A friend and client, Ross Wilson just ran a direct mail marketing campaign for his health club in October and asked me to critique his direct mail layout before he sent it out to the public.

With just a few simple tweaks, he ended up generating:

334 New 12-month health club memberships

Raised $3,340 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation

Grossed $144,540 in total health club membership sales

Received A LOT of publicity for his health club

He ran a similar health club marketing campaign last October and generated only 116 new memberships.  I can’t take credit for this because Ross is a pretty sharp guy and already had a solid design that probably would have sold a lot of health club memberships even without any tweaks.  But for the sake of my ego, I’ll pretend I had something to do with his success

Here are some of the tweaks Ross made that helped him generate so many memberships:

1.  Ross chose a price driven theme.  He wanted prospects to know that they can save $100 and that the health club would donate $10 for every membership sold.  But he had some mixed messages.  He needed a stronger WIIFM (what’s in it for me) message.  Instead of “Membership Special”, he chose “Feel Fit & Look Fabulous” and “Save $100 and we will make a donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation”.

2.  His layout was very busy and it was tough for the eyes to know where to look.  Ross cleaned it up and made bolder headlines, added a round banner ad and left a bit more white space on the card to make it easier on the eyes.

3.  There were multiple pictures of a similar looking lady.  That takes up too much valuable real estate on the mailer where you could put more fitness sales copy or allow for more white space so that the message is clear and the eyes know where to go.

4.  The headline was made bolder and bigger.  It needs to present a reason for someone to read the remainder of the message on the mailer.

5.   On the original, he had “membership specials only apply to ___ and ___ memberships”.  We removed this because you don’t want to make people feel that you are limiting them or even forcing them into a big ticket health club membership package.  The key to a mailer is to get them to take action.  Period.  Don’t tell them about restrictions on your first impression.  If there are very important restrictions, put an asterisk on it and at the bottom state “In some cases, restrictions may apply” or similar.

6.  We changed from a specific expiration date of October 31, to a “Hurry!  Limited Time Offer expires in two weeks.  So Call Today!”

And that’s it!  I’ve watched and tested the result of hundreds of health club direct mail and other print marketing campaigns over the years and it is amazing how just a few simple tweaks can make the difference between a failed campaign and an uber successful campaign.

So when you are designing your fitness postcards for the New Year, remember the BIG 5 things you MUST have on your mailer.

1. Powerful Headline
2. Call to Action
3. Single Message
4. Urgency
5. Uniqueness

And if you have room on the mailer, some social proof (testimonial, success story, before and after picture, etc) are very very powerful.

Dedicated to Your Success…

Curtis Mock

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::NEW::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Okay, so after 3 hours of fooling with this thing, I figured out how to post the original he sent.  You’ll just have to use your imagination for some of the changes above lol.  Hopefully it is clear enough to view!

Whew, that was painful.  I tried and tried to get the newest one with the applied changes to post in here, but the format isn’t accepted.  I tried converting and still no luck.  But what this original mailer shows that you don’t need a flashy, bold color card.  With just some basic tweaks on the sales copy, a fairly plain mailer can have some pretty extraordinary results.

Okay, so here’s the deal.  There are no more gut wrenching words to have to say than “I Quit”.  No one ever wants to quit.  It makes you feel weak and miserable, and most of us push on, or we live with the guilt.

So I wish I could say this was my idea, but I stole it from a member of my Master Mind Group.  My good friend B.J. Bliffert, who runs a facility in Wisconsin with his wife Kori, has what I consider hands down the best personal training cancellation policy I have ever seen.

B.J. requires a 30 day written notice to cancel a membership and it must be hand written (pretty standard right?).  but here’s the kicker.  They have to personally hand it to their personal trainer and say the words, “I Quit”.  Texts and e-mails are not acceptable and it states this in the agreement the client signs.

Pretty sweet right?

Can you imagine the gut wrenching feeling to have to say I Quit…I give up on my goal of losing weight, I admit defeat and admit that I don’t have the fortitude to persevere.  I admit to you that I am a Quitter.

I get a little queasy just thinking about it.  That is a gut wrenching moment to say the least.  And they have no choice but to do it.  It would take a whole heckuva lot to get me to admit to someone that I quit.  I’d probably just keep paying even if I didn’t continue showing up just so I don’t have to say those words!

If I were you, I would add this to your PT agreement right away…

Dedicated to Your Success…

Curtis Mock

P.S. Are you a member of GymSuccess.com yet?  You’ll find hundreds of tips like the one above as well as videos, audios, resources, as well as a discussion board to ask other health club owners what is working and what is not.  You can try it out for $1 for 30 days to make sure it’s right for you by going to www.GymSuccess.com

Man, it’s been way too long since I’ve been able to post on here.  Internet access was not as simple as I had planned in Australia.  Everytime we passed an Internet cafe it was at the worst time.  Thanks to all who sent messages over the past few weeks while I was away.

