“How long has the light on the answering machine been flashing?”
I said that many times when I was rifling through a junk drawer between classes to find a fresh dry-erase marker at my gym.
Eventually—maybe even a few days later—I’d check the messages.
“Just calling to get some info about joining.”
“I was wondering what kind of classes you offer.”
“Can I talk with someone about the gym?”
As you might imagine, my gym didn’t grow very fast back in 2011.
Our 2024 State of the Industry Survey for gym owners is now live.
You can fill it out here, and if you do so, we’ll send you our definitive report in late fall. (You’ll also get immediate access to a pile of great Two-Brain resources.)
We work the final numbers rigorously and send an independent analyst into the pile before we release our findings to the world, but I’ll give you a sneak peak into some very early, unaudited data from a small group of survey respondents:
Of the first 25 gym owners to complete our survey, 60 percent call leads in 3 hours or less.
That number will change as more responses pour in, and we’ll give you the exact breakdown when we release our report before the end of the year.
But it’s worth noting that I wouldn’t have seen a stat like this at any point in 2020. Elite gym owners might have called leads fast back then, but the majority of us still took our time responding to people who wanted to find out more about our gyms.
That was a mistake in 2020, and it’s a mistake now.
When we analyze funnels created by Two-Brain clients, we look at leads, set rate (how many people book free consultations), show rate (how many bookers actually show up) and close rate (how many people make a purchase).
The gyms who get more appointments than anyone else always respond to leads faster than any other gym owners—immediately or within one hour.
Those gym owners also always have great systems that encourage people who book appointments to show up. And they invest in sales training so they close more often when clients are sitting in their offices.
Data for the Win
All this is a far cry from the flashing light on my answering machine in 2011.
My tip for you today: Respond to the next lead that enters your funnel immediately and see what happens. Keep doing that, and track your set, show and close rates to see if your funnel works better when you respond to leads fast.
I’m confident the data will help you run a better fitness business.
And the Two-Brain team wants you to have even more data so you can grow your business fast in 2024.
To get our 2024 State of the Industry report, take five minutes and fill out our survey here.
And when you get the report in late fall, use it to earn more, serve clients better and create the life you deserve.
