When it comes to your club versus any other club in your area, what really sets you apart? Is it your equipment? Reputation? Your level of expertise? Maybe you offer other features that no one else has. For example, you may have a juice bar; offer daycare; a tanning salon… or, maybe you have a pro shop with the latest supplement lines.
Regardless, this still may not be enough to separate you from the competition in a meaningful way. Therefore, what I’m going to discuss is a simple, yet amazingly powerful solution you can put into place almost overnight. The funny thing is that, unknowingly, your club may already have this device in place; you just aren’t proclaiming it to the world…yet.
So, what is this amazing “nuclear bomb” of a selling device? It’s called the guarantee. By “guarantee,” I’m simply referring to the notion that if a given product or service does not meet or exceed a set standard, the purchaser can get his money back.
Now, before you tune me out and decide this isn’t something important to your business… or that you don’t actually have this in place already… Consider this: If someone bought a product from you and it was defective in any way, wouldn’t you return the customer’s money, or at least exchange it? Of course. See? You have a guarantee.
Furthermore, it’s an unwritten rule of commerce that whenever we purchase goods or services, we assume we can get a refund or replacement should we ultimately decide the product or service isn’t for us. In other words, there’s a basic underlying guarantee built into the purchase.
Exactly How Does This Apply To Your Club?
If you really want to crush your competition, sit down and decide exactly what you can guarantee with your club. Then, turn around and plaster it all over your gym and in your advertising. In fact, you can build an entire campaign around it.
Now, I can already hear you saying that if you suddenly started offering powerful guarantees, you’ll be ripped off left and right; possibly even go out of business! If that’s the case, calm down and listen closely. While there may be a few people who do take advantage of your guarantee, the percentage that do NOT will be staggering, by comparison.
The big advantage here is that all the other club owners in your area will think you are crazy to boldly make guarantees like this, so they won’t copy you. And, that is how you win!
Think about it. When was the last time you got your money back for a purchase you made in the last year? Probably not more than once, if at all. The big takeaway here is that almost no one will ever take you up on your guarantee. This is just a simple fact of human nature. I can also “guarantee” the sales you make by having a strong guarantee in place will far outweigh any returns you may have.
How Do I Build A Powerful Guarantee?
This part is actually quite easy. Begin by zeroing in on exactly what is most important to your clients. Then, you simply attach your new guarantee to this value. For example, if you want to guarantee the results of your 12-week training program, just set up some minor conditions (the member has to train at least three days per week, follow the basic diet, etc); then offer them their money back if they don’t reach the goals you’ve both set for them.
Second, give the guarantee a time frame… the longer the better. Believe it or not, the longer your guarantee lasts, the less likely anyone will take you up on it. Why? Because we all have tendency to forget. So if you offer a short 30-day guarantee, the customer must make up their mind almost right away. However, what are the odds they will ask for their money back a year later? Close to zero.
As I mentioned in the beginning, I own a supplement company. Here is our guarantee, as it appears on our website. You can use this as a template if you’d like:
We give you a full 1-year, 100% “Buy-It-Back” guarantee on all our products
Even if you took the ‘Test Drive’, and it was enough to convince you to buy the full product, we’ve got the guts to give you a second chance to rethink your decision. That’s right. For any first-time purchase, you have a full year to get your money back… even if you use the whole thing.
You deserve to never feel like you are taking a risk when you buy [company name] products. If any of our products do not perform to your expectations, then we feel we do not deserve to keep your money. It’s just that simple.
Can you see how powerful that is? Listen, we rarely ever give a refund. In fact, I can think of exactly three total. And that’s over the past one-and-a-half years!
Put it this way: If you are 100% confident that you offer the best product or service – which is exactly what your customers want anyway – don’t be afraid to be bold and have a powerful, competition-crushing guarantee.
Brian Andrews is the President of All American EFX, a sports nutrition company. He can be contacted at 800.659.3406, or by email at bandrews@aaefx.com. You can download his new FREE book called “CREATINE: Industry Insider Secrets Revealed.” Or, simply contact him to have a printed copy mailed to you.
