DO YOU REALLY KNOW
WHAT YOU’RE SELLING?
There’s no greater sales skill than genuine knowledge about, and belief in, what you are selling.
WORDS: STEVE JENSEN
hy don’t prospects show for appointments more often,
and why is it getting harder to close the sale? The reason
is quite simple, but the best way to explain it is to travel
back in time and look at what some of the most successful clubs and
salespeople were doing many years ago.
In the early days of the fitness industry in Australia, when the
concept of a Health Club was new, the people who operated and
worked in these clubs were fitness fanatics who walked their talk.
They were passionate about the way they trained and what they ate.
Training techniques were pretty straightforward – but that didn’t
mean they weren’t effective. Training at a club was usually fun, so
it wasn’t just a place to improve your fitness, it was a place to meet
and make friends.
There was, generally, a very hands-on culture, with most of the
successful owners, managers and salespeople training regularly,
looking the part and ‘knowing their stuff’ inside out. During the sales
process these guys shared what worked for them, and this gave
the prospective members hope that they might achieve the same.
It was inspiring. Sure, the person selling needed to build some
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rapport and find the prospect’s compelling
reason to buy, and of course they needed to
know how to ask for the sale and close, but
the selling was easy because the prospect
wanted to buy.
There was no need for special offers or
price drops, as people’s main motivation
was to buy from someone they trusted and
who practiced what they preached.
The secret ‘angle’ back then was this: there
was no ‘angle’ – the person selling wasn’t
selling. They were sharing their knowledge
and were excited about helping someone else.
They told them what they could do and how
they could do it – and they genuinely wanted to
help the prospective member or client emulate
their own fitness achievements.
This resulted in the people who signed up
feeling grateful to have met an expert, rather
than a salesperson with no genuine fitness
knowledge who was reliant on special deals
and calls to action.
The question you must ask yourself
now is, do your salespeople know your
product well enough? Can they educate a
prospective member or client about exciting
ways to achieve their results? Do they know
what people need to do to get certain results
and how your facility or team will help them
do it? Do they have some simple fitness
tips that a prospect could take away and
implement even if they didn’t join? (As well
as helping the individual, this would also
make a positive impression and place your
facility top of mind for when the prospect
next considers joining a club).
If your salespeople can – and do – do
this, then they are probably enjoying great
success. If they aren’t, here are some ideas
and tips to consider:
1 Look at who you are recruiting for sales
and start employing people that have
some training experience (exercising
in a club/studio) and are willing and
excited to learn new ways to train and
actively workout themselves.