Chris Cooper's Blog, page 132

Stellar Staffing: Owner Gets COVID, Gym Marches On

Mike (00:02):

The doctor is in and he has COVID-19. Chiropractor Brian Strump is ill, but his gym, Live Active Charlotte, is healthy without him. I’ll tell you why right after this.

Chris (00:13):

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Mike (00:46):

It’s Two-Brain Radio and I’m Mike Warkentin. A few weeks back, Dr. Brian Strump wrote about how to maximize staff retention. Right now, his investments in his staff are paying off big time. Brian got COVID, but his business hasn’t missed a beat. He’s here from Charlotte, North Carolina, to tell us his top tips for keeping staff long term Brian, thanks for being on Two-Brain Radio despite the illness. How are you doing today?

Brian (01:09):

Doing good. Thank you, Mike.

Mike (01:09):

Yeah, the important question first. How are you and your family feeling right now?

Brian (01:14):

We’re doing good. We had COVID sweep through, I’m doing good, I just had to suck it up or a couple of days, but you know, quarantined for like 10 days feeling good. My daughter’s fine, my wife, she’s a little achy, headache. We did a pretty good job getting through.

Mike (02:00):

I’m so glad to hear that, that’s always the first concern.

Brian (02:00):

We’ve been good.

Mike (02:00):

Oh, that’s good. And you know, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to us because this is a concern for gym owners, especially those who don’t have a lot of redundancy in place. So talking to you today is really going to give us some insight on what gym owners can do to get into with the situation that you’re in. It’s really interesting. Back in December, another one of our Two-Brain mentors, Kenny Markwardt, he said that COVID quote unquote, is the new hit by a bus test. What he means, your business has to function even if you weren’t around, could it function if you’re hit by a bus? COVID is kind of like that now. That was the point of his article in that if a gym owner gets it, taken out of commission and that business has to keep going, if the government of course allows it to do so. So walk me through what you did with regard to your gym after you found out you had COVID.

Brian (03:00):

I mean, honestly for me, I was not really a big part of the coaching, I actually did on the 12th of this month, I did have myself down to coach on that Friday evening. So I’ll try to coach like two to six hours a month. And I did actually have myself down to coach of all the weeks, the week that I had to stay away. So, you know, once I tested positive, you know, I let my staff know and I was kind of staying away from them anyway, when I had a sore throat, so I wasn’t really super concerned, the people that were closest to me stayed symptom-free and tested negative. So that was a good start. So the first thing I had to do was just reach out to one of our coaches, again, nine, you know, full-time or part-time coaches and nine in total that could possibly take a class. So typically when we need to get a class filled, the coach knows just to kind of go into our text channel and start by asking.

Brian (03:54):

So I just reached out there and see if anybody wanted to pick up those two hours that I had on Friday. I offered to switch and maybe pick up some hours later on. I was sick and I wanted to kind of maintain, give myself some time to not be around, even though I was probably clear to coach, I just wanted to give it an extra couple of days. And then, you know, from a staff perspective, we have a lot of stuff already set up. So, you know, it allowed me to let the staff know that I wasn’t going to be in their day to day. If they had any problems, they already knew who to contact that needed to be done, like, you know, pressing. And then it just allowed me to know I went back, I reorganized some old emails and created some social media stuff.

Brian (04:50):

I wrote some more. So I could definitely see how if you’re a gym owner that doesn’t have staff in place or a week that you’re gone or two weeks that you’re gone because, you know, if you get the virus and maybe one other person gets the virus, it could be really stressful. I see people online saying, Hey, you know, I got it. I coach 40% of my classes. I’m going to need to cancel classes. What do I do? That’s really hard, you’re going to need to if you don’t have the staff, but it’s really difficult predicament to find yourself in, for sure.

Mike (05:30):

You’re essentially what we refer to as a tinker level entrepreneur. And what we mean by that is in our phases of business, we’ve got founder, which is you’re starting out, farmer, you’ve done taken some steps. Tinker, you are essentially a business owner, but you might not have a lot to do with your business unless you choose to. And in this case, you’re a chiropractor. You’ve got other things going, but you also have a gym. So the sole thing that you essentially had to do when you got COVID was cover two to four to six classes and kind of let, just let people know what was up, that’s about it. Correct?

Brian (06:02):

Yeah. Like most people, the people that that noticed I was gone were the people that—I usually take the 11:00-AM, class three to four days of the week. So besides my staff, the only people that noticed that I was gone or they didn’t see my name on SugarWOD, which is why maybe other people may have noticed, was the people at my 11:00 AM class that I usually take. Like most of our members wouldn’t know any different.

Mike (06:32):

So tell me a little bit, you’ve obviously, before this happened, you had your business set up with some preexisting structures. Tell me a little bit about who is running the show when you’re not there. Like you, obviously, a lot of owner operators are doing everything from coaching their classes to, you know, stocking the fridge and doing the financials and literally everything else. Who takes care of a lot of the day-to-day operations of the gym for you?

Brian (06:55):

Yes, so of those nine, there’s—we probably have two people that take care of most of the day-to-day stuff. We separate them into like a sales manager and operations manager. The one that takes on most of it is probably Kristen who takes over like the operations manager she’s been with me for four years and started as just like started as my assistant in the doctor’s office. And then more as like the client services person. And really her biggest jump has been over coronavirus, really taking on a bigger and bigger picture of being like an assistant of mine so like every Monday, every Monday we’re sending out an email of updates and things that are going on or changes that need to be done. She’s somebody that could be there every day to oversee stuff.

Brian (08:02):

She, interestingly enough is not a coach, you know? So she’s not jumping into coaching any classes, but she’s the one that’s going to order, you know, so I know that I’m not going to get a text message that we need more toilet paper, we need more of this or that. Like, she already knows, she’s got a credit card. She has an account. She knows who to call if we need anything really. In the day to day, she is the one that’s going to deal with new leads coming in. She’s the one that like the first person that mans like our CRM. So any texts that come in she’s, you know, she’ll be like the point guard essentially. Something comes to her and she’s the one that might have to divvy out to this coach or that coach or bring it to me.

Brian (08:49):

And, you know, we have a very open door policy that some of the staff like, you know, might have been around for, I’ve known them for eight or 10 years. Maybe they’ve been coaching for us for like five to eight years. So they know they can always come to me. But I tell them in terms of like our communication coming to her first or coming to the sales manager, her name is Buffy, they might be able to help push this this job. If it comes to me, maybe it might take 24 hours or 48 hours for something to be done because it’s not high on my priority list, but it might be Kristen’s job. OK. This is what I need to do. So instead of coming to me, then I go to Christine and then it gets done.

Brian (09:37):

They know now and this past year have gotten much, much better at it in terms of the organization chart and communication, totally kind of forced that on us. So Kristen does that. And then from a sales perspective, when all new people come in, or all new people leave, or people cancel or holds, all membership and finance and dollars. That’s the sales manager. She’s also coaching and runs a nutrition program. But she’s the one that, you know, we know that the new members are going to get their email. They’re going to get their welcome stuff. They’re gonna know how to sign into class. They’re going to do all those things. If somebody cancels, she’s the one that’s going to prorate their account and change them in our CRM to take care of that stuff. So those types of things I don’t need to deal with.

Brian (10:26):

And then there’s some of the coaches that do the on ramp, of the nine, maybe there’s four that do that consistently. So they know like their job during those first couple of PT sessions, getting them accustomed to, you know, getting them accustomed to the gym, making sure they know how to log into classes and the app. Making sure they can get into SugarWOD, making sure they just kind of understand that the day-to-day expectations of what’s happening, you know, and they’ve been around for a while. They do a really good job. And now most of the time when we make changes or update things, it’s based on their feedback of how we could make things easier for them. Like, what are you guys doing now during this process that doesn’t make any sense. We do this. And I always wondered … OK, let’s maybe look into it and not do that anymore.

Brian (11:23):

You know, we’ve been around for almost 11 years. So there’s not much that we did like years ago that we’re doing now. But, I’m also pretty slow to make changes until I hear, if I’m not, you know, like on the ground floor, you know, it’s important that these staff and coaches know that they could give me feedback. We might not always make the change, but they feel safe that they could give me feedback. And many times the changes that we do make, and the improvements that we do make is based on feedback from them, number one, and the feedback from clients, too.

Mike (12:03):

So you’ve offloaded, essentially all of the day-to-day duties at your gym and you coach because you want to, not because you have to, and in this structure, you’ve got all sorts of systems and procedures and feedback loops that help you improve things. And Two-Brain mentors help, guys, if you’re listening Two-Brain mentors, help you figure this stuff out, it might sound like a whole big pile of documents and policies that you don’t want to deal with. It’s not that hard to do. Once you do it, you end up with the freedom that Brian has, where you can choose to coach i,f you so desire, you could sit back and not do anything you could coach as much as you wanted to, because you would have a business that could run without you. The thing Brian, that you said that I thought was really interesting is you’ve talked about the longevity of some of your staff, including your former assistant, current manager, who I think you said was here for four years now. I want to, I mean, it’s obviously a great staff people are clearly the key to a business and the longer they’re there, you know, the better it’s going to be. Now in your article that you wrote for us, you talked about a piece of advice that your mother once gave you on staffing. Tell me what that is and how did it change your approach to everything?

Brian (13:05):

Yeah. For as long as I can remember, my mom always managed like eyeglass stores, whether it was a big one, like Pearl Vision or something, at least in the Northeast, or just like a mom and pop store. I remember as a kid all the time, sometimes she would love it. Sometimes she would hate it. It would come down to not just her coworkers, but really like her boss, the person that she worked for or with or however you want to see it. And I remember she said something like, you know, it makes such a deal. At one point when she got a new job, she was like it makes such a good difference working with somebody who like acknowledges that you’re working hard and acknowledges that you’re working good and not just, you know, calling me in their office when I do something wrong, just saying thank you for like them coming in and doing their job. And not just expecting that I’m going to come in for 40 hours a week and do all this stuff for you, the business owner. So like, I just always, and I mean, back then, I didn’t know what I was going to do or have employees or staff or whatever, but it seems like so natural to me, I hope people would say that, that like that’s the way I need to do it because I really look at them like I work for them.

Brian (14:33):

We all work together. Like we say we a lot when I write and when we talk, it’s we most of the time because like none of this would have been possible without them.

Mike (14:47):

You’re committed to your staff obviously, and you want to create an environment where they’re going to thrive for the long term. And in this article, you went through five different things that explained how gym owners can do this and, you know, keep staff members happy for a long time. And we know that in the fitness industry, it’s very common for employees to flame out, you know, right. They just run out of steam. They’re not making enough money. They leave careers in the fitness industry. Sometimes it’ll be less than two years. Chris Cooper, Two-Brain founder, has often talked about how he graduated from university and it took a year to get a client. And he didn’t have a clue what to do with that client when he started. And he had to take a job at a treadmill store to pay the rent because he couldn’t make enough money as a trainer. So these are huge problems in the industry, but you’re managing to retain staff by really committing to them. And I want to talk just quickly here about each of the items on this list. So let’s keep this tactical where gym owners can, after this call, they can start doing things on this list. So you talked about love and loathe, that concept. What is that? And how could gym owners use that?

Brian (15:45):

Yeah, I don’t know where I learned it from. And there’s a couple of different ways that people called it. But basically, you know, when we sit down with somebody, even on my own list, when I look to delegate tasks, I’ll ask them for a list of all of their tasks, roles, responsibilities, and then I’ll ask them to put them, you know, like rate them from one to 10, one being, you know, I’d be happy never doing this again. 10 is like, I want to do this thing forever. And then slowly trying to remove some of those things that are the one twos and threes. Right. And then if they want to keep the eight, nine and 10, you keep those and then figure out like, can we possibly make this thing that’s a five that you do that we think you do well.

Brian (16:32):

Are there things we could do to make it better so you enjoy it more, whether it’s, you know, maybe it could be online so they don’t have to come into the office to do it. Or maybe it’s somebody that they’re working with that’s the problem, trying to figure out what we can do there to move those up. And then just work with the staff with the understanding that you might not get a job where it’s all gonna be eight, nines and tens. Right. But that’s kind of like, they see that there’s like ways that we can move up, it isn’t just to keep you doing the crappy things that’s like grinding your gears all the time. And yet in the most important part of this is to understand that just because it’s a two on your page, doesn’t mean that somebody else is going to be like, Oh man, I hate that too.

Mike (17:16):

Yeah. So that’s like, you’re analyzing all the tools in your toolbox, finding out who’s good at what, who likes what? And then there’s some flexibility in how you create roles where you can say, OK, you hate financial stuff, but you love it. I’m going to make a swap. We’re going to change a two on your list, make a nine on your list and so forth. So you’re allowing staff to, in some ways, you know, choose their own adventure with your help within your business to make sure that they like most of the stuff they’re doing again, we, like you said, we all don’t get to do everything we love. However, you’re getting rid of some of those things that are just so draining and the stuff that people just hate doing. Related to that. You talked about growth opportunities and you just hinted at it a little bit there. Tell me more about how you put growth opportunities in place so people can advance their careers and stay in an industry.

