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6 Unfairly Easy Sales and Marketing Tactics For Fitness Studio Owners Used To Boost Revenue 75.46%

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Q4 is typically a rough month for gyms and fitness studios, right? What about Q4 during a global pandemic? 19 fitness studio owners working with Loud Rumor actually had an average increase in revenue of 75.46% through these 6 gym sales and marketing tactics for fitness studio!

Some hit revenue increases of 28.6% or 49.3%, while others hit astronomical numbers like 143% or 136%!

Now, I mentioned Q4 during the pandemic and though this blog has nothing to do with the pandemic, the reason I mentioned it is to prove that there’s no bad time or good time to grow your fitness studio…

Every time, any time, TODAY it is 100% possible to grow your business. If they pulled these incredible numbers off at one of the lowest points in the entire fitness industry, then just imagine what you could accomplish now!

loud rumor virtual training lrvt promo successful fitness entrepreneur sales and marketing

The purpose of this article is to show you exactly how they did it, the sales and marketing tactics they implemented, and more importantly, how you can do it to!

Let’s dive into that right now…

The Perfect Revenue Combo: Sales And Marketing

If you want to drastically increase revenue, sales and marketing go together like Peanut Butter & Jelly, or Mac & Cheese.

Marketing is your investment.

Sales is your return on investment.

If you think you have the marketing game down, or you’re working with an Agency like Loud Rumor, then I highly recommend you download our FREE 11-Step Sales Strategy for Gyms: The Definitive Guide:

sales strategy definitive guide click image

Since revenue growth begins with marketing, let’s start there…

These Are 3 Unbelievably Simple Marketing Techniques That Have 10X Lead Generation For The Fitness Studios We Work With

There’s a lot that goes into creating successful marketing campaigns. As well as multiple KPIs (key performance indicators) to take into account. But, if you implement just these 3 techniques, you’ll be in pretty good shape.

Again… provided you’re marrying sales and marketing as one!

#1: Create An Absolutely Irresistible Offer

What is an offer so good that someone on Facebook, who’s never heard of you, would willingly give up their name and phone number to come into your fitness studio and take advantage of?

That’s a pretty loaded question, but think about it from the prospect’s perspective!

Your creative—your image or video—stops them from scrolling through their Facebook newsfeed. What’s this? they ask themselves…

So they start reading… your ad builds interest and asks them to click a button to “Learn More.” OK, I guess I can do that real quick they think…

From there, they go to a Landing Page or Lead Forms… what compels them to gleefully fill out your form versus Yeah, I’m good and going back to their Facebook newsfeed?

The #1 question on every person’s mind is: What’s in it for me?

If you can’t answer that question without talking about you, then your Ads will struggle.

By the way, this question applies to both sales and marketing.

However, if you can simultaneously highlight how they’ll benefit from working out at your studio—they’ll be able to keep up with their kids, they won’t be as fatigued, they’ll get super fit—with a FREE WEEK offer, you’ll generate a lot more leads.

1 More Round Fitness Actual Facebook Ad FREE WEEK Loud Rumor Mike Arce Marketing Advertising Facebook Leads

Quick Note Here: Don’t talk about your equipment, your workouts, or your technology unless you tie it into how it benefits the prospect.

Example: Over 200 different kinds of workouts!
Versus: Over 200 different kinds of workouts so you’re never bored, having a blast, and burning more calories than ever before.

…make everything in your Ad about THEM.

Why “FREE WEEK” Works Best

It’s rare people make big, life-changing purchases or decisions without dipping their toe in the water first. It’s just how people are wired.

BUT, when you tell them how much your fitness studio will benefit them AND that they can test it out for FREE? Win-win.

It’s why FREE content online is downloaded 50 TIMES more than paid content!

Loud Rumor has worked with 2,000+ fitness studios and 50+ franchises, and typically the FREE WEEK offer outperforms paid offers.

Does “FREE” Hurt My Brand?

Nope! If you walked into a grocery store within 5 miles of your fitness studio, how many people would stop you to tell you all of the great things they’ve heard about your business?

My guess is very few if any. That’s NOT an insult though! The truth is, most people are not yet familiar with your brand. Giving them the opportunity to experience how great your fitness studio is with a FREE WEEK actually enhances your brand!

#2: Why You Should Always Send GYM Prospects To Landing Pages Or Lead Forms

When someone clicks on your Ad and is interested in taking you up on your FREE WEEK offer, never send that person to your website. You’ll lose them…

There are way too many distractions on the homepage of your website.

Imagine Target running this promotion: HUGE DISCOUNTS! You’re not really sure what that means, but you kinda like discounts, so you bite…

Turns out, in order to get these “HUGE DISCOUNTS!” all you have to do is go into the store and find “Carl.”

Good luck! First, Target is huge. Second, you don’t know if “Carl” is an employee or not. Third, what if there’s a “Carl” there who’s not the Carl you’re supposed to find?

