospective member, the more comfortable they will feel
when joining your fitness facility.
Become active with the prospective member
Offer
a complimentary service or product (i.e. personal
training, fitness class, water, a healthy drink or bar,
etc…). If you offer a class or a personal training
session, offer to go along with them. Let them know that
you will bring your towel and be prepared to sweat with
them through the exercise. You may not be able to offer
this to everyone that walks through the door, but you
certainly can offer it to those that may really want a
membership but do not have the motivation to exercise.
Remember you are now their only or one of their only
contacts at this fitness facility. Become active with
them and introduce them to other gym and staff members. |
