If you own a gym, you must sell.
I know that makes you uncomfortable, and it made me uncomfortable for many years, too.
But here’s the truth: Selling is actually the first act of coaching.
Still, no fitness coach wants to feel pushy or slimy.
Here’s how to sell while maintaining a philosophy of generosity and service.
Help First
Every gym owner wants to help—that’s why we got into this business.
But if you truly want to help somebody, you must first invite them into your service.
The difference between helping and selling comes down to one word: intent.
- If I want to help you get what you want, then I’m not selling.
- If I’m trying to get only what I want, then I am selling.
Some people believe the Help First plan involves helping for free or helping at a discount or just producing a lot of content. That’s incorrect.
Here’s the actual Help First funnel:
Introduction
The introduction to your service involves providing free seminars, free content, help in online groups and so on. Help First strategies make introductions for you. For example, you go into a client’s workplace and tell her coworkers how to de-stress at their desks. That’s probably a dozen introductions to you. The goal of these introductions is to start conversations.
Conversation
Your intro efforts give you chances to talk to people. But you’re not just chatting to get to know people. Conversations should lead to invitations. That means you can’t just create content or do a free seminar and vanish. That’s like giving a monologue. You must engage each person and find out what they want.
Invitation
The next step is invitation to your service. It should come naturally in the conversation: “Why don’t you come into the gym to talk about this?” or, “Let’s meet at the gym so I can show you our habits plan, OK?” This is an invitation to join a community that will actually help them. When I had that epiphany, I started getting really excited about inviting people into my gym.
The invitation will feel hard the first few times, but invite people anyway. To become more comfortable, remember that you’re not inviting them to a sale and you’re not trying to trick them. You’re really inviting them to a party, and they’re not going to invite themselves. They’re waiting to be invited. So “go first.”
Conversion
You must remember that selling is the first act of coaching. You must coach them to sign up because if they don’t sign up, nothing is going to change in their lives. They have access to all the knowledge they need, and it’s not making a difference. They need a coach.
Honesty in Sales
The No Sweat Intro process is all about honesty. You tell people the truth in free consultations by using the Prescriptive Model: “Here is exactly what you need to do to get what you want.”
You don’t sugarcoat it to make it sound easy, and you don’t decide what they can afford. You don’t put limitations and filters on people. You tell them exactly what they need to do to get the results they want.
Prospective clients expect and deserve honesty. And if you aren’t honest with them, it will feel like a sales pitch.
If you are thinking “they can’t afford it,” it will feel like a sales pitch. If you’re thinking “I should give this teacher 20 percent off,” it will feel like a sales pitch. If you’re desperate and you need the sale badly, it will feel like a sales pitch.
My close rate at my gym is very close to a hundred percent because I don’t feel any pressure to close anybody.
But I do feel a lot of pressure to tell that person the truth because—best case—they sign up for my gym and we help them. Worst case: Somebody in their life has told them the truth.
I-C-I-C
Here’s the recap:
Introduction—Use a Help First marketing strategy to meet more people.
Conversation—Use the intro to start a conversation and ask yourself, “How can I help this person even more?”
Invitation—Invite the person to get more help. Go first. Put yourself out there with confidence.
Conversion—Use the Prescriptive Model and coach them to take the first step on the path to the results they want.
And here’s a secret tip: You should have lots of social proof in your sales office. You want people to see happy clients who are accomplishing their goals.
But you need to see that, too.
Social proof reminds reminds you that your service works. When you’re surrounded by proof that you’ve helped a lot of people, you know you aren’t tricking anybody. You’re not selling them garbage. Your service works, and it’s valuable. That knowledge will boost your confidence in the sales office.
My Invitation
If you don’t yet have a mentor, I want to thank you for reading this and invite you into a conversation with my team. I know the knowledge I deliver here every day is helpful and valuable, but it’s only the first step. Knowledge is nothing without action, and gym owners need coaches to hold them accountable.
Yeah, even after thousands of reps it still feels kind of awkward to invite you into a program that will change your life, but this is me getting over my ego and inviting you into mentorship because I know the program works.
To continue this conversation, you can DM me on social media or book a call with my team here.
