The Eight Biggest Mistakes Gym Owners Make – Part 2
The Eight Biggest Mistakes Gym Owners Make – Part 2
3. Sales
95% of what we do in the fitness business is to sell something to somebody everyday. Most clubs do not have a complete selling system that can be taught and duplicated. Many staff show the club as a museum (“Here’s our weight room, here’s our cardio…”) and don’t do much actual selling and many don’t even ask for the sale. What happens from the moment someone inquires and on? You might be surprised. You must create an education-based selling system that will assist your staff to close more sales and generate more profit center revenue.
We start out with an assessment with our best trainer. He will go through a question and answer process with the prospect to learn about the fitness career and pitfalls they have faced in their life. The tour will be based on selling stations that overcome objections before they occur and in many cases, depending on they type of gym, some type of trial membership will be offered. This doesn’t mean that the club doesn’t need to sell, it just means that, again depending on the gym, that the closing ratio will go up if the prospects have the ability to try to club, experience the staff, and feel the support system that the gym’s culture provides.
4. Staff Management
Driving revenue with daily meetings, goal-setting and setting production action plans. Staffing is one of the most difficult aspects of the gym business. How do you find good staff, develop them, pay them and maintain them for years to come? The successful small businessman must master staffing to generate the big numbers. The staff must know every day where the club is in all departments according to their monthly goals. Goal-setting creates an urgency that increases performance. Some people may call it pressure and not everyone is cut out for that pressure and while I understand this, it may mean that they may not be cut out for the job either. A well-run gym should have training manuals written with all aspects of each position. Scripts should be provided that tackle every aspect of the gym environment and not just sales. How to handle a cancellation request, a supplement question, a referral conversation, a problem with the toilet, a sales objection are some examples. The staff should have some type of training every day, a more in-depth training once a week, and a formal training meeting once a month. Staff should be required to practice and role-play every day.
When was the last time you individually worked with a staff person? When was the last time you role-played? Get on the horse yourself first and once you feel comfortable start engaging with your staff and you will see how much of a change this will make in your bottom line.
