Today, you’re going to pick up your phone and make money.
First, you have to skim through this column.
But if you’re feeling TLDR and don’t care for the reasoning behind my instructions, trust me and take this shortcut right now.
1. Send this text to three members you haven’t seen in a week: “Coming to the gym today?”
2. Send this text to three members you’ve seen recently: “Hey [NAME]! I’ve noticed how hard you’re working in the gym—way to go! What’s your next goal?”
3. Send this text to three departed members: “Do you still want to improve your fitness this year?”
4. Send this text to three people on your lead list: “Hi [NAME]! It’s [COACH] from [GYM]. I haven’t forgotten about you. Want to talk about personal training or nutrition?”
If you aren’t going to send those messages right now, read on the find out why you should.
I get to talk to a lot of successful gym owners and fitness business experts on Two-Brain Radio, and when I hear the same things from a bunch of them, I take note. When a large number of very intelligent, very successful people are doing the exact same thing, you might want to consider doing it, too.
Two-Brain Business takes a scientific, data-based approach with stuff like this: We analyze the actions of successful gym owners, test them and then recommend those actions if they’re proven to work.
In the limited space of this column, I’ll jump over the research and just tell you that the best gym owners in the world are doing the things I’m recommending. If you aren’t, you’re probably missing out.
Retention: Where Have You Been?
John Heringer of Method3 Fitness is just one of many successful entrepreneurs who prioritizes retention of current clients. Every week, he runs a report to find absentees and then calls, emails or texts them. Simple, right? (John’s revenue in August 2021 was $86,000. Listen to him talk about it here.) You don’t even have to run the report. Just do a mental review, pick three members you haven’t seen and fire off texts.
Podiums: You’re a Star!
For years, Chris Cooper has been telling gym owners to make their clients famous and put them on podiums. Your gym might be the only place in the world where they feel special. So take a minute and high-five three people. You’ll give three members a warm fuzzy that will last all day and strengthen your bond. (Want to read more about showing appreciation? Click here and here.)
The 10-Word Message
Just send this thing to departed clients: “Do you still want to improve your fitness this year?” It’s a kind of magical marketing message. Chris Cooper talks more about it at 4:59 here. But if you only have time for one action, skip the podcast and spend your time sending the message.
Follow up With Leads
When it comes to marketing, I’ve heard a relentless drumbeat for years now: Contact your leads quickly and keep trying until you get in touch with them. Without fail, the gyms that sell more get in touch with leads in minutes, not weeks. And they attempt to contact leads many, many times before writing them off. I bet some of your leads could use another quick text. Pick three and start thumb typing. (Want more info? Check out marketing expert Mateo Lopez on Two-Brain Radio; he covers lead-nurture texts at 30:47.)
Take Action
I bet it would take you less than three minutes to send these 12 messages. And some of you will literally make money in those three minutes.
- A disheartened member will perk up and give you a chance to re-engage and prevent a cancellation email.
- A valued member will feel noticed and appreciated—and less likely to cancel a membership or miss a workout.
- A departed member might jump at the chance to reconnect with you and get back to training.
- A lead might see your message and respond, giving you a chance to book a consultation.
At some point today, you’re going to spend three minutes doing something useless—probably checking Facebook or TikTok. Instead, take those three minutes to improve your retention, reacquire departed members and nurture leads.
And when you hit a home run with these tactics, remember Two-Brain has hundreds of others that will help you solve every single problem in your business.
To hear more about those tactics, book a free call here.
