Monthly Archives: September 2004

For years the health club industry operated under a stale paradigm, stated in its simplest form as follows: “Aggressively sell memberships.” With time, the paradigm expanded to include a “connection” with personal trainers and the modified paradigm became, “Aggressively sell memberships, offer a free personal training trial, and provide trainers with opportunity to “sell.” This [...]

Contemporary Pilates offers a golden opportunity, and today, more than ever, the rush is on. Baby boomers heading north of 50 are prospecting new ways to preserve their health, and professionals serving this growing market are realizing that integrating Pilates into their fitness or wellness center can help them meet client needs and mine additional [...]

When most of us think of a basketball floor, we naturally think of wood flooring. After all, we’ve all watched countless hours of college and professional basketball, and there is not one game that we haven’t seen on a wood floor. Wood is indeed a great surface for basketball, but were you aware that there [...]

What a great industry. You can make a lot of money, work in a fun environment with fit people, and help your members look and feel their best. But, how do you cash out your hard-earned equity when you’re ready to retire or move on to other opportunities? We all know the challenges: 1. How [...]

Health benefits of exercise are well documented by the medical profession. Insurance companies, as well as States, are coming to the realization that something has to be done about obesity in the United States. Newspapers, daily, have such articles on the front page, “Bill Geared to Help Heavy Americans/Program Aims to Slim Down Number of [...]

Problem: According to a study performed by American Sports Data1, 63 percent of Americans are already convinced of the virtues of fitness and are ready to join health clubs. However, many of these people are still restricted by their unhealthiness, unathleticism and/or self-consciousness. How can health clubs make fitness more appealing to these consumers to [...]

One of the most frequently asked questions a club owner will ask is; “How do I get rid of a problem member?” Let’s see if any of these scenarios apply to your club. 1. Carmine has become one of the most popular members at the gym. He is in tremendous condition and is pleasant to [...]

We all know that approximately 50 percent of our new membership sales come from existing members. If your monthly sales goal is 60, and assuming you reach it, and 30 of those new sales were generated by referrals, your sales team members are already referral masters. If you believe you’re not getting enough referral sales, [...]

About five years ago, who would expected a women’s only franchise, using nothing but hydraulic resistance equipment, in small strip mall locations would be successful? However, when this type of franchise reached 2,000 locations a few years ago, the Industry raised their collective eyebrows. Now, with over 7,000 locations, these franchises are the fastest growing [...]

About five years ago, who would expected a women’s only franchise, using nothing but hydraulic resistance equipment, in small strip mall locations would be successful? However, when this type of franchise reached 2,000 locations a few years ago, the Industry raised their collective eyebrows. Now, with over 7,000 locations, these franchises are the fastest growing [...]