Health Club Pro

Goalsetting for Health Club Owners!

http://ping.fm/5U64P

Posted via web from Frank Emanuel's Posterous

Nope, but it helps!  Find out more @ http://vmgblog.com/2009/12/18/is-cash-still-king/

Posted via web from Frank Emanuel's Posterous

For more from the HCP make sure you check me out at the Vitality Marketing company blog at www.vmgblog.com


Allow Myself to Introduce……….Myself.?.?

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The last installment was how to get rock solid testimonials. Remember gone are the days where a "these guys are great !!!!" quote will suffice. Bolster up your case. You need pictures, videos, and voice recordings from raving fans you've created which people can access on your site and be made aware of through your literature. So get on it.
The next part of the (how we market our clubs approach) is web presence. I know most of us are not techie types that goes for yours truly. I'm a gym rat so when I don't know how to do something web related I just go to the nearest Battlestar Galactica Convention and ask someone who does. OK J/K these folks help you make money so enough of the wise cracks.
Let's get started if you think having a web page is enough your nuts. I know some clubs that don't even have that so at least you are trying. Unfortunately you are competing with every other yo-yo with a gym and GoDaddy account. Over the next couple posts we'll break down the strategy of the most effective type of site, how to set it up, how to differentiate it from the pack and why you must convert your old static site now or disappear from the web cause you are wasting money. We'll also talk about how to get noticed by the search engines which important if you want to get noticed by people looking for your site. Guess what while you are working on yours I'm going to take some of my own medicine and apply some of the same changes to my sites. So the look and feel of this site may have a metamorphosis right under your nose.

1. The best type of sites to get people excited about you are, you guessed it, blogs.
2. Go Set up a blog at blogger or wordpad it's free.
3. Register your domain at aplus.net or godaddy.com ex use your club name and town for ex http://www.worldgymatlanta.com/
4. Point your new blog to this address it just looks better.

Congrats! , You have completed the most important steps next time we'll get deeper into set up and content. I'll also share why the blog is a better way to get noticed than a regular generic general info type site with club hours, aerobics schedule, pics of your club with the address. Go get set up!

Testimonials That Will Convert Even The Biggest Skeptics Into Trusting, “Ready-To-Buy” Customers!!!

As promised I am going to deliver something that will change the way we market our clubs in today's new economy. The first big step will be our online approach but I have finish a little research still to deliver the straight dope. Google is flipping the script for many of us and the rules are changing Stay tuned........... Next week I will launch into our no holds barred recession busting health club marketing attack.

In the meantime!

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes made with Lard, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY?
Because we were always outside playing...that's why!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.. No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were OKAY.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem
We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.


Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.
Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. What can kids today do besides push buttons.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.


Kind of makes you want to turn off the computer and go run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?

I admit it I didn't work too hard this weekend. My son's football team had their first game, the NFL cranked up, and NCAA football is in full swing. I promise I'll be more focused from now own but I needed some me time.

I did want to have at least one useful tidbit for you today so while I was browsing around looking for SOMETHING to brush up on my marketing skills I stumbled onto this nugget. ENJOY!

The old funny story about marketing, PR, etc. :)By YaNi

You’re a man and you see a gorgeous woman at a party. You go up to her and say, “I’m fantastic in bed,”That’s Direct Marketing

You’re at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous woman. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says,”He’s fantastic in bed”That’s Advertising

You see a gorgeous woman at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day you call and say, “Hi, I’m fantastic in bed,”That’s Telemarketing

You’re at a party and see a gorgeous woman. You get up and straighten your tie. You walk up to her and pour her a drink and then say, “By the way, I’m fantastic in bed,”That’s PR

You’re at a party and see a gorgeous woman. She walks up to you and says, “I hear you’re fantastic in bed,”That’s Brand Recognition

You’re at a party and see a gorgeous woman. You talk her into going home with your friend. That’s a Sales Rep

Your friend can’t satisfy her so he calls you. That’s Tech Support

You’re on your way to a party when you realize that there could be gorgeous women in all these houses you’re passing. So you climb onto the roof of one situated toward the center and shout at the top of your lungs, “I’m fantastic in bed!”That’s Junk Mail

http://isell.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/the-old-funny-story-about-marketing-pr-etc/

