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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 That, too, was supported by HQ (I was sent to chess matches and memory contests; and wrote several articles that were unpublished as the “big soda” campaign began to take shape.)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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How Many "Likes" Do You Need?

September 28, 2017 Gym Marketing
How many “friends” do you need to make a living? What’s your profit margin on “views”? Facebook is a fun toy that really does have practical business applications. For generating interest and communicating with people, it’s the most effective online platform the world has ever seen. But Facebook’s real mission is to keep you on Facebook. It can be a useful business tool…but it can also distract you into “ego traps”: likes, shares and views. Here’s what they mean, and how to avoid the traps.First, a bit on who’s actually paying attention. In the Two-Brain Marketing Course, we teach three stages of audience interest: 1. Informed (very warm, ready to sign up) – they’ve decided to do CrossFit, and are just comparing gyms2. Aware (warm, but not hot) – know they “need to do something” and are actively seeking a solution to their problem (like weight loss)3. Oblivious (cold) – don’t even know they have a problem; aren’t looking for a solution. This is important to understand, because your messages on Facebook reach all of these audiences at once. For example:You post a before/after picture in a blog post about your nutrition challenge.1. Informed: “That’s cool. This gym has nutrition challenges.”2. Aware: “Looks like I can lose weight through nutrition challenges. Add that to my list of options.”3. Oblivious: “Girl in a bikini!”People in each audience might hit “like”, or even share your post, but for far different reasons. The point is that we really have no idea who’s hitting the “like” button. If your picture receives fanfare from 100 people, it’s entirely possible that none of them will become a new client. It would be nice to have an algorithm that says, “If 100 people hit ‘like’, one of them will sign up.” But that’s not true; there’s no linear progression at all. What Really Matters: Conversions A conversion is when someone signs up for your service. With money.A conversion isn’t a “page ...
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How To Punish Your Clients

September 26, 2017 Member Retention
Ashley’s first visit to a CrossFit gym was long overdue.   I’ve known Ashley for a LONG time. She’s the ideal client for a CrossFit gym: interested in trying new things; a high-earning professional; and she has a long history in fitness.   It took me months to get Ashley to try CrossFit. I even drug her to a Regional event to show her how supportive the community can be. So she signed up for a free trial class.   My feelings on “free trial classes” notwithstanding, I thought, “She’ll be hooked right away.”   She wasn’t.   The class started on time, but one client was a few minutes late. The coach stopped the class, and everyone turned to watch the latecomer tie their shoes.   Then the coach said, “Bill is six minutes late. So we’re all going to do sixty burpees while Bill watches us.”   I’m sure that taught Bill a lesson. And it taught Ashley one too: “CrossFit treats you like a preschooler.” She never returned.   Ashley’s case is an extreme example. But every day, I see gym owners asking, “How do you punish clients who are late?”   The answer: you don’t.   We’re all adults here. We have good jobs. We have responsibilities outside the pursuit of fitness, and options outside our gyms.   We don’t need to visit a place where we feel embarrassed to arrive late. Or punished when we forget our shoes once or twice.   Imagine this: you’re a busy professional, and you attend the noon class to reduce stress and clear your head before a crazy afternoon. When class is over, you’re already thinking about your 2pm client meeting. You leave your lifting shoes behind.   The next day, your coach says, “It will cost you 25 burpees to get your shoes back. You can start now.”   I’d leave. But let’s say I didn’t: who, in ...
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Episode 89: It's Simple, with Dave Tate

September 25, 2017 Gym Operations Podcast
 
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