Family Feud Time:
In any and every service based business - what’s the #1 way one to succeed?
Time’s up.
Survey says, #1 Answer: Referrals.
Provide your clients with amazing service, and obtain a referral.
The bottom line is this: think thru all of the service businesses you use. We’re talking restaurants, accountants, mechanics, and real estate agents. How many of them do you choose strictly on chance?
And when you do choose them strictly on chance, how often are you left unhappy?
Service Is King. Referrals Follow.
If you think you’re going to build a successful gym on referrals while overlooking the needs of your members, you will be quickly humbled. This business really isn’t rocket science from one angle:
Provide amazing results for your clients, and prompt your successful clients for referrals, and you will do well.
There is an almost endless supply of people in the world who need better fitness. Do your part in that equation, and you will be part of the finite demand to fill that supply.
Why Most Gyms Fail At This
There are a couple reasons why most gyms fail at this seemingly simple concept. Let’s state it once again, and then dissect it:
Provide amazing results for your clients, and prompt your successful clients for referrals, and you will do well.
Provide Amazing Results. The Devil is in the details. If you do not define a goal, you cannot achieve a quantifiable result in your clients mind. Sure, many of your clients have an understanding that today they are much fitter than they were last year. But if you cannot give them a simple and measurable result they can speak to - you’re at BEST hoping they can understand it well enough to tell someone else.
How can you achieve this today? sit down with your clients and ask them one simple question: “What do you want to achieve?”
Think for one moment how powerful it would be to you if someone took the time to ask you how they can help you - and then delivered on it.
Work with your clients to help them find and achieve their goals. Give them a clearly defined talking point they can take to their Holiday dinners with. You can bet they will be talking about it.
Prompting For Referrals. How many of you actually prime and prompt your client base for referrals?
Many times us gyms owners do not value our worth enough. You don’t know how many times I have a prospective client in the gym telling me they wanted to join another gym - but that gym owner did not even ask them to join.
I was there once. At my last gym we had the “anti-sell”. We disliked the typical gym sales process so much we purposefully left potential clients alone to make an “unbiased decision, free from sales efforts”. What I’ve come to find lately is that is CONFUSING AS HELL to a client. They’re there to sign up if they like your gym - and you’re not doing your part of the equation to make that happen.
Prompting for referrals is the same. Stop bring bashful or timid - if your service is on point, let your clients know you would love to help their friends and loved one. Sometimes all it takes is just mentioning that - and you unlock a mindset in your clients that is not only beneficial to you - but is beneficial to your client AND their friends.
Prime Season Is Coming
Are your clients primed to deliver you red-hot leads? If not, work with as many of them as you can to help them realize goals. Do not forget to let them know you can help any of their friends and family as well.
These are the two simple, actionable, and effective ways you can significantly improve your gym’s bottom line and your reach into the community.
