How great would it be to sell personal training sessions to every member of your health club? To truly maximize the number of members that engage in personal training, certain variables need to be examined to not only ensure every person that meets with a personal trainer signs up for sessions but every member meets a trainer, period. How can you sell sessions to every member in your health club if you or one of your trainers have not come in contact with every member of your health club?
One variable that can be tracked can be taken from the way health clubs introduce their personal training program to new members. This introduction varies from establishment to establishment; however, it is common practice in the majority of clubs to offer some kind of orientation to the exercise machines or a consultation to map out their fitness goals when members first sign up. It is also common practice to include some type of fitness evaluation in order to measure current fitness levels and track future gains. No matter which method your club adheres to, the first variable that needs to be identified and tracked is the number of new members who are not taking advantage of this complimentary service.
When new members first sign up at your club, who is the first person they meet? It is common practice for the membership department or salespeople to introduce new members to the health club. This means the responsibility of presenting the services your club has to offer (including personal training) falls squarely on the lap of each membership salesperson.
Experience shows if the “member leads” are properly handled by the membership salespeople, approximately 80 percent of new members will sign up for their orientation when they sign up for their club membership. Of those 80 percent, if properly handled, around 50 percent will show up for their scheduled orientation with a trainer. These numbers may not be exact for your unique situation, but if you are currently tracking these business variables, then you will agree they are pretty close.
Notice I said that if the “member leads” are properly handled by the salesperson. It is ideal to handle these new members personally. Who better to introduce the personal training program than the personal training manager? Of course depending on the size of your club, this may not be an option. As head of your personal training crew, you are not only responsible for your trainers’ actions, but what the salespeople do and don’t do, will also affect your business.
If your membership department is not sincerely attempting to sign every new member up for their orientation then you are in serious trouble when it comes to building your business to its full potential. To ensure that the maximum number of new members are signing up for this complimentary service, it is your job as the fitness manager to raise the value of this session high enough in the eyes of not only the new member, but also in the eyes of the salesperson signing this person up for membership.
First of all, put a price tag on the session. By placing a monetary value on this free service, people will more easily interpret the value that comes with it. A complimentary session worth $90 tells members they are getting $90 of personal training for free. Not only will this cause more new members to take advantage of this service, but your salespeople will love using it as leverage when trying to close a hot prospect.
Another great value-building tip is to put an expiration date on the free offer. A new member might sign up for their initial orientation, but that doesn’t mean they are going to show up for it on the scheduled date. When you put an expiration date on the session, you create a sense of urgency putting them in the frame of mind, “If I do not get it now, I might lose it.”
Based on our earlier figures, even if your entire staff, including the membership department, does everything perfect, you will still only come in contact with roughly 40 percent of the members when first signing up for the club. That leaves around 60 percent of your members wandering around the gym possibly not even knowing personal trainers are available for hire.
To be truly successful you need to find a way to reach 100 percent of your members and offer personal training.
Tim Tierney is the Founder and CEO of Personal Training Sales Institute. He can be contacted by email attim@ptsystems101.com, or visit www.ptsystems101.com.
