How would you answer these 3 questions…

1. What are the benefits of becoming a member of your health club?

2. What makes a membership at your health club better than the health club up the road?

3. What unique benefits will I get with you that I won’t get from another fitness business in the area?

For most club owners, answering these 3 questions can be very difficult.

To be honest, it’s difficult for almost all small businesses to tell their prospects what makes them unique and why they should be chosen over the other available options.

Have you heard of an elevator pitch?  It means in approximately the same amount of time you would spend with someone on an elevator, you should be able to tell them about your business and what makes you unique.

What is your elevator pitch?

If you say a word about the equipment you have or that you have good customer service, I might just jump through this blog post and slap you.  No one cares about your equipment…everyone has equipment.

No one is impressed that you offer good customer service…they expect it!

So what you need to focus on is WIIFM.  That stands for “What’s in it for me?”  In other words, focus only on what a membership at your gym will do for THEM.

What are the benefits of joining your facility?

Why choose you over a competitor?

Focus on results, focus on past performance and how others just like them have succeeded with your help, focus on convenience, focus on accountability, focus on personal attention, focus on their happiness and a better life for them.

We are not in the gym business or the fitness business.  We are in the Helping you Live a Better Life Business.  Period.

How can you help people live a better life?

When you answer that question, you have your elevator pitch.  And you will be able to answer the three questions above.

Dedicated to Your Success…

Curtis Mock

So…what is your elevator pitch?

I just gave a presentation this past week at the Club Industry show in Chicago.  My presentation was on helping club owners increase productivity so that they can get more done quickly, so that they have the opportunity to live a life outside of the club walls.

It was a great group and based on the comments I received after the event, the tips I shared seemed to open a lot of their minds to the different ways in which club owners can become more productive.

Keep in mind, some of these tips are uncommon, and perhaps a bit odd, but pick a couple of them and try them for yourself.  Here are 7 tips that had the most pencils furiously jotting down notes.

1. Understand and obey Parkinson’s Law

The definition of Parkinson’s Law is that “Work will fill the time available for completion”.  For example, if you say you want to create a new cleaning list before Thursday, it will take until Thursday for it to get finished.  Instead, if you say you will have the cleaning list completed by 4:00 today, it will be finished by 4:00 today.

This has been studied in multiple settings and it is true nearly 100% of the time!  So when you have a task to do, set a specific deadline for it to be finished, and you will find that it will be finished near the time you decide it needs to be completed by.

2. Do it, Dump it, or Delegate it

When a new task or project or email or whatever presents itself to you, you have 3 choices of how to handle it.

You can Do it (or at least put it on your to do list with a specific deadline if you can’t do it right away).

You can Dump it…meaning it is definitely not a priority to take care of now or ever.

Or you can delegate it…If it needs to be done, but it is a mindless task that can be given to someone else on your staff or in your life to do, give it to them to do!  Your time and skills as the owner are too important to spend on menial tasks.

And by the way, you can delegate more than you think: thank you letters, phone calls, billing, marketing, scheduling, paying bills,competitor research, networking events, filing, data entry, appointment confirmations, cleaning, ordering…and even personal tasks such as cleaning your house, mowing your lawn, washing your car, etc.  If you can make $100/hour doing something else, why spend 2 hours mowing your lawn when the neighbor kid would be thrilled to do it for $20?

3. Email is Evil

Don’t check your email until noon, don’t respond to non-urgent emails until later (this time saver is called “batching”), have all club emails go to a staff member, create a junk email account for all emails and newsletters you “like” to read, but at your leisure.

4. Control Your Day

Prioritize your tasks the night before, set deadlines and stick to them, set a timer to create urgency, learn to say NO, batch all repetitive tasks to do at the same time so you don’t get distracted, and most importantly…always remember that there will never be another Today.  Don’t waste it.

5. Buy a separate computer monitor

Did you know that you can plug a monitor straight into your laptop or PC and it becomes an extended desktop?  I’m using mine right now. I have the powerpoint presentation on the second monitor, and I’m writing this newsletter as I’m glancing over to the other screen for ideas.  It is so much better than scrolling down to click on a separate open window, back and forth, back and forth.  And a monitor will probably run you $100.

