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Should You Invest in Sales Training For Your Gym Staff

January 1, 2012

By: Jim Thomas
Jim Thomas’ Fitness Management & Consulting

Gym sales training is a must for any fitness facility wishing to secure a competitive advantage in their marketplace. This has always been important, but it’s even more important now than ever.

The ability to sell memberships, personal training, etc. is fundamental to success in the fitness business and the full effort of the sales team is essential. The gym sales team brings in the revenue that writes the check of everybody in the gym from the administrative staff to the cleaning crew to the owner. Unless a gym can generate membership sales there is no revenue and there is no business.

The only thing worse than training your membership sales staff and having them leave… is NOT training your membership staff and having them stay.

Here are some thoughts why health clubs and gyms should consider investing in regular sales training:

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  • Improve membership sales and productivity: Just a 10% increase in the membership sales of one membership rep would offer a quick return on investment.
  • Gain a competitive advantage over other gyms: Many fitness facilities do not properly train their membership sales team. Fitness Centers and gyms that train and invest in their employees are also strengthening their own competitive position. A competitive advantage could mean the difference between success, survival, or disappearance. New sales ideas and strategies learned from a proven gym sales training program can give your fitness facility a strong advantage against other gyms in your area… even a slight advantage can make all the difference in that next membership sale.
  • Increase employee satisfaction and staff retention: Everybody wants to feel good in their jobs. Fitness Center sales training develops the abilities of membership sales personnel and encourages them to use their natural talents and abilities in the membership sales process. This helps to establish better relationships with guests and members.
  • Confident membership sales staff: Confidence is a must when it comes to gym sales. A confident membership sales rep feels good about what they do, speaks with authority about the fitness facilities services and products and transfers the same confidence to guests and members. This confidence is crucial in making membership sales and in getting guests and members to join your club.
  • New creative ideas and inspiration: Implementing the new ideas and strategies learned in fitness center sales training makes selling memberships more exciting and simplifies the process. Working in fitness sales should be fun as well as providing an exciting daily challenge and opportunity. The idea is to create an atmosphere that allows a motivated person to act. Gym sales training will help to do this.
  • Motivated membership sales team: Membership sales reps are always more motivated when they can see a positive outcome as a result of their actions. This combination of confidence and motivation is a very powerful mixture in any health club situation.

Gym membership sales reps that have the motivation and confidence in themselves will sign up new members who are not only satisfied members but members who will also refer their friends. We all know that there is no better way of marketing your club than word of mouth advertising. We instinctively have more confidence in a fitness facility when it has been recommended by someone we know. This is particularly the case where the gym we are selling is a more expensive one.

Now, go get some fitness center sales training!