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Fitness Business Owner of the Month – April 2012

May 7, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

A fitness business owner success story by Pat Rigsby

images Fitness Business Owner of the Month April 2012

Each month here at FBI we recognize a Fitness Business Owner of the Month. We hope to not only recognize fitness entrepreneurs for their successes but also to inspire other fitness pros to move forward in their business endeavors.

The winner will not only get a public ‘pat on the back’ in the form of a post like this, but they’ll also receive a 1 hour coaching call, free admission to the live event of their choice and a product of their choice from what we offer here at FBI.
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Referrals Made Easy

May 2, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

A Post On Getting Referrals By Pat Rigsby

As fitness business owner we all want more referrals. They’re the easiest prospects to sell, they are more likely to refer others and they’ll stay longer and pay more while they’re clients.

Unfortunately, referrals aren’t as easy to come by as they used to be. In years gone by all you had to do was offer up a prize or reward and your current clients would line up to send you new clients for a chance to win what you were offering or a crisp $50 bill.

It’s not quite that easy any more.

You can still be a referral driven business, but you need to set the stage to make that happen. Here’s a primer to get you started.

Your Fitness Marketing Plan For Maximizing Value

April 17, 2012 By admin 2 Comments

A post on developing your fitness marketing plan by Pat Rigsby

What if you could automatically make each prospect you get three to four times as valuable? That’s a fitness marketing plan you’d put into action immediately, right?

Well – to make each prospect you get as valuable as possible, you need a plan because it doesn’t happen by accident…so I’ve shared a blueprint you can follow. Your own fitness marketing plan.

Basically, you have a funnel your prospects go through already, whether you realize it or not. Most of your prospects go through the same type of process, whether it’s really efficient or not very efficient at all.

So what we want to do is to make your marketing plan a drop dead simple, step-by-step funnel that every prospect goes through where you have the highest possibility of maximizing the value of their relationship to your business.

Fitness Business Owner Of The Month – March 2012

March 29, 2012 By AlexFortey Leave a Comment

A fitness business owner success story by Pat Rigsby

Our March Fitness Business Owner of the Month is Jeff McDaniel, Owner of Bootcamp: Bulletproof in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Building A Training Business: It’s Really All Common Sense

March 12, 2012 By admin 2 Comments

A post of building a training business by Pat Rigsby

etw napa Building A Training Business: It’s Really All Common Sense

I just spent a few days in Napa, CA at one of our Elite Training Workshops. On Thursday we held and Fitness Revolution Franchise Fast Start Training Day. On Friday we held a training business development day for the Elite Training Workshop participants. And on Saturday we held the Elite Training Workshop with Dave Schmitz, Mike Robertson, Robert Dos Remidos and BJ Gaddour delivering incredible content through both lecture and hands on sessions.

As usual, I had some great conversations with attendees between sessions or at the resort in the evenings. The recurring comment from the fitness pros I was talking with was how simple we make things when it comes to building a training business.

It is Simple

My response to this type of comment usually goes something like: “We make it simple because it is simple.”

Fitness Business Owner Of The Month – February 2012

February 28, 2012 By admin 2 Comments

A fitness business owner success story by Pat Rigsby

The winner not only gets a public ‘pat on the back’ in the form of a post like this, but they’ll also receive a 1 hour coaching call, free admission to the live event of their choice and a product of their choice from what we offer here at FBI.

Our February Fitness Business Owners of the Month are Ron & Kimberly Smith, Owner of Spartan Fitness in Moberly, Missouri.

FBO Ron Smith Pic Fitness Business Owner Of The Month – February 2012

Relationship Marketing With A Fitness Newsletter

February 26, 2012 By admin 3 Comments

A Post About The Benefits Of A Fitness Newsletter By Pat Rigsby

With the launch of Sam’s new fitness newsletter this week, I wanted to share my thoughts on newsletters and the role they could play in your business.

A fitness newsletter is a fantastic fitness marketing tool for building relationships. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about developing relationships with people you just met through networking or cultivating relationships with the clients you currently have – a newsletter is a must have part of your marketing arsenal. In short, a fitness newsletter:

Is a perfect way to build value in your expertise for members of your network.
Allows you to stay connected with your current clients outside of their sessions.
Is a great way to educate your network in the different things you offer and share new offerings with your client base.
Is a simple way to increase referrals.

How does a fitness newsletter build value in your expertise?

Generating Instant Income For Your Fitness Business

February 22, 2012 By admin 6 Comments

A Post On Fitness Business Income Generation By Pat Rigsby

dreamstime xs 23272249 Generating Instant Income For Your Fitness Business

Since I’ve been on the business coaching and franchising side of things for fitness business owners, nothing has surprised me more than the number of business owners who fail to maximize the value of their personal network and their client base.

This is amazing to me because those same fitness business owners will spend piles of money to market to people that they have no prior relationship with.

The truth is, the biggest opportunity for an influx of income into your fitness business is right in your own database. When you make an offer to members of your personal network or existing and past clients, it’s not only easier to sell them something (versus new prospects off the street), but your business actually become more profitable because you don’t have nearly the cost of client acquisition.

