In this episode, I explain the five steps gyms and fitness studios used to triple their fitness sales between Black Friday through Cyber Monday. Plus, 11 ways to do it even better for a massive increase in sales.
By the way, “triple” is being conservative.
The fitness studios I’m about to tell you about just crushed their goals so far this holiday weekend. These are some really impressive numbers.
Then, I’m going to break down how you can do exactly what these studios did this weekend to have an explosive December—and honestly, every holiday for the rest of next year, and for the rest of your life.
So let’s get started…
3 Gyms Increased Sales By 5-Figures Over The Weekend
First, I’ll take two minutes to go over what this strategy has done for a few fitness studio owners, then I’ll go over how they did it and how you can do it too.
Over this past weekend, Hye Jin, owner of The Hot Room Yoga, generated $66,813 in sales, which is 95% of her $70,000 dollar goal for the weekend.
Sarah, owner of OsteoStrong in L.A., generated over $36,000 in sales, which is 364% of the $10,000 goal she set for herself. Something tells me next year she’s going to set a much higher goal knowing what she’s capable of.
Brittany, owner of LadyStrong Fitness, generated $30,652, which is 102% of her $30,000 goal.
These are just three of 23 studios that jumped into our holiday revenue challenge and reported their numbers to us so far.
In total, $366,288 in fitness sales has been generated by those 23 studios, averaging nearly $16,000 in weekend sales per studio.
OK, how did they do it and how could they have done it better?
5-Step to Triple Fitness Sales During Holidays
I’m always looking for more and more ways to help gym and fitness studio owners increase their results. So first, here’s what these studios did to hit 5-figures in 3 days:
#1 Send a Simple Message
They sent out a text blast, some an email blast. I like text better. It simply mentioned that they have some really great holiday specials running right now and then asked if they’d like to know more about them.
That’s it. Nothing else.
They didn’t actually state what any of the specials were or 60% OFF, or any of that.
They just stated that they had one.
Then, when people replied “Yes,” or “I’m interested in knowing what they are,” what did the studio’s do?
Did they reply back with the special? No, they called. They actually made a phone call.
See, everybody just sends out what the special is, right? 60% OFF, or 30% OFF, but people are programmed to delete those. But, when you make a phone call, you will absolutely get more fitness sales.
#2 Personalized Your Gym’s Offers
Many of these studios created offers specific to the person they were calling.
This text blast didn’t just go out to leads, but existing members as well.
So if it’s a non-member, they talked about great promos for a month’s membership or a three-month membership, or heavily discounted membership for a year paid-in-full.
If it’s an existing member, they talked about committing to a longer term for a good discount, for a paid-in-full option or retail deal, supplement deals, adding on personal training deals, you name it.
Our data show that the average member stays with their studio for about 7 months. And since many studios are looking for cash right now, especially with everything that’s going on.
This is a great way to get cash while also extending your retention numbers.
#3 Set Big Fitness Sales Goals
Each studio set a goal. They knew what they wanted to do in fitness sales as well as explained it to their team. And, nobody had off this weekend.
It’s a big weekend for businesses and people work crazy hours this weekend to get the job done. Everyone works this weekend.
#4 Focus On Retail Sales
Retail was a big focus, whether it’s selling retail to existing members, adding retail on to paid-in-full options, adding retail to new sales, you always want to upsell at the point of sale.
You see it everywhere. People are used to it. Would you like fries with that? Need any ice or stamps? Do you want me to add a warranty with that? Would you like to add an apple pencil? The matching tie? You name it.
The best upsell and cross-sell happen at the point of sale. If you haven’t read the book Ultimate Sales Machine, I definitely recommend you do.
One of the studies that was done in there was talking about how, across many industries, just by asking at the point of sale for an ancillary sale, an extra product cross-selling, upgrading, whatever it is, 33% of people will say “Yes.”
That’s the AVERAGE: 33%.
That means every three people will get something else you sell them in addition to the thing you just sold them.
OK, so just think of the money you’re probably leaving on the table by just ending the conversation once they say their first “Yes.”
#5 Create Fitness Sales Scripts
The studios that earned the most over the weekend created fitness sales scripts specifically for selling their promo offers. This is crucial.