6. Get Google-ized
Google is amazing.  If you’re in denial about this, you’re only hurting yourself.  I use Gmail for all of my emails…You can easily set up gmail to receive email from your work accounts and you can send from any account you want, all from within the same account.

Google docs is a great way to share files with those you choose to share them with.  For example, you can have a sales spreadsheet for each of your salespeople that only you and that person can view…or invite a sales manager to also view the document.

Then there is Google Calendar that can sync with your cell phone, Google Analytics that can show you all activity on your website, Google video chat, text to someone’s phone from your computer, and so much more, all located on your personal iGoogle homepage.  Google has definitely made my life much easier.

7. Magic 100 and the Seinfeld System

A colleague of mine, Dax Moys from the UK, developed a system called the Magic 100.  Essentially, you make a list of 100 things you would like to accomplish over the next 100 days.  These can be larger projects, or they can be smaller to do’s on your list.  For example, on my last list I had things such as: buy new brown dress shoes, finalize new logo for www.GymSuccess.com, wax car, buy plane ticket to Missouri, edit 4th quarter marketing plan for my client.

So some items take a little time, others can take a few minutes.  But the idea is that you can look back on the previous 100 days and feel that you accomplished a lot.

You can combine this with the Seinfeld System.  Jerry Seinfeld had to be diligent with his comedy.  When he was doing stand up, he said he kept a calendar at his house.  And for every day that he wrote new content for his shows or came up with a new joke, he put a big red X on that day of the calendar.  He didn’t want to break the chain, so he continued to write new content every day so that he could fill up the calendar.

So in this case, you want to make sure you finish one item off of your magic 100 list every single day so that you don’t break the chain.

So there are 7 things I discussed with those in attendance.  I would love to hear from YOU!  What productivity tips have helped you to be a more organized and more productive fitness professional?  Post your comment below!

Dedicated to Your Success…

Curtis Mock

I had one of my monthly coaching calls with a long-term health club owner client of mine this morning. With his permission, I am using a part of that call for today’s topic.

This client, all in the past year has gone through an ugly divorce, had his club flooded (only to find his insurance policy didn’t cover floods), had a Planet Fitness move two blocks from his location, had knee replacement surgery when all ligaments were snapped in a pick up basketball game, had to fire two personal trainers for stealing (one had been with him for 7 years), and had seen a decrease in monthly EFT by nearly 30% due largely to the economy and the increased competition.

That’s a tough year no matter how you look at it.

But here is the amazing thing. This client never seems unhappy. He is always positive and only focuses on the good. So today I bluntly asked him…What is your secret to staying happy no matter the circumstances?

His answer was simple and piercing…

What other choice do I have?

Then silence…

I really didn’t know what to say. I know tons of people that deal with issues much less difficult than any this guy has encountered. I personally try to maintain a very steady mindset, but even I falter, sometimes when it is only a simple problem. But not this guy…

To hear those words come from him were very powerful. Hell, I want to refund his consulting fees for the month because the lesson he just taught me was that valuable. I’m not refunding him, but for a fleeting moment I felt I should J

So I guess the moral of this story is that we all have a choice, every day of our lives. Life throws curve balls, sometimes it seems every day. How we handle these situations is entirely up to us. We can either let them bring us down, or we can shrug our shoulders, recognize the situation for what it is, and make up our minds to learn from the mistake and push forward.

And for the record, this client (I’m certain because of his positive attitude and not because of my consulting), has improved every aspect of his business. His EFT was back above breakeven last month for the first time in 10 months, his personal training revenue has doubled since letting the personal trainers go, he’s playing basketball again, has recovered completely from the flood, he has a great girlfriend in his life, and he still has that positive attitude. I can almost picture that confident grin on his face every time we talk on the phone.

I hope that those of you who are currently struggling can see how powerful it is to have a positive outlook on everything. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade; When one door closes, another opens;

All of these sayings may be very cliché, but they are so very true. As for my client…My hat is off to you sir. I am proud and humbled to be a part of your life.

Dedicated to your Success…

Curtis Mock

Do you have members or PT clients who have lost weight, overcame illness, or feel more alive after exercising at your club? 

Of Course You Do! 

We all know of members who have overcome the odds, or lost 50 pounds, or fit into a size 4 again or can make it up the stairs without shortness of breath.  Everyone at your club who has improved their health, image, or overall well being is a walking talking billboard!

