By Jersey Giambrone, Special FBA Contributor
Most fitness business operators are still marketing their services the same way they always have — and the same way every other club operator has — or is highly relying on social media to drive traffic. As the saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
We need to go back to the basics of outreach and implementing guerrilla marketing ideas. Too many owners and staff live by the door of their club rather than outside of it. Waiting for the traffic to come to them instead of going out there and getting it.
Here are some great ideas to get your sales teams out in the community and keep a steady flow of new traffic coming.
Referrals
In my eyes it's still the #1 lead generator and best form of a sale. The real sale is the referral presentation but it can also be used outside of the studio as well. When outside prompting the program or studio you can always ask the person you're talking with for names of people they feel can benefit from the fitness program.
Business to Business
Walk into as many businesses as you can and hand out 3-day or 7-day guest passes. BUILD THE RELATIONSHIP in the community. Make them never forget you.
Partner with restaurants and local retailers
Ask local restaurant owners and retailers to have their servers hand out guest passes with all the guest bills or retailer receipts. A busy restaurant can see 500 to 700 people in a day. Imagine if 500 guest passes went out each day over the course of 30 days. That would be 15,000 guest passes per month.
Parking lot car tagging
Tag cars with flyers on a weekly basis in a pre-planned, logically determined manner around your club. Document where you have done so, and who is tagging cars in which area of town. I split towns into zones so the taggers are not crossing into each other’s work zone. Just walk into a business and ask how many employees they have and give them that amount of guest passes.
Walk apartment complexes
Have your staff walk apartment complexes and put door hangers on doors or a special corporate flyer designed especially for that complex. Most apartment complex managers have staff that can do this, but if your team does it, you will know that they are going to every door. This could generate 20 to 30 new memberships.
Partner with tanning salons
Tanning salons often have large databases of customers. Partner with some to use their database to send an email blast.
Lead tables
Yes, you can generate traffic with lead tables if done properly. Work with local business owners to raffle off a free one-year membership to generate leads. This could generate 30 to 50 leads every time, depending on location.
Corporate Wellness programs
Find a company that you can team up with to offer a discount on how many of their employees sign up. It would be even better if you can get the company to write check each month for the employees.
These ideas listed above arent new but they are sometimes forgotten due to social media etc.These ideas vary in the number of leads and memberships they will generate, but if they are executed properly and regularly, you will have a steady flow of leads. If they are not executed properly and regularly, then you will not see a return on your outreach and prospecting.
Of course, part of this process involves having the proper materials to hand out, such as postcards and guests passes. These products are inexpensive and can generate a lot of new leads and money for your fitness business. Never forget to work with your current members and clients. You should get at least five names and numbers of friends or family they think will want to work out. Those names will equate to more money.
We are in a social media world right now, and all the basics of guerilla marketing have been forgotten. Become a “gorilla” and really pound the pavement. I have lived it and had to pound the pavement all day, every day to make myself successful. When I started my fitness career back in 2008 when I was paid a $500-per-month base salary and my car payment was $589 per month, I knew I could not survive unless I got my feet moving all over town and made a name for myself. I was coming up with a variety of marketing ideas to drive traffic. For me, prospecting wasn’t a job; it was a passion, and it still is today.
I have trained many sales teams across the country about outreach and living by the door. It is up to the owners and managers to hold their sales teams accountable every day to come back with 10 names, numbers and leads that should be logged, tracked and followed up with.
Jersey Giambrone is the founder of Fuel Bootcamp and author of "Too Fit To Quit." He's spent over 13 years in the fitness industry and is passionate about creating real impact in people's lives through fitness. A super trainer that has impacted thousands of lives thru his fitness programs.
Join the Conversation!