How to Master the Art of Selling Health Club Memberships

Jim Martin

• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781662432217
• eBook ISBN: 9781662432224
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business Development
• Index: Business

The Tour and Twenty Solid Gold Standards

You have just completed your Needs Analysis and you have the precise information as to what your guest is looking for in a club and what their goals are. It’s very important you start your tour off with the right statement. It’s important to briefly explain what you will be doing on the tour and after it’s completed.

Here is my Tour Starter statement:

Before we get started on tour, Bob, I want to thank you for sharing that information with me. Based on the information you gave me, I’ll be able to do a good job focusing on your interests during the tour. My tour generally takes about fifteen minutes. That should give us sufficient time to see the facilities and give me the opportunity to share some of the ways in which you can achieve your fitness goals here, okay?

At the end of the tour, Bob, if you feel the club will meet your needs, I’d be happy to sit down and go over which membership option would be best for you.

Standards on Tour—Your Guarantee for High-Percentage Closing

Although all of our prospective members have different fitness goals, it’s important for all of us in sales to follow some specific, proven tour standards. These standards have been developed successfully over forty years. If your guest’s main interest is group exercise and not the fitness center, you’ll obviously spend more time in the group exercise room and discussing the classes and times than you do on the fitness floor. However, there are specific things that should happen on every tour, regardless of what the prospect’s interests are. Here is a list of standards on tour that I swear by. I’ll guarantee you that your closing rate will drastically increase if you hit each one of these standards on every tour.

Touring in “the zone.” The zone is an awesome place to be! You’ve been there, you’re on tour, and everything is going right for you. Happy members acknowledge you when you walk by. The club has a distinct positive buzz about it. The front “deskies” are upbeat and welcome your guest to the club warmly. All of the employees whom you pass on tour are eager to walk up, introduce themselves to your guest, and welcome them to the club. You’re touring the locker room and you introduce your guest to one of the cleaning staff and explain that this individual will always be here to assist them if they ever need anything in the locker room. You introduce your prospective members to current members and ask them what they like most about the club, and your members rave about the club! The last question you ask your guest before you price present is, “Does this seem like the type of club you’re looking for, Mary?”

This isn’t a dream tour. This type of tour is standard operating procedure when these tour standards are practiced and followed.

Below are the twenty solid gold standards on tour:

1. Greet your guest warmly and make the all-important connection by breaking the ice! Before you leave the front desk area, introduce your guests to the front desk staff on duty. Let your guest know that these friendly folks will be here to greet you each time you come to the club and wish you well when you leave. By the way, your front desk staff should be doing this on their own before you get to the front desk. Are they? Now it’s time to get to know your prospective members before you start selling! Review when to start selling in previous chapter. Slow down and break the ice!
2. Always give your guest(s) a bottle of water before you start your Needs Analysis.
3. Do a complete Needs Analysis before every tour…no shortcuts! It never ceases to amaze me how many sales reps will take off on tour without performing this crucial step. Trying to sell a prospective member without getting to know them and discussing their needs will significantly lower your closing rate. Rushing off to the tour is commonplace in our industry. The sales rep wants to dive in and hope this is an easy sale. I personally guarantee you will see a surge in your percentage of sales if you follow these proven steps.
4. Be sincere and you must maintain a high level of enthusiasm on every tour. Remember, it’s their first tour! To be a real champion, you must convey your passion for the club and the benefits of regular exercise that your guest will receive by purchasing a membership. This is crucial on each and every tour. You also must be very sincere. I know this sounds obvious, but you must be 100 percent sincere in your desire to help this individual(s) make this lifestyle change. Your guest doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. This is the cornerstone of your success. Your guests can instinctively tell very quickly whether you are there to help them or just make a sale. Go the extra mile for everyone you meet. Do things out of the ordinary that show your customer how much you care. This could very well be the most important decision they make in their entire life, don’t forget it!
5. Do a fitness assessment on everyone you tour. This is very important. Trying to sell a membership without a BIA (Biological Impedance Assessment) is like the doctor writing a prescription without performing standard medical procedures to be able to give the patient a diagnosis and a prognosis and prescription. Please read the chapter on “The Fitness Assessment.” Technology has developed very thorough fitness assessment within four minutes. Most sedentary people are in a state of denial as far as their current physical condition. The information is spot-on accurate and can let the individual know exactly what kind of physical condition they are in. It’s your job then to give them a specific plan for them to achieve their fitness goals. I strongly suggest that you consider the Inbody 570. It’s the best and most popular in our industry. It’s amazing and it has greatly increased my sales team’s closing percentage! The Inbody 570 gives your prospect the following information:
   • percentage of body fat
   • hydration level
   • amount of muscle and where it is
   • amount of fat and where it is
   • visceral fat (fat indicator of amount of fat around organs located under the abdomen)
   About 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated. You can impact your PM’s (prospective members) health in a huge and positive way by educating them on hydration. The Inbody 570 gives you, your members, and your personal trainers all the information you need to help them reach their fitness goals in the shortest amount of time. By the way, the majority of people I have assessed over the years using the Inbody assessment are chronically dehydrated and don’t know it. Most members’ workout is to lose fat and to firm muscles. There is only one thing in your body that burns fat—muscle! To firm muscles and burn fat, the body must be properly hydrated. If not, the member can actually lower their results from their workout because they are chronically dehydrated! For your information, you need to drink half of your body weight in ounces. If you weigh two hundred pounds, you need to drink a hundred ounces. That’s a minimum of six sixteen ounces of water bottles. More water needs to be consumed during and after workouts and when alcohol or caffeine is consumed. One way to assure that your hydration level and your members is met daily is to keep your water in sight. Out of sight means out mind.
   By the way, standards on tour number 2: give everyone you tour a bottle of water. Since 75 percent of the people you tour are chronically dehydrated and symptoms are fatigue, irritation, and anxiety, hydrate them and they will enjoy your tour much more!
   The Inbody 750 is also an excellent tool to bring to corporations to do on-site assessments. Using the Inbody 570 for corps and events is a p...

Table of contents

• Daily Sales Success Management Plan
• The All-Important Task of Breaking the Ice and Making the Connection
• The Tour and Twenty Solid Gold Standards
• The All-Important Fitness Assessment
• The Price Presentation
• Referrals
• Introducing CorpFit