Brian (18:02):

Yeah. So I think this is one of those things that’s still kind of high on my priority list. I need to keep staff, while money isn’t going to be the only driver typically, we want them to be able to see like the ceiling isn’t so low. So whether it’s first just talking to them, like, what are you interested in? Like, Oh, I love yoga. Or I’m really interested in strongman or Olympic lifting, gymnastics, whatever it might be. And then trying to help them and work with them and see if we can create a need for, you know, see if there’s a need out there within our membership, which would be easiest to number one, to grow. And then if we’d be willing to invest the money in a time to advertise and market and see if there’s a need outside of our membership and email lists for based on what they want.

Brian (18:54):

And then we would just, I would have them give me some ideas of what they want to do, and then work backwards from like dollars they want to make, how often they want to do it. You know, in 11 years, we never really had a consistent kids program. Now in the last I’d say like, honestly, since like the summit, the last summit out of Chicago. So that’s like a year and a half ago. One of our coaches that was just starting the kids program came back and she was fired up, ready to roll. And like since then, you know, we just kind of worked backwards to create a plan and depending on who they are, I give them, you know, they have autonomy to choose, you know, choose the day, choose the time. And because I know that if they could choose a date and time, it’s gonna be convenient.

Brian (19:43):

I don’t care about kids class at 7:00 PM or 4:30 PM on what days, I need the coach to be the one that’s able to make it, you know. I might help them work backwards on pricing and make sure that it’s priced right and well for what I want them to make, you know, but like that’s one of my biggest goals is there’s only so many group classes they could teach, PT clients are hard to come by and if we could find them to do something that they really get excited about, even if it’s supplemental to their—it might be an extra 300 or $500 or $1000 a month. That’s still, that’s an extra 10 to 25 or 30% more that they can make doing something that they really get excited about. Like those coaches are excited. They’ll become more valuable to our business. And then, you know, from the gym overall, now it’s starting to give those gym members that may have been looking for something additional and now they have an opportunity to be able to take on.

Chris (20:50):

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Mike (21:34):

And what you just laid out is, is exactly what Chris Cooper just wrote about in an article called the dream manager. It came out on February 16th. We’ll get that in the show notes for you. It’s a six-step process called a career roadmap. You have these career roadmap sessions with your staff and Brian, what you said is key. You have to talk to your staff and ask them what they want. If you don’t talk to your staff, you’ll never know, and you might have problems, but if you ask them, they’ll tell you, and it’s not always money. Exactly what you said. Step two, you’re going to determine how much they need to earn, step three, you’re going to create opportunities using the career roadmap tool. We provide that to our mentorship clients, but essentially what you said, you’re building the money that they need, or the satisfaction that they need through roles, responsibilities, and so forth.

Mike (22:16):

You’re gonna determine the starting position. That’s step four, step five. You’re going to measure progress regularly and check in. And you’re going to ask, what do you want now to make sure it’s the same thing, it hasn’t changed. And then step six, you actually have chances to help them open their own businesses under your brand. That’s the intrapreneur—pardon me. I always have trouble with that one. It’s the intrapreneurial model, and you can get the intrapreneurial 101 guide in our free tools section, if you want to deal with that. So that’s the career roadmap and Brian, you talked about in there, one of the other points on your list from the article, meaningful work. If they want to stay long term, they have to do meaningful work. So you talked about how, you know, a coach was excited about a kids program, came back, you facilitated that program and it became something that coach could drive, not you. And obviously that coach probably loves that thing and it’s probably going really well. I’m guessing, is that correct?

Brian (23:05):

Yeah, it’s the strongest, most consistent kids program that we’ve had in 10 years.

Mike (23:05):

Do you think that’s because it’s an area of that coach’s passion?

Brian (23:15):

Yeah, and it’s like I just kind of giver her, she has full autonomy over this program, whenever it’s ready to run next, she says hey Brian, here’s the dates, here’s the times. I’ll be the one that puts it on the website, we’ll confirm about rates and then she handles the emails and I’ll help, but mostly the stuff is her, and it’s the same way whether it’s yoga, we’re getting more and more interest in yoga as well now, you know. In terms of the meaningful work, I think that’s along that same line of opportunity. For the most part, if I’m letting them choose what they want, and sometimes I might bring up an idea and say, here’s an idea, is anybody interested in running with it? Most of the time when they choose, I think it’s not just meaningful work to do them. And I feel like at most people’s core, they want to feel like they like do something good for like people or this planet or something. And health and fitness is really something that you could feel like you’re impacting something. You know, I was having a conversation with a member yesterday. I asked, you know, he works in a bank.

Brian (24:42):

I asked how work’s been. And he’s like, actually I put in my two weeks notice. I’m starting to work for this startup I get excited when somebody takes a risk like that, you know, leaving a bank corporate job to do something he wants to do. He’s like yeah, I’m so excited I get to be good again, whatever. And, you know, I think those are the things that now, like he feels like this business is going create something special in terms of energy and stuff. It was like energy and electronics and stuff like that. So it was like, now whether it’s pollution or roll over whatever it is that he feels like his company he’s working with now, he’s going to be able to make a difference and really feel good about doing that and I was responsible for some of this versus just like punching buttons into a computer for a bank who’s not gonna recognize much of what I’m doing and I don’t really feel like I’m doing much there.

Mike (25:44):

So it’s talking to your staff and finding out what makes them tick. And if you do, you can give them more of that or give them new opportunities. If you don’t, the reason why they’re not doing the stuff that you asked them to might be because they don’t really care about it. So if you talk to them, you’re going to find out what’s inside them and what they need. And then you can keep them by giving them that, or at least giving them the opportunity to pursue something like that. The last two things on your list, I’m going to ask in one question, because I don’t think you can talk about one without the other. You talked about having grace and patience and expecting mistakes. Talk to me about how those elements will help staff stay longer.

Brian (26:20):

I think it’s important, and also one of my biggest things that I’m not good at is giving feedback. And one of my staff once told me who owns a business. Here’s why feedback’s important is because if I don’t get feedback, I don’t know if what I’m doing is good or bad. And then in my mind, I would always say to myself, if I’m not talking to you then it’s good.

Mike (26:51):

I’ve made that mistake, too.

Brian (26:51):

And when he brought up that point, I was like, man. So I’m still not very good at giving feedback, although I’m better at meeting my staff and just sitting down with them. Because what I used to do is like, whenever things would go bad, you know, hey, come by the office, let’s set up some time to talk.

Mike (27:14):

That sounds like a great deal, Brian, I can’t wait to get there.

Brian (27:19):

Yeah. Like if you talk with them regularly and just check in, even if it’s not a scheduled thing, just to check in, see how things are going, you know, and the reason why is that like, expecting mistakes is number one, because I think like those are important. I really feel like any mistake in our business, we can learn from like this isn’t brain surgery. Like I wrote in the article, I’m not replacing somebody’s kidney, this isn’t life or death, worst case scenario, usually a member or five leave because of a mistakes and those are things that we could overcome fortunately for us. So most times that’s going to be the worst thing that’s going to happen. So it’s like, I’m just incidents. I looking at that mistake and figuring out what went wrong, but also understanding like this could have happened to any of these other nine people here.

Brian (28:11):

How I react to this person is gonna impact everybody else’s willingness to potentially make mistakes if they want to make a decision and I encourage the staff to make decisions. You don’t have to come to me for every single thing you’re doing, and it might not be the right one. But again, coming back to like worst case scenario, I think that the power of moments, I talked about that with a number of people this week is like expecting potholes and expecting problems. And that’s in your business. And even with my staff, I said, OK, we made a mistake. Let’s learn from it. Figure out like what led to this? Why did it happen? And let’s try to reduce the likelihood that it’s gonna happen again. So with that is like that grace and patience. I was really, really, really bad with this until I became a dad.

Brian (29:08):

And then I realized that, OK, breathe. Don’t just like react to every single little thing that happens, you know, take a couple breaths, think about it. You know, they may have had a really good reason why they did and acted how they did and why they did and maybe even turned out well. Just because it wasn’t how I wanted. It doesn’t mean that that was a bad decision. Or maybe it was even a better decision than I would have made, it just wasn’t what I was expecting. So now in the last like 18 months, two years, I really try to go into these relationships with staff and in general, like, I don’t have any expectation. I don’t expect you to do your job or you don’t do your job. That’s Like expect things to not get done.

Brian (30:01):

I’m expecting somebody to not wake up for the 5-a.m class, you know, and then it makes it much easier on myself to be like OK. What happened there? How can we fix it? And then learning from the mistakes is that number one thing. Because if we’re continuing to make mistakes, then only things are going to have to come up with a way and maybe this isn’t the right person in that spot. Maybe this isn’t the right person in your business to begin with. But we circle back to like my mom’s, what we talked about at the very beginning, it was just like acknowledging good work, but also acknowledging like nobody wakes up in the morning and says, I can’t wait to really screw up today. They probably feel bad about that mistake even worse than you think they do. You know?

Brian (30:50):

And if that’s the case, then like, why am I just gonna hammer on them more, I can just understand you almost, sometimes they feel worse than you do. Most of that probably comes from other jobs or family or stuff like that, where they make mistake and it’s just like hammered into them, and whoever they made that mistake with keep reminding them and reminding them about it. And I just don’t think that’s a good way long term to have a staff that’s going to continue to be willing to make mistakes, I’d rather them be willing to make mistakes to grow and grow the business than be so scared to even like check a box on a sheet like they might do something wrong.

Mike (31:43):

It really sounds like you’ve stepped on enough Lego as a dad to know that you can’t react and scream right away. You know, it’s really interesting. And I love the idea of expecting mistakes. It’s kind of like I talked to a guy who was a bouncer at a bar one time and he was telling me about fights. And he said, the first thing to know is that in this fight, you’re going to get hit and it’s going to hurt. And I kind of liked that analogy because it’s almost exactly what you said, where as business owners, we sometimes have a tendency to think everything needs to be perfect. And what you’re saying is that there are going to be mistakes, no matter what, and you can fly off the handle and be a jerk about it, and really screw up your staff and yell and stomp around and ultimately not help anything.

Mike (32:18):

Or you can just expect mistakes, be prepared when they happen and to have a system in place, to deal with them where you’re actually looking at them as opportunities to grow, opportunities to plug holes, opportunities to make things better. And the third thing that, you know, if I’m going to give listeners one piece of advice to take today, I think it would be what you said, have a meeting with a staff member, give some feedback that’s positive, not negative, just to set a pattern, just to bring that person into the office, sit them down and say, Hey, you did a great job on this. I just wanted to give you some feedback and just start setting a pattern of good feedback so that when you have to give some negative feedback, it’s not such a big deal because this pattern has already been set of giving feedback. And guys, if you’re listening and you want to know more about this, our mentor Per Mattsson has written about this extensively. It’s in the blog. He’s been on the podcast talking about feedback culture at your gym. And Brian just touched on it again. If you want more info on that, go check those out. Brian, do you think, is that the piece of advice, the actionable advice we should give people have a meeting and give some positive feedback today?

Brian (33:16):

Yeah, and I think just asking people what they want.

Mike (33:24):

I love it. Thank you so much. I love, you know, I’m sad that you you’re sick right now, but I appreciate your time, but I love the opportunity to talk about, you know, what’s happening at your gym right now when you’re not there because you set up something that’s going to keep your staff long term. So thank you so much for sharing that with us, Brian, I hope you feel better and hope you’re back at the gym as soon as possible.

Mike (33:44):

That was Brian Strump and this is Two-Brain Radio. I’m your host, Mike Warkentin. We’re firing clip after clip on YouTube. So if you love videos, please click the link in the show notes and subscribe to our channel. See you next time on Two-Brain Radio.

 

The post Stellar Staffing: Owner Gets COVID, Gym Marches On appeared first on Two-Brain Business.

Using Teams and Team Leaders in Your Business

By Per Mattsson, Certified Two-Brain Fitness Business Mentor

We’ve built our organization with different teams around every revenue stream. This was done to create an organization in which teams can act independently and make their own decisions about how to reach our shared goals.

In order for that to happen, we need great team leaders. Here’s how we build them in gyms. 

Step 1: Define

Define what a great team leader is for your business.

That means knowing what qualities and characteristics you want in a great leader, and it also means having a very clear image of the responsibilities, roles and tasks that team leader is going to have. 