Scripts are crucial.
I had a guy tell me he only converted 1% of his fitness sales over the weekend. “Nobody’s buying.”
I asked what his script was… he didn’t have one. His team didn’t have one either. He and his team just free-styled and wondered why he wasn’t even close to the numbers that the other studios were pulling in.
The top fitness studios are sales professionals and sales professionals use scripts, folks. All professionals use scripts.
Actors use them.
Musicians use them—they’re called music sheets and lyrics.
Chefs use recipes.
Architects use blueprints.
Athletes have plays.
These are professionals, they’re the best of the best.
So give me one good reason why winging it is better for your business.
It’s too expensive to wing it. It’s costing you fitness sales. That’s why the pros don’t do it. They want every edge, even if it’s 1% better.
That’s how every fitness studio and gym executed this strategy during the biggest sales weekend of the year and hit 5-figure fitness sales in just three days.
Now, what could they have done better?
11 Ways To Potentially 10X Your Fitness Sales On Holidays
Remember, 3X was a conservative number. This is how you can increase fitness sales even more.
#1 Update Your Website
I think every gym should update their website. Every page on your website should have a banner at the top asking if people would like to know about your exclusive Holiday promotions.
When people click on it, a pop-up form appears asking them to fill out the form to receive an exclusive text with the offers as they may change.
#2 Social Media Strategy
Every fitness studio should update their social media pages, mainly their Facebook page (and Groups), with a similar banner.
Then, on these platforms, post that you have the best specials going on right now.
#3 Advertise Your Advertisement
Many people are focused on getting an offer to five people instead of getting an offer to a person five times.
I love that text and emails went out, but here’s how I would have done it:
(A) I’d send out an email with a PDF. Emails with PDF’s have a much better chance of not getting thrown into people’s spam, thus having a higher open rate.
(B) The email would have a subject line like “Support Ticket: for ‘whatever the person’s name is.'” I suggest “support ticket” because the word support passes through spam pretty well, as well as increasing your email’s open rate.
(C) The email should be simple, no design. Don’t get fancy. It should just look like an email that you sent directly to them with a simple phrase letting them know that you have great promotions running right now and that you want to make sure they knew about them. Then have it ask if they’d like to know what they are.
(D) I’d use the text blast just to ask them if they saw the email, something like: “Hey, Joe, it’s Mike from Loud Rumor Fitness. I just wanted to make sure you saw the email I sent you earlier. It’s about a [Holiday Name] promo that I knew you’d love. Did you want to know more about it?”
That’s it.
#4 Use Ringless Voice Messages
Use ringless voice messages. There are companies that you can hire to help you do this. Just Google “ringless voicemail.”
For your voicemail, just say: “Hey, this is Mike from Loud Rumor Fitness. I just sent you an email and text earlier. I wanted to make sure you got it. It’s about these ridiculous holiday promos we’re running right now. I just wanted to make sure you saw it. The subject line of the email we sent had the words “support ticket” in it. Thanks! And if you want to know more about the promos, just call me at [Give Your Phone Number].”
#5 Create a Custom Advertising Audience
Set up a custom audience in Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and then upload that email list that you have and retarget them with an ad that just says something like: “Our best holiday promos in history.”
Explain a little bit about it without saying what the promo is so you can encourage them to click on the ad to learn more about it.
Have the ad take them to a Landing Page with social proof or testimonials, and a button that says “Learn More.”
When they click on it, a pop-up opens asking for their info and tells them that you’ll text them with promo details.
#6 Boost Your Organic Post
You can also turn your original post about your promos into an ad on Facebook and Instagram with a call-to-action that says “Comment with a YES if you’d like to learn more.”
This does a few things:
- Creates engagement, which lowers your Cost Per Impression, thus lowering your Cost Per Lead and Cost Per Acquisition because more people are acting on it.
- That engagement helps the algorithm to keep pushing your post to people’s feeds organically. So you don’t always pay for all of the views and the impressions you’re getting.
- That engagement also creates proof to those looking in that it’s a desirable offer. People want it. It creates FOMO. More proof.
#7 Run Ads To A Lookalike Audience
Now you want to run a look audience on all of these ad platforms. You can run ads to people that look like, meaning they have similar interests, age groups, income, etc. to those on your original list.
