How many times have you introduced yourself to a potential client only to hear the words, “I am not here to buy today; I want to look at other gyms first,” or, my personal favorite, “I am not going to sign anything today.”? I love these responses. We put ourselves into challenging situations all day long, and it only makes us better at what we do. Now, we can respond in a few different ways. Some will try to overcome an objection right up front, but that can actually worsen the situation. Especially if the prospect feels he is being sold. I like to agree with the client. I would say, “Not a problem Mr. Prospect, I understand where you are coming from and all I would like to do today is give you a tour of the club, and show you exactly how we can meet your needs.” This will calm him slightly, but most of the work must be done with a profile questionnaire that I am sure most gyms use today, and I will get to in a moment.
Remember one thing if nothing else, when a prospect tells you he is not going to sign anything, and he falls in love with what you have, and what you say, he will still be likely not to join because he will not want to go back on his own word. We have to deal with people’s pride and give them the opportunity to change their own mind. I lead them by saying this, “Mr. Prospect I just want to let you know that after the tour and presentation of our membership programs, if you decide to change your mind and get started with us, then that’s OK.” Now, your prospect will be relieved he can still become a member and save face at the same time. You never want any potential members to feel like they are liars.
Profiling the Prospect
The profile questionnaire that you use to find out the prospect’s goals, needs, and wants should be worded carefully. Remember WE are the salespeople, WE must ask the questions to evoke emotional reasons for the prospect to buy from us. We almost have to look at the prospect as if they are a boxer with their gloves up defending against punches. Our goal should be to get the prospect comfortable enough to lower their defenses, and let lead them to the best decision for them. use a profile which uses vague goals client can select from a list, that way there is no real emotion involved until I about their goals with them. You see, selling fitness was that easy, we wouldn’t be necessary; there would be ATM machines in every gym that would let client pick the membership they want, swipe their credit card, and a membership card would print. WE as salespeople essential to the success of the gym with which we are involved.
Sometimes the best way to overcome prospect with emotion is to turn it around on them. It is a method I use in which pose a: consequence question, powerful question, and benefits question directly after I find the prospect’s main goal the emotion behind that goal. Let’s we are talking with a client that wanted lose 25 pounds to get more respect from co-workers. I would pose the questions this way: First, I pose the consequence question, “Now Mrs. Prospect, let’s say you DON’T take advantage of program today, you DON’T lose the pounds, and you DON’T gain any respect from your co-workers. How is that going to make you feel?” Then, I pose powerful question, “Is that acceptable you?” (“No” is the answer 100% of time.) Finally, the benefits question, “Now let’s turn that around and say you DO take advantage of the program, you DO the 25 pounds, and you DO gain respect from your co-workers. How will make you feel?” These three questions, if posed correctly, can give you all emotion necessary to lead the prospect to the buying decision. It is almost essence of successful fitness sales.
Michael C. Vara is the Manager of FitWorks Fitness Center in Willoughby, Ohio. He can be contacted at 440.975.9450, or by email mvara@fitworks.com.
