How to Be Great at Gym Membership Sales

 

By: Jim Thomas

Are you a gym owner and would you like to improve the sales performance in your club?  Are you a membership salesperson or personal trainer that would like to improve your sales performance? I think most would say yes to these questions.  However, we continue to see many gyms and individuals struggle to improve their membership sales numbers

Of course, there is a tendency to blame things like the economy, the competition, the price, the marketing, or just that people aren’t buying.  Have you considered that perhaps … the problem is … you’re not completely sold yourself.  After all, that’s the only thing you have complete control over.

With competition at a peak, you must know how to sell effectively.  Let’s start here.

Here are some tips that we have used in club-after-club to immediately improve sales performance;

1. You must be sold yourself.  If you’re not sold, how can you expect your prospect to buy a membership or personal training from you?  You must be sold on the fact that you have the best gym, best service, best equipment, best opportunity for client results, now is the best time and you’re the best person to help them.  Unless you genuinely believe this then you’re not sold. 
2. Passion.  Belief.  Conviction.  It’s been said the core definition of sales is a transfer or enthusiasm or a transfer of feelings.  You job is to bring the prospect up to your level of passion, belief and conviction.  If the prospect is convincing you of something else, then you are not sold.
3. Be unreasonable. You must be so convinced, so sold on the fact that your gym is the best solution for solving your clients’ problem that you refuse to be swayed on all the excuses….think about it, talk to spouse, don’t have the money, and check other clubs and the like.  This does not mean we are disrespectful, quite the opposite, we are always agreeable, we just won’t be convinced otherwise.  For example, Mary, I understand, many of our members say that, however, adding time to the decision will not help you lose the weight and get off medication, now, let’s get you started.
4. If you’re not hitting your numbers, at some level you’re not sold. Numbers will tell the truth.  It can be membership sales, outbound calls, follow up, prospecting, getting referrals, daily appointments, etc…..if you are not hitting your numbers then at some level you are not sold.  Go back and evaluate where you stand on this.  You must get yourself sold if you want to hit the big numbers.  I see this frequently is the area of follow up.
5. If you have excuses, you’re not sold.  We’re always slow this time of year.  Our price is just too high. They don’t have any money.  They didn’t have enough time. It’s too long of a commitment. No one will come out in this rain. What a nice day, I’m sure we will be slow.  Here’s a favorite, “Oh, Jim, we’re different than all other clubs.”  You have a choice, either get sold on your product or service or be sold on the excuse.
6. This is the most important sale you will ever make.  I’m sure many of you reading this have sold many memberships, personal training or other products or services, however, I can promise you,  the most important sale you will ever make is you.  Make this sale first and start right now.  Review your production numbers – what are they telling you?  You must avoid uncertainly.  In most cases, this is what causes us to not be sold.  Take a look at your own areas of uncertainty when it comes to your sales production performance.
7. The idea of you being sold must be 100% and you must work at it.  Uncertainty comes at us every day and in many forms.  Stay focused on overcoming and even avoiding uncertainty.  Work on keeping yourself sold.

Now, go be great at gym membership sales!

Jim Thomas is the founder and president of Fitness Management USA Inc., a management consulting and turnaround firm specializing in the fitness and health club industry. With more than 25 years of experience owning, operating and managing clubs of all sizes, Thomas lectures and delivers seminars and workshops across the country on the practical skills required to successfully build teamwork and market fitness programs and products. Learn more here: Jim Thomas On Demand