Fitness Business School – An Overlooked Fact of Business

Full Transcript

Hey, Pat, Rigsby here. And today I want to talk with you about a business success fact that is pretty
obvious, but often overlooked let’s get started.

Welcome to the fitness business school podcast. The show for fitness business owners who want to grow their income, increase their end impact and improve their lifestyle. Be sure to listen to the end of this episode, because we have a brand new special offer exclusive for listeners. So stay tuned.

As I walk through the idea I wanna talk with you about today, it it’s gonna be painfully obvious, but, um, you’ll be reminded I think of how often we lose sight of this. And really what, what I wanna focus on is the fact that our clients are the ones who sign our paycheck. Now I’m not telling you the, the client is always right or anything like that. It’s just all too often, we get distracted by other things and forget that if we don’t have clients, it doesn’t matter how knowledgeable we are about training.
It doesn’t matter how precise our systems operate. It doesn’t matter. The, the type of equipment we
have or the, the, the location that we’re in. You know, if we don’t get people in the door, then we don’t
have a business. It’s a hobby, it’s, it’s an interest, but it’s not a business. And, you know, we have to
think, yes, our, our business’s interest, we always have to consider them, but we always have to
recognize that, you know, we are continuing the business of acquiring and serving clients profitably, you
know, and, and I think back to my childhood, my dad, um, as I’ve mentioned in any number of other
episodes owned and continues to own an auto repair business, and, you know, my dad’s kind of a gruff
guy that isn’t exactly what you would consider the, uh, you know, the, the ambassador for a business,
right?
And invariably, I would see his, his, uh, kind of visible response, not necessarily what he said when he
answered the phone, but you could see the look on his face when the phone rang is if phone calls
annoyance, because he had work to do, he was busy working on a car, he was busy doing something.
And I always thought that was odd, right? Because I always thought, um, in, in a really simplistic way of
thinking was that when the phone rang, that was potentially somebody willing to pay you. And, you
know, when I got into my own version of the entrepreneurial landscape, I saw it with so many other
people, I’d see it with employees that, you know, they felt like, Hey, my job is what’s on my job
description. I have to train clients. I have to write programs. You know, I, I, I have to do assessments,
these inquiries from people who aren’t yet paying us, um, it’s an annoyance, or if people wanted
something outside of the, the normal kind of daily operations again is kind of an annoyance.
And you know, it, it seems so, so strange when, you know, when I talk about it now, because, you know,
we need to understand who our clients are, what their wants and needs and desires are because, you
know, let’s face it. The people that we work with, the people that we serve have full and busy lives.
They’ve got, you know, in many cases, families, they’ve got kids. They’ve got, you know, occupations
that take up, not only a lot of their time, but a lot of their mental energy. They’ve got relationships with
the other people in their lives, friends, family members, coworkers, they’ve got so many other things on
their plate. And if they’re willing to invite us to be part of their life, we have to honor that. And we have
to respect that. And we have to say, look, you know what? This is a role in their world that we want to
continue to earn.
We want to be able to say, okay, you know what, if this person is gonna cut something out, we are
important enough to them. We’re valuable enough to them that it’s not gonna be us. I know in my
business, that was one of the things that I felt like we, we did well during the early stages of the
pandemic, but it was something we focused on a lot was how do we remain an indispensable part of our
client’s lives? And I think our clients did that too. I think that’s why so many of them, we only had one
client who actually closed, you know, a client who was in our coaching program, who actually closed.
And they were part of a franchise that just didn’t offer them the ability to, to be more, um, integral in
somebody’s life. And there were so many other things that our, our people could do during that time to
stay connected and be valuable and be meaningfully important in clients’ lives.
And, you know, all too often, we, we kind of overlook this. We, we just think, Hey, we’re gonna do our
thing. And our thing’s the important stuff. And they like it, or they don’t. And if they don’t get results, it’s
on them. Or, um, you know, if they’re not coming in, then they’re not serious and they’re not
committed. But the reality is that’s not the way that human beings operate. You know, we have to adapt
to them. We have to consider the things that are going on in their life. The things that are important to
them, if we want to continue to earn their business now, um, you know, some stubborn listeners may
say, well, you know what? I want people who are more committed. And if they’re not willing to do this
and conform the way that we do things, that’s on them. Well, that’s fine, but you’re probably going to go
bankrupt soon.
If that’s the way that you look at things, because ultimately we’re operating in a business landscape
where consumers have direct access to things that they can do online that can watch YouTube videos.
There’s more competition in every marketplace than there’s ever been. And it’s only gonna continue to
increase. So people will have a choice and we have to earn them choosing us each and every day. So if
this has kind of gotten brushed under the rug or lost in the shuffle with you, if you’ve not recognized the
fact that every time the phone rings or an email inquiry comes in, it’s a potential client that can really
benefit from what you have to offer. And, you know, you guys can have a partnership and moving them
towards their goals. And at the same time helping you operate the business you wanna have, if you’re
not looking at it that way, I would encourage you to do a reset and start because, you know, that’s what
we’re in.
We’re in this partnership business, you know, I, it kind of annoys me a little bit when I hear people think about, you know, closing sales and celebrating the fact that they close somebody as if it was the end of a transaction. I’m not against that word. But frankly, when we’re closing that we’re opening something
else, we’re opening this new relationship where we want to keep these people. We earn keeping these
people and we deliver the things that they, you know, the, the results they want through an experience
they enjoy. And if so, that’s, what’s gonna sign our paycheck. That’s, what’s going to give us the
livelihood we want having the impact that we’re trying to have. So again, just wrapping this up common
sense, things that you may just be saying, well, of course they do. But when I go do site visits to facilities,
when I pop in places and look at front desk, people who barely make eye contact or coaches who are
staring at their phone, when I hear phones ring, or see inquiries come into people’s inbox, and it takes
them two or three days to get back to, to the prospect.
I’m like, well, you may say, you know, this, but this isn’t what you do. And if you want to build and retain a great business over time, this has to be at the core of your way of thinking.

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Fitness Business School. Before you go, I have a quick announcement. When I first connect with a fitness business owner they almost always ask me, “How can I get more leads or how can I get more leads and client?”

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