I look for coaches who perform consistently in their roles from the beginning. Before they can step in to a team-leader role, they need to show me that they can lead themselves. Can they stick to a schedule and deliver with consistency? Do they follow up with their clients? Do they understand the importance of audience building? Are they team players who work well with other staff members? Can they follow instructions? Do they come up with their own ideas and solutions?

When I see someone who checks all those boxes, I know we have a good candidate for team leader.

My role on this level: I coach staff members in biweekly meetings to help them grow and to make sure they are delivering according to standards. They do not have to lead other team members here, they don’t have to track metrics, and they don’t have to take responsibility for marketing or sales (besides producing their share of content). 

Step 2: Act

Have the conversation.

Talk to the person and show them the possibilities. If they are interested, start the training process. In addition to everything mentioned above, leaders must also understand teams are essentially “businesses within the business.” So a team leader must learn more about:

Leading other staff members.Budgeting and tracking metrics.Measuring and improving operations. Marketing and sales.

My role on this level: I offer the same frequency of coaching, but we now dig much deeper into processes. We work a lot on the RoadMap and in the learning modules available through the Two-Brain platform. I put more books into leaders’ hands, and they basically learn everything I would teach a mentee in the Two-Brain RampUp process. They are learning to build a solid foundation under a business—even if that business is within another.

I help them around potential issues with team members, but I do not step in to solve their problems for them. My job is to help them grow as leaders. There are situations where I could step in to benefit our business in the short term, but if I really want to delegate in the future, I need to trust in my team leaders and allow them room to operate. 

Team Leaders … and More?

At the moment, we have eight different teams in our gym. Some are led by staff members, and some are still led by owners. Over time, our goal is to have every team led by staff members.

Some of our team leaders are going to excel in their roles, and they are the ones we might want as CEOs or perhaps even partners in new gyms in the future!

What does your process look like? How do you train staff members? If you need help, feel free to reach out to me at per.mattsson@twobrainbusiness.com.

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What Does Your Staff Really Want?

Your staff members: What drives them and what do they need?

It’s usually not more money.

It’s usually not customized Nanos (though those are nice).

More and more often, industry surveys show that staff members aren’t primarily motivated by money. In fact, most fitness pros rank money third on their list of motivators.

Think about what brought you into the fitness industry.

For me, it was the promise of changing lives the way mine had been changed. I found the weight room as an awkward, introverted teenager. I was dragged into lifting by an athletic friend. I didn’t want to do it. But within a year, everything had changed: I looked people in the eye, I talked to girls, I applied for jobs, I wasn’t terrified of adults, I signed up for gym classes, I chose a different career path in college, I grew into myself.

And I wanted to give that same gift to as many people as I could. I just didn’t want to starve while I did it.

You’re probably the same way. And so are your coaches. To keep them around long term, you don’t need to give them raises every year or create a complicated commission structure.

You do need to give them these two things:

The sense they’re making a difference.The sense they’re progressing in their careers.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Set up Goal Review Sessions with their clients. Let them measure their clients’ progress and gauge their success. This process isn’t just good for client retention; it also allows the trainers to see the results of their coaching on a daily basis. You want to be motivated? Coach a winning team.

2. Let your staff identify opportunities for growth at your Career Roadmap sessions (which I wrote about in the previous post in this series). Let them take the courses they need to increase the value of your service to your clients. Sell that service to your clients and let the coach benefit.
The step-by-step guide to this strategy of “growing the pie” is in our “Intrapreneurialism 101” handbook. Download it for free here.

3. Bonus: Your coaches actually make more money by doing these things. Because while cash isn’t their primary motivator, a bit of money doesn’t hurt, either. You’ll read about how they can earn more in the handbook linked above.

You’re not really motivated by money. Neither are they. The key to long-term staff retention is to constantly ask “what do you want now?” and then mentor them to get it.

The post What Does Your Staff Really Want? appeared first on Two-Brain Business.

The Dream Manager

“Why do people want to quit our business?”

This was the question that made all the difference. In his book, “The Dream Manager,” Matthew Kelly explained how he turned his janitorial company around by helping his staff identify their dreams and work toward them.

If Kelly can use the tactic to get people to clean toilets for a living, we can certainly use the same strategy to keep coaches in your gym longer. In fact, we’ve been teaching this strategy for years at Two-Brain Business. We call it the Career Roadmap, and we implement it in Growth Stage of mentorship.

A Career Roadmap session goes like this:

Step 1 

At your quarterly Career Roadmap meeting, ask your coach: “What do you want now?” Ask the coach to tell you about his or her Perfect Day. Ask how your gym can support that Perfect Day. Ask where he or she would like to be in six months.

(If you’re not doing quarterly Career Roadmap meetings, start. We teach you how to do it in our Mentorship Program.)

Step 2

Determine how much the coach needs to earn to reach those goals. Using tools like the Happiness Index (and his or her personal budget), calculate a goal number.

Step 3

Use our Career Roadmap tool (we give it to you in the RampUp program) to work backward from the number. Create opportunities to do personal training, run specialty programs, deliver nutrition coaching or coach more group classes. It’s all laid out in our free “Intrapreneurialism 101” guide, which you can download here.

In the next post in this series, I’ll tell you how to identify the best Intrapreneurial opportunities that will generate income for the coach and revenue for the gym.

Step 4

Determine the starting position. What will the coach need to learn in order to capitalize on this plan? Will he or she need a certification before starting a kids program, for example? Will the coach need to take a Two-Brain Coaching course before he or she can work with 1:1 clients?

Step 5

Measure progress. Perform regular reviews as part of Career Roadmap meetings.

**Step 6** 

Give the coach an opportunity to open his or her own business under your brand. After you’ve taught the coach how to be an “intrapreneur,” you can help him or her step outside your protective umbrella and open a gym. Read “Go With Them.”

Communicate and Lead

The key to all this is asking your coaches, “What do you want now?”

Some might want more money. Some might want more opportunity. Some want consistency, and some are willing to take risk in exchange for equity. But no one wants the same thing forever.

The best way to help your coaches build a dream career is to mentor them to success.

The post The Dream Manager appeared first on Two-Brain Business.

How to Open Your Gym With COVID Restrictions

By Andrea Savard and Chris Cooper, Certified Two-Brain Fitness Business Mentors

Closing your gym was tough.

For many, reopening is proving to be harder. 

While online training was an easy pivot for many gym owners, the pivot back to bricks and mortar is taking longer. Government restrictions limit class sizes in many areas, some clients are nervous about exposure to COVID-19, and changing gears can be challenging for your team.

Below, we’ll walk through the stages of reopening step by step and tell you what to do, depending on what’s allowed in your area. These are proven strategies employed worldwide by gyms in the Two-Brain family.

You can also download our “How to Reopen Your Gym” guide here. 

This Above All Else

The overarching key to success is communication—regardless of the specific restrictions in your area.

Reiterate that you’re open, you’re excited and you’re safe. Be authentic and talk in terms of your members’ interests. Your goal is to strengthen their trust in you. 

This six-part series was used on Instagram to communicate the plan at FirePower Fitness and Wellness.
Stage: Personal Training Only

This restriction is often an opportunity in disguise. While it’s frustrating that you can’t get your group members back into the gym, it’s a good chance to introduce the 1:1 option to your clients. 

Try this:

“Family, great news! We can open the gym for 1:1 training only. While this isn’t the full reopening we were hoping for, we’re excited to see you in person while we work through this stage. This is a great opportunity to rebuild safely, refresh yourself on movements and increase your confidence again. 

“You can book a personal training session here: (insert your own link).
If you haven’t tried a personal training session before, here’s why many clients choose to do a 1:1 session weekly or monthly: (share a quote from a very satisfied PT client).”

Stage: 25 Percent Capacity

For microgyms, this rule often means “run a medium-sized class.” Because your “capacity” is determined by your occupancy rate, most microgyms never run higher than 30 percent capacity anyway.

Use this opportunity to introduce pre-registration for classes. It’s a good move anyway, and you can blame the local government if you haven’t been requiring sign-ins before now.

Remember, pre-registration requires an active membership account, so this is a great way to get the income re-flowing if people have dropped or held memberships. 

Make sure to create clear and simple how-to’s for members and coaches if this is a new process for you—create standard operating procedures!

Further, consider introducing small-group specialty programs. Specialty programs often have a higher cost per class. They’re also more targeted in their offerings and attractive to members who aren’t ready to return to 10-person classes. For example, create four-session program blocks with a maximum of five athletes per block. Run the classes once a week for four weeks or twice a week for two weeks to generate small group or remote coaching revenue. 

Stage: Gyms Open, No Classes Allowed

This is an odd strategy, but most policymakers think “spin class” when they’re making these rules. So if your government has issued this restriction, offer “open gym” times with a coach in attendance.

It’s very important that you still coach your clients instead of just opening your gym. Coaching establishes value; if you’re just selling access, you’re no different from the globo gym charging $19 per month.

Make sure you tell your clients that “open gym” is temporary and they will still be coached. This path can become a slippery slope for many microgym owners: Use it only as a last resort. In the past, some brands have promoted the no-class, “come anytime and get coached!” model, and it ends with the owner coaching more often for less money. But as a short-term patch, this approach can help get people back to training in the gym.

Stage: Open, But …

Even if you’re eager to get back to business, your clients might be nervous. And your coaches might be nervous.

Make sure you communicate options to everyone, and regularly broadcast your beliefs and commitment to your community’s safety. 

Keep your online delivery option for at least two months after reopening.

Download the free ebook “How to Reopen Your Gym”

The post How to Open Your Gym With COVID Restrictions appeared first on Two-Brain Business.

Revenue Secrets: Personal Training and All-In Customer Care

Mike (00:02):

No one will pay 300 bucks for a gym membership. No one! If you’ve ever said that you need to hear from Karen Hazleton, she’s up right after this on Two-Brain Radio

Chris (00:10):

Hey, it’s Chris Cooper here. Programming is the service that you deliver to your clients. So I partnered with Brooks DiFiore, who had one of the highest adherence rates for his group classes in the world to build TwoBrainprogramming.com. Now we built this for Two-Brain gyms and we give them free access in our mentorship program, but I’m now making this available to the public. Programming that’s proven to improve retention and cash flow in your gym. Visit TwoBrainprogramming.com to get it. Your gym’s programming won’t attract new clients, but it can help you keep your clients longer. Good programming includes the stuff you know, like your benchmarks, novelty, skills, progressions, leaderboards, but great programming contains something more. It’s a link between each client’s fitness goals and the workout of the day. Your coaches need to tell the clients more than what they’re going to do every day. They need to explain why they’re doing it and how it will help them achieve their specific goals. Gyms whose coaches could explain the why connection had a 25% better retention rate during lockdowns. Imagine how that translates into better retention when things get back to normal and a better bottom line at the end of every month. That’s TwoBrainprogramming.com. Take a look.

Mike (01:26):

It’s Two-Brain Radio. I’m your host, Mike Warkentin. And today I’ve got another gym owner who hit a huge average revenue per member number in December, 2020. We call it ARM for short or ARM and Karen Hazelton of Telos Strength and Conditioning in Tucson, Arizona, scored in the top 10 of all Two-Brain gyms. She and husband, Shaun reached just over $300. Karen, thanks for jumping on Two-Brain Radio with me today.

Karen (01:48):

Thanks Mike. I’m happy to be here.

Mike (01:50):

I’m excited to ask you some questions about ARM, I’m going to ask you the first important one that shows where you came from. Do you recall what your ARM score was the very first time you ran the numbers?

Karen (01:59):

Well, so the very first time we hardly knew what we were doing. We’re just starting with you guys at Two-Brain a couple of years ago, so I don’t even remember where we were, but I know it was, you know, low hundreds. But it was not good.

Mike (02:20):

You know, it’s funny. I talked to a guy, a Storm Strout, you may know him from the Two-Brain group. He was telling me in a previous episode that his original average revenue per member, he charged $70 for all you can CrossFit group classes and he gave everyone a discount. So his average was probably like 50 or something like that. And now he’s up in that high range as well. He actually scored near you guys in this top 20 that we ran. So isn’t that incredible? What can happen over time?

Karen (02:46):

It’s so true. It’s so true. I mean, we had a whole lot of discounts going, so I know how that goes.

Mike (02:51):

I’m going to put you on the spot here just for a second. If I would ask you, like, I know so many factors go into this, but if I asked you for one factor, that’s caused your ARM to rise from the low hundreds up to where it is now, what would you say? The top thing?

Karen (03:10):

Yeah, I would say definitely the shift to more personal training. We have always done a lot of personal training, but more recently we’ve realized just the level of care and coaching and customization we can give to people when they’re in either like a one-on-one setting or, you know, two on one, three on one is just, it doesn’t even compare to what you can get in a group. And so shifting to personal training was just kind of a natural progression because it allowed us to help people quicker, which that’s the business we’re in.

