For gym owners, few things are more discouraging than spending time and effort to generate leads, only to have them no-show. The PushPress Grow team gets it, and we’re here to help increase your appointment show rate.
Have you ever confidently started your week with a substantial amount of intro appointments on the calendar, then most of them bail? It’s incredibly frustrating but the good news is that there are ways to prevent it.
PushPress Grow offers a variety of pre-designed solutions, with additional options for gym owners to customize. Grow is a gym CRM that helps with everything from lead generation to creating the ultimate gym member experience.
Today, we’re looking at the ways that you can utilize Grow to maximize the lead show rate at your gym.
PushPress Grow Features To Decrease No-Shows
1. Tracking.
For many gym owners, tracking important gym metrics is often overlooked. Are you tracking important data like show rates, lead conversion and annual client retention? If not, how do you know where you’re performing well and where you can improve?
As Rudy Trevino explains, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
Trevino is the owner of The Fit Stop in San Antonio, TX and recently joined the PushPress CX team to help other gym owners.
In other words, the first step is to know your numbers. Then you can analyze, deterime areas for improvement and create a plan. And for gym owners, the appointment show rate metric is often a great opportunity for growth.
Put simply, think about the advertising dollars you’re spending to generate leads. If prospective members are booking appointments, that part of the plan is working. But if they’re not showing up for those appointments, this part of the plan needs work.
PushPress Grow provides you with an easy way to track these stats. Your Grow dashboard gives you a visual representation of how many leads you’re getting, along with lead conversion and several other important metrics.
2. Initial Communication.
The first communication you have with a prospective gym member is significant. The single-most important message is the first one your lead sees. It sets the tone for further communication and should elicit engagement.
Primarily, it’s imperative that you respond immediately after the lead shows interest. Striking while the iron is hot is incredibly important when it comes to converting new clients. Because the desire to gather information about your gym is on the person’s mind right now.
If you wait too long to respond, there’s a far greater chance of them losing the motivation or reaching out to your competitors instead. So if you’re not available to respond to inquiries every moment of every day, how do you manage these leads?
PushPress Grow automation is the key. You can use automated workflows that nurture your prospective clients into booking an intro session or consult.
Pro Tip: Want to find out how automated Grow workflows can save you time and increase your show rate? Book a demo with our team today!
Gym owners can customize workflows to sound just like you, using your personality and your gym’s brand voice. Then, if communication isn’t engaging leads or getting responses, you can quickly and easily adjust the messaging.
While Grow offers both text and email messaging options, Trevino recommends text over email. A really good email campaign will get you a 30 percent open rate, he said. On the other hand, text messages are nearly 100 percent.
3. Continued Automations.
While the initial messaging needs to capture your leads’ attention, continuous communication is what will likely lead to booking their first session. And ultimately, the warmer the lead is, the more likely they are to show up.
“Warming up” a lead comes from consistent communication that shows them that you’re a real person here to help them with a solution to their problem.
In addition to the conversation leading up to the appointment, be sure to send a confirmation text. On the day before your intro session, remind them of the pertinent information (time, location, parking directions, etc). This will not only remind them to show up, but hopefully you’ll get a text commitment from them as well.
One thing to keep in mind for any leads that cancel after the confirmation text is that it could simply be that they’re intimidated. If you sense that someone has gotten cold feet, simply send a reassuring, personal text or even give them a call.
Next Steps: Tips For Sales Success.
Success! PushPress Grow has helped with getting new appointments on your calendar and leads are showing up. So how do you make the most of your sessions to convert leads into members?
Here are a few tips from the pros:
First, don’t make your prospective members wait. They might already be apprehensive about walking through your doors. Don’t make them wander around looking for you.
Second, fitness is what you do, but no one wants to shake a super-sweaty hand. Set a professional tone by not showing up to the session drenched in sweat, three minutes after finishing your workout.
Third, personalize the experience for them so they can actually visualize themselves working out at your gym. Say things like, “This is where you’ll put your bag,” or “When you’re warming up over in this area...” This creates a sense of belonging and helps them experience your gym from a members’ perspective.
While the hope is that every appointment will lead to a new membership, that’s not always the case.
Many gym owners assume that if the prospective member doesn’t sign up on day one, they’re not going to join. And while that’s sometimes true, this is actually where the new opportunity begins.
Lead nurture from that point forward is extremely important, and PushPress Grow can automate this process too.
When a lead doesn’t sign up at the intro session, send a “thank you” text within a couple hours of the meeting. Let them know you value their time and appreciate them chatting with you.
Follow that up with strategically-set texts and emails to check in on them. The content can be motivating, educational and promotional. All with the goal of eventually getting them to come back in and become a member.
In Summary:
No-shows are a normal part of gym ownership, but there’s always room for improvement in your process to decrease them. Start by tracking your conversion metrics to get a good picture of where you can improve. Next, make sure your initial communication with leads is prompt and drives engagement. Finally, use PushPress Grow automations to nurture the conversation until they book an appointment. If you’ve laid the groundwork with these steps, they’re more likely to show up and become a member.