The other benefit to this is that it really is providing a better, more complete solution for your existing clients and it’s helping those people in your network achieve their health and fitness goals.

What You Say vs What You Do

February 15, 2012 By admin 16 Comments

A Post On The Right Way To Build A Business By Pat Rigsby

We live in a society that has made an art out of overpromising and under delivering.

Politicians stump on campaign promises that they have little if any intention of delivering on. It’s marketing at it’s worst. Leaders or prospective leaders telling people what they want to hear through every medium possible in order to get their vote.

Whatever it takes to get them elected.

In the fitness world, every health club on the planet advertises how they’re the solution to give you the body that you’ve always wanted – knowing good and well that once they have your name on the contract they’ll essentially forget about you and be on to chasing the next naïve prospect.

This ‘art’ of overpromising and under delivering certainly isn’t exclusive two politics and fitness – it goes on everywhere. I just happen to see more of it there because it’s so well publicized in politics and I’m immersed in the fitness industry.

The Truth… And The Opportunity

The amazing thing about this trend is that it’s actually presented you with a marketing opportunity – or perhaps a better way of putting it – a position in the market.

If you’re willing to deliver on what you promise… or better yet – OVERDELIVER – you can become that trusted solution in your market that clients love, stay with forever and refer their friends, family members and co-workers to.
It sounds simple – and almost a little ridiculous that simply telling the truth and doing what you say you’re going to do (and hopefully a little more) can actually be a marketing strategy – but it is.

See, everyone says they’re great with service and care about their clients or members.

They say that results for the people they serve are their priority.

But saying and doing are vastly different things.

And now there’s this new trend in the business world where it seems every business out there has followed Zappos lead and identified their ‘Core Values’ (we’re no exception.)

And regardless of how much the want to celebrate it – 99% of the time those are nothing more than hollow words on paper.

It’s not what you say – it’s what you do.

A Case Study: Fitness Revolution

By now you’ve probably seen me write about Fitness Revolution, our personal training franchise (and now also internationally licensed offering).

We launched Fitness Revolution in early 2011, and while most business opportunities in the fitness industry were out there marketing and selling at all costs – we were building our infrastructure. Sure, we were bringing on new franchisees – but they were virtually all members of our network who we knew would be a good fit for what we wanted Fitness Revolution to represent.

Our focus was simply on providing the best systems, tools, resources and support in the entire fitness industry – bar none. We felt that if we did that, we’d carve out a place in the market that would be competition resistant – because it’s a lot tougher to actually deliver systems and support than it is to promise them. Just to give you an example of what I’m talking about – here’s the Table of Contents for one of our FR Blueprints, the Administrative Operations Manual:

Administrative Operations Manual

Section 1: New Leads Protocol

1.1 Walk-Ins- Overview

Greeting, Scheduling, and Tour Script
How to file an “Adult Profile” form- Completion Plan
How to Add a Prospect to Your Client Management Software- Completion Plan
How to Create a File Folder for a Client Appointment- Completion Plan
How to Set Scheduling Notifications- Completion Plan
How to Add Person to an Email List- Completion Plan
Sending a Personal Email to Prospect- Email Script
Confirmation Call, Email, and Text Message Script

1.2 Phone Inquiries- Overview

Phone Inquiry Script and Missed Call/Call Back Script
Taking Phone Call Notes- Completion Plan
How to File an “Adult Profile” form- Completion Plan
How to Add a Prospect to Your Client Management Software- Completion Plan
How to Create a File Folder for a Client Appointment- Completion Plan
How to Set Scheduling Notifications- Completion Plan
Sending a Personal Email to Prospect- Email Script
Confirmation Call, Email, and Text Message Script

1.3 Website Opt-In- Overview

How to file an “Adult Training Profile” form from a website opt-in- Completion Plan
How to Add a Prospect to Your Client Management Software- Completion Plan
Email Script- Free Gift Opt-in
Phone Script- 2 Week Trial Opt-in
Email Script- Confirm Orientation or Appointment (If scheduled by phone)
Email Script- 2 Week Trial Opt-in
How to Schedule- Completion Plan
How to Create a File Folder for a Client Appointment- Completion Plan
Confirmation Call, Email, and Text Message Script

1.4 Inquiry Email- Overview

Frequently Asked Email Questions and Answers
How to file an “Adult Training Profile” form from an inquiry email- Completion Plan
How to Add a Prospect to Your Client Management Software- Completion Plan
How to Set Notification for Non-Responsive Email Leads- Completion Plan
Follow Up Email Script for Unresponsive Leads
How to Schedule- Completion Plan
How to Create a File Folder for a Client Appointment- Completion Plan
Confirmation Call, Email, and Text Message Script

1.5 Client Referral- Overview

How to Add a Prospect to Your Client Management Software- Completion Plan
How to file an “Adult Training Profile” form from a Referral- Completion Plan
How to Add a Prospect to Your Client Management Software- Completion Plan
Referral Call Script
Referral Email Script
How to Set Notification for Non-Responsive Referral Leads- Completion Plan
Follow Up Voicemail Script for Non-responders
Follow Up Email Script for Non-responders
How to Schedule- Completion Plan
How to Create a File Folder for a Client Appointment- Completion Plan
Confirmation Call, Email, and Text Message Script

