This Month in Club Insider: October 2017
Jeff Russo's Pro Fitness Program Celebrates 20 Years of Vastly Increasing Personal Training Revenues!
By: Norm Cates
Norm CatesFirst, I want to congratulate Jeff Russo on the 20th Anniversary of his Pro Fitness Program Company! They have a lot to celebrate at their special business! So, congratulations to Jeff and his wife, Stacy, on the 20th Anniversary of the Pro Fitness Program! In the June 2012 Edition of Club Insider, our Cover Story was about The River Valley Club (RVC) in Lebanon, New Hampshire. RVC Owner, Joe Asch, shared information about Jeff Russo and his Pro Fitness Program, an operation that truly ignited Personal Training Sales at the RVC with the leadership of Jennifer Poljacik, RVC Chief Operating Officer and Director of Personal Training, leading the way. The club went from $69,000 a year in 1-to-1 Personal Training Sales in 1999 to their current $2.2 million a year as a result of ongoing consulting support and training. Read More...
Simplify Your Marketing and Achieve Better Response in 2018
By: Jon Butts
Jon Butts2018 will be here before you know it, which means you need to start planning for it today. We have all heard the old adage by Benjamin Franklin, "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail." This is such a simple statement, yet it still rings so true. It has always amazed me the number of club owners we work with who seem to "wing it" from one month to the next when it comes to marketing, always rushing something together at the last second. It is crazy to think someone could invest such a significant amount of money (and incur a ton of risk) to start his own business and then take such a passive approach when it comes to the lifeblood of their business: marketing. Read More...
The Fitness Industry's Game Changer
By: Daron Allen
Daron AllenI believe Team Training is the most game-changing concept to come along in the fitness industry in 20 years. Why such a game changer? For the first time, clubs are now able to offer true fitness to the masses. The industry has always managed with really just two product offerings: an entry level membership (hope you understand exercise and nutrition well enough to get results) or expensive one-on-one personal training. A classic case of the haves and have-nots: if you don't have the financial resources to afford one-on-one personal training, more likely than not, you'll never get the fitness results you are hoping for. But, if you're lucky enough to be well-off financially, then the privilege of fitness can be yours. Read More...
Eight Steps to Designing Your Niche Program
Part I
By: Casey Conrad
Casey ConradIn the August 2017 Edition of Club Insider, I wrote an article regarding the power of Niche Marketing. It discussed how focusing on specific health conditions as a programming tool provides club operators with one of the most lucrative (and available) marketing opportunities to drive new prospects through their doors. In this article, Part II one of a 2-part series, I'll address the first four of the eight steps to creating your program, which I've extracted from my seminar: Program Marketing Drives Sales. Read More...
What's in Your Product?
By: Derek Barton
Derek BartonThe Capital One credit card has a long-running campaign with celebrity actors like Samuel L. Jackson. Their mantra is "What's in your wallet?" You may or may not have given any thought to that question, but you may stop and think about this question directed at your own company, "What's in your product? No matter how long you have been in business, you always have to stop and ask yourself, "Is my product or service still relevant? Do people still like it or need it?" One of my health club clients a few years ago said to me, "I know that people really don't need to come to my gym to get in shape." That insight and honesty floored me, but he was right. Read More...
How to Maximize the Enforceability of Your Membership Agreement
By: Paul R. Bedard, Esquire
Paul R. Bedard, EsquireThe repeated and ongoing execution of membership agreements is obviously pivotal to the success of any health club. However, a signed membership agreement is not necessarily synonymous with an enforceable agreement. Moreover, a membership agreement that is in violation of your applicable laws will not only render the agreement unenforceable, it may also prove to be a financial liability. However, by understanding the laws as they apply to your business and by practicing sound sales and trade practices, you can maximize the enforceability of your membership agreement. Read More...
How to Create Dynamic "Studio Clubs" Within Your Club
By: Bruce Carter
Bruce CarterOne of the more significant trends in the club industry has been the growth of studio clubs and major chains such as Soul Cycle and Orangetheory. Studios can often be just 2,000 - 4,000 square feet, yet generate monthly dues of $100 - $200 per month. This can obviously be frustrating to a large, full-service club in the same marketplace offering similar types of programs, yet only charging $20 - $50 per month or more for their entire club. Read More...
Convert Your Weaknesses to Strengths!
By: Thomas Plummer
Thomas PlummerWe all have our strengths, and in the old days of the health and fitness club industry, those strengths could carry you against any market condition or competition. Today, the health and fitness world is different, and what we don't know and understand are the very things that can bring us down. Back in the day, if you could sell or build a sales team, you could literally sell your way out of trouble. If you learned to do hardcore marketing, such as lead boxes or cold calling, you could fill your gym and just think of how many thousands of young sales people were fired through the years because they couldn't keep up the 100-cold-calls-a-day nonsense trying to set appointments for people who never showed anyway. Read More...
Lyle Schuler Passes Away at Home In Hurley, New York
HURLEY, N.Y. - Lyle Schuler passed away at home on Saturday, September 23rd in the presence of his wife, Holly Snow Schuler. The cause of death was not disclosed. Lyle Schuler was born in Bayshore, New York and resided in Hurley, New York. Read More...
Pro Fitness Program Announces Major Upgrades to its Fitness Assessment Software
TORONTO, CANADA - Pro Fitness Program has always strived to offer the leading fitness assessment software in the industry. In order to accomplish this, leading experts in this area have been hired to develop custom programs for clients and members. In 1998, the first version for desktop computers was delivered, and it offered testing in the areas of body composition, predicted V02, and strength and endurance protocols. Clients were able to get a printout of their results and compare them to national norms based on performance based criteria. Read More...
IHRSA Releases 2017 Health Club Consumer Report
BOSTON, MA - The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) has released the 2017 Health Club Consumer Report. This annual publication, based on a nationwide sample of more than 24,000 interviews, provides demographics and health, sports and fitness participation data on America's health club consumers. Read More...
Club Industry 2017 Slideshow
Check out photos from Club Industry 2017! Read More...
Norm's Notes for October 2017
By: Norm Cates
Norm CatesHello Everybody! This is your Club Insider Publisher and Tribal Leader Since 1993 Checking In with our 286th monthly edition and the last edition of our 24th Year!!! Yahoo YOU ALL!!! Read More...