There have been countless articles written about getting more people in your warehouse to lift weights, play on rings and row their hearts out. They are all chock full of great information, but in this article we will go over one major player that will consistently bring new exercisers to your gym.
The major player is education
You want to educate and motivate people to meet you when they are ready.
If you push out quality information (through your blog, social media, and word of mouth) it will create an informed consumer. An informed consumer will pick the highest quality gym in the area that produces the best results. Waiting until they are ready is a great way to avoid sounding like a used car salesman. A perfect example is CrossFit.com. The instructional videos, pictures and articles they push out are highly informative and put together by a team of professionals. Everyone who is interested in the program has full access to the highest quality information on the sport. You do not have to live up to those standards, but that is a great template to follow and recreate on your website.
Establish yourself as the expert
Posting videos of games athletes, linking to other articles and sharing recipes are all part of the puzzle, but you want to establish yourself and your trainers as the experts by creating original content. Write blog articles, post WOD demos, share member stories, and show everyone the freaking awesomeness you have to offer.
The final step in this priceless process is encouraging people – in a classy way — to stop in, try out a class, and sign up
No begging, desperate attempts, or gimmicks to get people in your door. Just a simple reminder that lets people know, when they are ready you are happy to have them. It is painful, like doing Helen in 100% humidity on a track, to see how many owners forget this simple step. Invite people in at the end of your blog posts, put reminders in videos about your foundations class, how to get started, and when your free class takes place.
If you think that is still too pushy, picture yourself heading over to a fellow WODer’s house for the first time. You have your WOD Killa t-shirt on, board shorts and matching Reebok Nanos. Of course you are the first one to arrive and when you sit down your fellow box member says “Make yourself at home. Grab something if you need it.” Well, seriously how likely are you to get up, go in the fridge and get something? What if you sat down and they brought over a plate of succulent grilled tri-tip and said, “Would you like some steak?”
The fact is it would be hard for you not to take a piece of tri tip. It would be borderline rude and followed by some uncomfortable silence. Understanding this concept shows us that people like to be led. It is why box gyms are booming with business. People are tired of going into the mirror filled globo gyms and wondering around aimlessly after doing three sets of 12. They want to step into a warehouse with no A/C, lots of chalk dust, sweat and loud music and be told exactly what to do and for how long.
How do you educate people? Leave a comment below and share your strategies.
This blog post was kindly written for us by Geo Rockwell, former owner of CrossFit Mission Gorge in San Diego and founder of Fitrilla.com, where fitness entrepreneurs share their secrets to success. He has his CrossFit level one certification, CrossFit Endurance Certification, ACE Certification, and a Bachelors in Physical Education.