Build the trust, then the sale.   Guerrilla Marketing Tip #27   Warning! Warning! Warning!   FitnessBiz Success   Network on-Tour   Email Subject Lines That Get Opened	The Winner is . . .Nicky   Win: Younger Next Year for Women   New Staff will stay longer if . . .   How well is your phone answered?   Round Tables expand . . . join now!   Between Then & Now   Coming soon . . . Lead Box E-Book!

Build the trust, then the sale

Warren Culpepper, an IT consultant, believes there is a 5-year cycle in IT purchasing:

• 20% of your total potential universe of customers is actively looking for a way to improve its operation through the use of your technology at any given time.
• 80% isn't actively looking at any given time. Other industries may follow a similar cycle.

Do you want to spend your time calling on the same universe that your competition is also calling on or do you want to spend your resources and energies calling on the 80% that aren't actively looking today?

You can leapfrog your competition if you call on prospects who need your product but aren't actively seeking it first, and help them discover that they need your offering. This means you need something to offer people getting ready to think about purchasing your product:

• Educational emails and newsletter
• Seminars
• Limited opportunities
• Members of an exclusive club with saving opportunities

Guerrilla Marketing Tip #27

What can your salespeople do to increase your pipeline with qualified leads? The simple answer is to spend more time:

• Networking with friends, colleagues, and acquaintances
• Attending industry/trade meetings and walking the floor
• Securing speaking engagements at local and regional associations or interest groups
• Hosting breakfast meetings for a group of people who have similar positions
• Cold and warm telephone prospecting
• Direct mail/e-mail/fax prospecting followed up with direct telephone calls

If your marketing budget allows more money to be spent, Check out www.clubads.com.au.

Warning! Warning ! Warning!

As I told you in my last email, I have sold my health club. The process was fascinating and an awesome learning experience. In fact, I wish I knew what I know now, before I signed my lease.

Your landlord cannot stop you selling your business.

But they can stop you assigning the lease to the new purchaser of the business, if they believe the purchaser is not commercially savvy enough to run the business. This is a standard clause in a commercial lease and with new players entering the fitness industry, I would suggest that when signing any lease, try very hard to have this clause deleted or seek legal advice on what happens if you want to sell the business.

You may not be thinking about selling your business, especially before you even open or sign a lease, but I would implore you to think about the exit strategy from the business. Not having a strategy can create stress in an already stressful situation.

Always seek legal advice before signing any lease.

FitnessBiz Success

This year we had 136 people attend FitnessBiz from around Australia, including our first visit to Hobart. The feedback we received was fantastic! And we are very excited to announce that we are committed to FitnessBiz 09:

• 18th August – Hobart
• 19th August – Melbourne
• 20th August – Adelaide
• 21st August – Perth
• 27th August – Brisbane
• 28th August – Sydney

I will be doing all 3 sessions and based on the feedback there will be a session on strategy, leadership and sales. Keep your eyes peeled in early 2009 for more information!

Network 08 On Tour – coming to a city near you!

This November, Australian Fitness Network is taking Network 08 on the road to deliver a comprehensive 1-day PT and Freestyle group exercise event to you. Travelling through four different states, Network 08 On Tour comprises an incredible dual program delivered by top-class presenters with the experience and credentials to raise you to the top of your game, be it personal training or group exercise. If you want to learn from the best, you can’t afford to miss Network 08 On Tour!

For further information, call Network on 02 8424 7200 or click here

E-mail Subject Lines That Get Opened

35% of emails are opened based on what is in the subject line! I read some profound subject lines to ensure your emails are opened from Gina Watkins at Constant Contact. So here are her suggestions:

Put your advertising dollars to work for you! Try Advertising NEVER Works.(If you disagree, click here)

That "turn it on its head" subject line might get a higher click-through rate than the more straightforward approach.

Some other examples of this approach could be:

• From a day spa - I would never want to spend a day getting pampered
• From a health club  - I would never want to stop breathing heavy when I walk upstairs
• From a tax professional - Tax time: the most relaxing time of the year

Each one could hit a nerve and capture your reader's attention by being just the opposite of their reality.

...lead into the story!

Tease the reader with an enticing part of the story, and then bring them in for the payoff when they click through for more information. For example, instead of:

Put your advertising dollars to work for you! Try: Advertising NEVER works, unless...

Or make your subject line the lead-in to a testimonial: Advertising never worked - until I did this one new thing.

This way, you bring the reader into your email with a promise for a solution to their problem, or a payoff (reward) for their attention. This could be something learned, a new way to generate sales, or an innovative way to use your product or service to their benefit. Lead in with the tease and get your reader to click for the full story.

And the winner is Nicky Brown!

Congratulations to Nicky Brown from the YMCA in Australia for forwarding our e-news to her friends. Nicky has won a copy of Amanda Brack’s quality book: Changing Lives. A fantastic text for improving sales in your business.

We would like to also thank the following people for forwarding our e-news:

• Glen Taylor from Cybex Bliss Fitness Systems in Queensland
• Karen Norris from Cybex Bliss Fitness Systems in NSW
• Karina Alnerg
• Liz from Zenergy Personal Training
• Narelle from Club Synergy
• Rina
  

			Win: Younger Next Year for Women You can win this awesome book provides many hints and tips to help women live like they are 50 – strong, fit, sexy – until you’re 80 and beyond by forwarding this email to your friends and peers. The book is written by Chris Crowley and Dr Henry Lodge and is a powerful resource for owners, sales people and personal trainers. To but the book yourself, click here So please forward this enews to as many people as you can, so give yourself a chance of winning!

