2. Style over substance.
I’ll never forget talking with a guru one day about how to get leads to talk on the phone.
Way back in the day, before I had a gym of my own, I worked as a receptionist at a busy architectural firm. Salesmen would call all day long trying to get me to put them through to the owner of the company. I got pretty good at sniffing them out.
I wanted to make sure my boss didn’t have to deal with these people, so I made it my mission to spot them at all costs.
When I talked with the guru that day he told me his big secret to getting people on the phone and, to my surprise, it was the same technique I spent years defending against.
Keep in mind, this was just to get people to pick up the phone.
He hadn’t even mentioned what I was supposed to say to them after literally tricking them in the middle of their busy day. You don’t think they were going to be more than a little angry once they figured out what was going on?
We are in a relationship business here and this is NOT a way to start a relationship.
Relationships in your business have NEVER been more important than they are right now and a marketing plan that emphasizes “Leads at all cost” over building real trust will never work in the long run.
Like a lot of things in your business, marketing is very individual. I know some very successful gyms who thrive on Facebook ads and some that have never even run one.
Some gyms need upwards of 100 leads each month while others who do extremely well with 5.
Some gyms have successful relationships with other local businesses and others are in locations where this doesn’t work at all.
I think you get the point. All marketing gurus care about is, literally, marketing.
They don’t realize how different marketing strategies work with different businesses, and most of them don’t even care. It’s just about putting something flashy on social media.
A good business coach, like the ones here at Fitness Revolution (shameless plug I know), will talk with you about your business and what you want from it.
They’ll help you uncover your business’s biggest challenges and will collaborate with you to formulate a plan that sets you up for success.
They won’t just hand you the marketing equivalent of a “chicken and broccoli” meal plan and send you on your way.
I hope this helps you get a better understanding of marketing and its place in your business. It’s an important piece, certainly, but just a piece nonetheless.