1. Guest passes


2. Flyer's


3. Doughnut Box


4. Bottled Water


5. Take One


6. Newsletters


7. Banners


8. Bandit Signs


9. Crazy Inflatable Characters on the roof


10. Sign Flipper


11. Wrapped Car


12. Live Remote Crash


13. Open a phone book and call


14. Healthy Recommendations sponsorship at Restaurant


15. Pizza Box Sticky Note


16. Door hangers at the cleaners


17. Car wash


18. Hold A Bridal Boot Camp


19. Testimonials


20. New Member Packets


21. Perks Program


22. CD/DVD Tour


23. Trainers Client List


24. Invite a Friend


25. Give aways


26. Internal Posters


27. Open House


28. Business of the Week


29. Corporate Lunch


30. Club Bucks


31. Thank You Cards


32. Birthday Cards


33. Blog (Not for the faint of heart)


34. You Tube Tours


35. Website


36. Travel Certificate


37. Inet Radio Show


38. Weight loss Seminar


39. Point of sale Referrals


40. Chotski Giveaway for referrals


41. Referral contest


42. Event Calender


43. Group X Schedule


44. Scratch offs


45. Bar Promo


46. Race day Stretch


47. Health Fair


48. Blood Drive


49. Renewal List


50. Google Profile


51. My Space Page


52. Chamber Membership
    

There are a ton of ideas out there that can be used even on shoestring budgets. If you have any questions about how to implement any of these ideas or the ton of others I have tried please email me a healthclubpro@gmail.com

Hope you have been enjoying your summer. Just wanted to write a quick note saying I am sorry that I haven't written much.

WHY?

Well I don't need to tell you their is a recession going on. Things have gotten a ugly - quickly for a lot of good people.
But for the last 4 months I have been burning the midnight oil looking for opportunities.

TURN LEMONS INTO LEMONADE !
During every recession and even depression there are those who were once successful - now at the bottom of the heap.
AND
Those who are smart enough to find opportunities that didn't exist before and turn it into lemonade ( piles of dinero)

THE GOOD NEWS is .....
I have found 3 or 4 of these opportunities and I will be sharing them with you over the next few months.
These aren't stratagies that "SHOULD" or "COULD" work. They are instead things that ARE working now.

I have invested thousands of dollars traveling the country meeting with these "under the radar" club owners personally to make sure they are the real deal. NO - BS here,
That's why I haven't been able to write more often--- Sorry

In fact I am involved in them personally and now I'll spill the beans to you as a loyal Health Club Pro Follower so you can get the results these folks to.

If nothing else- you should know about these programs and I am dedicated to bringing them to you!

I do a lot of reading (makes me feel smarter than I really am) and I stumbled upon an interesting article those of us who sell memberships, manage staff or do any people-centric work should be aware of but experience tells me most are not.

In the past I've been turned on to all kinds of tips , tricks, and tactics by the guru's to get the deal, some are great and used frequently some are crap and should be left down in the dungeon from wince they came. But none are effective without the presence of one key factor......

Conversation Control!

A sale, by definition is transfer of emotion. So therefore, we must put ourselves in the best position for the exchange.

In all advisory work many words are exchanged (especially getting someone to prioritize a healthy lifestyle). It is therefore vital to have skills in managing conversations. Such skills can be called conversation control.

This does not mean manipulating other people’s natural conversation although it does imply giving it gentle pushes in particular directions from time to time.

The best way to be effective is to understand what you say and how you say it so you can influence others through your own example.

The essence of conversation control is your ability to manage your own conversation. This is not about overcoming objections or asking qualifying questions and uncovering hot buttons. What we are talking about is the ability to guide the conversation so you can do all of those things effectively.

Here is what you are trying to control.


when to be problem centered or solution centered

when to converge or diverge

when to emphasize facts or feelings

when to speed up or slow down conversations

how to identify cues and clues

how to summarize and move conversation forward

how to recognize, understand and appreciate, but assert your views

how to move from the past to the present to the future

how to manage win/lose aspects of conversations


In all of the various conversation dynamics the most important thing is to remember what the client says about him or herself. That is the key to raising energy levels; openness to your ideas and that is the key to action.

In giving advice, seek to help, not please your friend. ~Solon

Some excerpts from Source : Conversation Control Margerison C J (1988)

Because they are better than ours.....

I bet you've seen the stratagies 80% the clubs out there use to draw prospects in. You know the outdated stock photos and a lowball price. I was about tired of this junk when Jane rocked some sweet legwarmers back in the day.


So what's a smart club owner to do?

Why not borrow from other industries like I do especcially the super effective direct response pros. All direct response folks use these various techniques and get results. Some we have borrowed with success while other we have all but ignored. Here's some ideas!

I) All Marketing:

Irresistible Offer
No marketing campaign to acquire new customers will perform well without a great offer.


Classic Examples:
Free Bonus Gift (i.e. McDonald's toy with Happy Meal, Cracker Jack prize, smoothie)
Money-Back-Plus Guarantee (more than money-back)
Pay Later, Pay Over Time
Get entered to win valuable prize just for stopping by ( iPod, vacation, etc)
Bring a friend, and your Enrollment is free.


