Don’t Make These 5 Health Club Tour Mistakes
Key Points
- Avoid common health club tour mistakes like poor first impressions, rushing through the process, and failing to ask for the sale to convert more prospects into members.
- Focus on understanding each prospect’s unique goals by asking questions and tailoring the tour to highlight how your club can meet their needs.
- Deliver a professional sales presentation by reviewing membership options, emphasizing benefits, and confidently closing the deal.
Table of Contents
Buying online is commonplace thanks to Amazon, eBay, and other online merchants making the experience safe and smooth for consumers. And, while plenty of fitness clubs have incorporated online sales, being able to give a great tour is still one of the surefire ways to turn a prospect into a member. Unless, of course, you get it wrong.
From greeting to asking for the sale, there are plenty of ways to get it right and make the sale. However, just one misstep can send a very motivated buyer to the next gym on the list.
By not doing the following things, you will see more go from prospect to member after touring your facility.
Not Putting Your Best Foot Forward
They say you never have a second chance to make a first impression. And they are correct.
If you greet the member like you’re having the worst day of your life or are just there to collect a check, they will feel that—and if you have to make up for a lackluster front desk staffer or dirty parking lot, it is even more of a downer.
Assuming Instead of Asking
Jim comes in and weighs 300 pounds, so you jump right to your weight loss script. However, Jim may be there just to get stronger or to rehab an injury, and you have just insulted him.
If you just assume what has brought someone in and do not try to learn what their motivation is by asking questions and listening to their answers, you will never be able to highlight what your fitness club can do for them.
Focusing On Your Club
“We have more free weights than any club.” “We have the best classes ever.” “We have so many treadmills that there is never a wait.” These are all great facts. However, they are facts about commodities.
That kind of selling works for some things, but an emotional buy, such as fitness, takes a different focus. If you have actually gotten to know a bit about the prospect by asking the right questions, you can then sell results and benefits rather than things—things that almost every club they go into will also have.
Rushing
You’ve completed the tour –and hopefully didn’t do the above—and now it is time to talk numbers. You stand by the front desk, pull out a sheet with options, read them off and expect the person to plunk down their credit card.
If they did, you probably got lucky. You’ve done a professional tour. Be sure to do a professional sales presentation. Sit with the person, go over options that you think will fit his or her needs. Recount the benefits and how your club will help reach goals.
Not Closing
Anyone who has seen the movie “Glengarry Glen Ross” knows that coffee is for closers. Yet, too often, be it out of fear or rushing, fitness club sales staff don’t actually get to the close.
The presentation and the tour are not the close. Sure, as a salesperson, you should always be closing (another hat tip to Glengarry Glen Ross) by asking questions along the way.
A simple “does that sound like a class that would be fun?” or “would working with a trainer be helpful to reaching your goals?” as you tour can make the close easier.
However, at the end, you need to ask them to join or else they will just move along to the next gym tour and a fitness salesperson that will.
There you have it. Five simple things to avoid to make your health club tours turn more prospects into members. If you need more help in any of your fitness marketing or sales operations, feel free to reach out to us at www.atwoodconsultinggroup.com to learn how we can help your team close more deals.
Key Takeaways
- You can improve your health club tours by greeting prospects warmly, maintaining a clean and welcoming environment, and showing genuine enthusiasm.
- Remember to ask questions and listen to each prospect’s goals to avoid assumptions and create a personalized experience that resonates with their needs.
- Take your time during the sales presentation to explain membership options, reinforce benefits, and build trust before asking for the sale.
- Always close the tour by confidently inviting the prospect to join, using questions and affirmations throughout the process to make the decision easier.