Are you really going to ask every single person if their name is “Carl”?

We don’t want it to be difficult for people who are interested in your offer, to become leads!

So, create a Landing Page—we prefer ClickFunnels—and keep it simple:

Headline:
Include the FREE WEEK offer and the same emotional hook you used in your Ad so they know they’re on the right page

Now, let’s say they fill out the form on your landing page to claim your FREE WEEK offer… Awesome! You just got a lead who could potentially become a paying members.

But, what happens if your Ad stopped them, your copy intrigued them, and your offer got them to the Landing Page but they got cold feet, something distracted them, their internet went out, and they left the page. What then?

You Can Still Get In Front Of Prospects Who Don’t Fill Out Your Marketing Form

Just because someone leaves your page doesn’t mean they disappear somewhere out into the online ether… you can still put retargeting ads in front of them (this is pretty cool).

What you do is, you put a Pixel on all of your Landing Pages (and your website in case they visit that on their own). This allows you to basically track them when they leave.

Not in a weird way, but in a way that allows you to put additional Ads in front of them because some people just need more touches with something before they commit.

This is true with both sales and marketing, as most sales are made between the 4th and 12th touch (or “follow up”). I’ll get into that more later…

facebook pixel sales and marketing

What Should Your Gym’s Retargeting Ads Say?

What’s great about Pixels and Retargeting Ads is that the What is this? and Who is this? Is over! They know you, they know what this is, and now you’re building a relationship with them…

To that, you have 2 easy messages to put in front of your retargeting prospects:

#1 Remember Me?
“We’re still holding your FREE WEEK (+ a BONUS!) offer at [GYM NAME]! Are you still interested? Hit “Learn More” to fill out the form, get your FREE WEEK and your BONUS!”

#2 FOMO
“Your FREE WEEK is about to expire! Hit “Learn More” to fill out the form before it’s too late!”

5 Tips to Consider When Using Pixels & Retargeting Ads

  • Make sure to add the tracking pixel code to your website to collect data on visitor behavior.
  • Ensure that you place pixels in the right places, such as product pages or landing pages that are important for conversion optimization.
  • Regularly monitor your performance metrics and update your pixel strategy accordingly.
  • Utilize retargeting ads, which allow you to show specific ads only to those who visited a particular page without completing an action.
  • Test different ad campaigns with different approaches and target audiences, so that you can identify which strategies perform best.

#3 Build Your Fitness Studio’s Contact List

Let’s say someone fills out your form, but doesn’t act, doesn’t book an appointment, etc.

It happens.

However, now you have them on your list… and that’s valuable.

With a contact list, you can continue to provide potential members with value and market to them for FREE.

All you have to do is put them into a specific email list where they get messages that are designed to help them with their fitness, their nutrition, and give them that subtle hint to come in for a FREE workout.

Why Just A FREE Workout? Why Not A WEEK?

The reason you wouldn’t do a FREE WEEK in these emails is because you want to stay honest and consistent.

In the retargeting ads, you said their FREE WEEK was going to expire… well, it did. But that’s OK! Most of the time, all it takes is one workout—you getting them in the door—for you to blow their socks off with your incredible atmosphere and culture, that they’ll be excited to sign up!

The FREE WEEK is a great intro offer because you’re giving away a lot, which tells them you believe in your product, but not too much that it sounds “too good to be true.”

What If…

What if social media advertising just shut down instantly?

Imagine not being able to get in front of specific, targeted people within a 5-mile radius of your fitness studio where they spend most of their time?

What would you do? How would you market to people?

First, you’ll start diving into at least one of Matt Kafora’s (owner of 7 fitness studio locations all doing 7-figures) 5 Offline Strategies.

Second, you’ll have your list! That’s why your list is so powerful and why you want to nurture it. It’s also why you don’t just send email after email pushing people to sign up! Instead, you provide value with subtle “asks.”

Marketing gets you leads, and you turn leads into members through sales. But you can’t have one without the other!

If you don’t have leads, who are you going to sell memberships to? On the other hand, if your gym is flooded with leads, but you don’t have a sales process, what good are the leads?

Exactly. Sales and marketing are a 1-2 punch.

So with that, let’s dive into sales!

3 Fitness Studio Sales and Marketing Tactics Guaranteed To Ethically Increase Revenue

Alright, now let’s look at sales. Again, you “invest” in Marketing. But in order for your fitness business to see a return on that investment, you have to be able to sell!

A lot of people new to sales worry they’ll be seen as sleazy or pushy. That’s why I put “ethically” in the headline of this section. It’s important…

Remember, bad salespeople are looking to scam people. That’s not you. You are selling something of value to prospective members. You’re helping people improve their lives.

People who start seeing fitness results are happier, healthier, and have more energy. But, people can’t start seeing results without being sold a membership to your fitness studio.