Mike (03:48):

Isn’t it funny though. I’ve talked about this before on the show, but I was super ignorant. I didn’t realize that you could teach CrossFit in a one-on-one setting. And I thought that my group classes, that we were charging like $150 for, whatever, I thought that was my premium option. Whereas that was actually my discount option. Did you have the same issue?

Karen (04:06):

Yeah, I thought, I mean, when I first started, I was thinking, Oh, how could people afford this? Because I can’t afford this. But I think that was the first thing we had to realize is that we have a great service and we can really help people. And the best way to do that is to have them one-on-one and have kind of a premium product. And we’re providing them a great service and, you know, we tell our people, we want the money you’ve spent here to be the best money you spend all month. And I think that’s really what we’ve been able to do. And I think so that mindset shift was I think really important.

Mike (04:49):

It is an evolution. And I talked about this with so many gym owners, like you, I lived this myself where it does take a bit of a mind shift and sometimes it takes experience and time to convince yourself that you’re worth it, and you know, and Chris has written about this so many times, Chris Cooper, Two-Brain founder, and the best way to, you know, to convince your clients that what you’re offering is valuable is to be valuable. Over-deliver, give them the greatest amount of stuff, but sometimes you don’t realize that right off the bat, because for me, I was brand new. I’ve got my first one, you know, one-page weekend certification. And like, am I really worth this money? And then after 10 years I knew I was. Other people like you, you’ve done that evolution even faster. Like you said, about three years, this has happened. Right?

Karen (05:29):

Yeah. And I think that’s—we’ve been with Two-Brain for, I think over two years now. And it really has been just the past few months that I’m like, Oh, this is what you guys have been saying for the past two years. It’s like, so I think it’s like I had to really internalize it so it came across as authentic.

Mike (05:53):

And I’ve talked to salespeople as well, Mateo Lopez and Jeff Burlingame, two of our experts, they say that asking for high-value sales does require confidence and belief. And you kind of have to build that up in yourself. And like, we can obviously short circuit that process with education and training and mentorship, but you still have to come to it in your own pace and eventually realize, yes, I’m worth this. Let me ask you this question. I understand your revenue now is about 70% PT and about 30% group classes. Maybe that’s shifted a little bit, but it’s in that range. Has it always been that way or if not, why did you shift focus in this direction?

Karen (06:26):

So we’ve always had a good amount of personal training just from day one. My husband’s been a personal trainer in town for 11 years now, so he’s gotten a pretty good following of clients. And so we’ve had a lot of personal training, but I really think through the COVID crisis that, you know, there was kind of almost a natural shift where people didn’t want to be in big groups. And we had this service and our members started telling their friends that this is where this is where they go for personal training. It’s so safe, you know, we’re doing such a good job of keeping things clean and they feel really safe. And so they told their friends and then their friends started coming. And so it’s almost this affinity marketing without even realizing that was happening. It was just, we did such a good job with the pivot to when everything kind of happened last March. And so it kind of happened naturally.

Mike (07:31):

And that’s interesting cause COVID has been such a disaster in so many cases for the fitness industry, but there are some gyms and some businesses that have managed to pivot and found the bright spots in there. And maybe they’re not, you know, it would all be great if we could all go back to normal, but it’s really neat to see how you and others have figured out that yes, we can offer new services. And for my business and my wife’s business, it was offering 100% online coaching, which we didn’t really do much of at all. And it’s mostly nutrition with some fitness, but for you guys, this helped you really jack up your PT to the point where now these really satisfied clients are bringing in more clients like them.

Karen (08:05):

Yes, exactly. And I think that’s kind of our been our mindset all along is that the best way to grow is to do just an amazing job with who’s in front of us. And then they will tell their friends and family and that’s, I mean, we have so many family members coming now and friends and it’s really great because we just have such a good energy and such a good environment in there right now

Mike (08:34):

This is a little bit off track, but I’m gonna ask it anyways, because it is important to ARM. You mentioned affinity marketing, which is for people who don’t know, it’s basically working with the people who are closest to your business rather than cold leads through ads and things like that. It’s working with your clients to get more people like them. And we have a guide that you can download by clicking in the show notes. You said a lot of this happened organically. Have you done to like, make it happen and make sure that it keeps happening because we all know that your clients will refer people to you, but they don’t always do it unless you kind of help them along a little bit. Have you done anything like that?

Karen (09:05):

Yeah. Where we kind of ask people if they have—

Mike (09:09):

Chris has a strategy, for example, where he asked people to come in and meet with him, review their goals. Who else can I help in your circle? Things like that. Do you guys do stuff like that? Like through goal reviews or anything?

Karen (09:21):

So this is the other kind of thing that’s clicked for me is I’ve been hearing, you know, since we’ve started Two-Brain, goal reviews, get these done. And we’ve tried it and it’s been unsuccessful in the past, but really these past, I would say even just these past few months that finally, it clicked for me how to do them correctly. And so that’s been the best way to kind of talk to people and have just a natural conversation. I think I was forcing it too much in the past because I didn’t really know what I was doing. But now it’s like, when I sit down and talk to these people, it’s just so natural to say, who else can I help? Or who else is, you know, who else could I help get results that you have? You know? And so I think it just, I mean, that has a lot to do with it. I’ve also, you know, if we’re low on clients, I say, Hey, do you have anyone else that we could, even just bring them in, I’ll even do a free session with them. And that’s been a way to get kind of people in the door that way and get signed up.

Mike (10:32):

That’s interesting because when had our physical space, I struggled to get people to goal reviews. And I think the reason, we’d been around for like 10 years and a lot of our like six, seven, eight year members were like, we’ve never done this before. I don’t need a goal review. You know? But when we shifted online in the COVID thing and basically start a new business, my wife started doing these goal reviews and it worked because people wanted more connection. They wanted more touch points. And we basically had a new business that this was part of. So it wasn’t that the goal reviews didn’t work for me. It was just that we hadn’t put in enough time to make them part of our business. When we hit that bump and reset, it started to work. And then exactly like you said, it is natural saying, Oh, your husband needs some help. We can offer that. Or your wife.

Karen (11:13):

Yeah. COVID gave a nice reset for a lot. I mean, it just gave a reason to, OK, this is going to be important. We need this, we need you to do this.

Mike (11:23):

It’s tough, but it really gave us a chance to like, if there was ever a time to change something in your business, that was the, you know, that was the excuse or the reason or the opportunity, however you want to look at it.

Karen (11:33):

Totally, totally. I mean, we overnight fixed, I don’t know, 10 issues in our business, just literally an overnight, because we had to, we had no choice and it was just, yeah. So a lot of issues we had last March we don’t have anymore.

Mike (11:49):

Oh, that’s so good. That’s so refreshing because the doom and gloom in the fitness industry right now is real. There are a lot of people that are struggling. So it’s so nice to hear that, you know, you guys have made some positive steps and I know in the notes that I got that you said that your retention and your headaches have actually, you know, things have changed since you just went to this shift from more personal training and a little bit less group, or maybe just more personal training is more accurate to say, but talk to me about what’s happened to ARM retention, headaches now that you have this different focus.

Karen (12:15):

Yeah. I think it’s definitely a shift. I mean, we have fewer people, we’re definitely down on members, but the people who are there love us, they love the brand. They’re so happy. They’re getting results. And it just, the environment just is so much better. I mean, we always, I feel like we always had a great community and a great following, but I feel like the people that kind of faded away over this were people who weren’t bought into us and who we are. And so now it’s like we’re left with this core group of people who believe in us. And I just feel like it’s set us up for the future to just go so much further because of it, because we’ve cleaned up so much in our systems and our, you know, what we do and who we’re helping. So I think it’s, I mean, it’s exciting going forward. Cause I think just we’re set up for success now.

Mike (13:17):

We’re all still under various stages of pandemic stuff. Have you found right now where you are in Arizona, are you acquiring more new PT clients or more group clients or does it reflect your 70, 30 ratio or what is the intake?

Karen (13:32):

So right now we’re probably getting, we’re definitely getting more personal training. The reason being is because I feel like the market where we are in Tucson is so saturated with group classes right now. So we have the Orangetheory, F45, you know, all these group fitness studios that are popping up. But so what we’re getting is really truly people that want a customized one-on-one scenario. So we definitely are seeing more personal training coming in, but we, I mean, I had five people sign up last week, so we’re definitely getting people in our door.

Mike (14:16):

Tell me about how your PT rates relate to your group class rates. And it could be just your, you know, whatever your group class average is, because I’m sure you have some different ones.

Karen (14:24):

Yeah. So we have several, I mean, we don’t do discounts anymore, which is huge. So we got rid of those, but we have several different, depending on how many times a month people want to come. So last time I checked, our average group membership was $141 a month. And for a one hour personal training session, it’s $70 for the hour.

Mike (14:48):

That’s really interesting. Reason why I asked is I asked Storm Strout, one of our other ARM leaders and he said, almost identical to you that his general group class rate was about 140. His nutrition coaching rate was about 140 and his overall ARM is about 280. So you can kind of see where his comes from. Right. And his PT rates are also in that $70 range. He told me, and I’m going to ask you the same question, but he told me that he had almost all of his PT clients are training a minimum of twice a week in summer training, more at $70, which means that he’s selling PT packages in the range of a thousand to 1500. Is that kind of what you guys are doing too?

Karen (15:24):

Yeah, exactly. And so we have, I haven’t even talked about nutrition coaching too, which is big. But we definitely, we have people coming three, four times a week for personal training and then coupling that actually with group classes in addition. So we actually have a handful of people that are doing both personal training and group training. But I would say, I mean, I would say the average person’s coming three times a week for personal training.

Mike (15:57):

Yeah. So that’s such a key thing because what you’re seeing there is that you’ve got these new high package items that are really helping clients out with high touch services, the stuff that they want right now. And if you look at it from say a quote unquote COVID safety thing, one-on-one training is probably easier for a lot of people to stomach right now. So you’ve got these high ticket items. And then you’ve also got these really cool hybrid systems. And I never even thought that this was possible, but you’ve got people who want this tailored, direct approach, but maybe every once in a while, they want to throw down and do Fran with the group, they have that option. Like how cool is that. They get the best of both worlds.

Karen (16:31):

Yeah, totally. Oh my gosh, Fran.

Mike (16:34):

I mean, I don’t want to do it, but if someone really does.

Karen (16:38):

Yeah, I know. I know what you mean. And I think that’s, I think that’s another thing that’s shifted and this is, the hard part about this is I would hear people in our group, in our Facebook group, I would hear them talking about, Oh, I sold this, I sold this huge package. And I always thought, how would you do that? But now I’m to the point where it’s like, I have seen, if you do what we tell you to do, we can almost guarantee you’re going to get results. And so it’s so natural to, and I keep saying that, but it is just, it’s so authentic. And it’s so natural to say, look, you want to lose 50 pounds. I can help you do that. I’ve helped people do that before. This is how we did it. And so I think part of it is it just came from me not thinking anymore about, Oh, I need to sell this. I need to sell this, to shift into how can I really help this person? What does this person need to do? And just knowing, having that confidence that we are the place that can help them do whatever it is they want to do. If they just trust us and trust the process.

Chris (17:50):

Back to the show in just a minute. The people at Incite Tax know you’re working long hours to improve health for the world, but it can still be hard to turn a profit. You just can’t focus on your mission without money in your account. So Incite founder John Briggs wrote “Profit First for Mirogyms” and created a system that increases your cashflow so you can be home for dinner with a thriving fitness business. Bookkeeping, profit first, cash flow consulting, taxes, whatever your financial needs, Incite can help. Join their free five-day challenge at profitfirstformicrogyms/five days to get a snapshot of the financial health of your gym. That’s profitfirstformicrogyms/five days.

Mike (18:30):

Yeah. That’s such an interesting point because when you need quote unquote to sell something, you’re inclined to just get, you know, get any money, right. And that means that you might be recommending your low value offerings and so forth instead of telling people what they actually need to do to get fit. And we know that people can get fit in general nutrition and group fitness programs, however, you’re absolutely right in that it’s going to happen faster with a dedicated coach. Like there aren’t too many, you know, Hollywood actors who are training for a specific role who just go to random group classes, right. There’s other factors, but they probably have a personal trainer who’s saying exactly what they need to do for that role. And so it’s really cool that you kind of, that belief in the fact that you can get them fit faster, really creates that value in yourself. And you can say that with confidence. That’s really cool observation.

Karen (19:15):

Yeah, totally.

Mike (19:19):

Let’s talk a little bit now about, we’ve mentioned nutrition stuff. Let’s talk a little bit about specialty programs. So I’ve asked a number of gym owners about high ARM scores. A lot of them talk about specialty programs. How do those things factor into your number? And I guess we can call nutrition coaching an add on in this case, even that might be a primary service for you.

