I know as well as anybody that some folks are interested in numbers, percentages and using spreadsheets, and many others would rather pound sand than fill out a spreadsheet. I know this because I assess personalities on an almost daily basis. I use a four-quadrant assessment that uses colors and words. The world is made up of Energizers (Orange), Organizers (Yellow), Harmonizers (Blue) and Analyzers (Green).
Everybody has all four colors, but which one is your primary?
Analyzers (Green) dig numbers. They like to problem solve and part of figuring things out often involves calculating. They like to see the percentages and the numbers.
Other colors may not be very interested in filling out spreadsheets, calculating percentages and adding up columns. I understand this. But I really need to tell you something about tracking numbers: Regardless of your affinity or lack thereof regarding number tracking, it is critical in your fitness business. Without knowing the numbers, you don’t know where you are good, great, average or terrible.
There are all kinds of numbers you can track. But I want to make sure you are tracking the most critical ones first.
Leads: I want you to know how many phone calls you receive from prospects. I want you to know how many tours you give. I want you to know how many emails you receive. And I want you to know how many referrals you get.
You may have billing software that has a feature or features allowing you to track these numbers. Or you may have your own system. However you get the numbers in your system is fine, but documenting the numbers as they happen is as important.
I recommend starting each day with a blank sheet of paper, per employee. The categories are: telephone inquiries, tours, emails, referrals. Start with those four. When a call comes in, make a vertical line. If an appointment is made from that call, circle it. When a tour is given, make a vertical line. If a sale is made, circle it. When an email comes in, make a vertical line. If an appointment is made, circle it. For referrals, simply make a vertical line for each one. At the end of each person’s shift, they simply add up the numbers and put them in your system.
Benchmarks: You need to know what is good, bad and ugly when it comes to the numbers. The following are the goals you need to achieve:
Phone calls to appointments: 70 percent of all telephone calls that come from non-members seeking information about your gym need to end with an appointment to tour. Above 70 percent is awesome and doable, but below means it is time to do more training on your telephone system.
Tours to sales: This one varies depending on your trial membership offerings. Sixy-five percent is your goal, but not all on the first visit. If you use a 30-day paid trial, you will measure this percentage within 30 days of the prospect’s first visit.
Emails: 50 percent of all email inquiries need to schedule a tour.
Referrals: One name and phone number for each new member is the benchmark. I strongly recommend using the “Three for a T” process. Simply present each new member with a sheet of paper and explain that if they provide you three names and numbers of people they think may be interested in your gym, you will give them a free T-shirt on the spot.
There are more numbers to track, but start with these and don’t hesitate to contact me to set up a free business review call.
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Jason Linse is president and founder of The Business of Fitness, a consulting company. He also owns a personality assessment company called People Plus+ Fitness. Contact him at jason@jasonlinse.com or 612-310-1319 for resources on scheduling more tours and personality assessments, or visit www.jasonlinse.com.
