If getting clients in the door was as easy as drawing moths to a flame, then every gym that got opened would be successful and every one would be fit. Alas, that’s not the case.
The challenge of visibility and lifestyle priority threaten every gym owner. However, there are ways to make your business captivating and getting new clients.
Here are…
5 ideas to get new clients into your fitness studio:
- Free Intro Session
The best way to bring in a prospect to try your facility is to offer a free no-risk intro session wherein you spend the time to really get to know them and demonstrate why your studio and trainers would be best suited to earn their business. Most studios today offer the free consultation session and use that time to primarily talk about themselves – the services they offer, their facility, the packages, and fees. That’s a big NO in our mind. While those aspects are important, they should not be the focus of the initial session. Instead, use the session to genuinely add value to the prospect. Try some or all of the below things:
– Assessment: Have them do some basic movements to understand their current fitness levels and ascertain ‘weak’ areas that require attention.
– Understanding: Know their current situation, food habits, injuries if any, motivations and reasons they sought out your studio at this juncture in their lives.
– Goals: Draw out their goals and set realistic timelines to help them reach their goals, keeping in mind their assessment and readiness to change. Set that expectation up front and share with them how you would be an accountability partner to them in that fitness journey. - Trial Period
While a free intro session is almost a given these days, it’s best to offer a free trial period of either a few classes or for a week depending on the type of studio services you offer – small classes, group training or one-on-one personal training. Again, the goal is to really make the prospect feel at home and show that you genuinely care about their progress, not about taking their money. Letting them experience your facility and its trainers with freedom is a great way to showcase your benefits and increase the chances of conversion. - Introduce Your Raving Fans
Your existing clients are your best word of mouth advertisement and they want to spread the word about you! After all, you have played a role in transforming their lives. So leverage that. Utilizing the information you gathered about the prospect during the initial intro/trial sessions, properly gauge which of your existing customers would be the most relatable prospect to connect with. And, then try to get them together…how?
Here are two suggestions:
– Invite them to any special event that you host where they can interact with these existing members
– Schedule them in for their follow-up sessions at the same class or time so they are guaranteed to bump into them.
The intent is for your raving fans to share their own first-hand experiences. Hearing from your customers will most certainly make your prospects feel good and want to join your tribe. - Ongoing Engagement
If you already have a monthly newsletter or share ongoing information about health through social media or other means, then include your prospects on that distribution channel. That is probably one of the best ways to engage with your prospectson an ongoing manner. You want to be front and center in their minds. When they are ready to make the commitment, they are most likely going to reach out to you for you’ve already established your credibility. - Follow Up
Follow up is probably one of the most important and overlooked aspects of this entire list. To be a successful business, one needs to ensure that you have a well-outlined process in which all prospects are touched on an ongoing basis. Prospects are real people with real-life situations and sometimes even with the best intentions, one is not able to embrace a new habit and lifestyle because of ongoing distractions. So, make it a point to reach out to your prospects. The ones that needed more time or got busy will not only join your studio but also be grateful that you kept at it and reminded them about taking action. After all, they are truly seeking accountability partners in their fitness journey andyour follow up skills are a just reflection of how good of an accountability coach you would be.
Once you’ve successfully got your Prospects into the studio, then it’s all about WOWing them in three areas – Service, Experience and Relationship.”
says Clint Barr, a leading coach that assists fitness studio owners to lead a life of freedom and abundance.
And, once you consistently deliver on those three areas, you are well on your way to converting a large percentage of your prospects to customers and keep them for life.