Hey Super Trainers…
Hope you had an awesome Christmas and I hope that you’re ready to bring in 2014 with a BANG.
No my wife is not leaving me BUT (at least I hope not, where else can she find all of this 5’5″ short, white and handsome ;) let me tell you how this relates to your fitness business.
A topic that keeps coming up lately when I talk to many fitness pros is “sales agreements/contracts”
It seems like it’s the “industry standard” to lock people up into long term contracts.
As you all know by now, I like to do my own thing and don’t care about the so called “industry standards” made by people who don’t or operate a real fitness business.
Some fitness pros that I have spoken to lately seem to make “buying” plain old difficult for their prospect by offering a million different programs/price variations and contracts.
This one particular fitness pro that I was talking to literally had 14 different options and variations to his programs.
When I asked him how many clients he has he said “39”.
NO WONDER….
Don’t forget the cardinal rule that “A CONFUSED MIND ALWAYS SAYS NO”
Again, what I am teaching you is TOTALLY opposite of what others GURUS teach you.
In my businesses we have 2 options ONLY.
A month to month options and a one year PIF (paid in full option)
That’s it. BOOM
Many argue that the way I am operating “doesn’t guarantee a reliable, predictable income”
So let me prove to you why my method is way better than the industry standard of so called lock them up into “contracts”
Reason #1: Month to month agreements decreases the barrier of entry for prospects therefore increasing your closing ratio.
People in general are jaded about commitments and contracts. Make it easy for prospects to do business with you.
Make them fall in love you first then hit them up with a paid in full option.
Reason #2: Generally people don’t like the word “contract” or “agreement” NOTE YOU CAN PLAY WITH THE WORDS ALL YOU WANT BUT IT JUST BOILS DOWN TO COMMITMENT TO PAY.
Reason #3: So let me ask you a question? Say I am your client and I don’t want to come anymore. DO YOU REALLY WANT ME IN YOUR GYM? I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU LAST THING I WANT IS TO KEEP SOMEONE HERE THAT DOESN’T WANT TO BE HERE.
If somebody is not feeling you or your gym there might be a deeper issue within your organization that you might want to look into, before trying to lock them up in a “contract”
(By the way you should survey you current clients every month)
Reason #4: Let me ask you another question? Say I am a dissatisfied client and I no longer want to come to your facility (even though I am on contract) so I cancel my credit card.
What are you going to do? Send me to collections? Really? Let’s face it, if they don’t want to come and they don’t want to pay there isn’t a D*** thing you can really do about it.
SO THE ONLY RELIABLE PREDICTABLE INCOME YOU REALLY HAVE IS TO KEEP THEM HAPPY AND SATISFIED. NO CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT IS GOING TO GIVE YOU A “RELIABLE, PREDICTABLE INCOME”
Oh by the way, I don’t know about you BUT I didn’t get in this business to be a collection agency. In our businesses, we don’t do contracts, no collection calls, NOTHING…
Guess what…. Our numbers are SKYROCKETING every month through the roof (because of differentiation, client satisfaction and community NOT contracts)
Reason #5: And this is a big one. I want to be able to get rid of a client if I don’t want them in my facility. Let’s face it…
We all have or have had clients that are energy vampires, clients that just don’t fit into our culture. Last thing I want is to be contractually obligated to service them. Cancer spreads fast and I want to be able to get rid of it before it spreads.
CONCLUSION: The only predictable, reliable monthly income in your fitness business comes from you “core product” NOT your “agreement” or “contracts”
If you want to increase your income focus on your clients experience, company culture and creating a community that’s based on relationships and NOT transactions or contracts.
Look at it this way, you want your wife/husband to stay with you because he/she loves you and wants to stay with you NOT because she is “contractually obligated” to do so.
Wait…
Isn’t divorce rate 51% in America? Hope you have a better “retention” strategy than a “contract” ;)
Sam,
PS – Thursday March 6th, I am hosting a small (7 people ONLY) mastermind at my show case facility in Chino. You DO NOT want to miss this opportunity to see and learn from what I feel like it’s most FUN and profitable model in the entire WORLD. If you’re interested simply reply back to reserve one of the spots.