Karen (19:39):

So that’s something I would say that we definitely like in the future would like to improve on actually, but nutrition, coaching is becoming more and more a part of what we do. It’s actually part of our intake process now where we have everyone do an in-body scan and it just opens up that conversation when people see the numbers and they realize, Oh my gosh, this is so much worse than I thought I was.

Karen (20:11):

You know? And it’s interesting, you know, I think it’s—I am someone, so I’m actually our nutrition coach as well. And I’m someone that’s, you know, the scale is important. It’s so much more than non-scale victories for nutrition coaching, but there is something to seeing that body fat percentage on a piece of paper that you’re like, OK, this is something I need to take seriously. And so that’s been a big shift to make nutrition coaching, you know, from day one, everyone hears our philosophy, what we believe in when it comes to nutrition coaching. So that’s definitely increased there, and then we try to do two nutrition challenges a year. And so that’s another way to kind of get people started down the down the right road.

Mike (21:04):

So really it’s a big deal is that you’re talking to people at the outset and then you’re telling them exactly what they need to accomplish their goals. And in most cases that’s probably going to be fitness and nutrition and maybe even PT on top of it.

Karen (21:16):

Exactly. And it’s just, and we try to use, you know, what Chris Cooper will say is like the good, better, best approach. And I try to say, you know, if I meet with someone and I think, OK, maybe if we just did a few tweaks, maybe you don’t need the nutrition coaching, but we’ll circle back in three months and see how it’s going. So I finally have that process all, I mean, I think you’re only as good as your procedures, right? So I finally got that part figured out, but you know, some people I say, look, you have this wedding you’re going to in March, here’s what we need to do. You know, I can help you lose these 15 pounds, but we have to get focused. We have to get you dialed in.

Mike (22:02):

So what I’m seeing here is you’ve got an intake process where you can prescribe the exact best plan. You have some high touch, high value, high ticket items, which know personal training packages. Some of them have hybrid options where you can do PT and group. You’ve got a group rate that doesn’t have discounts and that group rate can be increased with, you know, add on nutrition stuff. Maybe you do a challenge from here and there. And you’ve obviously, you mentioned you have about twice a year, so you obviously have some sort of schedule in place, right. For these various challenges.

Karen (22:33):

Yep, yep, exactly. My annual plan. I’m living by the annual plan. It’s very important.

Mike (22:38):

Well, it’s cool. The people that I talked to about this and you’re kind of echoing with some of the other owners have said, there are little wrinkles between everybody, but there’s a general theme and it’s all this stuff that adds up to high numbers. There’s no one that’s spoken to yet that says, Oh, you know what? I have 400 members and I sell all of them, you know, $140 and we have this gigantic revenue and profit. Those people are out there. But what I’m seeing here for ARM is kind of exactly what you’re saying. These tailored services and add on services, all this other stuff. And then like, you know, the average retail sale puts in $20 on top of that. It’s just cool to see how people are building this. And it is according to a system that works. I’m going to ask you this because I heard about this as well. I’ve heard that with your nutrition challenges, you’ve actually told some clients that they shouldn’t participate. What’s that about?

Karen (23:25):

I know. I’ve been doing them for a few years now and I haven’t really been super happy with the results of it. I think part of it was because for some people it was just a month and you’re done, so you’re going to go on a diet for a month and then you’re done. So that was—this time, I really wanted to shift that mindset for people right from day one, so how I started this challenge was I sat down with all 20 people that were in the challenge for 20 minutes. And I did a goal setting session with them, right from the start and talked to them about what are you looking to get out of this out of this next month? What are your long-term goals? What are your short-term goals? And for three of the people that had signed up, I realized during that talk that actually this challenge, they were just going to get lost in it.

Karen (24:26):

So I told them, I said, you know what? I think you need to do one-on-one nutrition coaching instead, and just get started right now. Don’t waste another month and then maybe, you know, have your motivation kind of fizzle before the month is done. And then you’re done. I can help you, but it’s going to be much better if you can do one-on-one coaching. So they actually switched to one-on-one coaching, which, you know, is more, it’s like the personal training of nutrition. And so I was actually able to get three more people to do the challenge then. So it all worked out in the end.

Mike (25:03):

That’s really, really cool. Have you read Lindsey VanSchoyck’s recent article where she talks about kickstarts instead of challenge?

Karen (25:08):

Yeah. So I love that idea. And unfortunately I saw it like, after I’d already started marketing for this challenge, but that’s how I’m going to, you know, when we did our kickoff seminar, that’s the language I used and yeah, it’s called a challenge, but I said this is not something you’re going to be done within four weeks. This is just the start. So I started using that language, but from now on, I will never call it a challenge again.

Mike (25:33):

Yeah. And for listeners, we’re going to get that article in the show notes, you can click on it. And I’m actually getting Lindsay to come on the show shortly in a subsequent episode. And we’re going to have her explain exactly what happened because for her, she changed one word and it was changing challenge to kickstart and things got better because more clients saw it as the start of a program that would lead to ongoing nutrition coaching. And they continued and got results as opposed to a challenge, which is like, I made it through the 30 days and we’re back on the brownies. Right. That happens so often. And I’ve done this. I’m guilty of it.

Karen (26:01):

Yeah. Yeah, totally. Yeah. So that’s, I love that idea.

Mike (26:06):

We’ve noticed in the conversations that I’ve had, that the more time people spend with their clients and the more they talk to them, the more they sell, have you noticed that?

Karen (26:14):

Yeah. Yeah. And that’s something—so my mentor is Tammy and that’s something she and I have really been working on this past year is our client journey and getting—again, I can’t say it enough, it’s all about your systems. So we got organized and have it so the first month I’m touching base with them once a week, you know, either in person, a phone call, text, I’m talking to once a week. This isn’t including like the automated emails we send out to them, but this is in addition to them so that they know that we care and that we want them to succeed. And so I think that’s been really important too, to kind of keep people around because that first month is always hard. You know, if people aren’t feeling like they’re getting enough for their money or they’re just, they’re not getting results yet, you know, they’re sore all the time. It’s kind of where we would see people drop off. But now we haven’t seen that since I started doing this.

Mike (27:16):

Yeah. And you made an important point where, you know I’m saying, you’re talking to clients more, you’re selling more, that’s not the point of the conversation. The point is exactly what you said, where you’re just seeing if they’re happy and getting the results that they need. And if they’re not, then you alter their prescription and give them the stuff that, you know, it’s like, Oh, I’m not losing weight fast enough. Oh, have you done our nutrition program that could help you? They add it on. So it’s not really selling it’s Chris’s concept of help first, which he’s written about. It makes it so much easier to quote unquote sell because you’re not really selling, you’re just solving problems for people. Whereas for me, I was always like, Oh, I’m pushing this service on these people, but the reality is that they actually need it if they want to get stronger and they can do it one-on-one with me with a focus on powerlifting. Why wouldn’t you do that? Right. Like, did that change? Like, were you good at sales before?

New Speaker (27:57):

No.

Mike (27:57):

So did this change your whole approach and make it easier?

Karen (28:02):

Yeah. And I totally feel like I’m not selling. It does not feel like I’m selling at all because—and it’s funny because as an nutrition coach, I’m always like, you’ve got to take the weight on the scale, you’ve got to take that out of your mind. And as soon as you do that and as soon as you just focus on getting really nutrient-dense, great foods that are going to fuel your body, then you’re going to see the changes you want to see. And so I think when I made that shift with what I was doing at the gym, where I thought, I don’t care what money this person spends at my gym, I want to help them. And I want to make sure that when they walk in or from the moment they walk into our doors, to the moment they leave, they are having a five-star experience. And when I started doing that, everything changed.

Mike (28:57):

I’m going to ask you for a piece of advice here and, you know, put yourself back three years if you need to to give it, if someone is out there because you’ve given us a great picture of all these things that go into your ARM. What if someone out there is listening right now and say their ARM is like a hundred dollars or something like that. And they’re just like overwhelmed with this idea of $300 and $1,500 packages. How would you get that person to take one step in the right direction? Like what’s something they could do today to start getting closer to a high ARM?

Karen (29:24):

I think it’s really just thinking, as hard as it is, you have to stop thinking about the money, which seems crazy. But if you, like, we just think about how can we make the most authentic, great, customer experience, have the top of the line coaching, how can we help these people? And you know, it’s not by letting them get lost in the hustle of everything. You know, it’s about touching base with them and, you know, talking to them regularly and just communicating. I think that’s been the biggest thing for us.

Mike (30:05):

And I’ll confirm what you’re saying. I think just from my experience with other owners, the more our owners speak to their clients, whether it’s on intake or in goal reviews, the better things get for everyone because the client, and I’m saying everyone in the sense that the clients get what they want. They get the results. The business gets the money and the person in the middle, the trainers, and this is a whole different story, but trainers actually get careers that pay them properly because the clients are getting additional high value services. So the whole thing really works. If you’re struggling right now, do some goal review sessions, change your intake process. And if you can’t get goal review sessions going, keep doing it, but bolt into your intake sessions because then those new members will expect it. And then exactly like Karen said, set up your client journey so however you’re moving through this, you know that you’re contacting new members at X dates here, here, here, here, here are the procedures. At three months, we have a goal review and so on and so forth. If you do that, I would almost guarantee that the ARM’s going to start going up simply because you’re speaking with them, would you agree?

Karen (31:06):

Totally, totally. And that’s the thing is, you know, they see that you really care and really want them to succeed. That you’re not just money hungry. You know, they see you as someone who’s really trying to help them and guide them through this.

Mike (31:20):

Thank you so much for sharing all that. That’s super insightful, Karen. I really, really appreciate it. I wish you all the best of in the next coming year, hopefully COVID goes away and you guys can even crank up that number.

Karen (31:30):

Mike, thank you so much. This was fun.

Mike (31:32):

My pleasure. That was Karen Hazelton on Two-Brain Radio. I’m your host, Mike Warkentin. If you prefer video, Two-Brain Business is cranking out clips on YouTube. Be sure to head over to our channel to check out Chris Cooper and our team of mentors. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you next time on Two-Brain Radio.

 

The post Revenue Secrets: Personal Training and All-In Customer Care appeared first on Two-Brain Business.

How to Maximize Staff Retention

If you want to retain people, you need to ask, “What do you want now?”

With your clients, this is done during Goal Review Sessions. But you can’t overlook your staff.

In this article, Certified Two-Brain Fitness Business Mentor Brian Strump gives us five ways he’s kept his staff around for years.

Are you tracking staff retention?Top 5 Ways to Keep Staff for Years

I’ll never forget when my mom told me this: “It makes such a difference to work for a boss who acknowledges your hard work instead of one who doesn’t.” Ever since I hired the first person to work with me, I’ve remembered those words. 

There are a number of reasons people will leave jobs, and while we have lost a few good folks over the last 17 years, I feel we have also done a great job at keeping the best people on our team long term. 

You can find many books on teamwork and team building, and I likely took a few pages out of them to bring together my ideas about how a team needs to work together for the benefit of all parties—the business, the staff and the clients. 

Here are five things you should consider to help keep your staff for years to come.

1. Love/Loathe Lists

People will do their best work if they enjoy what they are doing. When we groom staff to take on more responsibilities, I introduce the “Love/Loathe List.” Staff members make lists of all their roles and tasks and rate them from 1 to 10: A “1” means they’d be happy to never do the task again, and “10” is assigned to something they love. Your goal is to work with each person to maximize the work they love and minimize the work that drains them.  

2. Create Opportunities for Growth

If staff see a ceiling on advancement, they will eventually start looking for greater opportunities elsewhere. While learning new things requires time and brings challenges, you want staff members who are looking to take on more and grow with your company. If you cannot provide opportunities for growth, or if the staff person is not willing to grow as the business evolves, you might find the business has outgrown the person and a mutually beneficial relationship no longer exists between them.

3. Offer Meaningful Work

While the financial security a job offers is important, it’s not the only aspect staff consider. Many people work higher paying jobs and are miserable, and no amount of money balances the sense of dread when they get up every morning. While the goal must be to exceed your staff members’ financial needs, it’s also important to focus on hiring people who will find the work you offer meaningful. Staff who feel they are making an impact in the world and in individual lives are valuable assets.

4. Grace and Patience

I’ve been hiring and firing staff since 2004. After my daughter was born in 2012, I became an exponentially better leader of people. A baby forces you to have more grace and patience, and treating your staff people well goes a long way. Tip 1: Don’t react to something immediately. Tip 2: As much as you will want to treat each person on your staff the same, you cannot. They are all different people with different pasts and different needs. Be patient, listen, and respond to each person according to his or her needs, personality and communication style.

