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Episode 42: US Memory Champion Nelson Dellis

August 22, 2016 Podcast Vision
  Nelson (00:00): The US Memory Championships were held recently and for the third time, the winter was Nelson Dellis. SNL (00:05): Oh, nuts. I wanted to win that. New Speaker (00:07): Oh, you competed? SNL (00:08): Competed in what? New Speaker (00:09): The US memory championships. SNL (00:10): Oh, you talking jibberish, Nelson Dellis. New Speaker (00:14): No, that’s the guy who won; I’m Collin Gibbs. SNL (00:15): No, I’m Cecily Strong. New Speaker (00:18): And I’m Collin Gibbs. SNL (00:19): And here are tonight’s top stories. Chris (00:25): My name is Chris Cooper. In late March, 2014, I was in Manhattan for the USA Memory Championships. I was on assignment from CrossFit HQ to write an article for the CrossFit Journal about how exercise helps your brain store and recall memories faster. I figured there was no better place to learn about memory than from the people with the best memories objectively measured in America. I was standing in a very packed lobby waiting to get my press credentials when this guy walks in, and he’s taller than everybody else in the room and immediately everyone turns toward him and starts saying, “Hey Nelson, Nelson Nelson, over here.” He’s a charismatic dude and he’s surrounded by people and he talks to everyone: fans, other competitors, the press. There are people waiting, lining up to talk to this guy. I’m standing on the periphery of a large circle forming around him and I overhear these words: “Are you still doing that CrossFit thing?” Chris (01:26): At that moment, worlds collided. I bought him lunch and he gave me a full hour of his attention in between competitive cognitive events at the highest level. This is the depth of generosity, but the height of wisdom in Nelson is much bigger than the mountains he’s climbed. We’re going to be talking about Everest. We’re going to be talking about his upcoming ...
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How To Make More Money

August 21, 2016 Selling Gym Memberships
My friend, you and I are in the problem-solving business. Solving a problem has two parts: 1. Knowledge2. Action. As I review mid-year data for Two-Brain gyms and those who signed for a free call, certain correlations pop out. This essay is about one of those small things that make a huge difference. First, selling “knowledge.” Universities are in trouble. Most will never go broke, because their revenues come from endowments instead of enrollments. Newspapers ARE going broke. The internet is replacing both. Information has never been cheaper. Heck, you can go on CrossFit.com and get a free workout and thousands of videos for free every day. You can read about Paleo and the Zone. And there are thousands of other websites doing the same thing on a smaller scale. So why aren’t people losing weight and getting strong? I sell about 100 copies of Two-Brain Business, Help First and Two-Brain Business 2.0 every month. And every few months, someone emails me to say, “I did this one thing in Chapter 12 of your book, and made $5000 from it.” The knowledge in that book is everything that you need to fix and run a gym. Seriously. At the same time, there are over 1,000 free blog posts out there with my name on them. And others are doing the same on a smaller scale. So why aren’t gym owners living the same lifestyle I am? Because knowledge is cheap. You can sell your knowledge all day long: tell people what to do, where to stand, how to tuck their thumbs under their forefingers. But others can do that, too. For less. Sorry. If you’re selling only knowledge, you’re one-dimensional. You’re only solving a fraction of the problem. And you’ll always be fighting the lower-priced option, high turnover and boredom. You can’t command a high price because you’re not solving the whole problem. Take it from the guy who makes a ...
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Never Enough?

