If you want to get people into your program, you need to get them through the door first.
Especially with cold traffic from advertising, up to 50 percent of the people who book free intro consultations at your gym might not show up. Though it’s hard to believe, more and more people book appointments they don’t keep. That’s aggravating, but you can improve your numbers.
In this post, I’m going to tell you how the top gyms in the world get people to show up for their appointments. Your “show rate” is the number of people who book and keep their appointments.
Below are the 10 gyms that had the most clients show up for appointments in December 2022. The No. 1 gym saw 33 of 46 clients who booked appointments—72 percent. The No. 2 gym went 32 for 34—94 percent. The No. 3 gym batted a thousand—31 for 31!
Top Lessons From the Leaders
“Depending on how far out the consult is booked, we’ve structured the automations with additional touch points. Before Kilo, we maybe called once; now it’s like clockwork.”
“We use Kilo and follow up with a call for every lead. There is an SMS that says ‘someone will contact you soon,’ and then I call them to schedule a time for the NSI. Then the day before they come, they get a text reminder.”
“We quickly reach out, within at least a day by phone call. If they don’t answer, we call them again.”
“After they book an NSI, we’re looking to get the NSIs done ASAP. For confirmation, the coach sends a video of themselves, then a text reminder the night before, then another three hours before.”
“Our lead nurture is really strong. We do a good job of making sure they are reminded of the appointment. We send a video via text of what happens when you walk through the door: ‘Here’s the expectations’ and all of that, which impacts the willingness of someone to actually show up for the appointment.”
Here’s what a few other top gym owners had to say about show rate:
“Our show rate has improved with less dependency on automations. In the past quarter, I’ve been sending video messages personally, and these have gotten a higher response and show rate than automated emails did.”
“We have a front desk person who doesn’t sit idle; they own the sales process, calling leads, following up.”
“Texts get read more than email. We increased the use of appt. reminders through text.”
“We ask them a lot of questions to keep the conversation going between when they set their appointment and when they actually show up.”
“We really hold their hand through every step of the process—from booking an appointment to showing up until their first training session.”
“When a client books an appointment with you, it’s not an automatic sale. They’re really just raising their hand and saying, ‘I want help.’ Consider them a warm lead. Take them by the hand, guide them step by step through your door, and then begin the process that will change their life.”
Podcast: “Why Everyone Shows up for Free Intros With Pep Leppers.”
