What does credibility mean? Does it mean, believable, reliable, or trustworthy? The definition probably changes a little depending on who answers; however, the definition on dictionary.com is, the quality of being believable or worthy of trust. Establishing credibility in the fitness industry is one of the most important elements to success. If you are not believed in, your customers won’t trust you and you won’t sell.
When it comes to sales customers think the better the deal and the bigger the promise the less credible it must be. So as fitness entrepreneurs we have to convince them are deals are better and our promise is real. We have to get them to believe in us and the only way to do this is to provide proof.
In this business everyone should have testimonials that include before and after pictures whether it’s just the pictures or video. Every sales page must include these. This is your credibility; your visual proof.
The weight loss business is one of the best examples of marketing with proof. Take for example the National Enquirer. Did you know they sell more papers than the New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times put together? Of course no one admits to reading this gossip paper but the sales numbers don’t lie. Pick one up yourself and take a look at all the weight loss ads. There are probably 10 – 12 pages of offers in every issue.
If you take a look at these ads they have one thing in common; fighting to establish credibility. Advertising is not cheap in the National Enquirer so these ads need to sell therefore the companies perform a lot of research on what works. 66% of the U.S. population is overweight. We rank number 3 on the fat scale. Weight loss sells when there is proof that the product works. The only reason a consumer wouldn’t respond to a weight loss ad is because they don’t believe it.
In our industry we see a lot of overweight people who have already tried to lose weight probably more than once and each time they try something new and fail they lose trust and faith. Once they lose belief it’s hard to get them believing again. So we have to establish credibility and continue to provide continuous proof that what we do really is bigger and better.
If you don’t have visual proof, then get it. Get before and after pictures of a client with a small waist holding up an old pair of pants showing how big his/her waist was when they started your program. I have a picture just like this on my sales page at fitconcepts.com. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. It’s visual proof.
Two other ways to build credibility is expert endorsements from top fitness professionals, doctors, or professors. And don’t forget a powerful guarantee. Your guarantee should state if they don’t lose “x amount” of weight by using your product or within a certain amount of time, then you will give them 100% of their money back, period, no questions asked. This provides trust in you and your service.
Why do you need all this proof? Shouldn’t visual proof be enough? No way! There are many reasons why prospects are hesitant, such as: doubt, fear, uncertainty, procrastination, etc. and each and every one of these traits will keep them from becoming your client. You need to provide them as much proof and credibility as possible so they trust you enough to try.