There are several ways you can share these success stories with your prospects.

1.     Print Marketing:  Use a testimonial along with a picture or perhaps a before and after picture in all of your print marketing efforts.  Prospects are much more likely to read about someone who lost weight and feels great thanks to your club, rather than some boring old ½ off enrollment fee coupon.

2.     Online marketing:  Make sure to have lots and lots of testimonials on your website.  If you have before and after pictures, these are very powerful.  I would recommend even using video and audio testimonials to offer even more interactive ways for your web visitors to see what they can expect as a member of your club.

3.     Internal marketing:  Your current members may not even be aware the success stories of those who invest in personal training.  Make sure you have   some testimonials and pictures throughout your club.  Make sure to put a new picture and testimonial up every couple of weeks so the other members will see that there are several people getting amazing results. 

4.     Lead boxes:  A before and after picture along with a “Want to feel as good as Sharon?  Enter your information to receive a complimentary 2 week membership to XYZ Fitness” is one of the more powerful lead box strategies I’ve ever seen. 

5.     Billboard, TV, Radio:  If these are mediums that will work in your market, then make sure you are using pictures and testimonials.  It is so difficult to generate a direct response from these marketing mediums, but you can maximize your efforts with powerful social proof that “XYZ Fitness has helped others, and can help you too!”

6.     Wall of Fame:  Find or create a bare wall in a high traffic area of your club.  Set up a clean, professional looking wall of fame for your members who have experienced great success.  You can collect testimonials and before and after pictures to post on your wall.  Your members will feel appreciated and your prospects will be blown away and ready to sign up before you ever present prices.

7.     Success Book:  Similar to the Wall of Fame, fill up a three ring binder with lots of success stories of your members.  This is a great tool to hand a guest if they have to wait a couple of minutes for you to finish a tour or sign up another member.  They will likely be sold on your club before you even say a word.

Social proof such as testimonials and pictures are the most powerful forms of marketing you can use at your health club.  It doesn’t matter what type of marketing: internal, external, guerrilla, internet, etc…Seeing the success stories of others will ALWAYS help you sign up more members and more personal training clients.

Dedicated to your success…

Curtis Mock

As many of you know, I visit a lot of gyms.  Some to join for a short while, others simply to shop to see how they do things.  Well it was time again for me to join a new gym here in Florida and I chose to go with World Gym in Ponte Vedra.  And unlike many experiences I have with salespeople in gyms, I was pretty impressed with my experience here.

First off, I visited last month and took them up on their 3 day pass.  They missed it on this one.  When someone comes in on a trial pass, the staff should be OVERLY friendly.  Not that the staff was unfriendly, they were more or less neutral.  No one made it a point to strike up conversation with me.  In addition, when my 3 days were up, no one followed up with me to see if I wanted to join.

Then 4 weeks of traveling and I decide to join this gym.  But of course I had to make it a little difficult on my salesperson…to try to make her sweat a little bit

My salesperson was Shauna Crompton.  Though I did make it easy on her by announcing right away that I wanted to join, I didn’t make the process very easy.  I drilled her and asked her for discounts on their membership pricing, I attempted to get her to price match a competitor, and even tried telling her that I was only going to live here for 3 months and wanted the student rate.

She wouldn’t budge.  Prices are prices.  Good job Shauna!  So as I kept haggling her, I remembered another World Gym in town (different owners) had some special 3 months for $99.  She said she couldn’t match it because they are a different ownership group.  But she did say they had a program similar to that in the past, but that they could only offer it if someone mentions it specifically.  So I smiled and said, “that’s the one I want”.

So I ended up with a 3 month membership for $99, though she wouldn’t budge on the card fee (good job again).

You could tell she thought she might lose the sale, but she never faltered.  She only budged at the end because I had mentioned a program they had run in the past and she knew she had the authority to offer me that package.  However, she told me at the end of the 3 months I was at the mercy of whatever prices they had available.

