The First Portion Of Personal Training Program Sales

In this episode, we will be discussing the “meet and greet” portion of the personal training program sales process. We’re going to be talking about sitting down and getting personal, digging in and finding out why someone’s there looking for a personal training program and assure them that we’re the place that can help them. If you can’t sell, you can’t help people. So, of all the things you want to do – Get people in great shape, with you being intrinsically motivated to change lives – None of that’s happening if you can’t sell. So, you’ve got to lean into personal training program sales and have a scripted sales process.

Key Points of Discussion:

  • It’s funny that the sales systems of those who are successful, are similar (5:23)
  • Shoot from the hip sales is not a consistent customer experience (6:12)
  • Seeing to it that there’s no over-promising and under-delivering (7:26)
  • “Meet and greet”, aka “goal and needs analysis”, aka “peeling the onion” (8:20) 
  • Collecting ahead of time a little bit of info based on their phone call (8:34)
  • You should have reviewed the info when you sit down with this person (9:05)
  • Walk them around the club; introduce them to coaches, and clients (9:13)
  • Then you walk them back; this session needs to happen in an office (9:49)
  • When you sit down for this meet and greet, be in a private setting (9:57)
  • You say you’ve reviewed their goals and have a few questions for them (10:56)
  • Don’t sit across the desk; face them, and give them eye contact (12:07)
  • Have a real conversation, like you’re at a coffee shop (12:40)
  • Ask enough of “why” questions; that’s peeling the onion (12:47)
  • Get them thinking what it’s going to be like when they get into shape (14:23)
  • Why they failed in the past, and how we’re going to be different (14:50)
  • Dig deep and help them formulate a meaningful goal (15:24)
  • Try to get people off of the superficial goals (17:06)
  • You don’t want to make people cry, but it happens as it’s personal to them (17:41)
  • Convincing them that you’re the place that can solve that pain (17:53)
  • Ask meaningful questions, and then, be silent and listen (18:48)
  • We tell them: “All right, listen, now we’re going to go out into the floor…” (19:26)
  • Just run the play; just run the script (21:45)

– – -> Learn more at – – > Alloy

Be sure to follow us on YouTube Alloy Personal Training

Download: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify

Mentioned in this episode

Matt Helland

Rick Mayo 

Alloy Personal Training Franchise

 

A scripted sales process, as opposed to shooting from the hip, is infinitely more successful, even with someone that’s talented. If you’re looking to scale your business or open a second location, finding an amazing salesperson that we can slot in there and just let them do their own thing versus running a script, is very difficult to do. So start by having a scripted sales process for your personal training program, and we’re going to walk you right through ours, so stay tuned. 

When you sit down for the first meet and greet, and you’re going into the “peeling the onion” phase, you’re going to need to be in a private setting. I’ve heard information that contradicts that like “Sell out on the floor.” However, this isn’t a “come to try the latest, greatest workout, let’s see calories can you burn.” This is personal training, so we’re talking about sitting down and getting personal, digging in and finding out why someone’s there and explaining to them that we’re the place that can help them.

Sales And Our Sales Process Around A Personal Training Program

We have a scripted sales. it’s a one-hour long sales appointment if you will. We call it the starting point session, but it’s really broken down into four parts. We’ll start with step one. Imagine a one hour time period set aside for sales. 

We realize sales has become a dirty word. I’ll hear coaches and trainers saying, I don’t like to sell. I don’t do sales. If you can’t sell, you can’t help people. Of all the things you want to do, get people in great shape, you know you’re intrinsically motivated to change lives. None of that’s happening if you can’t sell. You’ve got to lean into selling your Personal Training Program and have a scripted sales process. Everyone knows I’m a big fan of the E myth revisited by Michael Gerber. A scripted sales process as opposed to shooting from the hip is infinitely more successful even with someone that’s, that’s talented.

 If you’re looking to scale your business, finding a just an amazing salesperson that we can slot in there and just let them do their own thing versus running a script is very difficult to do. I would say a script start by having a scripted sales process and we’re going to walk you right through ours because you’re going to need someone to sit in that seat to sell and you’re going to need to turn to that person and say, this is how we do things.

