Gym owners: You’ve got a bangin’ fitness facility, located on the perfect piece of property, filled with only the best of the best equipment and most dedicated employees. But, that means absolutely nothing if you can’t find people who want to sign with your gym. Keep reading to learn 5 ways you can turn prospective members into loyal customers with this “how to sell gym memberships” guide.
Make a Lasting First Impression
You’ve heard it before; First impressions are everything. It’s quite possible the person who walks through the door has tried the gym scene before and it didn’t last. Any hint of pushiness or aggression could send them running in the other direction.
Always be kind, encouraging and patient. If you come off like you’re only interested in membership sales, you could quite possibly confirm the doubts or fears they had before they entered.
Be genuine. Get to know them. Let them ask their questions. When they’re done, ask them their “why” and their goals. Afterward, you will be able to take them on a personalised tour of your place. You can point out classes, instructors, and equipment you feel would be a good match for them. They will appreciate your genuine interest in their mission.
It’s important for your staff to do the same. Schedule a monthly training session. In the training session, you can go over best customer service practices and even do role-playing activities. Consider making your sales team different from your walk-in greeters. Let the sales department take the phone calls.
Get on Social Media
Invest in social media advertising, if you can. Or if you’re pretty online savvy, manage it yourself to save some money. Regardless, it’s a good tool to use. In recent years, it has become a great way to increase brand engagement and sales for all kinds of businesses.
Nowadays, everybody is selling something online and people hate being directly sold to. We get it. Especially if you plan on re-sharing things to your personal page for added reach. However, there is a way to show off your brand and entice your audience without being in anyone’s face about it.
All you have to do is keep it real. Post updates with offers, glimpses into classes, and pictures of your employees and members kicking butt and taking names. It won’t take long for others to notice all the fun going on and reach out with their inquiries.
Look for influencers- people who have a large following in the fitness industry. They have the ability to persuade their audience into checking out your space too. Not all influencers are looking for monetary payment. They might be willing to trade services with you; free shoutouts for a free membership. Though, if they are starting out, they may only want experience for their portfolio.
Run Promotions and Special Offers
Sometimes all you need in order to gain exposure is to run promotions and special offers. You know everybody likes those. Everybody likes free too; a little taste test before they agree to commit.
Now, free might not sound quite as exciting when it’s your money or fitness facility. But, when it’s done right, you stand to garner quite a bit of attention which in turn could lead to membership sales.
If you’re new to the neighborhood, and even if you’re not, throw a welcome party. And then? Throw another one. Why not? Host events where you can offer samples of your most liked classes. Do fun workouts and workshops, informational Q&A sessions and even rent out your space to a community cause or local businesses.
Offer a Referral Program
Why should newbies get all the perks? Give your existing customers an incentive to share in the celebration as well. Start a referral program and give every member a certain amount of free passes. That way, they can bring in friends and family to workout with them and crush their goals together. Once their guests sign-up, they get credits or points toward their account.
Take it one step further and extended the offer to your employees. You can make it a monthly giveaway. The employee to get X amount of signs up gets- whatever you decide.
Use Gym Management Software
Use your handy dandy gym management software to notate strong leads and prospective members to follow up with. You could also use it to track your sales. Find out which tactics are working the best.
Don’t have one or know what a scheduling software is? Not a problem. Read our blog called, “What is Gym Management Software?”. Afterward, ask for a free demo on our gym software page.
We hope you learned something new about how to sell gym memberships. Go get some loyal customers. If you did, we’d love to hear from you. Leave us a comment. For more fitness industry related tips, keep an eye out on our page.