Shauna was great, but here are my recommendations to the club:

• The PIF pricing is higher than the EFT.  I know it is important to secure forecastable residual revenue, but if I have cash in hand and am willing to pay for a year in advance, give me a bargain…you want to get me to join, period.  With the average health club member paying only 7 months on an EFT contract, you’re better off selling a 12 month membership for the price of 10 months and getting cash in hand.
• I asked if I could double up the 3 month special I received so I could get 6 months.  I was told no.  In my opinion, if someone is willing to pay you twice the money for the same promotional rate, take it.  It would secure me as a member for an additional 3 months.  Plenty of time to upsell me on personal training, tanning, protein bars, and a cool World Gym t-shirt for my dog.
• I was not offered any upsells at the point of sale, nor was I asked for referrals.  If the pot was sweet enough, I would have sold out my friends’ information  or purchased a box of my favorite protein bars (Lee Labrada Rock’n Roll bars…you gotta try them)
• I was not offered an orientation or complimentary PT.  Though I look like I’m chiseled from stone, it should still be offered to me.

Though these things could have been different, all in all it was a good experience.  Shauna and I had a good rapport and were approximately the same age, so it was solid relationship building on her part to not ask for some of those things right away.  I’ve been in that situation where I make friends with a prospect, sign them up, then decide not to jeopardize the good connection I’ve made by trying to pitch an upsell.   I assume that was the case here as well.

So some systems at this World Gym need tweaked, but I’m really just nitpicking.  All in all it was a good experience and the selling process went well.  Just make sure when a prospect picks up a 3 day pass, you treat those people like Gold…and Always Always follow up with them.  I’m sure I will find more things to pick apart as I spend time at their club, but first impression is a good one.

How solid are your systems?  Do you do everything you can to maximize the total amount of money per member?  Make sure you have effective systems in place, have a solid-trained staff, and the right people to build a relationship with your prospects and members like this World Gym does.

Dedicated to your success…

Curtis Mock

If you are new to my philosophies, then here is one you should go ahead and permanently plant in your memory…

What matters is NOT how many members you have, but rather how much money you generate per member

It seems health clubs always focus on getting new members in the door.  And while I firmly believe you should always be marketing and always adding new members, those are far less important than getting current members more involved in all that you have to offer. 

Here are three great ways to generate more money per member at your health club:

1.  Allow members to try your “fee based” services for free

Promote to your members at various times that they can try out certain programming for f’ree.  Then while they are enjoying the service (bootcamps, personal training, child care, tanning, massage, spinning, etc) allow them, for a limited time, to get an intro package at a discount.  So now not only have you gotten them into the “mouth of the funnel” by letting them try it for free, you’re letting them slide further into your sales funnel with a discount.  By the time their intro package is up, they’ll gladly pay full price because they have experienced how great the service is! 

2.  Sell some type of online programming to your members

There are a few systems out there, but nothing to write home about.  One of my long time clients, Ben Howard, set about creating a powerful solution for health clubs recently.  You can see more at www.atlasfitness.net.  His program provides your members an Interactive Weight Tracker, Fitness Calendar & Diary, Diet Analysis, workout plans, videos, calorie tracker, fit tips, recipes, and tons of cool techy features that help keep your members involved.  You can also sell advertising to your local businesses, capture online leads, sell things on your website, and create a reward program for your members.  AND it can be customized to be branded for your club!  Very cool system, and a very cool way to offer an upsell at the point of sale when the new member is most motivated.  You could easily charge each member $5 or $10 to have access to the system.  Do the math, it is a great profit center.

3.  Ask for the sale

Does that sound simple or what?  You will never make a sale if you don’t ask for the sale.  For example, let’s say you run a special on tanning.  Offer every single new member at the point of sale a one-time-only tanning special for new members only.  Let’s say it is $9/month for the term of their membership, normal price $20/month.  Of course you don’t really want to sell tanning for $9…but the MAJORITY of people who take you up on this offer will Never tan.  They bought only because it was an unbelievable offer, available for a limited time.  And would you rather make an extra $9 per month or an extra $0 per month? 

Similarly, your front desk staff has to be more proactive about asking members to buy things.  Here are some things your front desk can ask your members:

“Did you want a healthy snack for the ride home from the gym?  I can put it on your account!”

“You look tired today, would you like an energy drink?”

“We’ve missed you!  You know we have a special 3 PT sessions for $99.  Can I sign you up with one of the trainers to get you back on track?”

“You look nice and tan!  Are you tanning anywhere right now?  Would you like me to set you up on our Unlimited Tanning Special for only $20/month?”

“I am so proud of how much progress you’ve made!  You are our perfect role model here at the gym.  Did you have any friends I can send a complimentary 30 day membership to?”

