The Truth About Lead Generation
O.K. - Back after a great weekend...So let's talk about lead generation. Basically, this is how you go about getting prospective clients to consider you for their fitness needs. Frankly, most fitness professionals don't really understand how this process works at all. Do you?
Over the weekend I went into a couple of health clubs and saw what I always see, a flyer or brochure with prices and a few pictures on the wall with each trainer and their credentials.
Crap. It's all crap. It's a giant case of me-tooism where everyone does what they see everyone else do. If you take brochures and other materials from 50 different trainers and cut out the names and faces, they're interchangeable. This approach doesn't work and the people who make a decent living using it do so in spite of it...Not because of it.
You need to have a system to get prospects to approach you...Not you chasing after them. And you need to spend the bulk of your time with people who can reasonably be expected to give you their money. So here are ten tips for devising your system:
1. Be clear on what this is. Training is a business so money MUST be the predominate measure of success. So you must consider your time valuable, price your services to reflect what you want to earn, and have a back-end system to maximize referrals and lifetime client value. Even though this isn't marketing, you must keep this in mind because it's WHY you market to begin with.
2. Create Credibility. Client testimonials are PURE GOLD. Use them in every mailing, brochure and ad. Have a testimonial book and Wall of Fame.
3. Get publicity and leverage it. Write for the newspaper or submit queries to magazines. Send press releases to all you local media outlets and don't hesitate to approach the national ones as well. Not only will this get you leads hungry for your expertise - but you can also leverage it by copying these materials and making them available to your prospects.
4. Specialize. Find a niche (or several) and become the premier trainer in your town, state or country in that specialty. People will almost always choose the person who specializes in what their concerned with over the general practicioner. If you are having chest pains would you rather see the cardiologist or your family doctor. You can have more than one specialty...Just don't promote them together.
5. Flow. It's simple...Supply and demand. Keep marketing once you get clients, limited supply makes your time so much more valuable to the prospect and gives you power or control. Block off your schedule and tell prospects what time is available. You're no longer on call.
6. Make your marketing like a personals ad. Tell the reader EXACTLY who you're looking for as a client. They'll stand up and take action and the tire-kickers will pass on by.
7. Give a reason for response. Offer a free report or something similar to pre-sell and pre-screen the prospect even further.
8. Put up the velvet rope. Make it clear that you are accepting a select number of prospects. Everybody wants what they can't have...And will often pay a premium price for it.
9. Referrals. These are the most pre-qualified prospects of all. They know what you do, how much you charge and have acted on a testimonial from a friend, family member or co-worker. Create a referral system and make it the core of your marketing efforts.
10. Strategic Alliances. Find businesses with the same type of client that you work with. Create a relationship and have them market you to their list.
Obviously, this list isn't comprehensive. If you want more details about Lead Generation, Eric Ruth wrote a great chapter on it in Fitness Riches (www.fitness-riches.com) and Stephen Holt also contributed a chapter on positioning that will soon have you facing the pleasant problem of having more prospects than you know what to do with.
I'll be discussing the Sales Process in the next day or two...
Over the weekend I went into a couple of health clubs and saw what I always see, a flyer or brochure with prices and a few pictures on the wall with each trainer and their credentials.
Crap. It's all crap. It's a giant case of me-tooism where everyone does what they see everyone else do. If you take brochures and other materials from 50 different trainers and cut out the names and faces, they're interchangeable. This approach doesn't work and the people who make a decent living using it do so in spite of it...Not because of it.
You need to have a system to get prospects to approach you...Not you chasing after them. And you need to spend the bulk of your time with people who can reasonably be expected to give you their money. So here are ten tips for devising your system:
1. Be clear on what this is. Training is a business so money MUST be the predominate measure of success. So you must consider your time valuable, price your services to reflect what you want to earn, and have a back-end system to maximize referrals and lifetime client value. Even though this isn't marketing, you must keep this in mind because it's WHY you market to begin with.
2. Create Credibility. Client testimonials are PURE GOLD. Use them in every mailing, brochure and ad. Have a testimonial book and Wall of Fame.
3. Get publicity and leverage it. Write for the newspaper or submit queries to magazines. Send press releases to all you local media outlets and don't hesitate to approach the national ones as well. Not only will this get you leads hungry for your expertise - but you can also leverage it by copying these materials and making them available to your prospects.
4. Specialize. Find a niche (or several) and become the premier trainer in your town, state or country in that specialty. People will almost always choose the person who specializes in what their concerned with over the general practicioner. If you are having chest pains would you rather see the cardiologist or your family doctor. You can have more than one specialty...Just don't promote them together.
5. Flow. It's simple...Supply and demand. Keep marketing once you get clients, limited supply makes your time so much more valuable to the prospect and gives you power or control. Block off your schedule and tell prospects what time is available. You're no longer on call.
6. Make your marketing like a personals ad. Tell the reader EXACTLY who you're looking for as a client. They'll stand up and take action and the tire-kickers will pass on by.
7. Give a reason for response. Offer a free report or something similar to pre-sell and pre-screen the prospect even further.
8. Put up the velvet rope. Make it clear that you are accepting a select number of prospects. Everybody wants what they can't have...And will often pay a premium price for it.
9. Referrals. These are the most pre-qualified prospects of all. They know what you do, how much you charge and have acted on a testimonial from a friend, family member or co-worker. Create a referral system and make it the core of your marketing efforts.
10. Strategic Alliances. Find businesses with the same type of client that you work with. Create a relationship and have them market you to their list.
Obviously, this list isn't comprehensive. If you want more details about Lead Generation, Eric Ruth wrote a great chapter on it in Fitness Riches (www.fitness-riches.com) and Stephen Holt also contributed a chapter on positioning that will soon have you facing the pleasant problem of having more prospects than you know what to do with.
I'll be discussing the Sales Process in the next day or two...
posted by Pat Rigsby at 9:32 AM
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