Flip through the pages of almost every fitness or bodybuilding magazine these days, and you will see ad after ad making the same claims. While this is to be expected, in the end, consumers are confused. And, that includes your clients. They simply don’t know who or what to believe. This also holds true for your club versus another. If you glance through the yellow pages, you’ll also see ad after ad for health clubs making the same claims as everyone else. So, how can you expect a prospect to choose you over any other gym in the area?
This is what we call “The Confidence Gap”- defined as the buyer’s inability to determine whether any of the businesses, or any of the products, or any of the services are any better, or any different, or any worse than any of the others. Buyers feel like they don’t have control, so they stall, think, compare, and try to gather more info.
Friend, that’s precisely where you come in. You see, just understanding this problem can give you a tremendous competitive advantage. By default, your clients look to you as the in-house “expert” when it comes to supplements, training and dieting. So, it stands to reason that you can leverage this fact to your advantage.
Furthermore, don’t allow yourself to get hung up on price either. Despite what most people believe, price isn’t the biggest overall reason why you lose sales to your competition. I recommend you write the following statement in large, bold letters and put it on your office wall: “Price is only important when there is nothing else to consider. In fact, low price is reserved for those who can’t market themselves effectively.”
By now, you’re probably thinking that this all sounds great. But, how do you actually do this? In reality, it’s quite simple. If you read my “Confidence Gap” definition again, it becomes quite clear that the one thing your prospects and clients are starving for is credible information. People look to experts because they don’t want to make a bad decision…much less, spend the time and research required to make a good decision. That’s why you do it for them and become the local expert.
By doing a little research, you can easily put together a series of simple one- or two-page reports about diet, training, and especially the supplements you sell in your club. If you really want a given product to move, produce a special report featuring that item. A great way to give each report added value is to simply place a “price” on it. For example, add “$2.95” to the top right corner, but write “FREE to Members of ABC Health Club.”
People like to buy from people they know, like and trust. And, these simple reports will almost instantly make you the local expert on these subjects. To give this program even more punch, you could also hold complimentary seminars where either you, or another expert, come in to speak. Even if you don’t do the speaking at these events, you will still get residual benefits due to the credibility of your association to the expert speaker.
To become even more of an expert, whenever you can, submit articles to websites and local newspapers. Even try to get on radio shows to be interviewed. Editors and program directors are always looking for new material, so you just might be what they need…especially in a pinch. Overall, the key to winning big, when it comes to highly competitive markets, is powerful information. And, when that information comes from you and your gym, I guarantee your sales will soar.
For more information call Brian Andrews at 1.800.659.3406, or email him at bandrews@aaefx.com. You can also download his new FREE book called “CREATINE: Industry Insider Secrets Revealed” at www.aaefx.com. Or, simply contact him to have a printed copy mailed to you.
