Generating and nurturing gym leads is all great. However, if you can’t convert these leads to clients, then the resources you have invested in lead generation and nurturing, will all go to waste. Selling the membership isn't enough. You have to sell it successfully, so that you don't lose clients. Winning them back costs resources, too.
Hence, you need to learn how to close gym membership sales, so that you can convert more leads into clients. Fortunately, it’s not as hard as it may appear. In this article, we will give you 7 tips for closing gym sales effectively, so that you can maintain a healthy client base.
1. Create a Good First Impression
Getting off on the right foot with prospects and creating a good first impression will not only make the sales process easier but also it will increase the chances of closing the sale. The reason behind this is that when you start on the right foot, that prospect will trust you.
So, how do you make a good first impression with your prospects? First, make proper preparations for your prospects. If someone is coming to your gym for a tour, you should send them a welcome package, featuring details like your location, driving instructions, parking instructions, and anything else that will make their visit smoother.
Sending them a welcome package shows that you are expecting your prospect, you care about them and you value them as future clients. And this will go a long way in setting the tone for a comfortable and positive visitor experience.
Second, smile and greet them warmly once they arrive at your gym. A simple smile coupled with a warm greeting will help them to relax and uplift their moods. Again, this will create a positive experience for the prospect.
Third, anticipate their common needs. As much as the prospect is visiting your gym for a tour of your facility, they may have other secondary needs. For instance, the prospect may need to use the washrooms or they may need some water to quench their thirst. They could also do with light refreshment if they are feeling hungry.
So, anticipate these needs and put in place measures that will help them to feel comfortable. And while doing these things may appear small or minor, they will go a long way in enhancing the visitor’s experience and creating a great first impression. As a result, you will find it easier to convince the prospect to sign up for your gym membership.
2. Know their Pain Points
Your prospect’s pain points are challenges or issues they may be facing, and they are looking for a product or service that can provide a solution. In this case, that service or product is your gym.
Identifying the prospects’ pain points will enable you to position your fitness services as the solution to their challenge. Also, it will show the potential client that you care about their goals and needs, and that you are not simply after selling them a gym membership.
One of the easiest ways of determining a prospect’s pain points is by simply asking them questions. And you can ask them questions like what they hope to accomplish by joining your gym.
For instance, a prospect may mention that they are having problems achieving their fitness goals, the pricing available elsewhere is too high or the classes offered in other gyms don’t fit their schedule.
You will then use the information they have provided to position your fitness center as the solution they have been searching for. And, by aligning your solution to their problem, the chances of closing the sale will be high.
3. Sell the Benefits, not the Features
Whenever you are selling gym memberships, you should focus on the benefits of your services as opposed to features. This is a great persuasion technique, used by successful salesmen all across the globe. At the end of the day, a potential client wants to know how they will benefit from your membership or how your fitness center will solve a challenge, they are facing.
By focusing on the benefits of your gym membership instead of the features, you will be speaking their language. And if you communicate the benefits clearly, the possibility of closing the sale is higher, compared to focusing on the features.
For instance, you can mention that if the prospect signs up for your gym membership, they will be allocated a personal trainer, who will be working with them to help them accomplish their fitness goals such as losing weight, building muscle or any other goal that they may be pursuing.
And by using this approach, you will be selling a solution and connecting with the prospect at a deeper emotional level. Consequently, this may help to create a desire for your services and your success rate will be higher.
4. Personalize the Sales Process
Different prospects will seek out your services for different reasons or goals. For example, some will want to join your gym so that they can lose weight, others may be looking to build muscle and enhance their physique while some may be simply looking to enhance their stamina or endurance.
As you can see, each of these prospects is after something different. So, when you are trying to close the sale, you also need to personalize the sales process. Using a generic approach may end up killing the sale.
With that in mind, when you are giving the prospects a tour of your gym, it will be advisable to first take them to the areas that align with the fitness goals they are seeking to accomplish.
For instance, someone can mention that they are trying to enhance their stamina. When they mention that, there’s no point in taking them to the room where you hold the group fitness classes. Instead, you should take them directly to the cardio areas.
By personalizing the sales process and showing the prospects the areas that align with their goals and needs, they will be more open to listening to the rest of your sales pitch. And, you will have a better chance of convincing them to sign up for your gym membership.
5. Create a Sense of Urgency
After touring your gym, if the prospect happens to leave without signing up for your gym membership, the possibility of converting them, later on, reduces significantly. One of the most effective ways of preventing this issue is by creating a sense of urgency. You need to offer them something that is time sensitive, which will make them feel that if they fail to commit at that particular moment, then they are going to miss out on something incredible.
Some of the ways that you can create a sense of urgency include offering the prospect free sessions or a discounted membership if they sign up for membership there and then. You can also offer them free customized meal plans or other valuable resources if they purchase your gym membership right away.
But, you don’t always have to offer a promo to create a sense of urgency. You can also use an emotional angle when making your sales pitch. And you can do so using the information you’ve gathered about the prospect’s pain points and then use that information to convince them why they should act immediately to accomplish their fitness goals.
6. Overcome the Prospect’s Objections
It’s highly likely that the prospect may raise some objections somewhere along the sales process. And this is completely normal in a sales process. Some of the common objections that the prospects may raise include not having enough time, your membership being costly or failure to achieve results before at other fitness centers.
So, you need to anticipate these objections and prepare the right answers. To prepare for the prospect’s sales objections, you should build a list of the common objections that you can expect. You then need to write well-thought-out and concise answers to these objections.
Hence, in case the prospect raises an objection, you will be adequately prepared to address their concerns more effectively. Without adequate preparation, you will be forced to improvise on the spot, and you may come across as less knowledgeable. Consequently, you may end up losing the sale.
7. Ask for the Sale
Somewhere along the sales, you will have to pose that question that most salespeople fear, which is asking for the sale. As long as you’ve built a rapport with your prospect, addressed their pain points, overcome any obstacles they may have raised and offered the perfect solution to their problem, you don’t have to wait any longer. You should proceed to ask for the sale.
When asking for the sale, you need to be direct. Don’t try to beat around the bush. At the same time, don’t be pushy. Do it in such a way that the gym membership you are offering the prospect is the perfect solution and it’s tailor-made for them.
8. Wrapping It Up
Similar to other membership-based businesses, gym members are the heart of your fitness business. So, mastering how to close gym membership sales effectively is vital to the growth and success of your gym business. And by implementing the strategies that we’ve shared in this article, you will find yourself closing gym membership sales every time, which translates to a healthy bottom line for your gym business.