5. Expect Mistakes

This one might be the most important on the list. Unless you’re working in life-or-death situations, you need to accept that mistakes happen and failures are not fatal. Someone will sleep through an alarm clock and open late. Staff members will forget to bill a client, and they will sometimes fail to get that document in the mail on time. Life happens. When it doesn’t go as you wanted, planned or instructed, relax and breath. In “The Power of Moments” by Chip and Dan Heath, they tell you to expect “potholes.” Obstacles are unavoidable in business, but they also give you opportunities to overdeliver to clients after mistakes. So the next time a mistake happens—and it will—ask yourself and your staff members, “How can we make this better?” Then help them learn from the error so it doesn’t happen again in the future. 

The post How to Maximize Staff Retention appeared first on Two-Brain Business.

How to Coach an Amazing Group Fitness Class

Andrew (00:02):

Are your group fitness classes as good as they can be? Are you giving members a world-class experience? In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Josh Martin and Shawn McQueen will tell you exactly how to run classes that will delight your members.

Chris (00:12):

More on that topic in just a second. Two-Brain Radio is brought to you by AGuard, providing elite insurance for fitness and sport. AGuard offers coverage for functional fitness facilities, mixed martial arts gyms and even events and competitions. You can also get access to healthcare insurance, discounted AEDs and discounted background checks. AGuard’s coverage options are designed to keep you safe. To find out more, visit affiliateguard.info.

Josh (00:39):

Hello, and welcome to Two-Brain Radio. I am your host, Josh Martin. And today I have a very special guest, Shawn McQueen. Shawn is the owner of Railroad CrossFit in Hudson, New York. They’ve been around for nine years. And Shawn is also one of the mentors on our team at our sister company, Two-Brain Coaching, where he is the mentor for the group coaching course that we have on that. Shawn, it’s great to have you with us today, man. How are you doing?

Shawn (01:06):

I’m doing great, Josh. Josh, I want to thank you for having me on and for the listeners, for listening to this podcast we’ve got going.

Josh (01:14):

Absolutely, man. So today I’m super pumped to have you on, we’re going to talk about really how to coach a great group class. You know, a couple of years ago when I don’t know if you’ve ever heard this story, but when Chris and I were deciding who we wanted to be a part of the team to kind of build Two-Brain Coaching, he asked, OK, well, who do you think is the person that we need to lead the group coaching course?

Josh (01:43):

And before he could even finish a sentence, I knew that that person had to be you. And so I’m so thrilled that you are part of that team and that you’re here with us today because I think if people stick around for the whole conversation that we’re going to have, they’re going to come away with a whole lot of knowledge to really just be the best, absolute what we say at Two-Brain Coaching, world-class coach that they could possibly be.

Shawn (02:08):

Well, thank you. I’m honored to hear that story and for you to share that. I appreciate that. And I agree. I hope that whoever is listening can grab at least one thing and walk away with knowledge, value, something to implement, share, and it makes their day, their coaching that much better.

Josh (02:30):

Awesome, man. Well, so let’s just get right into it. When we talk about delivering a great group class, how would you define what that means? Like if somebody is listening and they’re like, great, well, what does that actually mean? What do you think about?

Shawn (02:49):

That’s a great question. And I would imagine that a lot of us would say, yeah, I lead a great group class. You know, to me a great group class starts well before the class even begins. And that is in your preparation. And that preparation has to be implemented with a lesson plan. And that lesson plan is like your true North. It’s how you’re going to lead and organize that whole session for the day, how you’re going to communicate, your adjustments, your modifications. So you can be one step ahead, you know your flow, you know your organization for that class and your members want that. So it starts there being prepared before you even step foot on the floor. And then it’s this total package experience from the time people get there to the moment they leave and that, you know, in the middle, you know, it’s all the things of, you know, saying their name and being genuinely excited when you actually see them walk into the door. It’s everyone gets a safe hour.

Shawn (03:50):

So everyone’s safe. That should be a coach’s number one goal. People had a fun experience that they would share and tell someone about. What made that a memorable experience for that day? They got a great workout on their terms. Everyone’s terms are going to be a little different, whether they’re 60, 50, 40, or wherever they’re at within their fitness journey. And you know, probably most important to me is that everyone was seen, felt heard and appreciated. And this is a big one. And I feel like this gets often overlooked. This could be the subtle, you know, the subtle difference of somebody walks in and they got their hair highlighted, they’re wearing different earrings, they’ve got new shoes, or it could be honoring the fact that they pushed themselves in a really tough workout for the day, or they got their first double-under. Those things are so critical because everybody wants to feel seen, heard, and appreciated. And that stuff is the makeup of a great group class.

Josh (04:49):

Man. There’s so much for people to unpack there. And I would really encourage if that sounded like a lot, to like pause it and rewind and listen to that again. And even for me, like now I’m doubting my ability as a coach, because when I asked you that question and you started getting into it, I was thinking, Oh, well, he’s going to say it starts on time. So if the class is at nine, it starts at nine and you completely blew that out of the water of like, no, it actually starts all the way back to when your preparation started. And I’m sure that these are things that long-time veteran coaches already do unconsciously, but for the new coach, I think that that’s so super important to keep that in the forefront of your mind is that preparation. And so I think that’s the first big takeaway that I had.

Josh (05:46):

The second is like, you’ve heard this and you’ve probably even said this that you want to deliver the best hour of somebody’s day. And I’ve heard so many people in the fitness space use that terminology and that phrase, but something that you highlighted that would indicate to me that you accomplished that is that you gave them this experience, that they are going to go and talk and talk about and share with somebody else. And so this isn’t a podcast or this episode isn’t a podcast about marketing, but if you think about it from that perspective, delivering this amazing group class to somebody becomes a kind of a vehicle for marketing. I really like how you broke that down.

Shawn (06:32):

I love how you got some nuggets already, Josh.

Josh (06:35):

Yeah, man. I’ve been coaching for a long time, but I know enough to know that I still have so much to learn.

Shawn (06:43):

You know, real quick, I was going to say too, something that I still do and I preach this to the mentees that I work with is this element of rehearsing. And, you know, so I’ll write my lesson plan out and I’ll look at it and I’ll go through how I want to communicate certain sections. So my communication can always improve and get better and better. And that’s how it has over time. And you know, when I’m at that whiteboard, I want to be fluid. I want to be smooth. I want to be well-spoken. I want to make sure that the people understand and I speak to their language and their level, and that takes practice. And, you know, we can’t just assume we know it or we know it all. And that’s being a student, like you just mentioned. So rehearsal’s a big part of it too.

Josh (07:25):

Yeah, that’s huge. I know, just in personally knowing you, you’ve been around to a ton of different gyms, you’ve experienced a lot of different group classes. We’ve talked about it, you know, in the background, can you contrast like how you describe this great group class with one that is, let’s just call it like pretty average?

Shawn (07:45):

Sure, sure. Yow, it always starts with the coach. The coach, and I always tell my coaches and coaches I work with ,your state is everything. You have the ability to create energy and presence and something dynamic. So it starts with you. So the ability obviously to compartmentalize and leave whatever at the door that you need to leave at the door. And when you walk in there, you bring great energy presence, genuine enthusiasm, genuine excitement, to see these people, to genuinely be happy to lead that class. I want to see on a coach that they love what they do. They love these people that they are working with. That is exciting. You know, where an average or less ideal is a coach who’s distracted on their phone. They’re taking care of other things. There’s people standing around. They’re not engaging with them.

Shawn (08:38):

That is absolutely less ideal for your members’ experience, for the business’ experience. And for the coach in general. You always want to create a vibe, and aura and energy before the class even begins. You know, another place could be as the whiteboard. The whiteboard, like I said before, about rehearsing, you want be well-spoken you want your class to understand. You want to obviously limit questions. You want to know it like a scientist, Josh, but be able to teach it like a kindergarten teacher to these people. And, you know, some average experiences that I’ve had is just briefing literally what’s on the board without giving any sort of intent what to expect, how to adjust or going deeper. You know, people really admire and they really enjoy when they can understand a little bit more of what is being presented and they can feel safe.

Shawn (09:30):

They can feel OK, I know where we’re going today. You know, so the class itself should be well organized and structured and the coach should always know where they’re going next. Nobody wants to be standing around and nobody also wants a circus. So your members obviously want to feel safe. I wouldn’t call this average, Josh. I would call this less ideal where gyms are just winging a warm-up. They’re not prepared. There’s hey, just do it on the board or do it on the board and then we’ll meet up. All that stuff is less ideal. And to me, lacks value in the member’s total experience. And that’s not necessarily what people are coming for in terms of world-class coaching. So world-class is always finding a way to add value, value that is important, important to them. And I’ll give you like a really quick example if you don’t mind.

Josh (10:22):

Please, this is great.

Shawn (10:24):

So last week I was leading a class of about 10 to 12 people and it had some machine work mixed in with some other elements. And I wrote out on a physical board, they could see three different stroke per minute paces. And example was like 22 strokes per minute. Another was like 26 to 28 strokes per minute. And then another was like 35 to 40 plus. And I taught the class that day. There’s gears you have. And there’s a mistake that we all make in workouts, we jump on a machine, we go too hard and it affects and fizzles our workout. And thus, we don’t get out of it what we could. So I taught them that you have three gears and I’m sure there’s more, but we just kept it at three for the day, you have a forever pace, which was the first one.

Shawn (11:11):

You have a sustained pace, which was the second. And you have a sprint pace, which was the last one. That workout of the day was a longer workout. And I said, guys, I want you to live in this sustained pace because we’re mixing in these other modalities. And then they knew that number, that number they could always go back to when they got back to the machine. So my class of 10 to 12, they learned that day, you know, I don’t have to just jump on this machine, go hard and sprint and get really, really tired two to three minutes in. And then, you know, I’m dragging for the next 20 minutes, but I have this gear now and OK, so now they understand themselves more. And that’s what I mean with finding ways to add value, whether you’re nine years in or nine minutes in, the members can always receive value. So it’s our job to seek ways to add value.

Josh (11:54):

I love how you broke that down because as soon as you started explaining that it tied back into what you said a minute or two ago about, you need to know these things kind of like Einstein, but be able to explain it like a kindergarten teacher. So you’ve been a gym owner now for nine years, and I know that your expectation for your staff is, is very, very high in terms of what you want them to deliver for everybody that walks through your door. Why does that matter so much to you?

Shawn (12:25):

You know, you’re spot on and shout out to my team of two, Abby and Nolan, they are absolutely amazing. And I love them. You know, as a business owner and other business owners out there, this is your product, this is your service, or one of them, it’s an extension of your brand, your name and who you guys are. You know, for this area to continue to thrive, it needs to deliver and not deliver once in a while, but consistently, and you want a product that others will consistently rave about not consistently complain about. So, you know, as a business owner, that’s extremely important. And as a coach, this is your profession. This is an extension of who you are and this beautiful opportunity that you and we all get to do to change people’s lives, to teach, to educate, inspire, all the meanwhile creating an experience like no other day in and day out. It’s so special what we get to do, how we can create this this hour for them. Cause you can’t comprehend what happens outside of that hour for people. And we have to take that role extremely seriously and constantly work on improving it and improving the craft. And if the service is valuable, I believe that we owe it to our members to deliver on that. And we should always want to give that to them.

Josh (13:51):

Something that sticks out to me that I’ve heard you say in a roundabout way a couple of times is like the value of the teaching and the educating that you’re really doing on the day to day with your members and clients that come in. So, you know, the example that you use, you’re up at the whiteboard, you’re going to tell them that there’s these three different things. Now I know you could have gone into like exercise physiology and talked about like the muscles and biomechanics and all this, but you didn’t, but you still took the time to educate them and said, Hey, there’s these three gears that you can pull from.

Josh (14:32):

I take it and maybe you could tell me I’m wrong, but I feel like a big component of what you’re doing in these classes is always educating your people. Is that something that you’re thinking about?

Shawn (14:46):

Absolutely, you know, I’m thinking about their needs, I’m thinking about why did these people come here and what is it that they’re after? And when you sit down with people after a workout and have conversations about that workout or about how they feel, of course people want a great workout. They want a great workout on their terms. They want to, you know, people have individual goals, of course lose weight, gain strength, et cetera. So to take all those in and when we can educate on an average, OK, everybody wants to perform better in this workout. And I’m going to coach that average today. If it was a strength day, it would’ve been something a little bit different, you know? So knowing that as a coach and getting in those conversations and then being able to deliver it back on a global platform, like to the masses, that’s extremely important.

Shawn (15:36):

Of course you can make your individual tweaks as you go. Whereas, you know, an example could have been, I had a bigger athlete in the class who was just a monster on the machine. Well, I told him, Hey, I want you to live a little higher on the strokes per per minute pace here, because you know, I think that the middle pace, his sustain is a little bit different than the rest of us, and that’s individualized, but it’s extremely important to not only have those conversations, but then to teach and implement that back.

