“Set yourself apart.”

That’s one of gym business mentor Will Hurst’s top tips for the small gym owner looking to be successful in a competitive, sometimes oversaturated, market.

And while it goes without saying that offering 24/7 gym access to clients through HybridAF is a value add to current clients, Hurst explained that his clients who use HybridAF, say it also helps generate new clientele.

“It’s a really good bridge for anyone who is unaware of what a group community gym can offer. A lot of people think that all gyms are just basically access to the gym, so having a 24-7 access gets your gym on the radar for people who think this way. It’s just another hook you can throw into the water and a differentiator that other gyms don’t have. And the more hooks you can throw into the water to differentiate yourself the better,” Hurst said. Further, the 24-7 access is especially useful for more experienced members who might want individual design, which can also act as a revenue generator for the business, Hurst explained. “You can offer other services like individual design with the 24/7 access and essentially upsell clients, as opposed to people just using the space during this time,” he added.

THREE MORE CLIENT ACQUISITION AND RETENTION TIPS FROM HURST

Capture Online Leads More Effectively

One of the biggest shortcomings Hurst sees in the small gym industry is the inability to capture leads online, saying he constantly sees owners leaving a lot on the table in this area.

According to Hurst, if your gym has been around for three to seven years, you’re probably getting more traffic to your website through Google searches than you realize, but oftentimes your website just isn’t designed to capture many of these leads.

“When people land on your website, get them in,” he said.

The problem right now is that many people have outdated websites. Even a 2017 website is likely outdated, Hurst explained.

“And often it reads like a long-form brochure and by the time the person is halfway through the last paragraph, they’re out,” he said. “So much has changed now with how you have to connect with that lead. So if your website looks like something from five years ago, it’s probably not going to perform very well.”

A second issue many gyms face is that they pay to run ads for a service, but then the leads all end up in a funnel that doesn’t convert them into members, Hurst explained.

Helping gyms create more effective funnels, as well as modern website design, are two of the things Big Little Gyms help their clients with, and the moment gyms make the switch they notice a huge uptick, he said.

THE BOTTOM LINE

“People don’t care if you’re the best gym in town. They want to know that you know where they’re coming from, that you understand their pain. They want you to solve a problem they have, and if that’s the message on your website, it will hook them immediately,” Hurst added.

BONUS TIP

Know When to Sell

Another mistake Hurst sees gym owners make is trying to sell someone before they even come in to see the gym.

“It’s a bit like you being on date number one and trying to get them into bed with you instead of waiting until date number three,” Hurst joked.
If you wait for date number three, so to speak—which in this case means waiting to tell someone about the price and the details about the gym until you meet them in person—the conversion rate is much higher. It’s usually between 80 and 90 percent, Hurst explained.

The point: If you get a prospect into your gym, the chances of converting them increases dramatically. So instead of having that price conversation via email or on the phone, book them in to meet in-person.

Have an Ascension Strategy

When it comes to client retention, Hurst’s biggest advice is to have an ascension strategy in place to keep people around longer.

What he means by this is that results are what will keep people around longer, and oftentimes gym owners leave more experienced clients to their own devices, and then these clients might stay another year or two and then move on.

But, if you keep the client on a journey where they’re constantly experiencing new things—be it individual design to help them get their first muscle-up or nutrition coaching—the client is more likely to remain engaged and moving forward with their fitness.

This is especially true for larger gyms, Hurst explained.

“It’s like Cheers, where everyone knows your name, but as the gym grows, retention becomes harder because it becomes more like a larger restaurant where you just can’t have all those connections with everyone,” he said. “So the key is to make sure there are still touch points with your clients.”

And a great way to do it is through offering new ways to keep clients moving forward on their fitness journey, ultimately to ensure they don’t become stagnant and bored.

At the end of the day, it comes down to brain chemistry, Hurst explained.

“It’s at the root of all of our behavior,” Hurst said. “We’re all trying to find the dopamine or endorphin hit, so if you can keep being the driver to fulfill that dopamine hit—if you can keep being the drug dealer—people won’t leave,” he added.