New staff will stay long if . . .

When a new person joins your Team, many orientation programs consist of little more than filling out forms, a quick tour of the lunchroom and a cursory read-through of the employee handbook. They don't do much to make people feel welcome.

Smart employers use orientations to educate new employees about the company, make them feel wanted and get them started off on the right foot.

Take the time to educate them about your company and your industry. Let them know how things get done in the organisation and who to go to if they get stuck. Above all, help them understand what you expect of them and how their job fits into the grand scheme of things. In general, the more time you invest in the employee orientation process, the longer those employees will stay with the company.

Although each company should customise its orientation program covering (at minimum) the following areas:

• Company history
• Key players
• Mission statement and corporate values
• Job expectations
• Company's market position
• Success stories
• Career path opportunities
• Organisational structure
• Benefit programs and their value
• Customer service procedures

How well is your phone answered?

Have you ever wondered:

• What your staff say when an enquiry calls the club?
• How many incoming calls you actually get every month?
• If you staff answer questions on a phone call, without knowing if the caller is a member or not?

As a club owner you spend thousands of dollars marketing your business – maybe even tens of thousands. And with every campaign you are hoping to convert enquiries into sales – the simple equation of business! Now, you can check what your Team say when someone calls the Club!

Active Management are excited to announce their new Mystery Shopper Program. This program is designed to provide clubs with quality feedback on how enquiries are handled from what was actually said, to how long they were left on hold for to even the rapport building skills of the staff member.

Our Mystery Shoppers are industry veterans who have been in sales for more than 10 years and know the way to handle enquiries to produce results and profit for the club.

You receive a fantastic report summarising the calls plus individual call evaluations. Additionally, you can have your competitors mystery shopped and their skill level compared to your staff’s skill level.

Finally, we will exclusively work with your club in your area. So you will gain the edge on your competitors!

In our first month, we have the Introductory Investment:

• 16 calls in a week $249
• 32 calls (including 4 competitor calls) $399
• 64 calls (including 8 competitor calls) $669

If you would like to book a Mystery Shopper Program at this very special investment, email Justin now

Email now to book – only limited spaces

Round Tables Expands . . . join now!

If you are looking for the edge in your business, then joining a Round Table could be the answer. Over the next few months, we’ll share the unique factors that have helped produce profound results for RT members:

• Peers—By meeting regularly with your peers—other owners, facing similar challenges – a community of equals is built. They provide a level of understanding and support that is not available from staff, a board, friends or a spouse. On the other hand they can be incisively confrontational at a level that subordinates, spouses and consultants rarely can. This strong peer support enables the confrontation to be useful and accepted. Consultants and industry experts under contract typically lack the credibility and courage to push so hard and so successfully. Peers are also a great way to filter out passing management and industry fads that are often primarily supported by consultants and professors.
• Industry Focus—Only by focusing on your industry peers can you really become better. Athletes from all the Olympic sports share many things in common, but swimmers only really become better racing other swimmers; not volley ball players or rowers. We utilise the broad range of Justin’s experience plus the variety of industries where RTs operate to provide powerful cross fertilisation across industries. Consultants are smart, but Justin and your peers know you and your industry.

Justin is excited to announce that there are 2 new Round Tables looking for members:

• NSW Round Table for club owners and managers, with the first meeting in November!
• New Zealand Round Table, with the first meeting in March 2009!

Only 12 people can join a Round Table, so if you are keen to be involved you need to act quickly!

There are some places available on the Australian Club Owners, Western Australia, and Australian Personal Trainers Round Tables. Plus of course Round Tables in the USA, Europe and South America.

If you are interested in finding our more:

• Go to www.roundtables.com.au; or
• Email Justin; or
• Call +612 9980 9089

Between Now & Then

Well as you know I just recently toured the country with FitnessBiz. It was great to meet so manyy wonderful fitness industry people, all with passion for the industry and wanting to grow their businesses. I found this in itself a refreshing and motivating time. I was also fortunate enough to spend time – lots of hours on planes – with Natalie Lincolne from Incredible People . She really helped me set some powerful goals . . . I highly recommend having a coach!

And the bad news that really rocked me – my rugby side lost their semi-final in the last 15 seconds! We had a great year but no Grand Final this year. I also came second in my application for the 1st Grade Coach of Eastwood Rugby Club. I was excited about coming second at my first attempt of a 1st grade job but disappointed that the club didn’t want to take a chance.

This week I head to the UK for Fitpro and look forward to catching up with all my friends whom I met last year. Fitpro has one of the largest trade shows attached to the conference and this year I will take some photos to share in the October e-news.

Speaking of which, I think October will be a brief e-news, as I will be conducting 5 back to back round tables but be rest assured you will still get your Active news!

Coming Soon

• We are just putting the finishing touches to our first e-book! This will be how to set up an effective lead box strategy and will be available by the end of November.
• Christmas promotional material to help boost referrals and income over the December & January period.