Where Are You Leaving Money On The Table?

Every business that I've encountered over my time in the fitness industry has left money on the table. Sure, some leave less than others but every business leaves some. So what I'm going to do today is give you a way to view your business that will allow you to instantly see where you can improve what you do and create that additional stream of profit.

If you've followed my newsletter or been a coaching client then this will look familiar to you. That's O.K. - It merits repeating (over and over.) I and my business partner, Nick Berry, evaluate our businesses each month with this same template to see where we can improve. Here it is:

The FCG Flowchart

Basically, the way that we view any business is by plugging it into this simple flowchart. There are six steps that we believe any successful fitness business should have, and they are what comprise the flowchart. Each step is listed below with a brief explanation.

Step 1 - Lead Generation.

Simply how you generate your prospects. Advertising, marketing, referrals, publicity and anything else you can think of that helps you generate leads.

Step 2 - Sales Process.

How do you go about converting the prospect into a client or member? Is it a tour of your facility? How about a fitness assessment? List the details of whatever you do here.

Step 3 - Closing Process.

The actual conversion of a prospect to a member or client. List the details of your closing process here.

Step 4 - Upsells and Cross-sells.

Do you have an instant upsell when you close a deal? People are far more likely to purchase additional products or services at this point than at any other. Look at any successful retail business in the U.S. All of them try to get you to make an additional purchase at the point of sale. Do you?

Step 5 - Back end Opportunities

Once someone has become a member or client, do you have follow up offers in place? If you've provided great service on their initial purchase, you current clients or members will happily make additional purchases from you. What are your back end opportunities?

Step 6 - Referrals and Regeneration

Happy members and clients are your best source of new prospects. Do you have a system in place to take maximum advantage of this or do you just hope for good 'word of mouth?' Do you have a retention strategy or do you just hope you keep people staying and paying?

That's it. Plug your business into this model and evaluate where you do well and where you need to improve. Next week I'll discuss each step in greater detail.

P.S. - I and my lovely wife Holly (see photo) will be out of town for our anniversary this weekend so don't expect any posts until Monday.

P.P.S. - As far as the photo goes...Thanks to following Craig Ballantyne's TT Program I've dropped over 16 lbs. Of bodyfat since then. I test pretty much every trainer's program I can get my hands on before I allow my staff to add it to our arsenal...As far as efficient fat loss, Craig's TT program is the best I've come across. If you want to learn more about the best fat loss program on the market, click here:

http://www.fitnessconsultinggroup.com/turbulence.html