Benefits-Make a list of all the key benefits of your club to the user
Highlight the biggest benefit and make a big promise (not a preposterous promise)
But mention all benefits somewhere in the ad.
Emphasize an important "hidden benefit" (i.e a “hidden benefit” of weight loss can cut down on health care costs.)

Proof
Include testimonials from ecstatic members.
Testimonials should be about the difference your club made in the lives of real people – your members.

Headlines and Sub-Heads:
Create intrigue to catch attention of "skimmers."

Photos
People want to see what they are getting.

Stunts, Events and "Happenings":
Example: GoDaddy.com Super Bowl ads are stunts.
Free food, (Free food packs a club).
Free seminar (Nutrition Info is always welcomed)

Call-to-Action:
Every marketing message should have a “call-to-action.” In other words, tell your reader/listener exactly what to do with clear instructions. “Call 1-800-XYZX” is a “call-to-action”
Make your “call-to-action” stand out. Set it a apart in a box. Make it easy to find. People want to know exactly what to do. Once they decide they want something, they want to know how to get it.

II) Direct Mail:
Unusual Packaging
Black plastic carrier
$1 bill showing through window
FedEx, USPS Priority
Big envelopes usually pull better than standard #10 -- often 100% better
Small envelopes (Monarch size) look more personal that #10s
Personalized Package to look like wedding or party invitation
Closed-face carrier to look like personal letter from friend
Hand-address in blue ink (computers can imitated hand-addressing)
First Class postage (real stamps, not meter)

Scannability:
Make your letters and ads scannable, easy on the eye.
Your headline, subheads and photos help
Keep paragraphs short – one sentence, even one word sometimes.
Underline key phrases (not entire sentences, just fragments)
Use bullets when listing items.
No one wants to be greeted with a big block of dense text
Handwritten notes in margins can be a nice touch.

III) Internet Marketing:
Add audio and video to your site.
Incorporate many of the above strategies.

IV) Traditional Advertising:
Make print ads look like articles, this alone can boost response to your ads 500%
Use mass-market advertising primarily for lead generation (not selling).
Offer something of value free to get people to respond.
Make sure your free gift is valuable and exactly in line with what we sell ......Health & Fitness
Add those who request your free offer to your list of hot leads so you can follow up with your "prospect and customer cultivation program."

If you have a ton of prospects you can sell a lot of members.

Happy Marketing!

Using services like Linked in ,My Space, and Facebook or the trillion other sites can be very rewarding But, they can also rob you of valuable time. Whether these sites are helping or hurting you is sometimes hard to quantify. One thing is for sure if you are not making connections that turn into some type of revenue you should probably look very closely at how much time you spend playing on them. I think some folks just get off on how many friends or contacts they stockpile but have never received any value from those relationships. I encourage everyone to use tools that increase productivity and all of these types of sites can be used as such however you must not be an observer you have to jump in and leverage those networks. That's the whole reason most people get started but following through is the problem.My best advice would be to ask everyone you connect with how (SPECIFICALLY ) they can help you and how you can help them, then do whatever you can to make it happen. If you are solving problems for others they are more inclined to assist you. Once you have helped others watch the true power of these tools come to light.By the way if you need something let's connect and see how I can help!

As part of our National Membership Initiative…

Vitality Marketing Group has selected several health clubs across the country as ideal candidates to participate in our “Recession Busting” ZERO COST New Membership Program

What exactly does that mean? The Recession has affected us all. However, it's the clubs who are aggressively marketing right now that are getting amazing results. But how do you market your club if sales are down and money is tight?

That’s where we come in…We can help you generate more members at your health club. For years Vitality Marketing Group has helped clubs across North America boost membership, increase supplemental revenue and develop more systematized business models. Our campaign and consulting services are some of the most sought after programs in the industry. Here are just a few examples of our results in 2009 alone.

Over 400 new memberships in 6 weeks in Massachusetts!

$17,000 in membership sales in 1 DAY in Alabama!

$48,000 in new membership sales in 1 WEEK!

All of these results were achieved at ABSOLUTELY ZERO COST to our clients. We are so confident in our membership campaign services that WE PAY for your marketing, train your staff, and bring HUNDREDS of new members to your facility at NO COST and NO RISK to you!
Hurry, As of the Printing of This Letter, We have only 4 spaces available.

Many are skeptical at first, we understand. Please visit http://www.gymmarketing.com/ to learn more about us and to download our Free Gift to you. Our 130 page book “Guerrilla Marketing for Health Clubs”. Do your research on us, and when you are confident we are the REAL deal…

Fill out your Club Profile at http://www.gymmarketing.com/ or call us at
1-800-583-1594 to learn more about this amazing program
and find out if it’s right for you and Your Health Club!

