Member Retention

A Proven Way to Increase Average Client Value (it's probably not what you think) [PART 1]

It can be hard for gyms to get more clients and KEEP them.

We say “gyms” and “clients” but if you want to be successful in any business, you’ve got to get more people, keep them longer, and/or increase average client value.

It’s actually pretty simple.

Without doing those things, it’s near impossible for gym owners to make more money for themselves, their family and their team -- which generally lowers satisfaction and increases stress…

And low satisfaction + increase stress is a terrible formula that leads to burn out...

I'm not sure where you are in your journey, but if it's ok with you, I want to give you the most important things to focus on right now. We’ll be sticking with Average Client Value (ACV), as a primary discussion point, but things overlap. What I’ll share with you will also impact getting more folks into your gym, and keeping your members longer.

I’ll also give you an exact action plan (with templates and tons of ‘done for you’ assets) that will help you:

  • Make more money (so you have the life quality you truly deserve)
  • Systemize and Streamline Your Business (so you can put your business on rails, and relieve headaches and fires)

I want to give you the hard-won lessons I learned and actively used to keep my gym thriving!

And if it's ok with you, I'd like you to have it all for free.

These were lessons learned over nearly a decade, and if implemented properly will totally change the game for you, your family, and your team.

These are powerful ideas that you can use immediately.

I know from experience how TEMPLATES can save a lot time... and I want to give you the ones we personally use.

It will save you a ton of time and thinking...I also want to give you other assets you can swipe and deploy in your gym that will drastically help you and your team.

But before we dive in, I want to review the WHY and the LOGIC behind what I'm going to share with you.

So let’s first look at this concept:

Quick Fixes (Urgent) vs Permanent Fixes (Important).

This concept alone is extremely valuable, and I wish I knew it earlier

....and just stick with me if you already know all this stuff, it'll be a great review because learning is an iterative process… and that means multiple passes are needed.

First thing: look at your business and ask, what are you focusing on?

Are you focusing more on Quick Fixes (Urgent Things) or Permanent Fixes (Important Things)?

A quick fix is the duct-tape solution you slap together on a road trip so you can get home safely ...

Quick fixes are urgent requests... the fires that pop up that we have to put out.

These are temporary answers to get out of pain in the moment.

If we continue only focusing on these, we build a house of cards that is supported by us alone -- this is not good.

There’s a term “Rugged Individualist” that Strategic Coach Dan Sullivan uses to describe an entrepreneur who does everything alone...

"I'll handle it... I got this"

Most every gym owner I know started out as a Rugged Individualist. Many are still there.

In the early days of ownership it's usually the fastest, simplest and most effective answer. "I'll just do it..."

Being self reliant is an awesome and valuable trait, but too much is a great way to find yourself in a overly demanding job that you built......

a job that only gets more complex as time goes on unless you focus on permanent fixes.

Permanent fixes, on the opposite side of urgency, are the truly important things that if focused on lay a solid foundation that pay "dividends" over the long term in the form of time.

Permanent fixes require more up front work, more thinking, and more planning -- but once built, require a fraction of effort to continue to maintain.

These are the systems and the processes around onboarding, sales, marketing, nurturing campaigns, content production, and WOW packages for new members when they join (to name a few).

They are machines that once built, do work for you.

But, let me be clear, building a permanent fix is not all that easy at first.

And that's why they are one of the big factors (if not THE big factor) that set businesses apart.

It takes a long time to realize just how important they truly are.

If you don’t have them in place, you’ll be running from thing to thing, constantly overwhelmed, until you quit or sell.

So, before we do anything, you’ve got to start thinking in terms of Permanent Fixes aka working on the important stuff.

You've got to think of yourself as a machine builder.

Think of each machine as an asset that will unload work from you, to the machine that you build.

How do you build those machines?

Well I'm going to give you the Blueprint of one of the most Important Machines in the next post.

But giving you this info does not mean the machine will build itself… obvious, right?

In order to make that happen, you must schedule time to work on it, and then follow through by actually doing the work.

I know this is obvious, and you already know it... but knowing is useless without action. I'm all too familiar with knowing but not doing.

"Yeah, I already know that..."

Knowing isn't enough, you must actually sit in the shop and work on the business itself...

Chris Cooper of Two-Brain Business calls this #CEO time.

It must be scheduled in your calendar as uninterruptible blocks of time to focus on the most important things.

Why am I telling you all this?

Because uninterrupted blocks of time are the secret to getting real, high quality, important work done.

And I want you to do this work, because you'll see a real, significant difference if you do.

In my next post, I'll be going over something that is absolutely crucial to your success.

It's a thinking frame work that, along with understanding the value of blocked time, is critical to your long term success.

Without this next piece you'd never be able to reach your true potential because you'd be leaving so much on the table.

So look out for that post, and I'll talk to you soon