Improv Sales Vs Scripted

If they’re really talented, they’ll probably still see good results. I guarantee that really talented person has, without even knowing it, a sort of protocol. Responses we often have heard are “I do it this way.” What you run the risk of if you don’t have a scripted sales system is again, your ability to scale your Personal Training Program. Trainers selling their individual services is an easy sell. However, if you give the client over to another coach, that’s a different level of sales acumen. If you’re shifting gears from individual selling your own self to selling a service like a Personal Training Program. To work with someone else, it’s going to take more effort. I would say the drawback of having improv sales is it’s not a consistent experience for the customer. You’re probably gonna lose some sales.

The Alloy system is run in a way that we know we all say and do all the same things. If you have different messages coming out of the same office it’s going to hurt you down the road for sure.

Common Pitfall

Over-promising. That isn’t manifested on the floor. If you’re selling certainly into a market with a hook, like a trial of some sort, you’re going to lose that customer because someone’s going to sit down and most likely tell them anything to close the sale because that’s what’s being measured. In this case, you may have someone saying, “Oh yeah, we’re going to coach you on nutrition and we’ll go grocery shopping with you, etc.” If those promises can’t actually be executed or delivered on the back end you’re going to lose that customer because the expectations are now too high. 

Our Sales Process For A Personal Training Program

Our best practices, we have executed for 28 years. In the first part of the sales process for our Personal Training Program is what we call the meet and greet. Some people might call this goal and needs analysis. Another term that we use for it is what we call peeling the onion.

Meet And Greet

When we have plans to sit down with someone, we should have collected a little bit of information based on their phone call, ahead of time. What’s the number one goal of most people that are coming to a personal training facility? Weight loss. You should have what goals your potential client has in mind in your notes. We use mind-body, which is our CRM and this is the type of information in our notes and it says plainly, “here comes Susie Q, she wants to lose 20 pounds and had rotator cuff surgery two years ago and has a bad back.” Reviewing this information before your meeting is very important to show care, professionalism and to identify personally with that particular client. Then, you do a tour of the club.

The Tour

You’re on your feet, you walk over and you introduce them to a couple of coaches, maybe even some pivotal clients that are ambassadors of the brand. Don’t make them work too hard. Just a little bit of a peek under the covers to what our culture looks like. Then you walk them back, we like to sell out of an office for our Personal Training Program because we’re going to dig deep.

Digging deep is that connection that makes it personal training. This is a differentiator between you and all the other franchises that are going to be in your market. You sit down, your professional, you’re ready, you tour the club, you’re standing when they come in,  introduce yourself, you sit down with them and you simply say, listen, I’ve reviewed your goals and I have a few questions for you. Now what that tells them is that you’ve already spent some time looking over their specific goals before they have even walked in your facility. This immediately takes the relationship from transactional to personal and that’s where we want to keep it. 

Benefit Of The “Why” Questions

When you ask enough of “why” questions you get down to the core of why they are really there. I like to have a real conversation. Just like I’m at a coffee shop. We say, “Why do you want to lose 20 pounds?”  The client says, “Well because I’m out of shape.” In a tone, “Isn’t this what I need to do?” Another why question. The client says, “I don’t feel good about myself.” Our response, “Why don’t you feel good about yourself?” You see, it’s not really about the weight loss, really what it is about is not feeling good. When you read the success stories on our wall, that’s the stuff that’s mentioned, the deeper meaning behind why they started.

The goal is to really get them thinking and projecting and picturing like what is their life gonna be like when they get into this kind of shape. You do that by digging deep and finding out why they’re really there. 

We can also learn by asking what that client might have tried in the past. What we have noticed is a lack of accountability caused hurt because of bad programming. All those things can be easily remedied in our processes and our facilities. As I hear these things, I’m going to be able to specifically address those. Why are you here? How, why have you failed in the past? 

Connect with us at www.alloypersonaltraining.com, and sign up for our free newsletter to receive additional resources.

©2024 | Alloy Personal Training, LLC | 2500 Old Alabama Road, Suite 24 | Roswell, GA 30076