The Ugly Truth About Fitness Marketing [Part 4]

Yesterday I talked about the ‘Attract Unit’ as the first step in getting someone to become a client.

Well, the second Unit…the ‘Convert Unit’ is the real marketing engine for my business and it’s also the way you make competition irrelevant.

Once you have someone ‘self-identify’ as being interested in what you offer, the job switches to converting them from interested to ready.

And this is where most business owners drop the ball.

Many business owners don’t follow up at all. If someone doesn’t buy from an ad, the owner writes them off as a tire kicker or as not being serious.

And if they do follow up…it’s usually hounding them with calls and had selling them about the upcoming Challenge.

My approach is different.

I’ve written a daily email for about 13 years.

That’s about 4750 follow up messages.

This approach has worked to convert prospects to coaching clients, created hundreds of franchisees and much more…but it’s not really about the newsletter itself.

Let me explain.

The ‘Convert Unit’ has a few elements and I just use an email newsletter as a way to accomplish some of those elements.

Once someone has indicated an interest, we need to…

Give them the opportunity to move forward if they’re read today. We don’t want to put them off if they are ready to invest in coaching to reach their goals.

Help them understand why we’re the best solution to reach their goals and solve their problems.

Alleviate the fears and concerns they have about committing to work with us.

Keep the opportunity to work together in front of them so that, when they are ready, it’s a seamless next step.
Now I accomplish these things by offering someone the opportunity to get on a call when they first join my newsletter if they have any interest in coaching.

I prefer calls…both because I think it’s silly to sell a relationship-based service without the ‘relationship’ part and because it’s much easier to determine if it’s a fit from both sides through an interactive conversation.

We both need to know that I can help them achieve their goals…and, selfishly, I have to like them well enough to want to spend time with them.

I’m guessing you’re the same, right?

You want client you can help…and that you’ll really enjoy helping.

So, a few people take me up on that call early on…but most don’t.

They’d rather learn more before they get on a call.

Maybe it’s because they’ve been burned in the past with coaches.

Maybe they’re not ready to invest the time or money into coaching right now.

Heck…maybe they’re already working with a coach and want to just do a little research.

Your prospects are exactly the same…they might have had a bad experience with a gym or a trainer.

They could have tried programs or diets and failed in the past.

Maybe they’re kind of interested in starting something new but they’re just researching their options at the moment.

Or, maybe they’re a member somewhere else, but they’re considering a change.

All of those are fine.

Most people aren’t ready today…and that’s actually to our advantage.

While most of the competition will just write these people off and move on the next person…if we’re doing this the right way, we start accomplishing those elements I mentioned and building a relationship.

We keep showing up consistently…without them paying us (yet) and helping them get to know us and trust us.

We share some of what we do and pass along case studies or stories about how it’s worked for others in the past.

And we keep the opportunity to work together in front of them the whole time, so that when they’re ready…we’re really the only option.

And what’s so great about this approach is that it’s a win for both sides.

They get to know you and trust you…and even like you.

Plus, you get to pre-sell them on how you do things so that when they do come on board, you know that they believe in your philosophy and approach…yielding people who are far more likely to stick around for longer than 6 weeks.

See, if you’re like most of the clients I work with, you want a long-term client.

Not a six-week client.

You prefer recurring-revenue.

And if we want someone to be a long-term client, we need to know that it’s a partnership.

They have to believe you can give them the knowledge, support & coaching they need and you have to believe they’re going to be a good client who ‘gets’ the value in what you have to offer.

And if you approach the ‘Convert Unit’ the right way…that all happens…and those ads from the competitors become irrelevant.

It’s just a conversation between you and the prospect that ultimately results in a long-term coach-client relationship.

So those are the Attract & Convert Units…but there is a 3rd unit needed to create your Ideal Business…the ‘Deliver Unit’.

I’m guessing that you already are pretty strong in this Unit, but tomorrow I’ll share some thoughts on how you can optimize things to allow your Deliver Unit to feed those first two units.

Talk with you then!

Dedicated to Your Success,

Pat