On top of that, your fitness studio can’t increase revenue without sales.

So, here we go!

#1: Become A Method Actor (Don’t Worry, It’ll Make Sense)

When high-profile actors and actresses are preparing for a role, the first thing they do is memorize the script.

They don’t act it out or develop their character yet. They’ll simply memorize the script so that it’s as ingrained in their brains as reciting the ABCs.

The absolute best gym owners, many in our GSD 360 TEAM program who experience consistent growth—even in 2020 (yep, that 2020)—focus heavily on the sales scripts we provide.

Now, once actors have their scripts memorized, that’s when they start adding character to the words…

What Is A “Character” For A Sales Script

The “character” infused into the sales scripts you memorize is simple… it’s YOU.

This actually goes for both sales and marketing! With marketing, you’re creating a branded voice that speaks at a level that makes sense to your perfect member avatar.

Think about it this way, you’re going to give a motivational speech in front of a crowd of 10,000 people desperate for what you have to say. Looking for your advice to move their lives forward.

Are you just going to “wing it”? Do you want to rely on a teleprompter? Probably not.

It’s still your message, but you write it out, you memorize it, and then, once it’s memorized, you craft how you’re going to present it in a powerful, engaging way so it has an impact on the people who need it!

Sales scripts are exactly the same.

People want to workout at your gym… they’re looking for help and coaching. And here’s the kicker, they expect you to coach them even through the sales process.

They want to be comfortable and confident with their buying decision.

That’s why it’s very important to not “wing it” when it comes to sales. It’s important to put a system and process in place around it because it’s one of the most important things you can do to increase revenue, memberships, and grow your business.

So use scripts, memorize scripts, and become a method actor (be you).

#2: Text Quickly, Call Fast, And Continually Follow-Up

When someone fills out your lead pages or landing page form for your offer (whether it’s a FREE WEEK, 3 for $19.99, or anything in between) it’s important to contact them right away.

In fact, after 5 minutes of completing your form, your chances of contacting them goes down 900% according to a joint MIT study.

sales call 5 minutes 900 percent stat

So, one of the best ways to increase booked appointments from leads is to Text Quickly, Call Fast, and Continually Follow-Up.

Text Quickly

After someone opts in, have an automated text (written in your voice so it’s personable) sent to the prospect telling them how to book an appointment.

We use Text Request to manage our company’s text messages and they’re great for fitness studios. You can check them out here:

Increase Fitness Studio Revenue by Texting

Call Fast

As mentioned earlier, if you can (depending on when they filled out your form), you want to call prospects within 5 minutes of filling out your form for your offer.

This gives you the best opportunity to get people on the phone, speak to them, and get an appointment booked.

If your text can come from the same number you call from, even better! That way they’ll connect the two numbers contacting them instead of ignoring a phone number they “don’t recognize.”

Plus, most people are filling out your lead pages or landing page forms on their mobile phones… so it’s already in their hands when you call.

The next one many fitness studios give up on way too fast…

Continually Follow-Up

You want to contact prospects regularly until they tell you to stop. Here’s why:

fitness studio gym sales grant cardone 12 touches - v2

Most sales are made between the 4th and 12th contact. So AFTER you’ve contacted the prospect 4 times, your chances to book them actually goes up.

Perfect example, Loud Rumor CEO Mike Arce contacted Daniel Nyiri 26 times before Nyiri agreed to do business with Mike. That means, as Nyiri puts it, “I said ‘No’ 25 times.”

So the best thing to do is put a system in place where you track when and how often you’re contacting prospects who haven’t booked an appointment yet.

For a great strategy on this, check out our 11-Step Sales Strategy For Gyms: The Definitive Guide.

There’s also a full breakdown of the next tactic in that same definitive guide above…

#3: Blow Their Socks Off!

When it comes to increasing your sales, memberships, and overall revenue, your prospect’s first experience at your studio is one of the most important!

If a prospect books an appointment at your fitness studio, you want to blow their socks off… yes, even their yoga socks!

Have a board upfront with their name on it, welcoming them in. Put some balloons on it and make it a very big deal from the moment they walk in. In other words…

Show them that this is the place for them. This is their new home.

Give them an incredible tour, have every staff member and even your most loyal members greet them and interact with them.

Tip: If you have a member who accomplished the goals your prospect hopes to achieve, set up a meet and greet on this first day. Think about how amazing that would be from both the prospect’s perspective, and your member’s!

Tell them what to expect during the tour from the workout and after the workout. Give them water and a towel and even a swag bag.

Make this not only memorable for them, but a no-brainer for them to sign-up and become a member at your studio.

Again, you can get a full walkthrough of this in the 11-Step Sales Guide For Gyms.

Do you still have questions about gym sales and marketing or need help?

To continually increase your gym membership signups, get in touch with us here or Email me at [email protected]

Loud Rumor
Loud Rumor

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