FITNESS LIFE MARKETING...Selling to the 50-Plus Market
When people call your facility, or walk into your business, odds are that they are there because they are seriously looking at buying a membership. This is especially true if the prospect is older than 50. These seasoned consumers have, in many cases, done their research long before they sit in front of your sales staff. However, your sales staff’s effect on their final decision is immense. How do you know if your current sales staff is suited to sell to adults who are 50-plus? The following nine traits are a good place to start.
1. The right attitude
Sales staff should be positive, pleasant, confident, resilient, empathetic and professional. They must also enjoy spending time with older people. If they don’t love older people, they shouldn’t be selling to them.
2. Know the basics
A professional salesperson must know all the elements of the sales process. Examples include a needs assessment with solutions, overcoming objections and closing the sale. To be great at sales, staff should blend these elements into their personality, and use them to move the sales process forward. But rather than an obvious series of steps that lead to closing the sale, this process should seem more like a conversation that ends with the customers getting what they want. Think of the sales role as being a personal concierge — someone who finds what the customer wants and needs.
3. Know the product
You need a first-rate understanding of how the product can, and will, improve the quality of life for older clients. Well-seasoned salespeople know when they don’t have the answer to a question, and will find someone who can answer it.
4. Education
Look for ways for your sales staff to learn new skills. Examples include role playing, courses, conferences, regional meetings, seminars, night school, DVDs, CDs and books.
5. Study life and people
Teach your sales team to observe what people say, how they say it, why they say it and when they say it. Have them make notes and learn from others. Have them ask buyers and non-buyers why they chose to buy from them or not.
6. Be ethical
American author, teacher and humorist Leo Rosten once wrote, “I never cease being dumbfounded by the unbelievable things people believe.” Your team will fight against the belief that sales people will say anything to get the sale. Remind your sales staff that being a great 50-plus salesperson means that they must stand by what they say, and ensure that what they say stands.
7. Work hard and smart
Make sure your team knows the difference between hard work and smart work. Time is valuable, and wasting time can prove costly. Your sales staff members need to learn how to prospect for new customers, plus have the training and ability to recognize who potential clients are. Great salespeople understand that they create their pay — wasting time is wasting money.
8. Ask for the sale
According to Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point and Blink, everyone has the knowledge needed to make decisions in the blink of an eye. So, what holds a customer back? Is it fear? Is it that he didn’t get enough information to help justify the purchase, or she didn’t like the salesperson? Whatever it is, one thing is sure: Trying to get people to buy your products before they have reached their stage of readiness is like trying to get a toddler to eat creamed spinach. All that happens is a messy situation.
9. Follow up
Think about how often you have bought a product from a salesperson because she had a product that met your needs and she was right there in front of you? Then, the salesperson you spoke to a few months earlier called a few weeks after he was supposed to, and felt frustrated to miss out on your business. Your team needs to know that the key to increasing sales performance is timely follow-up with customers.
The right person for the job
Exceptional salespeople are individuals with the knowledge, skills, training, attitude and discipline to succeed. Help your salespeople hone their skills every day so that they can join the ranks of the great 50-plus sales professionals.
Sponsored by: Fitness Life Marketing 1-888-541-0714 ext2
Article Research Contributor: Amerishape Weight Loss
Is this the Best Fitness Marketing Ever?
Club owners and managers,…..What do you think? Would you do this?
Send us your comment.
As part of an ad campaign, the health club chain Fitness First has turned a bus stop bench in the Netherlands into a scale that displays people’s weights on a large LCD screen.
Public shaming can a pretty powerful motivational tool and all, but I wonder: Should we be outraged or impressed? Then again, is this even good marketing in the first place?
Sponsored by: Fitness Life Marketing 1-888-541-0714 ext2
Article Research Contributor: Amerishape Weight Loss
http://www.good.is/post/is-this-the-best-fitness-marketing-ever/
FITNESS LIFE MARKETING ….AMERISHAPE…….
How To Handle Health Club Sales Objections
Objections to membership sales can be viewed as the most difficult part of the entire sales process for a health club sales person. This is especially true if the objection is viewed as an obstacle rather than an opportunity to help the guest get the results they are looking for. Here are some suggestions on how to handle health club membership objections effectively.
1. With the effective use of a needs analysis, always try to anticipate objections early in the health club tour and membership presentation. Too many health club sales people wait until objections come to them instead of trying to anticipate what they will be. Eliminate the objections as you go along, and the membership process will be much easier.
2. Never rush your response to a guest’s objection. Hear them out. Listen, even if you’ve heard it a thousand times before. Health club salespeople often respond too quickly and actually will over-talk their guests in these situations. This will often create friction with the guest which will likely lead to them not joining your club.
