WNiF Magazine - Autumn 2013 Edition | Page 30

Save over 50,000 $ Tony’s Top 3 Retention Tips: 1. Convince the member to bring a friend and/or have a friend join. We all know it is far easier to commit to and workout with a buddy than participating by yourself. 2. Get the member involved in some kind of program (e.g., group exercise, PT, small group exercise), as it is far better for retention than if they just come in and do their own thing. 3. Price. If you are able to charge a higher joining fee and lower dues you, to a degree, can ‘buy’ member retention. If members commit to a larger up-front payment, they usually don’t want to walk away from that. marketing. If your clients are not satisfied with your services there is no point getting new ones.’ Andrew says the biggest retention mistake that clubs make is telling their clients/members what their goals should be, rather than helping them identify what they are ready to change. ‘Trainers need to establish each client’s level of readiness to change,’ he explains. ‘This may include their exercise habits, eating habits and alcohol habits. Once this happens you need to focus on helping people make small realistic changes in those areas they are ready to change. Never expect people to make wholesale changes quickly.’ In addition, Andrew advises facilities to ‘Make sure that trainers are great role models for the clients/members, both physiologically and psychologically. That way they will be able to relate to the challenges that clients will face on their fitness journey.’ He adds, ‘I also believe that trainers should use a personal trainer themselves (in fact several trainers) before they start training their own clients. Continued use of a personal trainer will enhance or reinforce the belief in the benefits of their services.’ Tony de Leede Tony de Leede has been a key figure in the fitness industry for over 30 years. His achievements include owning and operating successful fitness companies both internationally (23 Australian Body Works fitness clubs in the US) and nationally (as partner and managing director for Fitness First Australia, he took the company from 11 to 86 clubs during his tenure). His latest venture, Fit n Fast, is a unique budget/time-efficient group of clubs. 30 Tony believes that it is very important to focus on both member acquisition and retention. He says, ‘It is normally easier to get members into the club than it is to prevent them from exiting; however, member acquisition is a function of contacts whether they be via marketing, member referrals or proactive outreach’. A general observation made by Tony from his 30 years’ experience, is that ‘many clubs feel the more they spend on “service” (which can be defined in many different ways), the more a member will stay with them. Generally speaking though, the clubs with the most floor trainers and the like, don’t necessarily have better retention than the ones who don’t.’ l Cal63 (aus) with the Debitsuccess billing solution* 73 4 Z) 1300 4 81 0401 (n 4 or 09 d out in to fhow Debitsuccess is Australasia’s leading outsourced, full-service payment collection company within the Health and Fitness Industry. What are the benefits? • full-service billing • Greater flexibility • Consistent Cashflow • Level 1 PCi Dss Compliant To Find Out More, Contact: Amanda Bracks Andrew Simmons Bracks Consulting & Vision Personal Training Women in Fitness www.visionpt.com.au www.womeninfitness.com [email protected] www.bracksconsulting.com Ph: 0407 010 520 Ph: 0419 435 908 Justin Tamsett Paul Brown Active Management Face2Face Retention www.ActiveMgmt.com.au Systems [email protected] www.myf2f.com Ph: 02 9484 5501 *based on 1,000 members paying $36 a fortnight and 2% of members being sent to debt collection each month. [email protected] Ph: 0416 299 892 Tony de Leede Fit n Fast For more information contact: Australia P 1300 473 463 E [email protected] W www.debitsuccess.com New Zealand P 09 481 0401 E [email protected] W www.debitsuccess.co.nz www.fitnfast.com.au WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - AUTUMN 2013 The issuer of the billing service is Debitsuccess Pty Ltd (ABN 32 095 551 581). Debitsuccess is an Authorised Representative (AR 407894) of Transaction Services Holdings Limited (AFSL 338256).