Don’t Make These 5 Health Club Tour Mistakes

Buying online is commonplace thanks to Amazon, eBay, and other online merchants making the experience safe and smooth for consumers. And, while plenty of fitness clubs have incorporated online sales, being able to give a great tour is still one of the surefire ways to turn a prospect into a member.  Unless, of course, you get it wrong.

From greeting to asking for the sale, there are plenty of ways and changes to get it right and make the sale. However, just one misstep can send a very motivated buyer (he or she did put down the phone or tablet they found your club on and trekked to your fitness facility to check it out) to the next gym on the list.

By not doing the following things, you will see more tire-kickers go from prospect to member after touring your facility.

Not Putting Your Best Foot Forward

They say you never have a second chance to make a first impression. And they [whoever they may be] are correct. If you greet the member like your having the worst day of your life or just there to collect a check, they will feel that—and if you have to make up for a lackluster front desk staffer or dirty parking lot, it is even more of a downer.

Assuming Instead of Asking

Jim comes in and weighs 300 pounds so you jump right to your weight loss script. However, Jim may be there to just get stronger or to rehab an injury and you have just insulted him. If you just assume what has brought someone in and not  learn what their motivation is by asking questions and listening to their answers, you will never be able to highlight what your fitness club can do for them.

Focusing on Club

“We have more free weights than any club.” “We have the best classes ever.” “We have so many treadmills that there is never a wait.” These are all great facts. However, they are facts about commodities. That kind of selling works for some things, but an emotional buy such as fitness takes a different focus. If you have actually gotten to know a bit about the prospect by asking the right questions, you can then sell results and benefits rather than things—things almost every club they go into will also have.

Rushing

You’ve completed the tour –and hopefully didn’t do the above—and now it is time to talk numbers. You stand by the front desk, pull out a sheet with options, read them off and expect the person to plunk down their credit card. If they did, you probably got lucky. You’ve done a professional tour. Be sure to do a professional sales presentation. Sit with the person, go over options that you think will fit his or her needs. Recount the benefits and how your club will help reach goals.

Not Closing

Anyone who has seen the movie “Glengarry Glen Ross” knows that coffee is for closers. Yet, too often, be it out of fear or rushing, fitness club sales staff don’t actually get to the close. The presentation –and the tour—are not the close. Sure, as a salesperson, you should always be closing (another hat tip to Glengarry Glen Ross) by asking questions along the way. A simple “does that sound like a class that would be fun,” or “would working with a trainer be helpful to reaching your goals” as you tour can make the close easier. However, at the end, you need to ask them to join or else they will just move along to the next gym tour and a fitness salesperson that will.

There you have it. Five simple things to avoid to make your health club tours turn more prospects into members. If you need more help in any of your fitness marketing or sales operations, feel free to reach out to us at www.atwoodconsultinggroup.com to learn how we can help your team close more deals, and drink more coffee.