Following are five steps that your club can take to get more new memberships from referrals each month.
Step 1: Ask for referrals
Every new member who joins your club should be asked for referrals at the time they complete their membership contract. At this point, the new member is excited, emotional, and they’re somewhat proud of what they just did. This makes for a great time to ask them to share their accomplishment and smarts with their friends.
Step 2: Have a memorized referral presentation
Without a memorized referral presentation, your referral acquisition will be inconsistent and wishy-washy at best. You’ll also sound desperate and “salesy” if you just say, “Do you know anyone else that may like to join?” To ask effectively, use a memorized presentation.
Step 3: Make it beneficial for members to refer
Every member that you enroll knows at least five people that need to exercise at your club. Why aren’t they volunteering the contact info of their “needy” friends? Answer: You’re not making it worth their while. With that said, when giving your presentation, let your new members feel it is worth giving you referrals. To convince your new member to refer their friends, consider using these questions (You can include these in your memorized presentation.):
• “You can invite three to five friends for a free pass to your club.”
• “Your friends will be notified that you are giving them this special opportunity above all your other friends.” (Give the new member three to five spots and tell them to name their closest friends who need fitness).
• “If the friends you’ve referred ever decide to join the club, you get… [something special].”
• “You can give us your friends’ emails; so you don’t ‘put them on the spot’ or make them feel uncomfortable with a phone call.”
Step 4: Have a referral form
Once you give your referral presentation, make sure you have a neat referral form. Notice, I said “neat” not “fancy.” Fancy makes it seems too formal and calculated.
Have a simple black and white paper with five lines and three slots. Next to each line, it should say “Your friend’s name.” Three slots should be labeled: Name, Email, and Phone Number at the top. Basically, it’s a simple form allowing the referrer to write five names, emails and phone numbers down.
Follow these rules when presenting the referral sheet: A) Don’t let the new member see the sheet until you’ve finished your memorized presentation. B) Hand them the sheet and explain to them that they should complete each slot and category. C) Walk out of the room and leave them all alone at the table with the referral sheet and pen. This is most important: Don’t walk back into the room until they start writing! If they take too long, pop back in and ask them if they need help thinking of anyone. Then, take the paper and start writing for them.
Step 5: Be sure to get the referrals’ email addresses
Typically, your new member will complete your referral sheet, but they may leave the email address blank. Here are some scripts that work well in getting the email addresses of your new member’s friends and family members:
• “…and by the way John, include their email too. The company now allows you to send your friend a free pass online! This way, anytime your friend wants to start the free week, they can just email us, and we don’t have to try to contact them any further. If they have more than one email address, please indicate which one they’re most likely to check regularly.”
• “John, if you’re not sure whether or not your friend will be interested in the free week, just include their email address and you can send it to them online. This allows us to easily handle any questions they have and to direct them into the club, once they decide they want to come in for their free week.”
• “Mary, do any of these friends spend a lot of time on the Internet? Great, include their email and you can send them their free week online. Most people who use the Internet appreciate the email. It saves time, and it’s easy for them to respond in case they don’t want to use the club right away.”
Conclusion: You may have noticed that the above scripts speak of “sending a free pass online” This is key! Once you acquire the referral emails, put them into an automated sequence of emails that requires referrals to contact you for their free pass. This allows you to avoid putting the referral, and member, “on the spot” by calling them on the phone, and it increases response. If you currently enroll 25 to 50 new members each month, this process will multiply the amount of times you contact each referral, and it will add dozens of new, additional referred visits, and members, each month.
Pat Necerato is a Sales and Marketing Expert with over 15 years experience in the fitness industry. He can be contacted at 866.468.2832, or go to www.MoreNewMembers.com and get his FREE Marketing Video & Report.