What a great experience Australia was.  We put on a Summit for 120 ish health club owners in Melbourne and Sydney and it was tons of fun.  From health club marketing ideas to retention strategies to keep health club members staying (and paying) longer, we covered a lot of material.

It went so well that it looks like it’s going to be a yearly event!  So if you’re in the states and looking for an excuse to visit down under, it looks like next year’s show will be even bigger.  And if you’re an australian health club owner, make sure you sign up to be notified.  You can sign up at the top right of this site’s home page or at www.healthclubsuccess.com.  We will be making the video available sometime over the next few weeks.

I’m working on several new articles for www.GymSuccess.com right now and beginning work on a few new projects, so make sure you pay attention…we’re about to start doing some big things.

If you don’t have plans for October 14-17, make sure you make it to the Club Industry conference in Chicago.  I’ll be presenting on Friday and again on Saturday morning.  One presentation is on Productivity secrets for busy health club owners and the other is on how to improve your marketing message to double the return on your investment.  Should be a lot of fun!

Look for the new Gym Goldmine newsletter to go out tomorrow!

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

It is my hope that all of you are capturing email addresses from your members and sending them information weekly, or at least monthly.  If you aren’t doing this, you should stop reading this now and sign up for an autoresponder program.  Then collect all of  your member email addresses and begin sending them regular updates  and information.

If you already communicate with your members, here is another important way to maximize your efforts.  Many club owners only focus on sending information to current members.  Make sure you capture email addresses from your hot, warm, and even cold leads as well.

By hot leads, I mean the people that come into your club interested in a membership.  If you don’t close the sale the first day, you need to put them into your email autoresponder system and send them emails about the benefits of the club, success stories, fitness tips, etc.  You must remain relevant and in the forefront of their mind.  Each email will serve as a reminder that they need to get back in and join.

Warm leads are email addresses you’ve received through lead boxes, health fairs, and other community events.  These are people who have expressed at least a moderate level of interest.  They are people who would like more information from you to decide if they want to join a health club.  By sending regular, timely, and valuable information, when these leads are ready to join, they won’t even consider one of your competitors because you’ve been thoughtful enough to send them information.

Cold leads are email addresses you have in your possession, of people who have never expressed interest in your club.  For example, when you join the Chamber of Commerce, you have access to the email addresses of all other Chamber members.  Though they have never raised their hand requesting more information, because of your mutual tie to the chamber, they will likely be open to receiving information from you.  You will need them to opt into your newsletter list, so it would be a good idea to offer an irresistable offer and contact the person to introduce yourself prior to sending. 

So begin collecting email addresses from everywhere…but you MUST use them.  Just having the email address does you no good.  And you must send emails to your prospects, not just your current members.  Automate your marketing at no extra cost by sending a Fitness Tip of the Week, your monthly newsletter, and occasional promotions to your prospects  through an autoresponder system.  You will find more cold and warm prospects becoming HOT prospects, and you’ll find more hot prospects becoming members.

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

You’ve heard me preach about how amazing having an autoresponder system is to a business. And perhaps you have signed up for a system like Aweber already, but aren’t sure the best way to utilize it for your health club. Here is how I advise our clients to use Aweber. Utilize some of these, or all of these…either way you are going to benefit your business and develop stronger loyalty with your members.

2. Then you need to set what’s called a Follow Up for the instant they click the confirmation link. It can have an attachment, it can take them automatically to a page on your website with the coupon, or it can simply be text stating “Please print this email and bring it into the club within 48 hours to pick up your membership.” Or similar.

3. I would then set up a Follow Up for the next day to remind them: “Did you have a chance to stop in yesterday to pick up your complimentary membership at XYZ Health Club? Be sure you stop by any time today to pick it up. We’re open Monday-Friday 4am-10pm, and Saturday and Sunday 8am-8pm. Call and let us know if you need a little more time. Our phone number is 555-555-5555. We can’t wait to help you reach your fitness goals!” Or similar.

4. Add a New Follow Up Message, and have 52 separate follow ups on that list, one sent each week. I would write a “fitness tip of the week”. So sit down one weekend and come up with 52 fitness tips…they don’t have to be long or detailed, just something simple. For example, “A great tip to stop those late night cravings is to brush your teeth the moment you are feeling like you need those carbs. If you start thinking about that bag of chips or box of cookies, brush your teeth! Cookies taste horrible after you brush your teeth!”…A Fit Tip from your friends at XYZ Health Club

It took me 30 seconds to write that one. So you could have all 52 written within a couple of hours for sure. I would have all subscribers, members AND prospects receive an automated follow up every seven days from that “Fit Tips” Follow Up List.

5. Your Monthly Newsletter, Announcements, or other miscellaneous things you want to tell your list(s), you will do with what is called a “Broadcast”. This is how my Gym Goldmine newsletter is sent.  You would do the same thing. If you have separate lists for Personal Training clients, and Club Members, and Prospects, etc. Send whatever announcements or news as a Broadcast any time you want to communicate with them. I would make sure to send your monthly newsletter to Prospects as well. At some point they will make the decision to join a club, and since you’re the one nice enough to make them feel like they’ve always belonged, they will join your club without a doubt.

