Kory Angelin, the chief operating officer for Volofit, provides two ways to change your gym culture.
Are you the mayor of your club? Being an agent of change in your gym or health club can help create a better environment for both new member acquisition and retention of members over a longer period of time. Coming out of the pandemic presents a unique opportunity for all health clubs to do a reset when it comes to the overall experience and culture you are essentially selling. One of my favorite quotes is “The goal isn’t to give people what they are asking for. The goal is to get people to ask for what you are offering.” Having a great gym culture can get a consumer to ask that very question.
Let’s take a look at two ways to change your gym culture:
Invest in People’s Success
Your onboarding experience for a new member or client sets the tone for the lifecycle of their membership. It can dictate whether that member remains a member for just a few months or a few years. It is why every health club should audit their onboarding experience to understand how we are shaping the culture and attitude of every new member.
What is it that are providing in terms of support for a new member and how invested are you in their success? This can impact the overall culture of your gym. To provide that support, you need to make sure you capture the right information during the sales process. Understanding a consumer’s fitness goals is a priority during the sales process.
Once they become a new member, it’s a great opportunity to set them up with a trainer or coach. In addition, have that coach reach out prior to their initial appointment. It’s important a trainer doesn’t just reach out to confirm their appointment but rather build more rapport with that new member. This includes conducting a really good needs analysis to uncover much more than just a person’s goals. Why it is a goal of theirs and what their prior exercise history is like are all great questions to further and nurture that experience.
If a member chooses not to train with a trainer there is still opportunity to reach out 7 or thirty days after they sign up just to check in on their progress. This tells the member you truly are invested in their success.
Act the Part
Early on in my career I worked for one of the largest health clubs in the world. One stipulation they told the staff was every day you had a one-hour window you could workout on your shift. At first, I couldn’t believe what they had told me. Working out and getting paid? I quickly understood why they presented that to all employees.
If you are going to invest in other people’s success then you need to be invested in your own. Having members see the staff working out is powerful and helps to create a strong gym culture. In fact, most of my personal training clients came from people talking with me on the gym floor while I was working out. When you work in a health club, you are always on stage whether you know it or not. Members are always paying attention and always appreciate advice on what they can do to reach their goals.
At the end of the day, creating a better gym culture starts with you and how you present yourself at work. This can have a profound effect on the rest of the staff and get people to want what you are offering.
