You may have heard me reference the 5 Core Functions of Business. They apply to every business including the fitness industry.
They are….
- Lead Generation
- Lead Nurture
- Sales
- Fulfillment
- Retention / Renewal / Upsell
I look at these 5 functions as a hose. If you took the hose and laid it out flat on the floor and turned on the water, it would flow from end-to-end with no problems. But if you ever feel like your business isn’t “flowing” then you have to look for the kink in the hose.
Where is the flow getting clogged up and it’s affecting the other areas?
For example, if you don’t have a consistent flow of leads, how can you expect the nurture team to move them into a sale?
Another example…if the fulfillment sucks then that might cause a retention and renewal issue.
Each function of your business has a direct effect on the other functions. That’s why it’s important to know your numbers so you can easily spot the kink.
Do you know what an average week looks like in these 5 areas?
If not, it will be hard to spot what is normal, lagging and doing exceptionally well. And another important note is that you want to fix these functions in the order the client experiences them.
You want to move along the “hose” from step 1 to 2 to 3, etc. After you have a strong flow of leads, you can critique your lead nurture. Once that’s dialed in, move on to sales. And so on.
This is a great exercise for you to do with your team. Ask them to rank each function on a scale of 1-5. It will give you great insight into what your team sees and compare it to what you see. Oftentimes a team member will think their function is strong (5 rating) and they might think another function is weak (1 rating) but it’s often because they don’t know.
When we don’t know, we assume the worst.
This is a great opportunity for you to educate them on where the numbers are so they can start to spot patterns too. That’s how you build up leaders on your team and begin to have educated conversations with them. I’m a big believer in open book leadership where you show the team your numbers so you can talk together on how to solve problems.
Comment below with a 1-5 rating for your 5 Core Functions