And that is exactly how I would set up my Aweber system. You can even go back in and cross reference those who have joined your email list from your website and the names of new members since that date. If someone hasn’t joined, have one of your salespeople take their email address and send them a personal email to invite them into the club or to ask what it would take to get them in.

**A few bonus tips that work really well**

Always have a P.S. in your message. Many times people are in a hurry. They will read your opening paragraph, scan through any bolded text in your email, and skip to the P.S.  For some reason, people like reading the P.S.

Set aweber so that the person the email is delivered from is your health club name, not your personal name. I know you receive emails from Curtis Mock, but that’s because I want you to remember me until the day you die If I were sending to prospective gym members, it would come from the Gym’s name, so that they will always remember your gym’s name!

When you customize your emails and use someone’s name at the top, use the function {firstname_fix}, not just {firstname} in Aweber. Some of your prospects may have put their first and last name in the field provided, or perhaps they didn’t capitalize thier first initial. Aweber will “fix” it for you and use only the first name and make sure it is capitalized.

Never add people to your list that have not asked to be on your list. This is very important. If you get caught doing this, your Internet Service Provider can have you shut down. It’s no joke.

Even though no one really likes them, it is a good idea to put a pop up form on your website. Aweber calls these “Web Forms”. But make sure you set it only to appear once per day or once per visitor. You don’t want this thing popping up every time they go to a new page on your website. Again, Aweber makes this very simple for you.

Remember, I can’t even spell html. So Aweber uses a WYSIWYG editor. That stands for What You See Is What You Get. Meaning even us dumb jocks can use Aweber successfully!

That’s it for today. Hopefully this answered a lot of your questions!

Dedicated to your Success…
Curtis Mock

The Las Vegas Sun recently conducted a study of the effect the Recession is having on prostitutes.  Those who charge between $200-$300 per session are doing as well or better than they typically do.  Those who charge premium prices of $1,000 or more per session have not noticed a change in their revenues.  Whereas those who charge between $600-$700 have experience a 50% decline in business.

So how does this relate to your health club business?

Think about the pricing models of health clubs today.  You have your low cost competitors such as Planet Fitness and Fitness for 10.  Then your mid-level box clubs ranging from $29-$49 per month.  Then finally you have your high end, private clubs and spas who charge premium pricing.

We already see in our health club industry a shaking out of the mid-level clubs.  These health clubs are dying faster than any other pricing model in our industry.  These are the clubs that compete with one another, with the same amenities, and at the same prices as several of the competitors in their market.  Some have adjusted their models in response to heightened competition and the recession, but most continue doing the same thing, offering mid-level value for mid-level pricing.  These health clubs are by far losing the most during the recession.

High end clubs are also maintaining.  It seems they are not growing, but for the most part they are not losing either.  They maintain a high level of value and a strong focus on the customer.  Many of the members of these clubs will give up their second home or their boat before they give up their social status as a member of these clubs.

Everyone knows the low-price model is a home run right now.  It’s not for everyone though.  If you are a 5,000 square foot club in a competitive market, you could never survive at those prices.  But the larger clubs in the ideal markets are making an absolute killing right now.  I did a recent interview with Steve Main, owner of Fitness for 10 (www.fitnessfor10.com) and he has blown his own projections out of the water.

Isn’t it interesting to see the similarities of two COMPLETELY unrelated industries?  So my advice is to either be the cheap prostitute or the high end prostitute, never the mid-level prostitute.  Who knew we could learn business lessons from these “entrepreneurs”?

Dedicated to your Success…

Curtis Mock

Two shoe salespeople were sent to Africa to begin promoting and selling shoes.  

Three days after arriving, one salesperson called the office and said, “I’m returning on the next flight.  It’s impossible to sell shoes here. Everybody goes barefoot.”

At the same time the other salesperson sent an email to the factory, telling “The prospects are unlimited. Nobody wears shoes here!”

So which sales person are you at your health club?  Do you take a quick look at the prospects, what they’re wearing, their appearance, the people they’re with and judge them based on these things?

If you do, you are missing the opportunity for a lot of gym membership sales.

Never judge a book by its cover.  When I was a rookie health club sales person, I would make this mistake.  I noticed that I lacked energy, didn’t pay nearly as much attention to the things the prospect would tell me, and I would miss the opportunity to generate soft closes and get the prospect excited along with me.  

I noticed quickly that these are the people joining!  It’s not necessarily the well dressed, clean cut prospects that you can sell to.  Not to stereotype, but many of the “white collar” looking prospects were probably planning to shop around.  The “blue collar” looking prospects ended up buying because they came with intent to buy.  And if you pay attention to them, these prospects many times are easier to convince to buy.  (So does this mean I’m reverse profiling?)

The moral of the story is that you should never judge.  If someone comes in your door, that is someone who, for whatever number of reasons, decided to step foot into your health club.  They will buy, you just have to hit the right buttons and you have to give them the attention they deserve.

Dedicated to your success…

Curtis Mock