The bottom line is you need to have more things you can upsell to your members.  If you don’t have many services, utilize something like the www.AtlasFitness.net service above.  There are always ways to generate more money per member, sometimes you have to get creative, but most times you just have to ask!

Dedicated to Your Success…

Curtis Mock

Over the last 30 years, the majority of health club owners have been people with a love for fitness, but traditionally lacked business acumen. But due to the large demand for fitness and the lack of competition, they survived. 

Times are changing.

Competition at health clubs is fierce, the economy presents its own set of considerations, and club owners are forced to understand the numbers behind their business.

Health club owners with little to no business knowledge are not nearly as prevalent these days.  Now it seems the majority of new owners are those with business knowledge, who are learning the fitness side of the business, or hiring someone who already has fitness experience.

But there are still a lot of those fitness-minded club owners who have always been able to run a successful business simply because the demand for fitness has allowed them to run a loose business and continue making money.

These health club owners are now in trouble.

If you don’t know how to forecast revenue, how to monitor trends from revenue reports, how to set goals, how to use Quickbooks or you can’t understand what your accountant tells you, then you need to make some changes.

Ignorance is not an excuse, it is a recipe for failure.  Now is when you need to understand your numbers.  I’m not saying that numbers are more important than taking care of your members, after all we are in a service industry.  But you Absolutely must know the basics.

If you can’t understand your Profit and Loss Statement or you don’t understand how to forecast revenues, there are a couple things you can do:

First, join www.GymSuccess.com (I truly believe this will help you very quickly. There are club owners and club pros who can help with everything you need).

Second, Go to Amazon.com and buy the book “The Business of Fitness” by Thom Plummer.

Third, contact your chamber of commerce and get a copy of the community classes and seminars offered in your city.  Or do a google search for “My City Seminars”.  Sign up for a course on basic accounting or business finance.

The bottom line is that health club owners can no longer be entirely fitness focused.  You absolutely must understand the numbers.  Even if you outsource your book keeping and accounting, and you have a manager to oversee expenses, payroll and revenues, you as the owner must keep your finger on the financial pulse of your club.

Dedicated to your Success…

Curtis Mock

Is your health club the same color as it was last year?  Do you still have the same gym equipment you had 3 years ago?  Are you bored with your floorplan?  Has your brand lost its “Edge”?  Maybe it’s time for a bit of an upgrade at your health club!

After a while, our image tends to go stale.   You may still be using the same colors, logo and even floor layout you’ve used forever.   While you might feel that consistency is important, it is even more important to remain relevant and important in the mind of your prospects and gym members.

Something as simple as painting your walls, (perhaps just a 5 foot section from the floor) is enough for you to be seen as innovative and exciting in the mind of your members.  Move your gym equipment around a little bit.  Even the slightest changes will be recognized by your members.  It will show that you are not boring and that you are willing to make their experience better.

What three pieces of equipment are rarely, if ever, used at your club?  Still have that Adductor and Abductor machines?  How about that old school stepmaster?  And I know you have a lower back extension machine somewhere.  Think of how much space you could free up by removing these!  Not to mention the fact that you could take the money from selling these and buying a new piece of equipment your members will love!

Are you still using the same logo you had 10 years ago?  It’s time for a change!!  Again, branding and consistency is important, but not as much as you think.  No one is going to drive by and say, “Aw man, XYZ Fitness changed their logo.  I was going to become a member until I saw that”  But think of how fun it would be to announce to your members that you’re making the club a better place, and it could start with the logo!

One of my favorite logo development sites is www.99designs.com. You submit your project and designers actually design your logo for you to view and make recommendations to, before you ever pay!  Youcan have 20 different logos presented to you to choose from before you ever pay for a single one.

The trick is to ask your members what they like. If you get 3 logos you like, send an email to your members.  See which logo they like the best…because believe it or not, it doesn’t matter what you the club owner thinks…only what the members think.  That goes for any changes.  Even if you have your mind set on making a change, at least pretend you are going to consider what the members think, and ask them their opinion.You might be surprised with what you find.  And if not, they at least feel you did your due diligence and will appreciate that you asked their opinion.