Josh (16:05):

You know, what’s interesting is you talked about individualizing it right there, and I know that not only are you coaching the group at your gym, but you also do some personal training. What do you think are the big differences between just in general coaching group classes versus coaching say one-on-one sessions?

Shawn (16:28):

You know, it’s a great question. And, you know, we spoke about this a little bit where the natural organic flow would be a new coach learning to work with one person first and building their craft there to start. One-on-one is intimate. It’s you and another person it’s very individualized. You learn that there’s an extreme amount of communication that needs to be ongoing for whether it’s 30, 45 or 60 minutes, not only, you know, your craft that you’re implementing as well. That craft gets multiplied of how many things that you’re in control of when you’re coaching a group. That group is made up of many different abilities, many different skill levels, many different personalities, moods, you name it. And a well-executed craft is what leads to a really great well-run class. And you need as a great group coach, extraordinary presence, awareness, leadership, and an ability to command the room.

Shawn (17:38):

And I don’t mean command the room like military boot camp. That’s not what I mean. I mean, command the room with a presence of certainty, of, you know, knowing where you’re going, knowing what you’re doing, professionalism. And obviously you have to manage your time effectively so you can see each person as well. So there’s a lot going on with group. And, you know, we’ve talked about this at length where the natural flow is, you know, someone comes out of some sort of certification and then jumps into coaching a half dozen people. And there’s so many things going on.

Josh (18:11):

Oh man. Yeah. Full disclosure. Like I used to onboard my coaches way back in the day like that. It was like, well, I’m here coaching the group. Why don’t you come watch me? I tell you a couple of things and then boom, you’re going to it. And we created some coaches, but we probably burned some coaches that way too. And now we’ve found what we believe is just the best way to do it.

Shawn (18:36):

Maybe a good analogy to think about that is like learning to drive by just jumping on the freeway versus, Hey, let’s go over here, nice and slow do this nice organic way. So you can get your way versus jumping on the highway and trying to dodge and weave cars at 55 miles an hour.

Josh (18:57):

I love that you use the car analogy, man. Cause if you know anything about me, that’s my love language is anything automotive related. So you sold me right there. What do you think are the common, you know, big mistakes that novice group coaches make?

Chris (19:15):

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Shawn (19:46):

You know, there’s a ton here. And this isn’t to knock novice coaches, because I was there once you were there, obviously. And if a novice coach can hear these and maybe improve on them, that would be incredible. So, you know, what I’ve seen is a novice coach will make it more about the workout or what’s written on the board than the human beings in front of them. It’s like lost in translation. They come out of their level one or level two and you might laugh at this and they want to just correct every single thing that they see.

Josh (20:25):

And we call that word vomit. It’s like everything. Let me tell you everything that I just learned.

Shawn (20:29):

Right? This one takes time. It’s the craft of leaning into emotional intelligence of delivery of good, bad, good. And you know, I don’t even like the word bad in there. I like good, improve, good. And what I mean by that is you see somebody, excuse me, with a fault in the push press. And that could be, you know, maybe they’re pressing the bar out in front of their face versus locking out overhead versus, you know, a novice coach. No, no, no, no. Bring your head through the window. And that was just what we would consider like the bad. And we give them the good of, Hey man, Josh, I love how strong you are, my friend. Now, hey, the push press. This is what I’m seeing. Let’s just bring your arms back here. And then that push press will feel even better. And that takes time to build, obviously with that delivery of feedback is critical and that’s important to the members.

Shawn (21:24):

We talked about this, a lack of certainty because they aren’t sure of themselves. Part of that of course is confidence. But part of that is knowing, knowing, like we talked about knowing like a scientist, but being able to teach it and perform, I forgot the other part, teach it like a kindergarten teacher, but perform it like a rockstar. That’s the last part. And you know, Josh, I really believe a new coach could gain a ton of credibility by being authentic and leaning into their vulnerability. And what I mean here is if I was just—here’s what I mean, let’s say I was in your gym and all of a sudden I wouldn’t go my level one. And you brought me on as a new coach. Imagine saying to your class, something of the following: You know, guys, I was just there on the other side of the room, like you. Now I’m up here and you know, I’m sure you’re so used to seeing Josh and Shawn.

Shawn (22:33):

And I want to say, I don’t know it all, and I’m not claiming to. I’m up here because I love to help people. And I want you to know that I will work harder than ever before to become a great coach, because I want to be up here to serve you guys, to help you get better. And it’s not gonna be perfect today, but I’m going to work on getting really great. I just think there would be some power in that vulnerability of a new coach versus just jumping up there. And the members are like, you were just right next to me.

Josh (23:06):

We’ve all seen that, for sure.

Shawn (23:08):

Just some thoughts there.

Josh (23:10):

That’s great, man. I think about onboarding new coaches, like as an owner, I know you do too. Like, what’s the process that you go through, letting your members know like, Hey, this is the stage that Jimmy is at, or this is where he’s at now in his development, but I’ve never thought about it like that of when you are the coach and you finally get the platform, so to speak, to stand on, what happens? And I think man, that even me, I kind of got goosebumps listening to you talk like that because I know if I was in that class and somebody said that and had that vulnerability, it’d be like, all right, let’s go. We’re just going to have a great time.

Shawn (23:53):

Right. It gives the individual grace when they’re imperfect, because you may be used to Josh’s coaching or Shawn’s coaching and it might be at a certain level. And then you have, you know, let’s just call them Dave and Dave gets up here and he’s new and he maybe isn’t as well-spoken. And he’s not as sure of himself yet, but man, you know he is passionate. He loves this. He wants to help. And he spoke that at the beginning. You know, I think there’s a lot of power there for coaches.

Josh (24:22):

You know, working with these new coaches that come into the group coaching course on the Two-Brain Coaching side, you know, they have this period of online learning and then they also get mentorship, you know, on a zoom call with you. But I know that I’ve gotten a lot of questions. I don’t know if you have, from coaches and owners alike, you know, how do you coach coaches from afar? You know, how can you ensure that they’re getting better on the floor if you can’t actually be there to take or observe their classes?

Shawn (24:53):

Yeah, it’s a great question. You know, and a great coach is always aware that this refinement of their craft is going to be ongoing forever. There’s never a point when we’ve reached it. You know, particularly to what you’re speaking about, obviously the mentorship is huge. I love those calls with individuals. And within those calls, there has been, you know, when I’ve worked with coaches, a good amount of role-play, so we’ve implemented something, I’ve learned something, or they’ve exposed something to me that they’d like to improve or work on and we’ve worked on it or I’ve given them tools. And then they went and used that. And we’ve also used record pieces. So whether that’s, Hey, I want you to record your whiteboard brief. I want you to get yourself recorded of you coaching this particular piece.

Shawn (25:41):

So there’s this feedback loop that they work a skill. We expose where they need to improve and where they’re aiming to. We work on that. And then we also give the homework, I guess you could call it outside in their facilities and then record that and bring that back. And it’s this constant state of communication. There’s coaches who I still talk to to this day after working with them in like November and December and still touch base with them on things that we were working on back then. So it’s this, again, this never-ending pursuit of working on your craft, but just to kind of button that up for you, recording the mentorship is huge. Those calls, there’s a lot gained in those calls and there’s a lot that I’m learning within those calls about coaches too.

Josh (26:27):

Do you find that when you’re getting on calls with these coaches, that they’re bringing some vulnerability and some honesty that maybe they might not necessarily share with their owner?

Shawn (26:40):

Yes. And, you know, shout out to the mentees that I’ve worked with. Absolutely. It, has to be that way too. And I pride myself on creating an environment where I meet an individual on the first time. And, you know, within a few moments, we’re getting pretty deep and creating an environment where they feel warm and welcome to do that. And I don’t just take that with me, with the coaches that I work with, but I take that with me, with my members in my facility as well. And I think obviously coaches, that should be something that we are always working towards. But absolutely, Josh, you know, we have to create that relationship together for them to be truly open, truly transparent, truly vulnerable, so there is room to grow.

Josh (27:30):

Yeah, it’s funny because I’ve talked to a lot of coaches and owners, you know, through this whole process with Two-Brain Coaching and that’s been this completely unexpected positive outcome that has transpired that these coaches are getting on calls with you guys, and they’re being completely honest and vulnerable about what their intentions are within the profession. You know, what they’re getting or not getting potentially from their owner. And that’s always a tough conversation I’m sure for this coach to have. So the fact that they’ve got, you know, you and everybody else on our team that can kind of facilitate this discussion, I think is a huge understated benefit that I don’t know if any of us on the team could have expected that to take place, but I’m so very thankful because I think more than anything, what it does is it really pushes our profession forward.

Shawn (28:32):

Absolutely. And I think just like in my gym and working with these coaches virtually, you have to look across the screen or across the room or in front of you at a person and see something that is extremely genuine and congruent. And that leads from the heart, that I genuinely want to help. I care. I’m invested. I want to get to know you, you’re important to me. Yes, you’re a stranger, but you know, we are connected now and that’s the roots. And then from there, the magic can happen.

Josh (29:07):

So what are some of the other, let’s say non-technical skills that you think are really important for coaches to develop and embody and use just to be successful.

Josh (29:22):

I mean maybe I can give you a little bit of context. So I talk to coaches and owners a lot and a frequent question is, well, I’m thinking about taking, you know, this certification, what do you think? And anytime I hear like a continuing ed or a certification, it’s usually very technical in nature, right? So I want to get better at Olympic lifting or I want to get better at this specific methodology. And they think that that’s going to be the key to unlock, you know, being an even better and better and better coach. What do you think are some other things that they should be developing to really become successful? Is it sales? Is it marketing? Is it, should they take public speaking, focus on building relationships, personal development?

Shawn (30:19):

What a great question. You know, the stuff you alluded to earlier, like the craft type stuff, the working, you know, refining your craft and Olympic lifting or gymnastics. That’s stuff is of course important. But in my opinion, the stuff that moves the needle the most is going to be relationship building. And that area you’re going to have relationships your entire life, in the gym and out of the gym. So it’s a skill that deserves striving to get to mastery. And I say mastery, but it’s always that elusive end result, which is never going to be there.

Josh (30:55):

You never get there.

Shawn (30:56):

You never get there. Public speaking is also so critical. That’s one of those things, the more you do it, the more comfortable you’re going to be. I remembered, I’m sure you do too, getting up there the first few times of class and you’re just nervous and you can see it in coaches because you were just around your friends.

Shawn (31:14):

And now all of a sudden you got however many 20 eyeballs on you and you’re just creating these stories in your mind. Those two to me are the most important. Of course, sales, marketing. These things are extremely important. So is the understanding the Olympic lifts, of course, but if you cannot genuinely connect with another human being, that’s a problem. If you can’t go up to them, ask questions and really the questions and caring are your key to success, asking people questions and caring and remembering what they’re saying and what they’re sharing, being invested in them, building a dense relationship that you want to stand the test of time.

Josh (31:59):

Yeah. You know, as you were saying that, the relationship-building piece, I was thinking back to very early in the episode where you said, and I brought this out, one of my nuggets, when you were describing a great group classes, you know, you’re delivering this experience that somebody is going to go and share and brag about. So the way that I hear it as an owner, you know, and working with coaches at Two-Brain Coaching is OK, if I can get you to build great relationships, to communicate, to show that you care and deliver this great group class, the sales and marketing, they take care of themselves in a way, right?

Shawn (32:40):

Yeah. Of course there’s work to be done there, but that’s a huge element of that, you know, Josh, and you speak right to it. Where when people are raving, not only about the class, about the experience, but about the individual that, and I mean, I don’t want to, like, I’m not here to pat myself on the back or my team, but I just think about what a lovely community we have and how the way we lead from our core values and who we are genuine and authentically and how our members openly will brag to these people. And these people are just so intrigued to then meet us. And I’ll give you a really classic example. We have this member, and she’s 60. She’s so sweet. She’s got this Russian accent. I wish I could imitate it right now because it’s awesome.

Shawn (33:28):

And she works for a gynecologist and she got her boss, the gynecologist, a session with me for Christmas. And you know, I’m going to kind of like wrap around to the end here now. And the gynecologist after one session had said, I don’t know why I waited so long to come here to meet you. Marina—her name is Marina—would always brag about you to me and tell me how great you are. And it was obviously getting over that fear, the hurdles, the stories that we have. But the member, you know, talking up not only the experience of how great this gym is, the classes, et cetera, these people, but this person. And as an owner, that’s your coach, you know, and that’s not just me, that’s my team too. So that’s so valuable for coaches to strive to be world-class, to lead these experiences, to hit these marks because that’s the lifeblood of the business.