1.6 External Leads- Overview

How to file an “Adult Training Profile” form from an external source- Completion Plan
How to Add a Prospect to Your Client Management Software- Completion Plan
How to Add Person to Email List- Completion Plan
Phone Call Follow-up Script
Email Follow-up Script
How to Schedule – Completion Plan
How to Create a File Folder for a Client Appointment- Completion Plan
Confirmation Call, Email, and Text Message Script

1.7 New Leads- Missed Appointment

Missed Appointment Phone Script
Missed Appointment Voicemail Script
How to Set a Notification for a Non-Responsive Missed Appointment Lead
No response phone call script
No response voicemail script
No response email template
How to Schedule an Appointment- Completion Plan
Confirmation Call Script
Confirmation Email Template
Confirmation Text Message

Section 2: Front End Clientele Protocol

2.1 Front End Clientele- Overview

How to Add a Prospect to Your Client Management Software- Completion Plan
How to update client information in CMS software- Completion Plan
How to complete a sale in CMS software (if applicable)- Completion Plan
How to add client to email list- Completion Plan
How to file new front end client documentation- Completion Plan
How to schedule notifications for new client- Completion Plan
Confirmation call script for next appointment
Confirmation Email Template
Confirmation Text Message

2.2 Front End Clientele- Supplemental

Post Card on the Run- Completion Plan
Send Out Cards- Completion Plan

Section 3: New Members Protocol

3.1 New Members- Overview

How to update client information in CMS- Completion Plan
How to complete the membership sale in your CMS- Completion Plan
How to add client to email list- Completion Plan
How to remove client from “prospects” email list- Completion Plan
How to file new client documentation- Completion Plan
How to schedule check-in/follow-up calls with client- Completion Plan
“Thank you” Email Script or Card Script for Referrers

That’s one resource – there are dozens. This FR Blueprint has over 111 pages of actionable information, scripts and templates for one specific area of our Franchisees’ businesses. Sad to say – there are franchises out there whose entire collection of support manuals or resources probably don’t amount to 111 pages.

And that was an obvious benefit to taking the position we’ve taken as a support-focused franchise.

Not only did this approach help us still add 106 franchisees in 2011 with very minimal marketing (we’re at around 120 now) – but it really allowed us to build a strong foundation to facilitate the success of those 120 franchisees and the ones who will come on board in the future.

And that’s what franchising – at least in our world – is about.

In fact, we were just recognized by Franchise Business Review in their Annual Franchisee Satisfaction Awards as:

The #1 Fitness Franchise Overall

The #1 Franchisee Overall (Midsize Category)

Here’ a screenshot:

Every franchise in North America is eligible for these awards and they’re entirely decided by independent surveys Franchise Business Review conducts of franchisees.

So basically they’re determined by what we actually do for our franchisees – not simply what we say we’re going to do.

How You Can Make This All Work For Your Business

Though I couldn’t be prouder of what our business team has accomplished by earning these rewards (The Fitness Revolution Team is deserving of far more than a post for the incredible work they’ve done ) – that’s not the main point of this post.
The main point is this:

If you want to become the premier fitness business in your area – you need to do the things that everyone else won’t do.

You need to truly care about your clients – not just say you do.

You need to put in the work to become the best at your craft – not just proclaim yourself the best.

You need to deliver an extraordinary experience – not just pay lip service to it.

You need to live your Core Values – not just put them in a frame on the wall or on your website.

You simply need to make sure that you’re doing everything you say… and more.

Do that and your competition will become irrelevant because – I can promise you that while they’ll all say they’re going to do the same – 99% of them never will.

Dedicated to Your Success,

Pat

Filed Under: fitness business, Fitness Business Success, Fitness Entrepreneur Tagged With: Business Owner, Entrepreneur, Fitness Business Marketing, Fitness Professional, personal training business

Hiring Personal Trainers & Other Staff Members

February 8, 2012 By admin 8 Comments

A Post On Hiring Personal Trainers by Pat Rigsby

dreamstime xs 21602224 Hiring Personal Trainers & Other Staff Members

In our live meetings we get a lot of questions about hiring personal trainers and other staff members so I thought I’d share some thoughts on the topic.

Hiring is tough. I’ve been hiring people for almost 17 years now and also spent about 8 years recruiting college athletes – which I’ve found is almost exactly the same.

The first person I ever hired was a guy that I’d be comfortable calling my boyhood idol.

I fired him 3 months later.

I’ve also fired one of the guys that I’d consider among my 5-6 closest friends.

I’ve probably recruited over 1000 athletes and actually brought about 200 on to my teams. I’ve personally hired roughly 100 employees. I couldn’t tell you how many I fired (a lot) – but in every case I agonized about it.

But what I have found is that the strategy that helped me enjoy success as a college baseball coach in large part through recruiting has the same type of success when hiring employees.