Tips to Selling Memberships during a Recession

Staff buy-in. The first people that need to be sold on investing in health is each of your membership advisors. They must believe in the value of exercise. Everyone knows the value of exercise and now everyone must believe that exercise helps one’s physical and mental well-being. Once your membership advisors embrace the fact that living a healthy lifestyle is a 24/7 attitude, they will make sales.
Sell with passion. Questions that membership advisors need to ask themselves are: Are they exercising? Do they believe in the product? Do they practice what they preach? The biggest component to selling anything is emotion. People buy based on emotion. They can sense whether the club representative is sincere or just trying to make a sale. Today’s consumer is savvy. Do not underestimate their ability to see right through false emotion and excitement. Membership advisors must have a burning passion for fitness and living a healthy lifestyle that must flow through their presentation.
Ignore the negativity. Membership advisors should not get caught up reading doomsayer headlines and watching stock market results. It is important to know what’s going on, but it should not consume their every thought, leading to desperation. Being distracted from a daily success cycle will only make matters worse. Membership advisors must keep a positive mental attitude every day and disregard what is going on around them or in their own personal lives. They must stay focused.
Value proposition. Consumers are evaluating where to spend their hard-earned money these days. Membership advisors must make a value proposition relatable to their goals and fitness needs. They must show prospects the value of starting an exercise program and how starting now makes more sense than ever. They should help prospects determine their daily spending habits and explain how spending less per day is a great value. Prospects can join the club for a low fixed cost and enjoy the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle.
Empathy vs. sympathy. Empathy is the capacity to recognize or understand another’s state of mind. It is often characterized as the ability to put yourself in their shoes. Sympathy is a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding his or her feelings. Membership advisors should not sympathize but empathize with prospects. They must understand their situation but be careful not to get caught up in their story. Bring the conversation back to results and benefits of joining the club. Turn each negative into a positive. People on a tight budget usually don’t have much to do other than read, watch TV or surf the Internet. That gets boring quickly and encourages an unhealthy lifestyle. They could be at the gym, exercising, socializing, networking and making new friends all for a low monthly fixed cost. And they can read, watch TV or surf the Internet while doing it.

YMCA Announces It Is Closing! …… Thought the recession was over?

Residents of the southern Florida city of Bonita Springs are planning to protest the imminent closure of the Bonita YMCA at a city council meeting this week. YMCA of the Palms, which manages the branch, announced earlier this month that it would be closing the facility due to financial hardship.

Supporters of the Bonita Y will voice their concerns at this week’s Bonita Springs (FL) City Council meeting.
Members of the Bonita Y want a chance to air their concerns and to try to find a way for the center, which opened in 2005, to continue operating, according to reports in several local media outlets. Many of the center’s supporters say they made financial donations towards its $7.2 million construction cost.

In a statement, Brandon Dowdy, president and CEO of YMCA of the Palms, said the organization already has researched possible solutions to keep the center open.

“Our volunteer and staff leadership have spent the last year exploring options to ensure the YMCA’s long-term success and to best match our organization’s unique capabilities with the community’s needs,” he said. “Unfortunately, we cannot continue to subsidize operating losses, and we have made the difficult decision to suspend operations.”

The statement also said that the YMCA of the USA is working with community leaders to identify ways in which the Y can continue to offer services in Bonita Springs.

In addition to fitness facilities, the center also offers child care and Weight Watchers and Silver Sneakers programs and serves as a hurricane shelter.

YMCA of the Palms executives have not said what avenues are being considered, but about 40 miles up the Florida coast in Fort Myers, the Lee County Y, which also was operating at a loss recently, has found a way to continue—and even expand—its services to the community.

The Lee County Y earlier this month announced it had merged with the South County YMCA, one county away, in an effort to reduce overhead and find financial stability. Lee County Y currently is comprised of the Paul Bush Branch in Fort Myers and another branch in Naples; South County Y operates facilities in Venice and Englewood.

Under the new partnership, and with the help of another local nonprofit organization, the Lee County Y now is planning to expand. The Y last week confirmed that it will be opening a new center in Cape Coral this August. The branch will be located in a former Shriners Club building that the Cape Coral Kiwanis Club is buying with the intention of having the YMCA operate the new center’s programming.

YMCA Announces It Is Closing! …… Thought the recession was over?

Residents of the southern Florida city of Bonita Springs are planning to protest the imminent closure of the Bonita YMCA at a city council meeting this week. YMCA of the Palms, which manages the branch, announced earlier this month that it would be closing the facility due to financial hardship.

Supporters of the Bonita Y will voice their concerns at this week’s Bonita Springs (FL) City Council meeting.
Members of the Bonita Y want a chance to air their concerns and to try to find a way for the center, which opened in 2005, to continue operating, according to reports in several local media outlets. Many of the center’s supporters say they made financial donations towards its $7.2 million construction cost.

In a statement, Brandon Dowdy, president and CEO of YMCA of the Palms, said the organization already has researched possible solutions to keep the center open.

“Our volunteer and staff leadership have spent the last year exploring options to ensure the YMCA’s long-term success and to best match our organization’s unique capabilities with the community’s needs,” he said. “Unfortunately, we cannot continue to subsidize operating losses, and we have made the difficult decision to suspend operations.”

The statement also said that the YMCA of the USA is working with community leaders to identify ways in which the Y can continue to offer services in Bonita Springs.

In addition to fitness facilities, the center also offers child care and Weight Watchers and Silver Sneakers programs and serves as a hurricane shelter.

YMCA of the Palms executives have not said what avenues are being considered, but about 40 miles up the Florida coast in Fort Myers, the Lee County Y, which also was operating at a loss recently, has found a way to continue—and even expand—its services to the community.

