Nurturing gym member leads is all well and good, but if you can’t seal the deal at the end of the day, the work you’ve done doesn’t really matter. When you’re trying to get prospects to commit to a membership, you’re pretty much a salesperson trying to close the sale. If you can master every part of the sales process, then you can convert more leads, boost member acquisition, and increase your revenue.
In this article, we’ll go over the essential points of closing a sale, so you can keep your numbers moving in all the right directions.
Start with a Good First Impression
On average, it takes seven seconds to make a first impression. Starting off on the right foot with your prospects will make the sales process much easier, as they’ll be more likely to trust you.
Work with your team to teach them how to initiate communication with prospects, whether through email, texting, or phone calls. Then, make sure you and your staff are greeting members, prospects, and anyone who walks into your gym enthusiastically. Making prospects feel welcome from the second they walk in your door can go a long way when trying to make a sale.
Top Tip: Use these fitness sales scripts from Club OS to train your team on interacting with prospects during each segment of the sales process!
Get to Know Their Pain Points
Customer pain points are problems they have for which they’re still looking for a product or service to provide a solution. Homing in on these unmet needs will allow you to position your services as that solution. It will also show the prospect that you care about their needs, goals, and story, and not just making a sale. In fact, buyers report that listening to their needs is the number one thing a sales rep can do to make their experience positive.
The easiest way to uncover a prospect’s pain points is to ask them. Ask questions like “Why did you come in today?” and “What do you hope to achieve by joining a gym?” You may find their concerns revolve more around pricing, available equipment, types of classes, or having trouble reaching their fitness goals. Use this information to tailor your sales pitch as the solution they’ve been searching for.
Address Their Concerns
It’s natural that some prospects may still have lingering concerns throughout the sales process. Instead of hoping you hit on them, ask if they still have any objections to joining after you’ve made your pitch and, if they do, what those objections are. If they share concerns, address them directly.
Many prospects share the same concerns about joining a gym — membership prices, failed attempts at past fitness goals, no time in their schedule, lack of motivation or accountability, and so on. Preparing your team to alleviate these common concerns during the sales process ahead of time can help them do so more effectively.
Create a Sense of Urgency
If a prospect leaves without signing up for a gym membership, your chances of converting them go way down. One common and effective sales tactic for preventing this is to create a sense of urgency. Make your prospect feel as if they have to commit now or they’ll miss out on something.
The easiest way to create urgency during the sales process is with a time-sensitive promo. If one of your personal trainers is trying to close a sale on a package, for example, they could offer the prospect two additional free sessions for signing up right then and there. To create urgency without a promo, take an emotional angle with your pitch. Use what you’ve learned about their pain points to convince them that they need to act now to reach their fitness goals.
Be Direct
At the end of the day, both you and the prospect know you’re trying to close the deal. Don’t be pushy about it, but at some point, ask for the sale directly. Remember though — the way you ask matters. Make signing up for your gym and any other services you’ve discussed feel like a solution that has been tailor-made for them, not a generic plea for a sale.
Convert More Leads with ASF and Club OS
Making the sales and onboarding process as easy as possible for your team and your prospects will translate to increased member acquisition. ASF can make it easier than ever for prospects to join your club with online signup and a flexible offer builder to add urgency with limited-time discounts. But if you want to take the sales automation and engagement process a step further, our Club OS software integration will close any remaining gaps.
