I know December can be rough for the fitness industry. When you are going up against Santa, you usually lose. But I don’t want you to get discouraged by that. There’s plenty of opportunities for you to set up your business for long term success.
Sometimes you need to slow down to speed up.
In my opinion, this is a great time to buIld DEEPER relationships with your team, your clients and local businesses.
- You can do a White Elephant Game with your team and show gratitude for what they do
- You can plan a Christmas movie night at your gym and provide snacks
- You can bring cookies to local businesses and tell them to call you when they need to work it off
GIVE, GIVE, GIVE and it will come back to you in December.
But you can do things in terms of sales and marketing to keep your business cranking as well. First off, do the math and realize that if you have lower volume then it doesn’t make sense to lower your prices too, you’re cutting your own throat. Accept lower volume and continue to charge more.
Let’s say you are only going to get 10 trial members in December.
10 Members x $77 = $770
10 Members x $199 = $1,990
Instead of cutting prices (which can be most Owners default choice), decide to add more value. Maybe they can add a buddy for FREE for $199? Maybe they are buying 4 weeks but you give them 2 weeks free? Maybe you will add in a free small group training for the entire month?
Give more value instead of cutting prices.
And lastly for your members, the secret is to give them some grace. Let them cut loose with their diet. They feel more guilty when you wave your finger at them for blowing it.
Turn off your “missing in action” report in December. Don’t chase them down and make them feel bad for being busy during the holidays. Plumping them up is good for business.
KIDDING, NOT KIDDING!
The best thing you can do for retention in December is bring them together with an appreciation party, theme workouts and charity drives. Remind them of the friendships and bonds they have. That’s what makes your clients want to show in December more than the crazy workouts.
If this was helpful, let me know in the comments below!!