Josh (34:33):

Yeah. And man, what a great representation of just what it actually means to deliver this great service, because, you know, every year at Christmas time, I’m famous for always getting like new pairs of shoes. And it has trended into every year I get my staff new pairs of shoes. Well, uh, this year was a little bit different and the supplies were short and COVID and all of it. So, several weeks before I was going to go and buy all the gifts, my wife and I went to a really nice restaurant. It’s not the same one that I talked about at the summit a couple of years ago. It was a different, but it was a nice steakhouse. That’s one of my favorite things to do. And so we went and just had the most exceptional time at this restaurant.

Josh (35:21):

I mean, the service was great, the ambiance, just everything. It was just so amazing. And so we were my wife and I were talking and I said you know, I’m not going to do the shoe thing because of, you know, whatever circumstances she’s like, why don’t you get gift cards to this restaurant? And so that’s what we did. I mean, we bought, you know, hundreds of dollars worth of all these gift cards for the staff because I had such an amazing experience just at that one outing that I wanted everybody else to experience. And it’s because of the service, you know, that I got delivered. You know, if it had just been another night out with a great steak, I might’ve told a couple of people, but I certainly wouldn’t have invested my money to getting other people to take up that experience too.

Shawn (36:11):

That’s a great story, a great share. And it just stamps to the coaches and the, you know, the gym owners out there, world-class coaching is your service. And providing that creates what you just mentioned, this I want to go back tomorrow or I want to tell people about this and I want them to experience this too.

Josh (36:35):

Yeah. So get this, this is funny. And it has nothing to do with what we’re talking about, except for the continuing the steak dinner story, it was Capitol Grill, for those that are wondering, but when you buy a certain dollar amount of gift cards, they actually give you 10% of the value back in a gift card. And they send you in rose gold box, a wooden box, a set of steak knives from their restaurants. So we got these, you know, this nice set of knives that probably are still stuck under our cabinet, but it was just a really incredible gesture. So, as a gym owner, whether, you know, yourself or people that are listening, you know, we’ve got this team and we want to replicate awesome team members. What do you look for when you’re hiring? You know, what do you look for in a potential coach when it comes to hiring somebody new?

Shawn (37:35):

Yeah. That they absolutely love people. They love helping people. They are team oriented, they are growth oriented and growth mindset. They are coachable no matter their age, their experience level, or, you know, their fitness level. You know, when thinking about this, I’m thinking of my two studs, Abby and Nolan, and I wish the listeners could see them in action. Just a personal shout out to them. But, when I think about hiring, I think of those two and who they have become and those things right there are their foundation. And then from there you can grow. You can grow, you know, inside the business, whatever success looks like to you. But those things to me are what I would look for.

Josh (38:40):

That’s awesome, man. Well, I think that’s a great place to end it. And Shawn, I just want to say thank you so much for your time today. And one of the things that as I’m listening to this, and obviously you’re part of the Two-Brain Coaching team and you were chosen for this particular mentorship position on this course for a reason. But if anybody out there is listening and feels like I do, that, man, I have somebody who I think would be a great group coach, or you’ve got group coaches that think that they could take something away from Shawn, like I do. How can they get in touch with you, man?

Shawn (39:26):

Yeah. Well first thank you for the opportunity to be on the podcast. And thank you for those who have listened up to this point. I hope you’ve taken something away and are smiling somewhere. Absolutely. I would love to help, you know, that is why we do what we do, help first. I can be reached that shawn@twobraincoaching.com and on the group coaching modules.

Josh (39:52):

Awesome. So Shawn, like I said, everyone, is the mentor that heads up the group coaching course. You can find that on twobraincoaching.com. If you’ve got somebody that is going to be a brand new coach, if you’ve got a veteran coach and you want to polish their skills and really take them from where they are to being world-class, I would not hesitate in getting on board with Shawn and the course he’s in charge of and getting onto his schedule before it fills up real quick.

Shawn (40:23):

Thank you, Josh.

Josh (40:25):

All right guys. Take care.

Andrew (40:30):

Chris Cooper’s new book “Gym Owners Handbook” is out now. To get the book and start growing your fitness business today, click the link in the show notes.

 

The post How to Coach an Amazing Group Fitness Class appeared first on Two-Brain Business.

Fitness Pros and Clubhouse: Everything You Need to Know

By Certified Two-Brain Fitness Business Mentors Jeff Smith and Ashley Haun

Clubhouse is a simple concept: audio-based group chat.

It’s easy to listen: You can participate while you wash the dishes. It’s easy to participate: Moderators can “pick you” from the crowd and bring you onto the “stage.” And it’s easy to get started: If you’re lucky enough to get an invite, you can simply listen to user instructions as soon as you join.

But Clubhouse is a lot like talk radio: You can’t fast-forward a rambling speaker. And while you’ll definitely hear some pearls of wisdom from great speakers, you have to get familiar with rooms that fit your style and speakers that you like. It’s much like choosing your favorite podcasts to follow.

We were invited to Clubhouse in December 2020. That’s late for an early adopter but early for the rest. It’s already clear: Some people are making money on Clubhouse. Can gym owners do the same?

What Is Clubhouse?

Clubhouse is still in beta, so you need an invitation to join.

Inside the app, you can join “rooms” in which people have conversations on a certain topic. You can also start your own rooms, which might be valuable when more users join the platform and you’re trying to reach people near your gym. Finally, you can start clubs, which are private communities on the platform. Your club can host private rooms, or make the rooms public—just like Facebook groups.

Oprah, Chris Rock and Kevin Hart have all been spotted on Clubhouse. When Elon Musk announced he’d show up on Clubhouse one night at 10:30 p.m., the app crashed. But these are impromptu visits—there’s no schedule or agenda, and nothing is recorded for asynchronous listeners. Will the listeners keep showing up?

How to Join Clubhouse

Clubhouse is currently only supported by iOS and Apple products, so if you are an Android user, you are currently out of luck. And for now, you need an invitation to join the app.

You can apply by downloading the app, opening it, reserving your user name and adding your name to the waitlist.

Reserving your user name is a great “hook” to get people to download the app. Many will download and save their names “just in case” the app explodes.

When you request to join, friends who are already on Clubhouse will get a notification that you’re waiting. If they have any invitations to share, they can choose to spend one on you—or not. Invitations are hard to get while the app is still in beta.

How to Start a Club on Clubhouse

Because Clubhouse is still new and ripe for the hate speech that has other social media platforms spinning right now, every new club gets reviewed by admins before it’s launched. That can take a while. But in the meantime, here are the details:

Before you can launch your own club, you must have hosted a room at least three times.

Once you’ve done this, open the Clubhouse app and go to your profile, then select the gear icon to open your settings. Next, click FAQ/Contact Us, where you will then be taken to a web link displaying options.

Click the arrow for “How can I start a club?” and scroll through the rules. At the bottom of the page, you’ll see a “here” link that will take you to the “Clubs Request” form. Fill out the form and then wait for approval, which can take days.

You can also go straight to the club application here.

When the club is approved, you will be the club’s Founder. Clubs have three types of users within them: founder/administrator, member and follower.

You can set your club’s rules:

Using Clubhouse to Generate Leads

Clubhouse is a social-media platform. And, as with Twitter and Instagram and Facebook, your No. 1 job on social media is to get people off social media and onto your website.

Because Clubhouse doesn’t have a native way to have a private conversation (a DM or messenger function), most users share their Instagram and Twitter profiles. When they take the stage, they’ve learned to say, “If you want to chat later, just DM me on Instagram.”

When setting up your profile, ensure that one of these accounts is active and managed because it will be the most likely spot to start a conversation: “DM me on Instagram if you’d like more information.”

Note: Clubhouse is recording your rooms and conversations in Instagram. Here’s how to shut it off: Go to your profile > click 3 lines next to plus > settings > security > apps and websites > active > remove.

If you are going to allocate resources to Clubhouse, you’ll want to do lead nurture and follow-up through DM on Instagram or Twitter. The ultimate goals are to collect contact information, add people to your email list and drive them to your website. This process can be scripted and repetitive, but it needs to be quick and consistent: contact > follow up > information capture > add to lead list.

Currently, there is no character limit in building your profile, so you can include all your information. Some things to think about: You have a “short profile,” which only shows the first three lines of your text, so you want to make sure your opening lines are engaging and interesting. Your goal is to get the viewer to click through to your “full profile” and learn more about you and what you do.

You can put all your information in the “full profile,” so be sure to include your website, email address, clubs you’ve created, etc. We’ve even seen people including their personal cell numbers and telling people to text them (Two-Brain Business does not recommend this). 

A better idea that’s rapidly growing in popularity: Send people to a domain off Clubhouse that’s easy to remember. There’s a huge surge in registrations of .club domains right now, as Clubhouse influencers say things like:

“Want to suggest a topic? Just go to name.club and fill out our form!”“Want to speak in our club? Pitch your idea by filling out the form on fitnessbusiness.club!”“Want to give us some critical feedback? Don’t start a hate club: go to catalyst.club and let us know how you feel!”

Yes, “hate clubs” are real. When people dislike a host, they sometimes start clubs to share their views with others.

Where Should You Invest Your Money?

Clubhouse is free—for now. It’s also ad-free—for now. Eventually, the model will reach a critical number of users and it will pivot to make its founders some money.

Where Should You Invest Your Time?

Clubhouse is built to capitalize on “fear of missing out”—FOMO.

Nothing is saved on Clubhouse. No one up-votes a great post. If you’re not on the platform, no one is hearing from you.

Some tech experts we know are now spending 12-14 hours per day on Clubhouse because they’re scared to be left out of the conversation. Unlike Twitter and Facebook, which are asynchronous platforms, Clubhouse conversations happen in real time. At the time of writing, a notification appeared: “Gary Vaynerchuk is live now, talking about … .” It’s hard to resist.

Similarly, microphones are addictive. People hate to give them up once they have them, and as soon as they hand them over they want them back. Clubhouse had 400,000 users in December, so you didn’t have to wait long for your turn to speak. But that number has already doubled, leaving users waiting for “their turn” for a very long time.

And because conversations are unmoderated, you have no idea when your turn will come around. You can easily listen to a “business coach” in Vegas ramble for six minutes before realizing her or she is only getting started and doesn’t have a point.

The Key: Where Is Your Audience?

Successful business means delivering your amazing service to a waiting audience. Clubhouse is an exploding audience.

But does it serve your audience?

Are your gym members on Clubhouse—or is it mostly full of other entrepreneurs?

If your business serves local clients at a bricks-and-mortar location, use Clubhouse as a learning platform occasionally and wait before you invest real time in it. Stick to the platforms your clients use most. Even if you don’t personally like Facebook, you should put your message where your clients are already spending their time. That’s probably not Clubhouse—yet.

No matter which platform you choose, sales of your service is your No. 1 priority. While an audience of 10,000 followers on Instagram is impressive, it’s irrelevant if none of those people buy from you. Social media is a lure to bring fish to your boat.

The bottom line: Clubhouse is seeing some early success in B2B sales.

If you produce a lot of media elsewhere, your primary job on Clubhouse is to get people off Clubhouse and onto the media that converts best for you.

If you don’t produce media anywhere else and you’re selling to other businesses, Clubhouse will probably get you some quick wins. You can even stream your Zoom webinars straight to Clubhouse (audio only, of course).

If you’re selling to consumers (i.e., you own a gym or a personal training practice), Clubhouse probably isn’t right for you—yet. An hour could be better spent creating content that will convert clients for you instead of shouting into the ether.

Remember: Your most valuable asset is time. While you should be building media, the best media is the kind that sticks around.

The post Fitness Pros and Clubhouse: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Two-Brain Business.

Fill It or Kill It: What to Do With Tiny Classes

That tiny class is costing you.

In almost every microgym, there’s a little class of one to two people that’s actually costing the gym money.

Even if the class brings in a few bucks, it’s not worth keeping.

Let’s use an example based on the calculations from the previous post in this series. Imagine a gym averages $6.67 per attendee in a class.

1. If the owner pays a coach to run the tiny class for one or two clients, he or she is actually losing money on the session.

2. If the owner takes the class personally, he or she is skipping the opportunity to grow the gym.

Many times, the owner would actually be better working the morning shift at a local drive-thru window!

Simply making a class time available won’t fill the class. “If you build it, they will come” is a fantasy. But still, none of us gets this right the first time.

Here’s how to set your schedule: “Setting Your Schedule.”

Here’s how to change your schedule after you’ve set it:

Your greatest leverageable resource is time.

You can invest it in a class that pays you $20.

You can invest it into a personal-training client who pays you $70.

You can invest it into marketing, ordering supplies, designing T-shirts, tasting supplements, arguing on Facebook or reading memes on Instagram. It’s your time and your choice.

But knowing the value of how you spend your time is critical for your success.

Other Media in This Series

“How Many People Should Be in Your Class?”
“What Are Your Group Classes Worth?”

The post Fill It or Kill It: What to Do With Tiny Classes appeared first on Two-Brain Business.