Every gym owner talks, thinks, dreams and worries about leads – getting new leads, specifically.
But this obsession takes away from something that’s at least as important but doesn’t always get as much attention.
And that is gym lead nurturing to turn prospects into paying clients.
“Nurturing” is really the key word in all of this. That’s the process of taking a new lead, or prospect, to signing up on your membership rolls.
You can’t just get the new lead and then just expect it to magically become a loyal customer. Wouldn’t that be nice!
Instead, you have to systematically build relationships with them and grow interest on the part of a prospect into action – from initial contact to signing on the dotted line.
Like educating a student or wooing a sweetheart, you have to nurture each lead to make them move likely to take the steps you want them to take.
An Opportunity to Learn
But the whole process pays off in at least two other ways.
First, it helps build trust and relationships with the people who will become customers. So, they get to know you and like you, making them more comfortable with your business and more likely to engage deeply.
Second, members who were nurtured tend to stay longer, driving up a gym’s retention rates. And, as you might know already, it’s much less expensive to KEEP a member than to gain a new one. Sure, leads are important. But clients are GOLD.
So, let’s discuss some of the essential strategies and techniques to help you provide value, address concerns, and guide prospects to making a commitment and joining your gym.
Much of this can be assisted by automated communications tools like you’ll find in Naamly’s state-of-the-art, comprehensive communications systems to make it all easy and effective.
Let us tell you about our sales funnels and other powerful sales techniques. And tracking leads keeps you focused on the steps that need improving and lets you see where exactly each prospect is in the process. (Read more about “Lead Tracking.”)
In a nutshell, Naamly can digitally track messages, communications, and lead info – as well as the prospect stages. The stages are fully customizable, and some are even automated. For example, when leads respond to a communication, they are automatically moved to the next stage called “2-way communication,” and so on.
The Set, Show, and Close report provides a daily, weekly, and monthly view of the team’s effectiveness in attracting, nurturing, and converting leads. Gym owners can reach out through text, email, direct mail, or other touchpoints to keep the leads moving through the process.
Strategies for Gym Lead Nurturing
1. Follow Up Promptly. The sooner you respond to someone expressing interest in your gym, the better your chances of converting them into a customer. Use automated systems like ours to help with this and to send out a personalized series of follow-up texts, calls and emails that keep leads engaged.
In gym lead nurturing, automation not only saves time but also ensures consistent communication, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
2. Give Value. A big mistake people have in gym lead nurturing is to talk about their business or, worse, themselves too much. Share helpful information, workout tips, recipes, and other things that people will be happy to have.
To help with this, create a system to create and distribute high-quality, entertaining, educational content via emails, social media, and the like. Hire a writer or content-marketing service to save time and, yes, money.
Focus on a storytelling approach. People enjoy reading about others who are like them, who they find relatable. Infuse the storytelling with emotion and facts, alike, to hit them in their hearts and their heads.
3. Segment Your Leads. Not all leads are the same. Break them into segments based on their interests, goals, or stage in the buyer’s journey. This allows you to tailor your communications and offers to each group, increasing relevance and engagement.
4. Keep It Personal. Using people’s names goes a long way in gym lead nurturing. What are you more likely to open: “Dear Person” or “Dear Susannah,” right?
Reference something you know about the prospects when you communicate them. Talk about something happening locally. Show them that you’re a real person interested in helping another real person.
5. Take the Shotgun Approach. Use multiple channels for gym lead nurturing with your prospects. Let’s face it: You can’t rely on only emails or only Facebook or only phone calls. Work ‘em all!
You have to repeat the same messages at least seven times, according to research, before they start to sink in. So, avoid the temptation of thinking, “I already told them all the great reasons they should join.”
Do it using a range of formats, too. Use some articles, yes, but also graphics, photos, comics, videos, pie charts, lists, etc.…
6. Sweeten the Deal. What can you do to entice your leads with special offers or promotions. Think about free trials, discounts, and exclusive access to events or pricing. Make these kinds of things time sensitive to create urgency.
“We have 5 more openings for our upcoming open house where we’re letting you sample the best of what we have to offer. Call today to book your free spot!”
7. Build Relationships. This whole process is truly a great way for you and the prospect to get to know each other. What can you learn about them, how can you show empathy, and what can you take back to your team? Can you provide something that you haven’t thought of yet? Customers (and prospects) often have a lot of useful perspective to share.
8. Build Community. Make sure prospects know about group outings, open houses, member milestones and other things that show off what a supportive community they’ll be joining. This includes positive reviews on Google, Yelp and other similar sites.
9. Avoid Overselling. Gym lead nurturing means a lot more than bugging people to join your gym! Hard selling has its place, but don’t over-do it. Limit these kinds of communications to about 20%.
10. Sing from One Sheet of Music. Make sure your teammates know all your key messaging and that they interact with everyone – EVERYONE – the right way all the time. You never know when a prospect might finally call or show up – -and you don’t want a rude person at the front desk to undermine all your efforts.
11. Keep It Going. Ideally, your gym lead nurturing should continue even after the prospect joins your gym. Don’t make the common mistake of wooing leads like sweethearts and then treating members like old furniture! They’ll vote with their feet if you do.
Gym Lead Nurturing That Lives On
So, to wrap it up, let’s remember how absolutely essential it is that you develop strong systems around gym lead nurturing.
And take advantage of all the opportunities that gym lead nurturing provides you to get to know people in your community, share your value proposition and your corporate values, and develop fitness programming that’s even more effective for more people.
Gym lead nurturing is a relationship, and like all relationships, it works both ways! Imagine getting referrals from prospects even before they become members! Everything you say and do with a prospect is a chance to earn positive word of mouth in your community and grow your business even more.
For even more about how to get new members, download our free “51 Ways to Acquire Clients Without Facebook Ads.” Learn dozens of techniques to put into play right away, learn what works AND WHY, and empower your team to make it easier than ever.