BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
Clubs must help members verbalise why they exercise
might be to get their training kit ready to go the night before, learning how to programme the treadmill without supervision, or identifying a workout goal like adding two minutes of CV time. Subordinate goals are often overlooked
in the fi tness industry, but are a vital part of goal achievement. Setting process goals provides an opportunity for celebrating successes well in advance of achieving the outcome goal. These processes goals can also serve to build confi dence and self- effi cacy, both strongly associated with exercise adherence. The superordinate goal is more
abstract than the previous two, which may be why fi tness professionals have avoided making use of it. A variety of names could be attached to the superordinate goal, including ‘motivator’ or ‘driver’, but for the purposes of this article it’s the why. These ‘why’ goals are linked to an individual’s values, beliefs and behaviours. By understanding and delivering on the why – the superordinate goals – we can better help people achieve their outcomes. Do not confuse asking “why do you
want to exercise?” – which so often gives us the bland answers of “to lose weight, tone up, get fi t” – with asking
“why is that important to you?” or “why is that of value to you?” Both of these
‘why’ questions require a consideration of the superordinate goal, and then a justifi cation of the behaviour, and can be followed by more probing questions like
“what will that do for you?”, and then “and what else will that do for you?” It’s not uncommon at this stage to get a blank stare in response. People
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will not be expecting this level of questioning, and if you’ve failed to establish and maintain rapport, you will often be given an answer they have already given, but this time repeated with a questioning tone or the blank stare. If you’ve asked the questions with the correct tone of voice, you will get a pause, a glance up and to the left, followed by a glance down to the left, before you get a verbal response. Give the person time and don’t rush to speak if they are obviously thinking about the question you asked.
What does this mean for us? In the time-limited environment of many health club inductions, it can be tricky to complete all of the tasks required and deliver something meaningful to members. However, understanding what motivates them is critical to success and failure – both theirs and ours. Ask them: What do you want to get
from your exercise programme? What will that do for you? What else will it do for you? Why is that important? Why is that of value? Thinking about the future for a minute, when you have reached your goal of [whatever their goal might be], what will life be like? People exercise on different days
for different reasons: on Monday their workout might be motivated by guilt from eating too much at the weekend, or mid-week it might be to create some ‘me time’ away from the offi ce. However, all of the reasons are ultimately driven by a desire to achieve the abstract superordinate goal – the why – and this is what health and fi tness
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clubs must help their members to identify and verbalise. If we want to increase exercise
adherence and goal achievement, we may need to revise the approach we use during the goal-setting process. We need to stop using the restaurant process of order-taking and replace it with an exploration of motivators and drivers of behaviour. We also need to reconsider where
and how these conversations take place. Current research on consumer behaviour is leaning towards asking the questions while individuals are actually consuming or buying the goods and services in question, rather than asking them to predict their behaviour using focus groups or recalling their motives in questionnaires. Given the relatively brief, conversational nature of the questions outlined above, gym-based goal-setting discussions could actually be made much less intrusive, conducted by any member of staff at any point during the club visit. Asking about a behaviour once, in an environment other than the gym fl oor where the behaviour takes place, will not provide the insight required to support a lasting change. ●
Paul Bedford PhD has worked in the fi tness industry for more than 20 years. His business, Retention Guru, helps health club operators increase retention, reduce attrition and improve member loyalty. Email
paul-retentionguru.co.uk Twitter @guru_paul Linkedin Paul Bedford
August 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
©
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