The 2008-09 Member Satisfaction Surveys
w
Club sales experts should be passionate and believable:
It’s hard to overestimate the importance of knowledgeable employees in communicating
a club’s value to prospective clients. In addition to having a professional fitness
staff, it’s essential that clubs make use of competent, well-versed staff as part of the
“front-end” sales process, since members consistently cite “trust” as an important
factor in their decision to join a club. Sales associates who are believable and exude
energy and passion are the most successful in making the case for the benefits of club
membership. Surveys and member interviews conducted in 2008 and 2009 strongly
support this notion. In 19 out of 20 surveys, involving more than 7,000 people, respon-
dents indicated that they preferred to be toured by “fitness professionals,” rather than
by “club managers,” by a margin of more than two to one!
It may not be easy to turn fitness professionals into sales experts, but clubs should
constantly strive to ensure that their sales associates are knowledgeable about health
and fitness. Remember: enthusiasm is contagious; “title” and “appearance” count; and
passion sells.
Who would you prefer to give you a tour of the club?
Fitness Trainer
46%
Member of Sales Team
11%
Prefer to Browse on Own
14%
No Difference
27%
No response
2%
x
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Verbal mastery communicates value:
One of the most productive ways to engage prospects and involve new
Rank the value of receiving the
members is to offer free introductory instruction. If, however, a club
following health and fitness services:
wants to make sure that its new clients “value” its personal-training
(PT) program and “show up” for the free sessions, it’s important to
use the right words and phrases. Minor details, such as the language
Service
Highest
employed, often have a major impact.
Value
Our research has shown, for instance, that using the term “compli-
Complimentary PT Session 1
mentary personal training session” generates the greatest number of
positive responses and the highest show rate for new members. Our
Complimentary Assessment 2
2009 surveys, involving more than 6,000 respondents, suggest that
allocating a “credit” to the new member, and attaching a dollar figure Complimentary Orientation
3
to the free service, is the most rewarding approach.
Complimentary Goal-Setting Apt. 4
Brad Denton, the cofounder of
ClubReady.com, an Internet-based
provider of services focusing on sales, productivity, and wellness,
Complimentary Diet
5
& Fitness evaluation
reports: “When we analyzed new-member PT sales consultations
across many clubs, we found an approximate 25% increase in the
Introductory Group
6
consult show rates when a club automatically offered a free session
Fitness Classes
credit as part of the new-member-signup process, and gave that free
credit a monetary value, with an expiration date… This can translate
into a lot of dollars down the road for the PT department, and to a far
more efficient operating system.”
38
Club Business International | SePTeMBer 2009 |
www.ihrsa.org
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