One of the best ways for gym owners to sell more memberships is to understand the customer journey. This journey consists of five stages, and is the path your prospective members take as they go from being a lead to joining your gym. The five stages are awareness, consideration, purchase, retention and advocacy.
The journey is important to understand, not only for analyzing how customers interact with your brand, but for determining the stages where you can improve. In case you missed the first two stages, check out awareness and consideration here.
Today, we’re exploring the purchase stage, including the keys to making a sale and turning a prospect into a member.
Five Ways for Gym Owners to Make the Sale.
As gym owners, we often focus on creating a powerful marketing strategy. And while that is a crucial part of gym growth, the first step is dialing in your sales processes and systems.
1. Determine the Real Problem and Offer a Solution.
Leads will come into your gym and tell you they want to get strong, lose weight or be fitter. But these are just surface-level explanations of their real reason for reaching out. The more you dig in, you’ll find what really prompted them to contact you.
“Last week, my daughter said she doesn’t trust me to look after her children alone. She doesn’t believe I’m fit enough to keep up with two children under five years old.”
“I went to my doctor yesterday for the first time in ten years. He told me I’m pre-diabetic and need to make some major lifestyle changes. I need help.”
When we, as gym owners, can connect with prospective members enough to get to the heart of the problem, we can determine how to help them. It’s about finding out what really prompted them to act. And then, instead of selling them a gym membership, you’re prescribing a helpful course of action.
2. Try Motivational Interviewing.
So, how do you get people to really open up and be willing to share their struggles with you?
Motivational interviewing is a client-centered approach that prompts someone to really look within themselves for answers. It involves asking open-ended questions that deeply explore someone’s why. You’ll be digging into what they really want, and what might be holding them back from making changes. Plus, you’ll aim to find out what they think is realistic to accomplish.
Sometimes gym owners attempt to tell a prospect what their goals should be. This operates under a blanket assumption that everyone wants to be fitter, stronger, healthier. But these goals aren’t specific enough to serve as motivation. The prospect needs to lay out their own goals, and what they’re willing to do to reach them.
Therefore, let them talk. Don’t shy away from tough questions. And be willing to sit with silence while they think about what they want to say. A good rule of thumb is that the prospect should be doing more talking than you. So resist the urge to start sharing all the details about how your gym and programming will bring them the results they need.
3. Provide the “Gym Owner’s Prescription for Success.”
At this point, hopefully two things have happened. First, you understand the prospect’s goals and struggles, so that you can prescribe a plan. And second, you’ve earned their trust, so that they’re willing to let you guide the next steps of their fitness journey.
As gym owners, we know the various options in each of our unique businesses. So it’s up to you to decide which path you prescribe. Maybe it’s simply group classes or a hybrid membership. Perhaps they need additional help, like nutrition coaching or an individual design program.
This is also the time where you’ll want to try to anticipate any objections that the prospect may have.
As Sherman Merricks from LASSO explains, “Overcoming objections is about helping people get out of their own way so they can reach their goals in your facility.”
4. Present Pricing the Right Way.
Now that you’ve prescribed the plan, it’s time to present the cost. It’s important to note that even though a prospect sees the value, they may still be hesitant to commit. The key for gym owners is to remember that hesitancy doesn’t mean they’re not going to purchase. Instead, you simply need to overcome their concerns.
Merricks recommends presenting services and pricing from the top down. This means offering your higher-ticket membership options first, then work your way down. Oftentimes, gym owners do the opposite because they’re scared to give the prospect immediate sticker shock. However, the focus should be on whichever service will provide this prospect the best value.
In addition, Merricks also suggests keeping prices off your website. As discussed above, selling gym memberships should involve an in-depth conversation, so wait until you’re in person.
“When you just give someone the price, they have nothing to go off besides a number,” he explained. “Price alone doesn’t give the person an idea of the value they will receive in exchange.”
5. Make Purchasing Simple.
While it’s okay to offer various membership options, it’s crucial that you don’t overwhelm the prospect with purchasing choices. For example, your gym might offer varying levels of visits per week, plus hybrid memberships and punch cards. Imagine how confusing it would be for a prospective member if you gave them eight different options to choose from.
Instead, provide a prescription with no more than three options. And of the options, point out the one you’d recommend for them. Once they’ve made their decision, make sure the buying process is also streamlined and simple.
Pro Tip: PushPress gym management software makes it incredibly easy for new members to purchase a plan and get started at your gym. Book a demo with our team today to find out more!
BONUS: Seek Out Sales Training for Gym Owners.
Sometimes, the five steps listed above are easier said than done. But the good news is that some simple sales training can massively impact a gym owner’s ability to close the sale. It’s all about developing the skills required to ask the tough questions and generate an authentic dialogue.
Need some direction? Contact PushPress partner LASSO, a lead and sales system optimization company devoted to helping small gym owners. LASSO creates strategies for paid gym ads, and provides sales resources and training aimed at gym growth.
In Summary: ‘Help First’ is How Gym Owners Can Close the Sale.
In the fitness world, it’s pretty rare for someone to walk though your doors with credit card in hand, and be ready to purchase. Therefore, the third stage of the customer journey (purchase) is all about helping them take that step.
Start by determining their goals and struggles through motivational interviewing, so you can provide a prescription for success. Present pricing the right way, from the top down. When they’re ready to act, make purchasing simple and seamless. And finally, seek out opportunities for sales help that can take your closing rate to the next level.
These steps can also work to set you up for success in the next phase of the customer journey: retention.