Upload your original customer list and then you can run a lookalike audience to that group on Facebook, on Instagram, on YouTube…
YouTube I think it’s called a “Similar To” list.
Now here’s the thing: If that list is less than two hundred people, it may not be as worth it. So you may want to add canceled or paused members so you can bulk it up.
I prefer 500 people or more on that list, but get at least 200.
#8 Don’t Weaken Your Ad Budget
Don’t get weak with your budget. The cost to acquire a member is always—at least in my case, with the gyms I work with, I see it—less than the value of having them work with you.
So you can always spend less, but just remember this. You can spend less after day one or two, if you’re not happy (but you will be), but you can’t go back in time and spend more.
You don’t want to be the gym that saw success with this only to say to yourself: “Man, we should’ve spent more. I didn’t know it is going to be that good.”
#9 Call Fitness Sales Prospects ASAP
Why wait for a response? Send an email, send a text, send the ringless voicemail, run the ads, then call each person whether they respond or not.
You have a list. It’s amazing. It’s very valuable. Have your team divide up the list and call.
Ask if they got the email and text and then ask if they’d like to know about the promotions.
Will you be able to call everyone? I don’t know. It depends on how big your list is. I don’t know how big your team is and how fast or hard they work.
But I’ll tell you this: The version of yourself that makes those calls will outsell the version of yourself that doesn’t.
#10 Follow-Up, Then Follow-Up More
On day two, send a follow up email similar to the one you sent the day before, but asking if they saw the last email.
Again, design the email very plainly. Make it look like you forwarded the email from the day before.
In the subject line add “FWD:” to the beginning with the original subject line following it.
In your message, ask if they saw your email below and include the stuff that usually comes with a forwarded message.
Also, follow up with the text again and another ringless voicemail. I do that until day three.
And if you’re wanting to use a strategy for the whole month of December for a December promo, then do this until Day 3, then on Day 7, Day 14, Day 21, Christmas Eve, and then New Year’s Eve.
#11 Send Prospects a Physical Letter
A lot of people might not agree with me here, but send a physical letter.
Think of what it’s like to get an actual letter, not a promo letter. Not something that you know is junk. I mean, an actual letter.
You know what it looks like when you get an envelope that looks like a letter from someone… you open it. And, it can be really simple, basically the same thing you wrote in the email:
“Hey, Joe, I just wanted to send an email and let you know we have some awesome promos running for the month of December. I wanted to get it out to you specifically because you’re one of the people we really wanted to make sure knew about it. If you want to know more about it, just go ahead and give us a call back this number [Give your number].
Also, somebody from our team will be reaching out to let you know just as well. So keep an eye out for this phone number too: [Give phone number].”
Doesn’t cost much at all and there are plenty of companies doing mailers that you can hire. Just give them your list and then they’ll go in and take it from there.
Right now, you may not have addresses for everyone. And so if you don’t, you don’t. But for those members that you do have addresses for, this is a great thing to do.
The Cost of Not Following This Fitness Sales Strategy Is More Expensive
The theme to all of this information that I’m sharing with you here is that you want to create a compelling offer. You want to advertise the offer correctly. Also, you want to create intrigue so they’re wanting to know more. Then, you want to advertise the advertisements, and follow-up, follow-up, follow-up.
If it seems like too much work for you to do, then I recommend hiring someone.
If you don’t have the money to hire someone, just know this: It’ll cost you less to hire someone to do this right than if you don’t do it at all.
We have gyms and fitness studios that generated nearly $70,000 in one weekend…
How much will an employee cost you for an entire year? Or, to work with us or a company like us to help you line it all up?
The way I want everyone to think is money in, money out. Too many people think about money out and not money in. How much money do you want to bring in and how much are you willing to put out to get it?
And if you have a scarcity mindset, look at it this way: What’s it costing you every month to not have made the investment to get what you deserve? How much money are you losing by not running plays like this throughout the whole year and all the other plays you should and could be running to grow your business?
If you want to talk more about this strategy and other ways to grow your fitness business, call (480) 567-9794 and tell them you read this blog or listened to my holiday promo podcast.
Let’s GSD!