The Lee County Y earlier this month announced it had merged with the South County YMCA, one county away, in an effort to reduce overhead and find financial stability. Lee County Y currently is comprised of the Paul Bush Branch in Fort Myers and another branch in Naples; South County Y operates facilities in Venice and Englewood.

Under the new partnership, and with the help of another local nonprofit organization, the Lee County Y now is planning to expand. The Y last week confirmed that it will be opening a new center in Cape Coral this August. The branch will be located in a former Shriners Club building that the Cape Coral Kiwanis Club is buying with the intention of having the YMCA operate the new center’s programming.

YMCA Announces It Is Closing!

Residents of the southern Florida city of Bonita Springs are planning to protest the imminent closure of the Bonita YMCA at a city council meeting this week. YMCA of the Palms, which manages the branch, announced earlier this month that it would be closing the facility due to financial hardship.

Supporters of the Bonita Y will voice their concerns at this week’s Bonita Springs (FL) City Council meeting.
Members of the Bonita Y want a chance to air their concerns and to try to find a way for the center, which opened in 2005, to continue operating, according to reports in several local media outlets. Many of the center’s supporters say they made financial donations towards its $7.2 million construction cost.

In a statement, Brandon Dowdy, president and CEO of YMCA of the Palms, said the organization already has researched possible solutions to keep the center open.

“Our volunteer and staff leadership have spent the last year exploring options to ensure the YMCA’s long-term success and to best match our organization’s unique capabilities with the community’s needs,” he said. “Unfortunately, we cannot continue to subsidize operating losses, and we have made the difficult decision to suspend operations.”

The statement also said that the YMCA of the USA is working with community leaders to identify ways in which the Y can continue to offer services in Bonita Springs.

In addition to fitness facilities, the center also offers child care and Weight Watchers and Silver Sneakers programs and serves as a hurricane shelter.

YMCA of the Palms executives have not said what avenues are being considered, but about 40 miles up the Florida coast in Fort Myers, the Lee County Y, which also was operating at a loss recently, has found a way to continue—and even expand—its services to the community.

The Lee County Y earlier this month announced it had merged with the South County YMCA, one county away, in an effort to reduce overhead and find financial stability. Lee County Y currently is comprised of the Paul Bush Branch in Fort Myers and another branch in Naples; South County Y operates facilities in Venice and Englewood.

Under the new partnership, and with the help of another local nonprofit organization, the Lee County Y now is planning to expand. The Y last week confirmed that it will be opening a new center in Cape Coral this August. The branch will be located in a former Shriners Club building that the Cape Coral Kiwanis Club is buying with the intention of having the YMCA operate the new center’s programming.

Shame ,Shame, Shame on Star Trac For Shutting Down California Plant as More Production Moves to China

I would like to thank “America and especially Star Trac” for sending us this plant and laying off thier American workers. Thank you Star Trac!

In a continuing effort to shift more production to its plant in China, Star Trac is shutting down its factory in California, resulting in close to 50 layoffs. The Irvine, CA-based company announced in early April that it would shut down its factory in Murrieta, CA. Production was scheduled to stop May 31, but new Star Trac President Dustin Grosz says that deadline may get extended by a few more weeks. A total of 48 employees currently work at the Murrieta factory, which had produced Flex Fitness products. In addition to those jobs that will be eliminated, Star Trac laid off about 25 employees from its corporate headquarters last month. Most of those employees were in departments such as sales, finance, accounting and IT, says Grosz, who adds that some of those departments are being consolidated with the StairMaster offices in Vancouver, WA. Star Trac owner Michael Bruno purchased the StairMaster and Schwinn brands from Nautilus Inc. last year. “In Irvine, we’re going to continue to have our marketing team, our product development team, our warehousing and shipping of goods,” Grosz says. “We’re going to keep our showroom here for our customers to come into. We have all of our testing labs and everything else that’s still going to be here.” Bruno has been in China for about a month overseeing the company’s production in its Xiamen, China, plant. Bruno, who bought Star Trac 10 months ago, said in March that he hoped 75 percent of the company’s production would be shifted to China by June and 90 percent would be shifted to China by the end of the summer.

Grosz says Star Trac should be close to Bruno’s percentage prediction by summer’s end. In the meantime, Grosz says the company will continue to be in a turnaround phase over the next couple of months. He says he does not anticipate more layoffs.“We believe that we made the necessary changes with the decisions that we’ve made in the past 45 to 60 days,” Grosz says. “With those decisions, we feel very strongly that we’re going to be able to make the transitions and consolidate some of the functions and then be back to profitability and growth in the not-too-distant future.” Grosz, who came from StairMaster to take over as Star Trac president after Mike Leveque resigned in March, says the company has gained some momentum after the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association show in March—where it announced several international club agreements—and the FIBO trade show last month in Germany.

“A lot of the buying decisions for a lot of our customers had been made for the spring and summer, so therefore, we’re not going to be able to get the business for spring and summer,” Grosz says. “But as we go into the fall and winter, we’re starting to pick up that business that we’ve maybe lost in the past 18 months of downturn in our company. It’s coming back. It just takes time. We feel good about where we’re at in the process.” Grosz acknowledges some of the mistakes the company has made in the recent past, mistakes the company is now trying to correct. “We’ve lost customers, we’ve disappointed customers, but a lot of that can be easily fixed,” Grosz says. “What we failed at is not delivering on our commitments, not providing the product on time, not providing the parts when we have a quality issue. We’re making a lot of headway there. Are we where we want to be? No, absolutely not. We’ve got a lot of work to do. But we’re getting the traction we needed and the focus we needed.” Shame ,Shame, Shame on Star Trac For Shutting Down California Plant as More Production Moves to China

Health Club News: …. Brought to you by courtesy of http://fitnesslifemarketing.com/

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