August 18, 2016 Personal Development
By Jay Williams, Two-Brain Mentor Do you sometimes feel like it’s never enough? Never enough equipment, never enough members. People aren’t happy enough, your systems aren’t tight enough… The coaches aren’t good enough… Your gym isn’t big enough. You look at social media, and everyone is posting their highlights and you just feel like yours simply don’t measure up. I feel that way often… The truth is, we all struggle. We are all trying to measure up to the ideal we see. A perfect gym full of members who can’t wait to pay you tons of money, cause no drama, and listen intently during your classes. If it were that easy, everyone would do it. So how do you deal with these struggles? The same way you tell your members to when they feel like they aren’t measuring up. “Why is my deadlift so weak?” “Why is that girl beating me on the oly lifts?” “Why can’t I finish Fran under the cutoff?” And what do you tell them? Focus on steady progress and track your numbers! That’s the key… Whenever I get depressed, I get logical…what do the numbers say? If you base your business on how you feel, it’s going to change every day based on how the wind blows. Your favorite member moves or leaves, you’re going to be depressed that day and the business will suck. A person signs up for a big PT package? You’re going to be happy that day and the business will be awesome. But if you focus on the numbers you can avoid the manic depressive nature of the business. It’s simple, is your average revenue per member going up or holding steady? Are your members sticking around? Did your revenue go up? Yes? Great! Keep doing what you’re doing and focus on getting a few more people in the door. Are they going in the wrong direction? make some changes. ...
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Episode 41: Bob Burg of "The Go-Giver"

August 15, 2016 Gym Marketing Podcast
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Consultants and Mentors

August 13, 2016 Member Retention
There are two parts to every decision. The first side is the logical part: What’s the right thing to do? Using historical data, math and surveys, we can forecast the outcome of the decision. We can account for pros and cons. We can measure the best possible outcome and the worst-case scenario. The second side is the emotional part. This is usually what separates good decisions from ACTION. We try to guess how others will respond; we project our feelings onto them (also our wallets); we analyze and freeze up. The first side, the logical part, is handled in the left hemisphere of your brain. We can make good decisions and KNOW they’re absolutely the right thing to do. This is what consultants are for: to show you the “right answer.” BUT the second side, the emotional part, is far more powerful. This is why we get paralyzed. What stops action is fear, misplaced empathy, ego and — well, fear again. Whenever a gym owner asks the question, “Should I raise rates?” in a public forum, they probably already know the answer: yes, they should. They probably have a great reason to do so: they have 70 members, maybe, and they’re still not taking a paycheck. They deserve to be paid; their kids need new shoes. But they hesitate. They ask for opinion. They analyze and overanalyze. They wait for someone to say, “Just pursue excellence, and everything will be okay.” They settle for faith because acting on knowledge is just too hard. Here’s the difference between a “consultant” and a “mentor”: a consultant will show you the “right answer.” A mentor will help you reach it. A consultant says, “get your staff on contracts.” A mentor says, “Break down all the roles and tasks in your business. Here’s a template to help. I’ll call you on Tuesday; make sure you’re done. Call if you need help.” As I near ...
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A Quick and Easy Way To Get Client Testimonials

August 10, 2016 Gym Marketing
By Jay Williams, Two-Brain Mentor Client testimonials are the lifeblood of any good marketing plan. You can have the best website, best explanations, and best sales pitch… But if clients don’t see other people like them getting the results they want, they will remain skeptical. Having solid testimonials from real people will set you apart from every other gym in your area. You won’t just be talking about results, you’ll be demonstrating them. But how do you generate testimonials without having to stage, shoot, and edit a video, send a survey, or feel like you’re constantly hammering people for them? The irony is that you’re probably getting testimonials every day at your gym. Every time you check in with a client to find out how it’s going, or a coach asks “how did the class go” or you get a new PR for your board, there is potential for a testimonial. Every time you get feedback, ask a simple follow up question: “Would you be ok if I use that feedback as a testimonial for our website?” If they say “yes” you’re in! You can take a version of that quote and put it on your site. Here’s an example from my site…I just took a simple quote someone dropped in casual conversation after class, found a pic of them, and put it up: Try it! After the next class you coach or observe, ask everyone “How was it?” and if any answer stands out, follow it up by asking: “Can I use that as a quote for our site?” Adding these simple lines to your site, a blog post, does three things. 1) it gives you credibility beyond what YOU say 2) It highlights the member giving you the quote, which helps keep them engaged and interested 3) Most importantly, it will help you get more clients like the ones you already have.  
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