2013
No Excuses! G
To do better in 2013, you have to be better.
BY JEREMY KLUGERMAN
ood business practices are transferable and can be ap- plied to any business on earth. I have bought prod-
ucts from industry-leading companies like Honda and Apple in various coun- tries around the world. When I have gone through their sales and customer service process in Canada, Australia and the U.S., except for a few minor things, the process and experience has been identical. This explains how they can be successful in so many different markets. However, when I have consulted for
various fitness clubs, one response I get to my feedback and recommendations is always the same: “You don’t under- stand. Our market is different, and that just won’t work here.” When I hear this, I know that the
club owner doesn’t understand what the great companies around the world have all figured out. Successful clubs in 2013 will be those who follow these 5 practices:
1) Appoint a Dedicated Sales Staff and Personal Training Staff Selling personal training at the point
of sale or having personal trainers sell their own services doesn’t work. Just look some of the major U.S. chains that have gone bankrupt three times trying to do this. In each club you need a ded- icated staff member who is responsible for selling training and is accountable for the success of that profit centre. In almost all the clubs I have been
responsible for over the years, our per- sonal training profit centre would sell the same amount or more each month
than we would generate in gross mem- bership sales that month. Therefore, this profit centre should merit at least the same focus and manpower that we apply to membership sales.
2) Appoint a Dedicated Fitness Assessor Every club needs a fitness assessor
who is responsible for successfully on- boarding new members into the club and hopefully into a paid program as well. The assessor is the single most important team member in your club. They must be comfortable with your training philosophy and your sales processes. Their role is to meet all new members and to steer them into paid programs to generate added revenue.
3) Spend money to drive leads to your door The days of “If I build it they will
come” are over. You must advertise! A good rule is to spend at least 7%
of your gross membership sales rev- enue each month on advertising. If you gross $100,000 per month in new membership sales, spending $7,000 on advertising is a pittance. Your advertising needs to be of-
fer based, time sensitive and include a strong call to action. It must also have a low barrier of entry regarding cost for prospective clients. Track all your sales and pros-
pects each month by source to see how effectively your marketing dol- lars are being spent. Think outside the box, but use the expertise of a de- signer since appearance is crucial in advertising.
4) Get everyone on the bus Many clubs fail because they don’t have a defined business model and
Jeremy Klugerman is a management consultant with clients in Canada, the United States and Australia. He was the president of Wynn Fitness from 2006 to 2011 and the vice-president of Extreme Fitness from 1999 to 2006.
central leadership. You must have a clear vision of what your product is and how you will sell it to prospects. Once defined, everyone on your team – from sales to reception to personal training – must be on board and follow the same program.
5) Create an outstanding team If your team isn’t at the level you de-
sire, look in the mirror. As a club own- er or manager you must be constant- ly recruiting and hiring excellent new team members, and you must have a first-rate training system for both new and existing staff. Every day you should be looking for new staff to sell, and training existing staff on how to sell better. It’s that simple! In most cases, when you have to
let one of your staff members go, it is your fault. You either hired the wrong people or did an inadequate job train- ing them.
January/February 2013 Fitness Business Canada 25
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