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 You know the outdated stock photos and a lowball price.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!
Congratulations, on your decision to get involved in a great industry. I'd love to see if I can be of some assistance. There are a ton of opportunities right now to get into the club biz if you know where to look. In spite of the economy people in the know are capitalizing on the supposed downturn and having stellar years while others are struggling. That being said money has definitely tightened up on the institutional side and individual investment has become pretty scarce too. This is especially true for those embarking on their first venture in the industry. Banks and VC money is becoming less risk tolerant.However, it can get done!
One option would be to find a troubled club and negotiate a takeover in which the transaction is exercised for as little as $1 with the new ownership taking on the existing receivables base, assets, and liabilities. Depending on your financial situation this may be the best route. (I have negotiated several of these deals in the past and helped turn the club into a huge success.) There are still some more traditional options out there but in order to do a project from the ground up I would recommend working with a professional who understands all the intricacies of this industry from financing, lease negotiations, location feasibility study, competitive analysis, getting preferred status with vendors, marketing and sales expertise and finally a systematized operational approach.
Please give me a call 404-453-8420 if you'd like to talk more about your project and perhaps I can shed some light on your options.
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!
I never would of thought someone would spend $250 on jeans then balk at a $40/month life-changing fitness program. Oh well, no sense in whining it is what it is. So how do we as club owners/operators ingratiate ourselves to these trend-chasing folks with their priorities all out of whack?
(Fish where the fish are!)
That's right where do people in fancy threads hang out. Try the club! NO not yours I'm talking night clubs, bars, lounges, hip restaurants. You have to get into the lifestyle of our members and while I realize the boomer population is an ever-increasing portion our facilities base let's face it we'll always need to keep in touch with the young crowd. Keep in mind if they are image conscious and spend that much $$$$ on clothes, shoes, and watches then they probably workout or need to (True Religion Jeans dont come in HUSKY). If you become a regular at the locales where they meet up then it is easy to get in front of a steady stream of prospects. While I don't get out to the hot spots much anymore(too old) when I do I'm surprised there is not a gym rep there giving out passes, mingling, hosting contests, doing giveaways and just becoming part of the landscape(Not getting hammered and giving away tons of memberships to every attractive girl in the joint). When I was in sales I used to get half my weekly production from promo activities on the weekend it was about the most fun you could have working!
If your club is not involved in off-site promotions and your staff is mature enough to conduct themselves in a professional manner then not only are you missing a ton of potential members your employees are not having near as much fun as they could while still earning a living.
Have each of your salespeople set up 1 off site bar promotion a week allow them to offer VIP passes , have some shwag to give away, and tie into some event like poker or trivia night by providing winners with a comp short term membership. (ADVANCED TIP)I usually don't expect a ton of leads the first go around remember the secret is to become part of the landscape once patrons are comfortable with your regular presence then it's game on.
