Sometimes building rapport and giving a great tour doesn’t always lead to a sale. What do our sales team members do when their guest just needs more time to think about making their decision? Should they become pushy and insist that the guest joins immediately, or back off and let them leave to make their decision on their own? Neither!
As sales people, we must earn the right to ask our guest to reconsider their positions on not enrolling, without making them feel uncomfortable. As mentioned on my previous post What is the ‘Why’ Behind The ‘What,’“We must ensure that our sales team are genuinely interested in finding out exactly what our guests want.” In order to overcome our guests’ concerns, we must do the following:
- Relationships must be built through truly understanding our guests’ needs.
- Give an entertaining tour of our club while facilitating conversations revolving around features and benefits.
- Present membership options that fit the guests’ needs, and not just our own.
If executed correctly, then our sales person has now earned the right to give their perspective and help guests reconsider joining the club today.
To keep this process simple, there are five steps to keep the sales person on track. This should continue the dialogue, which has already been created, in overcoming their guests’ desire to procrastinate.
- Listen
- Agree
- Overcome
- Re-Enthuse
- Close
Listen
Do not interrupt the guest while they are explaining their reasons for not enrolling. Over 50 percent of communication is non-verbal, so if our body language changes when not getting the answer we were hoping for, we will then make the guest uncomfortable and not open to our perspective.
Agree
Agree with the guests’ concerns that are valid. Communicate that with them. A lot of times our sale people feel that they have to spin every concern their guest gives them. Taking time to think through financial decisions isn’t a bad thing. Talking it over with a spouse is wise. Shopping competitors makes sense.
Overcome
A lot of times, our guests just need a different perspective on their logic for putting off their decision. By accomplishing the first two steps, they now feel comfortable enough to listen to it. If the first two steps are not executed correctly, this will cause the guest to not fully listen to us and will cause them to re-explain their concern or create a new concern instead. If our club is priced right and boasts services that differentiate it from competitors, it’s now time to ease our guests’ hesitations.
Re-Enthuse
We all make buying decisions based on emotion and usually back it up with logic. At this point, you have given our guest a compelling reason to enroll, which made sense to them from a logical standpoint. You now need to reiterate why they came into our club in the first place. To get results! This is the perfect time to remind them how our club will deliver what they asked to achieve during the qualifying process.
Close
At this point of the process, the guest has a logical reason to join our club and is excited again about how our features and services will benefit them. It’s time to ask for the sale. A lot of times this step is uncomfortable, but if this entire process was conversational and not a monologue, then asking for the sale should be very comfortable for both the guest and the sales person.
People buy from people they like and trust, and if our sales person failed to make this connection, then these steps are useless. The “Five Steps to Overcoming Concerns” are designed to help those that genuinely care, give entertaining tours and clear membership recommendations that best fit our guests’ needs.
Ryan Junk is the director of sales for UFC Gym. He can be reached at ryan@ufcgym.com.
Stay ahead in the fitness industry with exclusive updates!
Subscribe Now
Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
