Want 98% Client Retention? Do This!
The greatest lie told to fitness professionals is “the path to success is becoming great at what you do.” That’s the path to owning a job you may come to hate… for decades.
Don’t believe it!
Look, being good at what you do is Job #1. But don’t stop there!
The ONLY way to scale a fitness business is by learning how to create systems to deliver high value to clients. Whether it’s you or anyone else doing the job. That’s the path to leverage freedom, and to helping more people in your community.
Here’s 3 steps to do this right:
Step 1: Map Your Client Journey
What happens after someone signs up to work with you?
What happens in their first session? Their first month?
How do you run their training sessions?
How do you test/assess a client?
How do you ask them for reviews and referrals?
How do you document client success stories?
How do you renew a client?
How do you offboard a client?
Take the time to map out (visually) each step in your client journey.
Once you know all the steps of the journey, you’re ready to move to step 2.
Step 2: Create Assets
For every “step” or touch point in your client journey, you need assets.
Assets can be SOPs (standard operating procedures). And they can be tools (copy for a welcome email, forms, and checklists for training sessions, etc.).
Good SOPs should include an overview. They should have defined standards for what to do and not do. Then, they should have a breakdown of how to do each step. The simpler and easier the process is to understand and execute, the more likely everyone is going to win and succeed.
The more assets you have to support your clients and team in creating consistently high-value experiences, the better your business ‘flows’. Clients have more fun, get better results, and are happier working with you and your team. That translates into positive reviews, referrals, case studies, and renewals.
Step 3: Train, Train, Train
Defining a system and building assets is one thing. But when there are humans involved in execution and delivery, you’ve got to invest time in training and development.
Train weekly.
Train monthly.
The more you train, the better everyone gets, and the more your business will thrive.
Need to fire a staff member?
Need to hire a new staff member?
Now you’ve got the systems and tools needed to hire and develop anyone in the seat.
Is it really possible to systemize your fitness business? And have your business run without you?
Yes.
This is how McDonald’s runs fast-food restaurants around the world. They use high-school, minimum wage labor.
It’s also how the military empowers 19-year-old kids. They operate high-tech equipment worth millions of dollars.
Systems + Tools + Training = Freedom
Don’t get stuck training clients 30+ hours a week for 20+ years. Unless this is exactly what you want, and you don’t want to make a bigger impact in your community.
There is a better way. Develop systems to turn your fitness passion into a business. Systems will allow you to help more people transform their lives. And they will give you money, freedom, and an asset.
Keep fighting the good fight.
