Do you have a quality gym but having difficulty getting more people to join? I’ve found that the solution to getting more people to join can be very basic. There are many little things that can be adjusted to make the membership sales process more effective but here are a few thoughts I can share with you to increase your membership sales immediately.
These methods will work regardless of what your dues are or what system you are using to sell. That’s the simplicity of this! These strategies can make a huge difference in your gym sales production if you just apply them.
1. Build impulse with your gym guest
Impulse is defined as your prospects “willingness to buy.” You must know that your gym guest’s impulse is near ZERO when they first hear about your club. It is your job as a professional gym marketer and professional gym salesperson to raise the impulse with your guest by using a series of strategic steps until your guest joins.
Your membership presentation has to be well thought out in order to raise impulse effectively. You must anticipate those points in the presentation where the club guest’s impulse level will drop. Use the club hot spots and benefits your guest would like to receive to raise the impulse back up and always close at the very peak of their impulse level for best results. Treat it like its “Love at First Sight.”
In the end, desire without urgency will not work and the value must exceed the price. You can control both.
2. Leverage the Law of Averages in how you go about your business each day
The number one way to double your membership sales is to double the amount of people you expose to your gym. Sounds simple enough, right? Every gym and every gym salesperson will have an inherent law of average. This law represents the relationship between the club guests that refused to join the club and those that actually did join. For example a 1:10 law of average means that you must get 9 no’s from a health club guest before you arrive at one sale.
Remember this is an average. It’s not to be taken literally. You may sell the first 2 guests that come in today and then get 18 “No’s” in a row. At the end of the day you average out your yeses and no’s to get your law of average. Now, let’s say you wanted to make 10 membership sales today, if you spoke to 50 people today and made 5 membership sales then how can you make 10 membership sales tomorrow? That’s right. Talk to 100 people.
3. The Second Sale and Up-selling
I think this one of the most common areas where gym owners and sales people really drop the ball. They invest all this time and money into finding prospects, getting them in the door, finally getting them enrolled in the club...and they simply stop selling. Never forget this…. You have a buyer here. Buyers buy. So keep selling. Suggest other club services or products that might benefit your new member. Personal Training, Nutritional Supplements, Gift Cards, Locker
Rental…whatever the case may be, you have to sell more to your new member or at least generate another lead from this new membership sale. Ask them what friend or family member could benefit from losing weight or getting back into shape.
All you have to do is ask? What’s the worst that can happen? They might say “No.” Big deal!
4. Regardless of Circumstances, Be Sure Everyone Gets a Presentation
It’s easy to get sidetracked- the prospect says something like, I just want to take the class, I’m just working out with my friend, I came by to pick up prices, my spouse asked me to stop by and the list goes on and on. We have had clubs more than double their membership sales by following this one simple tip.
5. Treat Every Prospect Like They Are a Buyer
This is the cousin of never prejudge. More sales are lost every day because we have already made up our mind the prospect will not buy. One of the secrets here is that you must be 100% sold on the fact that you can solve your prospects problems, you must be 100% sold that you have the best gym to solve their problem and you must be 100% sold that now is the right time to get started. Selling yourself is the first sale you have to make for success.
Now, go sell a membership.
Jim Thomas is the founder and president of Fitness Management USA Inc., a management consulting, turnaround and brokerage firm specializing in the fitness and health club industry. With more than 25 years of experience owning, operating and managing clubs of all sizes, Thomas lectures and delivers seminars, webinars and workshops across the globe on the practical skills required to successfully to overcome obscurity, improve sales, build teamwork and market fitness programs and products. Visit his Web site at: www.fmconsulting.net or www.jimthomasondemand.com.