WHO CARES!!! When it comes to marketing.
Color plays a pivotal role in a website's impact, and as such must becarefully considered. This is especially crucial when the site inquestion is used for business/professional purposes. Before delving into the specifics of color selection for your gym's websites, here are a few general rules for color usage in websites:- Don't use yellow for web page backgrounds - it causes eyestrain- Avoid black backgrounds - these essentially limit text color choice to white and yellow, which can look garish and hard on the eyes against black- If in doubt, use black text on white background - while not very original, this color combination ensures optimal readability. In any case, choose a text color that constrasts with your background; this is usually best achieved with dark text on a light background.- Choose from the 216 "browser-safe" colors, codes for which can be found at <>. If you stray outside these standard colors, your website colors may be distorted on some users'systems.With that quick primer behind us, let's talk business websites.To lend a professional, organic appearance to your website, your best bet is to choose a simple palette of a few matching colors. AdvancedMedia Productions suggests limiting yourself to three colors, andusing these colors strategically to group related objects or indicaterelationships between objects or segments of the page(http://www.boston-website-design.com/web-design-strategy.html). TheBuildStar Business Builder's Network(http://www.ibuildstar.com/colors.htm) has a similar philosophy,urging the business website designer to "create an identity through all your marketing and products with one or two colors you use over and over. This is a very basic and effective way to tie all your stuff together in the minds of customers."If you're not good at color coordinating, it's a good idea to consult a color wheel such as that found at http://www.visibone.com/colorlab. Complementary colors (that is, those found directly across fromeach other on the color wheel - e.g. red and green) are safe choices,as are neighboring shades. Which of these you choose, however, depends on what mood you choose to evoke - the contrast of complementary colors like orange and blue suggests excitement, while neighboring colors like green and blue suggest unity and harmony.According to one website, using different shades of the same color,called the monolithic approach, is the superior choice for professional website color schemes. The writer asserts that "single colors or Monoliths work best for business sites because of their more subtle suggestion," but cautions that this approach can be boring if overdone and may require "adding a contrasting black [to make] thecolor combo monochromatic and more interesting."(http://createafreewebsite.net/website_workshop/choosing_colors.html). But how do you choose the best starting color to work from? An important consideration in choosing the foundation color for your website is the emotional association it typically carries. While these associations can vary somewhat from culture to culture, they generally hold true for the majority of people. Here's a quick snapshot:Red: Daring, persuasive. Also hard on the eyes. Red is especiallyeffective in highlighting key text on black and white sites, and also works to liven up browns and tans.Blue: Suggests quality, trustworthiness, success, seriousness,calmness. A common choice for sales pages. In "What is the color ofyour website?", Andrew Lapointe suggests highlighting phrases like"Our history" or "Our mission statement" in blue(http://www.dotfactor.com/artman/publish/marketing_31.shtml). Lapointealso suggests avoiding purple, which connotes uncertainty andambiguity, and only using yellow to highlight key words and phrases.Pam Renovato, in "The Psychology of Color and Internet Marketing"(http://www.webmasterstop.com/articles/choose-website-colors.shtml),has some interesting comments on the use of grays and browns:"They suggest weight, or something heavy. This would provide yourvisitors with a feeling of stableness and strength. Emotions like thiswill help your visitors to associate your site with solidity andconfidence. Other colors such as burgundy, oyster, beige, blues willalso provide a feeling of solidity."Another important factor is the age of the target audience. Neutraltones work best with sites designed for an older audience, the targetdemographic for many business websites. You'll obviously also want toselect shades appropriate to your business, if any - as Ralph Hilliard points out in "How to choose your web site colors"(http://www.prowebsitemanagement.com/articles/websitecolors.html), a web designer who creates a black and green website for the Red Crosswill be out of business quickly. Hillard further stresses theimportance of color selection in marketing:"The BEST color for selling is the color that captures your primary audience emotionally," he posits. "If my audience is new mothers andI'm selling baby clothes, I guarantee you I can sell more clothes withsoft pinks, blues and purples than I could using bright reds, greensor black."When it comes down to it, choosing a professional website color schemeis as simple as the common sense guideline provided at the 1stsitefreeDesign tutorial (http://www.1stsitefree.com/design_colors.htm): "Use colors that compliment your subject matter and are relatively pleasing to the eye."It seems, then, that classic, rich, conservative, "serious" colors like blues, browns, burgundies and grays are your best bets for business websites.On a final note, however, there's always an exception that breaks allthe rules; according to "Website Colors That Sell" at the BuildStarBusiness Builder's Network (http://www.ibuildstar.com/colors.htm),"one study showed that the color combination with the most powerfulpsychological effect was yellow title, white text, on a dark blue background."Here's a final link for you:Cobalt Multimedia - Choosing colors for your website<>