This is Your Lifeline in the Gym Business
The main purpose of our marketing campaigns is to get people into the gym… not to get a prospect. Contrary to what most people think, more people will call the club or, if our social media campaign is running and our website is set up correctly, will inquire online rather than just show up unannounced.
The reason this is contrary is because most clubs do not track their inquiries well enough to actually know this. The Inquiry is our lifeline to success. Think of it as a life preserver for a drowning business.
When handling an inquiry we need to make two assumptions.
1. The prospect has to be considered as a potential new member no matter what. In fact, we have to assume that they have already decided that they want and need what we offer because they expelled enough energy to inquire in the first place.
2. The prospect is not just shopping around. They will give money to someone today if the club takes the time necessary to get them in.
This doesn’t mean however, that it’s true. We just have to assume this to create a certain mentality to approach the sale.
The more marketing that you are doing, the more inquisitive people you will have “just checking the club out”. The more marketing money you spend, the lower your closing ratio will also be because you will receive inquiries from people who have no intention of joining.
There is a certain demographic who has the great intention of getting involved in a fitness program. They see an ad and they make the phone call hoping that somebody will do something to offend them or hoping that the club does not offer what they’re interested in just so they don’t HAVE to join.
In their mind, at least, they made the attempt and that attempt helps rid themselves of their guilt, their depression or whatever is causing them to feel bad about their fitness level or appearance.
Unfortunately, the club didn’t have what they wanted, it wasn’t convenient, the price was too high, they didn’t have a pool… whatever.
There are a lot of people who have good intentions but that doesn’t always equate to taking action.
