Health Club Membership Sales Gone Wrong
So I was relaxing after my work out today, enjoying a shake at the counter of my local gym and watching some football. I noticed a guy and his son in my peripherals talking to the owner about the club and did a little ease dropping. The man was explaining they were in town a few weeks for the holidays and wanted his son to continue his weight lifting regiment. I heard the owner explain the 1 month price was $60 and the man was asking the owner to work with him on the price as they weren’t going to use it for the full month. The gym was loud so much of the conversation was jumbled but from what I understood the gym down the street offered to do it for $30 but the son preferred the hammer strength equipment his club offered. This negotiation; if that’s what you want to call it, painfully dragged on for nearly a HALF an HOUR until finally the man and his son just left in frustration. The owner just spent a half an hour of his time (probably more assuming he gave him a tour) and got nothing for it! That’s ridiculous. These days the health club industry is way too competitive to lose a sale over pride and club owners must change their mindsets. It’s simple; NO ONE WALKS. Post it in the office, tape it to the drawer on the sales desk, repeat it to your sales staff it every morning, put those words on your screen saver on your check in computer; whatever it takes to get the message across. Most importantly practice it yourself as mindsets in health club membership sales come from the top down. Why waste your time finagling over pennies only to end up with nothing? Stop making the sign-up process complicated and get the deal closed. Once a health club membership prospect walks, chances are you will never see them again and if YOU aren’t willing to wheel and deal, the club down the street certainly will be.
Until next week, happy holidays, and I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
United Fitness Marketing - Health Club Consultants specializing in membership sales and marketing.
