Blake Ruff and Sherman Merricks are experts in working with small gym owners on optimizing sales and business growth. As the founders of LASSO, the lead and sales system optimization company, they have a non-negotiable: Gyms need a solid CRM.
ICYMI: CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. The ultimate goal should be to create an unparalleled experience for your members and leads.
“We won’t even work with a gym who doesn’t have a CRM,” Ruff said. He then quipped that a gym owner recently tried to sign up, but his tracking tools were a cellphone and a Google sheet.
So, why is a CRM so important? Because without it, it’s impossible to grow the business, Ruff and Merricks agreed. They offered three reasons it’s imperative to have a CRM:
1. Automation Is King.
When it comes to sales, most people need “at least ten touch points before they make a decision,” Ruff explained.
So, for example, if LASSO helps a gym get 60 new leads, that’s 600 touch points. That’s virtually “impossible to do by yourself,” Ruff said.
“And you’re not going to be reaching out in the sequence you need to,” he added.
Instead, nurturing leads needs to be automated. This can only be done if the process is automated and fully-integrated with a CRM, just like LASSO is with PushPress software.
“Having the integration with Core and Grow and LASSO driving traffic, now gym owners have this system that all works together. Now you don’t have to worry about new leads. The system is contacting them and following up (automatically),” Ruff explained.
2. Tracking Made Easy.
In regards to tracking, Ruff and Merricks pointed specifically to the PushPress Grow CRM software again. Grow makes tracking the process so much easier in terms of where prospects are coming from, and where they are in the funnel at any given time. This helps the gym owner determine next steps to turn the lead into a member.
Certainly a lot easier than tracking manually with a Google sheet.
“With Grow, it takes the load off (the gym owner),” Ruff said.
3. Owning Your Follow-Up.
Even though Grow nurtures leads and pushes them along the funnel automatically, it’s also important to be able to override the CRM system. Sometimes gym owners will want to and step in and reach out to a prospect or client personally. PushPress software allows this as well, giving you complete control.
Gym owner Robert Schwartz uses PushPress Grow, and put it this way: Grow is “completely hands off” when need it to be. But when it’s important to personalize, or to make a change, “It’s one click. You can pause or remove (anyone) with the click of a button from any campaign,” he said.
For the record, Schwartz credits Grow with helping him double his membership base, revenue and profit, and increase his average client value from $95 to $220 a month in just nine months.
Ready to see how your gym can GROW? Book a demo with the PushPress team today and let’s get this party started!
Ruff And Merricks Rate Grow As “The Gold Standard CRM”
Not only has PushPress been “amazing to work with,” they said, Ruff and Merricks also credit PushPress software for its ease of use and effectiveness. And when combined with LASSO, it’s a perfect combo for bringing gym owners what matters most: Business.
And as a bonus, Ruff said: “PushPress literally has the best customer service, and they’re always innovating and always striving to be better.”