3. Repeat the objection back to your guest. This will buy you some time to think, plus it will also show that you are interested in what they have to say. It will also help you to be sure that you understand exactly what the guest is saying.
4. Don’t forget that that an objection to joining your health club is many times a “buying signal” because the guest still has questions. If they had no interest in your club or in joining, why would they still be talking to you?
5. If you think a guest’s objection is just a smokescreen, ask if they are interested in your club and in getting results. Smokescreen objections can be a real time waster for health club sales people, and even the most seasoned health club professionals can fall into this trap. Some club guests will feel overpowered by a confident health club sales person and their only escape is to create a “false objection” to joining your club. A simple way to rid yourself of this problem is by further probing in order to make sure that the objection to becoming a member is genuine.
6. It is important to remember that, statistically speaking, a minimum of three objections are needed before a person will buy. However, many health club sales people give up after the first objection without realizing that this person would have joined their club if they had persisted a little more.
7. Objections are simply part of the health club sales process. Without them, there would be no need for salespeople and you would be out of a job. So don’t let them stop you from reaching your goals. The true health club professional doesn’t ever let objections get in the way of end goals.
8. Listen carefully to objections you receive about joining. They will hold valuable clues about the guest’s needs and desire. A real objection can often reveal important information that is worth noting because even if your guest doesn’t buy on this occasion you may know what buttons to push the next time you speak to them.
9. The better your tour and the better your membership presentation, the fewer objections you will hear – it’s that simple. It’s important to give your presentation in a way that your guest clearly understands. This will help you avoid objections that arise from not clearly understanding what you have said. Practice.
10. It wouldn’t be sales if people never objected. Many guests who join your club simply enjoy the “going-back-and-forth element” of buying, and health club sales people should be aware of this.
Now, let’s go sell!
Sponsored by: Fitness Life Marketing 1-888-541-0714 ext2
Article Research Contributor: Amerishape Weight Loss
Your Health Club's Website
FITNESS LIFE MARKETING……7 Strategies to Improve the Effectiveness of Your Health Club’s Website!
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. This is especially true when it comes to your health club’s website. In this day and age, your prospects will seek you out on the Internet long before they stop in or even call. So you want to make sure your website offers an attractive peek into what they can expect as members of your club. Here are 7 strategies to help make sure your website drives prospects to your club.
First and foremost, you need a way to collect visitor information. This is probably the most important element of an effective health club website. You already know you need to collect visitor information when a prospect visits your club. Apply that same strategy to your website! It is as simple as offering a 14 day trial membership in exchange for your visitor’s email address. The best way to do this is to have an opt-in form on your site, that is linked to an autoresponder system such as Aweber or Constant Contact. By collecting their information, you will have the opportunity to send them information about your club, fitness and nutrition tips, and a method of communication if they forget to redeem their trial membership.
Try to use pictures of your actual members on your site. Too many websites have the same stock photographs on their website. Images of real members from your club as well as your staff members are always more powerful than using images of people who are obviously models. Prospects will be turned off if you have a site loaded with pictures of people they cannot relate to. I recommend a “Gallery” of photos somewhere on your site.
Set up a “Partners” page on your website. This works well for a couple of reasons. First it looks like you’re a major part of the community. Prospects will likely see stores where they’ve shopped, and in turn feel comfortable with you through a mutual connection. But more importantly, this provides you a great opportunity to offer something of value to your neighbor businesses in exchange for something they can do for you.
Emphasize your most important message on your home page. If you’re the best, make sure you tell them you’re the best. If you’re the biggest club, the only 24 hour club, the club with the best service, the “guaranteed results” club…you have to tell them right away! What is it that is your best selling feature…your Unique Selling Proposition? What makes you different from the other fitness options in town? You want to make sure they know this right away. Make sure there is no doubt what message you want a visitor to know right away.
Always use dark font against a light background. Too many websites try to get fancy and put a dark background with light colored font…this is a mistake. If someone tries to read more than a few sentences of light text against a dark background, it will strain their eyes. Menus and headers can use a darker color, but the main content area needs to be white or a very light color.
Limit the number of menu tabs on your site. I’ve seen some websites that have up to 20 different menus on their site! I say no more than 6. You can easily develop subcategories for each of these. For example, don’t have a tab for group fitness and boot camp and massage and tanning and personal training and childcare. Have a tab called “Services” and have each of these a subcategory. Drop down tabs are especially useful for this.
Make sure your website is better than your competitors’ sites. This one probably goes without saying. If your prospects look at your website and look at your competitor’s website, they will call or visit the one that they like most. Make sure your site is prettier, more user friendly, and more informative than the websites of your competitors.
Sponsored by: Fitness Life Marketing 1-888-541-0714 ext2
Article Research Contributor: Amerishape Weight Loss
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