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What Mentors Talk About

October 12, 2017 Vision
I spent the last 72 hours with most of the senior mentors at TwoBrain. It was the first time any had visited the TwoBrain Workshop. And the first time several had met in person. Despite growing from zero to 350 mentoring clients in just over 18 months, we’d never had our own private Summit. I didn’t sleep for two nights before they got there. These are some of the most successful gym owners in the world–and, far and away, the best mentors in the fitness business. They’re friends, and we often lean on each other. The struggles of our clients weigh heavily on each of us (I’ve cried with Ken many times, and celebrated with Dani almost every week) and that has forged a very strong bond. All of that brainpower in the Workshop at once, and I could have pointed the conversation in any direction. So what did we talk about? We talked about OUR process, and YOUR opportunities. First, our process: over 15 hours spent in front of a whiteboard, making sure we’re giving gym owners the best advice in the most actionable way. Now, we’re busy. We don’t have to fly all over North America to sit on my couch for a weekend. None of us is asking, “How do we get more clients?” or “how do we make more money?” because that’s not our goal. Instead, we spent thousands of dollars and time away from our families to figure out how to help gym owners MORE. These discussions will result in upgrades that are mostly invisible. They’ll be expensive. And our clients probably won’t know about them. But it will make our mentoring practice better for THEM, and that’s why we do it. Codifying my gym’s processes saved it. Not a marketing strategy; not a sales pitch; not a Facebook ad. Whenever a business wants to reach the next level–whether that level is earning the first ...
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The Heart and the Brain

October 11, 2017 Selling Gym Memberships
A solid business runs on two things: systems and relationships. Think of these two pieces as the brain and the heart of your business. In order for a business to succeed it needs a brain (systems) to direct decision-making and avoid chaos. But it also needs a heart (relationships) to keep the blood (revenue) pumping. If a business has neither, it usually leads to an overworked owner, constantly looking for new customers while retaining none. Without a system in place, he or she is prone to making poor decision-making. If a business just has a heart, it will struggle to grow, eventually imploding due to angry customers and a dried-up bank account. If a business has only a brain, it will result in poor retention and an owner who can never leave the gym, lest it fall apart. But with BOTH, we have a powerful business that can weather all obstacles. We have systems in place to keep things running smoothly no matter who is in charge, and we have relationships to promote retention and organic growth. A brain and a heart combined develop a healthy, un-killable business and create better lifestyles for owner, staff and clients. So what’s the trick? Build your systems ASAP and continue to work on them indefinitely. Ensure that your staff can easily access and search your staff handbook to avoid any issues. Create a community by genuinely caring for your members AND staff. Try to meet with one staff member per day to talk about their growth and ambitions. What does their perfect day look like? Where do they see themselves in one, three or five years? How can you help get them there? Apply the 90-second rule to your coaches. Make sure they are spending time with each member, during every class. Use campfiring to build relationships after class.  During cool down, talk to your members, learn about them and help them. Offer ...
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Episode 91: The Mentor Hot Seat, Volume 1

October 10, 2017 Gym Operations Podcast
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Chris Cooper in front of illustrations of start-up icons

Why I'm Headed To CrossFit HQ

October 9, 2017 Gym Operations
It’s no secret that I worked on the CrossFit HQ Media team for years. I’m still an irregular contributor to the Journal on business-related ideas. My relationship with the Journal, the Hope team and Greg Glassman himself is too long for one letter, but here are the highlights, and how the conversation benefits you: In 2013, after serving as Regional Media Director (and helping with the CrossFit Community Page), Greg called my gym to ask if I’d meet him in Seattle. Of course, I flew out. After a long night at the Four Seasons, I met some of his friends for coffee at the original Starbucks. Sevan Metossian, Jimi Letchford, and Andy Stumpf were there for coffee, and they asked what kind of business advice I’d been giving gyms. Many readers will know that I was mentoring gyms for a website company at the time. The HQ staff asked what I was telling other gym owners–they were nervous, and rightly so. Other “consultants” had steered the community wrong before, in my opinion. I shared my views on mentors vs. consultants. They supported me (as they always do), but made it clear they couldn’t overtly endorse anyone as a CrossFit business expert. Late for my flight, I walked back to the hotel; made a handshake deal with Greg in the parking lot (my only ‘ask’ was for the chris@crossfit.com email address, which I still have) and flew home. The next big conversation about business came at the 2014 Games. I flew out to Carson hoping to meet with Jeff Glassman about my CrossFit Brain project. That, too, was supported by HQ (I was sent to chess matches and memory contests; and wrote several articles that were unpublished as the “big soda” campaign began to take shape.) But the trip was worthwhile because the conversation turned back to business–my true passion. During a long night in the bar at the Hilton with ...
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What Is "Community"?

October 4, 2017 Member Retention
What is a community? What is a culture? Can you define them in one paragraph? How about one word? Chances are, like most business owners, you define community either with a collection of ideas or with the word itself. Neither are acceptable. Put yourself in the shoes of a prospective client. You are looking for a way to lose weight and get fit. You stumble across a gym on Google and want to learn more about it. So you go to the gym’s website and the first thing you see is a picture of some sweaty person with a pain face, the word “community” emblazoned at the top. Confused? I’d be surprised if you weren’t. This is what we do to our prospects every day. We shove the idea of community in their faces without defining it. So what is community? A community is relationships—a collection of relationships. A community is made of people who build each other up because they care about each other. And because they care about each other—and they know that you and your coaches care, too—people in your community stick around. So how do we build community? You must first be genuine and authentic: “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care,” or so goes the saying attributed to former President Theodore Roosevelt. By showing, through action, that you genuinely care about your people and their results, you build strong relationships. What about your staff? Your staff should be a genuine extension of you, and therefore just as authentic and caring. If they are not, your community falls apart. If they don’t take the time to work with a client in class, run a goal-setting session, reach out to a missing member, show up to a social event or comment on a Bright Spot Friday post, your community will fall apart. Where do we go from here? Instead of throwing ...
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Episode 90: Who Is Your Audience?

October 2, 2017 Gym Marketing Podcast
 
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