Are you starting to think about those plans for next year? How many new members to expect? How much space to allocate? How much equipment to purchase or rehabilitate? Are you thinking about how to get more profits from your existing customers? It cost you plenty to get those customers, so now that you have them, you want to: keep them, and upsell, backsell and resell them. This is your most profitable target market. They are in your club; you don’t have to buy ad space to reach them. You just have to reach out to them and meet their needs to make more money from each existing member.
I wrote to you last month about utilizing your trainers to cross-sell products to your customers. I wrote to you in June about creating a sampling program for your supplements and other retail items to generate interest in your store. And, I wrote to you in May about adding liquid supplements to your line without diminishing sales of existing products. It is all TRUE. So now, while you are budgeting for the New Year and planning for success in 2007, let me remind you to plan for liquid supplement sales, too. Why Supplements? Boomers, genXers, Silver Foxes – they all need them. They all take them. See the chart below on vitamin usage in the U.S. It is huge! Which brings me to the next question:
Why LIQUID Supplements? This is your differentiator; this is where you can really stand out. Liquid supplements are far superior to pills, they provide up to 98% absorption versus 20% from hard pills. Yet, they currently account for only 7% of the vitamins purchased in the U.S. It is not because people don’t like them; it is because liquid supplements weigh more than pills, and so the shipping cuts into profit margins for discount dealers – like grocery stores, drug stores and other common places where people purchase vitamins. But, you and your trainers are your customers’ experts on fitness and health. Your members have put their trust in you for this area of their life. They come to you for the best in this area, and liquid supplements provide the best solution for fast-paced lives. If you are bringing them the best available product, you don’t need to discount it.
While you are at it, please include something for the less-advantaged in your sales plan. I wrote to you in April about an organization called Get America Fit that would love to receive your donation of a free membership to provide to a local person in need. They are a great organization, and it then makes your donation tax-deductible.
Let me help you with that budgeting and planning. Please email me at sscott@fullperformancefitness.com for my club budgeting worksheet. You can very quickly project how much product you will move and how much profit you will produce on it right away.
Susan Scott is CEO of Full Performance Fitness Inc. She can be contacted at 866.819.3926, or by email atsscott@fullperformancefitness.com, or visit www.FullPerformanceFitness.com.
