‘Be Remarkable!’
undergone extensive service training, now engage in in-depth, one-on-one interactions with members through- out every circuit workout,” she explains. “They discuss goals, make clients more accountable, keep them on track toward reaching their goals. Members are telling us, ‘Wow, it’s really different now when we train.’ “As a result, we’ve seen a signifi- cant increase in usage.”
Pedro and Constance Ruiz “ In the past, Vivafit had a nondues
OUR FOCUS IS ON RESULTS. WE’VE GOT TO DELIVER RESULTS. WE’VE GOT TO GET IT RIGHT. I’M ALWAYS WONDERING: ARE MY MEMBERS GETTING WHAT THEY WANT?”
emphasis on personal coaching and a thoughtful revamping of its nutrition program. “Our instructors, who’ve
six-week nutrition offering, but Ruiz decided it was ineffective. “A fee- based program is always an upsell,” she says. “When women join a club, they expect to get in shape and lose weight—they don’t expect to pay more for that.” Now, Vivafit has taken
full ownership of its program: All of its staff have been trained on nutri- tion. A small registration fee is
assessed upon enrollment, but there’s no charge for the course itself; if they want, clients can pay for additional consultations with a nutritionist. The program is promoted with a special monthly nutrition theme.
“We’ve got to deliver results, and
results come from behavior change,” insists Ruiz. “In the past, we’d perfected our exer- cise component, but, as I learned more, I realized that our business model is really 30% exercise and 70% nutrition. Now my goal is to get the nutrition diag- nostic done with every single member.” One of Vivafit’s newest initiatives to increase sales, usage, and retention is what it calls a reverse-sales scheme. “You get a discount for working out, and, the more you visit, the more you save,” Ruiz explains “By training 12 times a month, you could, conceivably, get 10%–40% off your monthly dues over the course of a year.” Utilization is up at Ruiz’s own clubs, and her fran- chisees report that the reverse-sales program has been well received.
Anytime Fitness: extra friendly
Like Ruiz, Guy Coffey, the owner of three Anytime Fitness clubs in Colo- rado, pounds home the incredible importance of personal rapport. “We go out of our way to be welcoming and extra friendly,” he says. “When you come in, we get up out of our chair to say hello. We want to know you—your name, what you do for work, something about your family. We want to demonstrate that we care, because we genuinely do.” Coffey’s facilities average 4,500 square feet in size and serve 700–1,020 members each, and his business’ success attests to the wisdom of his approach. Despite a depressed econ- omy, each of his clubs is adding 50–70 new members per month, and Coffey is now planning to open a fourth facility.
58 Club Business Internat ional | NOVEMBER 2011 |
At his clubs, relationship-building has been transformed into something of a science. It encompasses the hiring of employees, systematic interaction and follow-up with members, and valuable support from Anytime Fitness’ corporate franchise head- quarters. “I’m a huge fan of our fran- chise system,” attests Coffey. “They do a lot of training, keep us up-to-date on things, and keep providing new tools to help us engage people both inside and outside of the club.” The realization of ideas depends upon enthusiastic staff, or what Cof- fey refers to as his “Hired to Inspire” leaders, who, he says, dispense lots of psychological hugs. “For instance, on your birthday, you won’t get a recorded call from us. You’ll get us live on the phone, or, more probably, all of us gathered in the office, singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to you.”
ihrsa.org
The chain uses a “three-touch” guideline to ensure that staff con- nects with every member each and every time they come in: (1) Staff welcomes them when they arrive; (2) engages them in conversation during their workout; and (3) says, “Goodbye, hope to see you soon” as they leave. “We quiz our staff to make sure that
they know people’s names,” Coffey explains. “We’ll say, ‘Let’s take a walk on the floor, and tell me everybody’s name and what they do for a living.’ The more we know about members, the more tied into the club they are.” Sales representatives, in particular, are expected to have exceptional people skills. “Among great sales- people, the No. 1 trait that I’ve seen is that they’re really interested in other people. They understand that it’s not about them and what they have to sell—it’s all about the client. It’s about
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