It doesn’t matter what you do, but it does matter that you do something at your health club.  It makes for an exciting time when you announce to your members that they’re going to be seeing some changes made around the club.  They notice your hard work, they offer their ideas, and for very little investment, every few years you can have a brand new business.  You can even get free publicity on the local tv and newspapers as well.  It provides you an opportunity to conduct a Grand Re-Opening campaign as well.

Have fun recreating yourself!

Dedicated to your Success…

Curtis Mock

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody”

-Bill Cosby

This is one of my favorite quotes, and I think it resonates well with health club owners.  We always try to make everyone happy, even at the expense of our own happiness.  We swallow our pride, tuck our tail and do what it takes for that member to be happy.

I’m here to tell you to stop it.  YOU CAN”T PLEASE EVERYBODY!  It is impossible.  No matter what you do, there will always be someone pissed off about it.  You have to remember the 80/20 rule.  80 percent of your health club members will like what you do, 20% will not.

Focus on the 80%

Zombie Strippers! trailer When that member needs you to go above and beyond for them.  Go above, but be careful about going beyond.  Once you get walked on once, it becomes easier each time for them to get what they want from you.  

As funny as it sounds, you have to look at a health club member like you would a puppy.  If you let a puppy get away with something over and over, they will never know that it is wrong for them to do it, they will think it’s okay.  But if you let them know right away that a certain behavior is not going to fly, they will ultimately be okay with it.  

The 80/20 rule works in many ways.  20% of your members will soak up 80% of your time and energy.  Identify who those members are and make sure you “train” them to act the way you want them to act.  If they demand you help them or else they will cancel.  Do yourself a favor and cancel them.  Thank them for the time they spent with you and try not to let the door hit them on the way out.

You don’t need those gym members.  They are a drain on you.  If they don’t get their way, they are the ones who end up spreading a bad vibe around the gym.  It is better to cut them loose than to always have to walk on eggshells to please them for fear of them telling others you don’t offer quality service.

So recognize that you can’t please everyone.  Please the majority, appease the rest, and weed out those who are draining you and who will ultimately be a poison to your health club.

Dedicated to your Success…

Curtis Mock

How many things are on your to do list tomorrow?

How many of those things will you complete?

A good way to know where you’re going is to take a look at where you have been.  How many things remain on your to do list that you’ve been reminding yourself to do?

• Do you have health club prospects to follow up with?
• Are there member concerns you have yet to deal with?
• Are there cancellations you have pushed to the side?
• Is your health club accumulating dust bunnies under the treadmills?
• Are your bills getting paid late?
• Are you behind on getting taxes prepared?
• Have you been meaning to train your gym staff?

It’s funny how easy it is for us to procrastinate, but then all we do is complain about being behind on our responsibilities.  The list keeps getting bigger and we get more and more stressed.

If something is on your list, and it is an “A” priority project, just get it done.  If it is a large project, break it into manageable chunks.

Pat Rigsby convinced me to begin making my to do list every night before I go to bed so that I can hit the ground running first thing in the morning.  If I haven’t completed something on that day’s list, I write it at the top of the to do list the following day.

My friend Thom Plummer advocates a notecard system.  Determine 5 things that you need to do that day, write them on 5 separate notecards and carry them in your pocket all day.  Do not go home or call it a day until you complete all 5 things on the list.

One of my favorite anti-procrastination tools is to plan a block of time during the day that I turn off the cell phone, close my email, close the door, and focus on finishing X number of tasks in a specified amount of time.  For example, I would block off 2pm-4pm to write a newsletter and write a new article for GymSuccess.com.

I set a digital kitchen timer because I, like most of you type A personalities out there, work better under pressure.  Remember those exams in college?  I didn’t even start studying until the night before the exam, I would stay up all night with my coffee at Denny’s, and I would go in and Ace the test.  Same goes for daily tasks.  If I know I only have an hour to complete a task, I bust my tail to make sure it is done.

Whatever you find is your secret to productivity and avoiding procrastination, use it and use it often.  Do not put off until tomorrow those things you can do today.  No one likes post it notes and pending files to pile up on your desk.  Just find a system that works for you, and never put it off.  You will drive yourself crazy and your health club business will suffer.

Dedicated to your Success…

Curtis Mock

P.S.  Don’t forget to focus first on the things that will make you money or improve your club.  Learn to prioritize, always putting tasks relatedyour members and your revenues first on the list.