Home Gym Search Supplier Search Products Fitness Info Business Contact Us
   Profiled Gyms   Special Offers   Advertise with us     List your gym     List your trainers  

ClubMarketer


Are You A Charity Case?

Now by asking the question "Are you a charity case?" I do not mean is your fitness club on the brink of bankruptcy.  Nor whether you should you be asking for handouts, grants or other similar financial aide.

Rather, my question relates to a novel new idea to assist you in attracting new leads to your fitness centre.

You may have the best sales team in the world, but if they do not have the leads available to convert into new members then they may as well help your instructors walk the floor!

So what has attracting new members got to do with charity?
Charitable Organisations like the Red Cross, Oxfam, Guide Dog Training, as well as other not for profit groups such as Girl Guides, Sports Clubs and Schools are always looking at new fundraising ideas.  We are all sick of buying overpriced raffle tickets with no likely reward, and we are also tired of handing out donations to dreaded, pierced, grunge looking individuals on the street with no knowledge of where the money will end up.

So how can we help?
For the small price of a raffle book you can gain a large number of new leads to your fitness centre.  Approach your local school, club or charity with the following proposal.

1.  Provide them with a raffle book or ticket system.  Each ticket entitles the bearer to a one week trial at your fitness centre.  Ensure that the seller gains the contact details of all ticket purchasers at point of sale - to pass on to your club.

2.  The non-profit group sells each ticket for $1.  100% of the money goes to the charity.  If each book contains 100 tickets then they have raised $100 for their group.

For the price of $1 a person gains one weeks training at your club, a very good return on investment and something that really is of benefit to the purchaser.  In turn you have the opportunity to turn this visitor into a new long term member.

Try this lead generation idea and you will attract a large number of new leads to your club.  For further lead generation ideas see our members only section of our website.
 

I'll Scratch Your Back If You Scratch Mine...

Contra Deals, a fantastic way of attracting new leads to your club... so long as you are selective about the contra deal partners that you approach.

So what is a Contra Deal? 
A contra deal is an arrangement that you have with another business or group in your area whereby they will promote your products or services to their customers.  In exchange for this promotion you will provide a similar benefit within your own business to enhance their profile. 

So How Do I Go About Setting Up Contra Deal Partners?
Before you begin arranging any Contra Deals the most important aspect is to plan your approach. 

Right, who do you want to attract?  What age profile, demographic group, gender etc do you want to bring in to your club?

Once you have established the type of person that you wish to attract only then can you target companies that employ or have customers within your profile.

Lets Get Started
First ...  take a walk / drive in your clubs catchment area and target the businesses and groups that are operating.  Try the following areas:  Corporate groups, retail outlets, pubs, clubs, restaurants, video stores etc.  Note the times that people attend, the customer profiles, numbers through the doors, and any further information.

Second ...  Identify the contra deal partners you wish to approach.  Now that you are aware of the potential partners in your area you need to narrow down the options to only those that are going to provide the type of members that you are seeking.  For example, if you are looking to attract mainly the 18-30 age group to your club then you might approach a number of local pubs, or perhaps certain retail outlets.

Third ...  Approach the partners you have identified.
The key to attracting Contra Deal partners is in the approach.  You need to take the view of - what is in it for them.  Perhaps you will put information on your notice board about their business in exchange for them handing out flyers to their customers.  Maybe you will provide them with a free membership for the duration of the period that they show your posters on their wall.  Maybe you will put their business details in your starter pack for new members in exchange for running a regular lead gathering demonstration at their business place.  Use your imagination, and when you package up your proposal identify the benefits FOR THEM.  If you have 10,000 people coming through your doors every month that will see their business details then let them know!

Fourth - Regular Review.
As with any type of marketing it is very important to regularly review the performance of your contra deal partners.  Do not give them an initial bunch of flyers and forget about them.  You want to build a rapport with your contra deal partners in the same way that you do your own customers.  This way they will keep referring customers to you.  You may want to regularly change the offering to your partners.  Perhaps, one month every customer that purchases something in their sports stores gains a free one week trial of your centre.

I was speaking to the Sales Manager of a UK Health Club that has over 25 contra deal partners.  This transfers into a regular stream of leads that they can convert into new members, in fact 30% of all of their leads come from their Contra Deals.  The Sales Manager sets aside time every month to visit the Contra Deal partners - to check that that have brochures, the condition of posters, and also to see if they have an updated information that they wish to provide him with for the club.

Look after your Contra Deal partners and they will look after you.  Contra Deals are one of the least expensive ways to advertise or promote your centre so start enhancing your Contra Deals TODAY!