We’ve all heard the phrase “Try it before you buy it,” like test-driving a car before you decide if it’s the right one for you.
The same idea applies for many people who are considering a gym membership. As a gym owner, free trials can be a great way to get people into your gym to see what you’re all about and then convert them into long-term paying customers.
Note the very important word in the last sentence: “can.”
Among gym membership sales strategies, the practice of offering “free trials” has potential to be very effective if you do it right.
You must craft the right offer, get it in front of the right people, and then make good on the promise of your unique value proposition. It’s not enough to just get anyone to walk in the door!
Today, we’re going to look at free trials that convert as proven gym membership sales strategies.
Know Your Customers
The first thing to understand is your audience.
· Who’s your ideal client?
· Will a “free trial” appeal to them, or would a different introductory offer be more appropriate?
· What else needs to be cooked in the pot?
Each type of fitness customer has their own barriers to joining your gym – even to just checking it out once.
If you don’t already know your customers’ and prospects’ preferences, then you need to do some research so you can tailor the right gym membership sales strategies for them.
To put it simply, young people on a budget are NOT the same kind of shoppers, as say, busy executives with money and high demands. Neither is necessarily better than the other, but they are different customers with different preferences, and you need to be clear about the kind of customer you’re trying to reach.
While it might be true that “everybody likes to save money,” remember that some people are turned off by the idea of “free” anything. It can cheapen your appeal to some customers who don’t always make price their No. 1 priority.
Shape Your Offer
What kind of offer do you want to make? Let’s examine the range of possibilities for your gym membership sales strategies.
You could offer something for free; many people will eat it up, of course.
But are you offering a free consultation? A free training session? A free week to all of your facilities and services, or a free month to only some of them?
You could also offer a free trial as part of a paid membership. For instance, you could offer “Your first month is free when you buy a year’s membership.”
Or you could offer three free training sessions with a paid membership, or something else of value, in your gym membership sales strategies.
A limited-time challenge can be very effective for you and the prospect. Promote a 30- or 90-day challenge that includes some free component, and then encourage participation and maybe even competition among competitors.
Consider planning your offer around a community event, like an annual Independence Day 5K fun run or “back to school” time.
But if your main goal is just to get them to try you out, then consider making it more than a week, so they have time to see if you can truly help them; sometimes a week isn’t enough, especially for people who don’t have “Go to the gym” baked into their daily to-do list.
On the other hand, making too large a time commitment could overtax your staff and other resources, so consider what kind of strain a month-long trial might create as part of your gym membership sales strategies. Shorter could be better for you.
In any case, include more than just entry into your facility. You could also:
· Provide a tour and orientation
· Offer an interview/consultation about their workout history, injuries, goals, etc.
· Email a welcome video with a short description of what to expect during the free trial
Promote It
Once you’ve crafted the offer, make sure it gets in front of the right people. Use your communications and marketing channels, including:
· Social media
· Email newsletters
· In-real-life networking and promotions; print the free offer on all business cards and make sure they get handed out
Many gyms that have successful free trial programs highlight it at the top of their website’s home page and on every other page, as well.
For instance, when you look online at Spurling Fitness in Kennebunk, Maine, you see this text:
“We help busy people aged 40+ who are intimidated by the typical gym create a manageable fitness routine they enjoy while helping them build lasting habits that allow them to finally lose weight, rehab injuries, gain energy, and enjoy their life to the fullest….”
And then in red: CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE 7-DAY PASS
After a user clicks there, they go to a special landing page which importantly provides three simple steps for the visitors to follow.
They enter name, phone number, email address, answer a multiple-choice question about goals, and submit.
After someone from the gym contacts the prospect, “We’ll chat to get to know all about you, answer your questions, and get you started in our introductory program!”
Once They Come In
Some gyms might want to build a whole process around each new visitor. (You might also want to screen out-of-towners and make the offer available only to residents.)
But be careful of coming on too strong with the sales approach. That can turn people off in a hurry, and that’s true in all gym membership sales strategies.
They want to feel like you’re offering them something of value – not like you lured them into an intense pitch.
Business coach Alwyn Cosgrove likes using a trial period and packing member packages with value, rather than focusing on price alone.
If price is the immovable top factor for a prospect, they might be more satisfied by the level of service one of the discount big box chains can provide.
That just means they’re not for you, and that’s OK. You know who your ideal customers are, and you know what makes you uniquely qualified to help them.
It might take time to strike the right balance, and each community is different. Your gym membership sales strategies should reflect a mix of universal wisdom and your knowledge about your particular cohort.
By all means, remember to be friendly, and instruct all your stuff to look newcomers in the eye, say welcome and hello, and offer assistance. Shy newcomers might never come back if the person behind the front desk ignores them.
You can have the best equipment, cleanest facilities, and friendliest trainers, but if a prospect feels slighted even once, you’ve lost them.
“You better have an outstanding program that over-delivers and a client experience that’s off the charts,” says Spurling gym owner Doug Spurling. “If you’re not getting your clients great results and wowing them with a customer experience that’s second to none, no amount of marketing will be able to fix it.”
You want to provide a positive, warm, friendly experience and show the newcomer the kind of environment they can expect. This is super-important because you’re probably not going to have time to deliver a lot of results in a short-term free trial, so you want to deliver a positive user experience and illustration of your unique value proposition.
Remember in your gym membership sales strategies that each prospect is unique, as well. Some might crave a tour and welcome consultation on their first visit; others might be turned off and want to wait until the end of their trial period.
But make sure they all know what makes your gym special. And for many people, that will include being friendly, welcoming and not too salesy.
Make It Easy to Join
Even the best gym membership sales strategies will fail to close the deal if they’re followed by a botched attempt to convert the prospect into member. So, make it easy on them to say, “Yes, I want to join right now.”
· Keep the paperwork simple.
· Automate everything you can, like text messages and emails. Naamly’s suite of communications tools make this easy for you and a pleasure for the customer to receive.
· But also make all interactions as personal as possible; don’t treat them like a number.
· Keep it mobile-friendly, since most people are likely to actually sign up via their phones. (You’d be amazed how many sign-up forms are inaccessible on phones!)
· Provide positive feedback – and ask for theirs, too.
Decide which statistics are important to you and track them throughout the process so you can assess the effectiveness of your gym membership sales strategies.
· Sign-up rate: How many people sign up for the free trial
· Attendance rate: How many actually show up
· Conversion rate: How many become paying members
For those who don’t convert during the trial, have a strategy in place to email, text, or call them. Consider another promo to keep them coming, like a special discount, and refer to your notes about any positive comments they’ve given about how they feel or what they’ve enjoyed about the gym.
Put them on your permanent email newsletter distribution list. And be patient: Many customers need time, and a lot of communication from you, before they’ll join. That’s just part of the game.
In Conclusion
Free trials can be a powerful tool in converting curious prospects into loyal gym members. And Naamly’s tools can help you make the most of the process.
We let your employees monitor attendance, make sure all communications with members are shared across your teams, acknowledge milestones, and lots more. These are important for everyone in your funnel, even those who sign up for free trials or respond to your other gym membership sales strategies.
By understanding your audience, creating an irresistible offer, optimizing the sign-up process, delivering an exceptional experience, and following up strategically, you can maximize the effectiveness of your gym membership sales strategies.
Remember, the goal is not just to get people through the door but to create an environment that encourages them to stay and thrive. By focusing on these strategies, you’ll build a robust and loyal membership base to drive long-term success.
For more on building a successful, gym, read our “51 Ways to Acquire Clients Without Facebook Ads.”