Do you struggle with sales?

Many gym owners do – and it’s easy to see why. They come from a training background, with experience and passion to help people reach fitness goals. Now, as business owners, they find they have to also learn how to sell, and it can be a challenge.

How? With our simple 5-step process. Here’s an outline of how it works.

Step 1: Welcome and Building Rapport.

When you meet your potential client, focus on doing just two things:

• Set the tone by building a genuine connection.
• Set expectations about the meeting and your relationship.

Show that you care about the person and what has brought him or her to you. Ask open-ended questions. Listen. Share a bit about yourself, without shifting focus.

It’s a real conversation, not a sales monologue. You want to draw from your prospects what they want to change – and the emotional component is key. Show that you’re here to help whether they sign or not.

Step 2:  Explore Aspirations.

Encourage your prospect to look to the future and dream a bit. Go beyond something typical and short-term (“I want to lose 15 pounds”) and let him or her describe what life could look like in a year. 

If this takes a little pressing, you’ll find it’s worth it. Share a bit about yourself, if that’s necessary.

This will open them up emotionally and reveal important aspects of their values.

Step 3: Uncover Afflictions.

This flows beautifully from Step 2, so do it at the same time. Explore the tension between what they want and what they do. This identifies the pain points or afflictions that stand in their way.

We all have beliefs about ourselves, but sometimes there’s a gap between our self-image and our behavior. That can motivate us to change our actions to match our self-belief. 

When prospects see this gap, you’ve already helped them immeasurably.

Step 4: Collaborative Evaluation

Together, the two of you will evaluate the pros and cons of the prospect taking action – and of not taking action.

What’s good and bad about getting in shape?

What’s good and bad about continuing everything as it is?

It’s the biggest choice at stake — to change or not. And it has the biggest impact on closing the sale.

Step 5: Recommendations and Commitment

Repackage what your prospect has told you and maybe add a recommendation about, say, small group training twice a week.

Then, share a story about a client who had a similar challenge – and how that person succeeded. 

And finally, pose the commitment question, emphasizing the prospect’s freedom to choose: “Based on what we’ve talked about, what do you see as the next step?” This reinforces the themes we’ve followed all along:

• You’re genuinely concerned about helping them.
• They truly can make the necessary changes.
• It’s their decision to make – no pressure.