Inside the Club: The Importance of Core Competency

At Club Solutions Magazine, we’ve been reading the book by Gino Wickman titled “Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business.”

In the first four chapters it examines core values, operating systems and how you evaluate people. What chapter four teaches is that not everyone is suited for every role in your club.

This brings me back to an article I read not too long ago that suggested that everyone in the club should be able to sell — from front desk attendants to Group X directors.

I believe the actual point of the article was to say that everyone should sell the club in their attitude and position, but it took more of a literal sales tone. Traction is quick to explain that people have skills, companies have needs and certain roles must be filled.

Not everyone will be suited to be a CFO. For example, if I was to be promoted to the CFO of Club Solutions, there is no telling what might happen to the company. Not that I’m extremely horrible at math, but it’s not in my core competency.

Additionally, we don’t utilize our editorial team to create sales. They haven’t been trained to sell, and they don’t spend hours perfecting the ability. Nor do we ask our salespeople to write articles for the magazine — it’s not their core competency either.

For your company to grow and thrive, it’s vital that you have the right people in the proper seats. Don’t expect your Group X director to sell memberships. He or she is great at designing Group X programs that make members want to stay and enjoy the club. Don’t waste time teaching them to sell memberships and take away from their core competency.

Additionally, with front desk staff, they typically possess an entry-level role in the company. However, that doesn’t mean that they don’t have desires or skill sets. At the front desk they should present the club with the best foot forward. But, they shouldn’t be asked to literally sell the club.

If you want front desk staff to grow and excel at your facility, discover what they may want out of the job. Do they want to sell? That’s a possibility. But, do they want to be a personal trainer? That is also a possibility. In addition, if they transition to the role of personal training, then you can help walk them through the steps of selling personal training, but not typical memberships — that’s a role all in itself.

By designing certain roles and expectations from people in those roles, you will build a core group that can help the company succeed. Remember, you need a team to grow — not just a bunch of people scrambling to do a lot of different jobs.

Tyler Montgomery is the editor of Club Solutions Magazine. Contact him at tyler@clubsolutionsmagazine.com.