Just a quick update for everyone. Starting next week you are going to be seeing a lot more of me… literally. I’ll be adding new video content to the blog on a regular basis. These new videos will take the place of some postings and complement others. The videos will be candid, completely biased and of course very informative.

On a side note. VMG is creating a extremely informative, professional video library for our clients. Our sales systems, personal training profit centers, amazing marketing techniques and much more will all have video tutorials. As a consulting client you will have unlimited access to our exclusive video tutorials and supporting documents to help take your club to the next level.

—–
Chris

PS: If you not a consulting client already nows the time to get on board. Prices are going up March 1 2009. Lock in your rates now.

In case you missed Curtis’s goldmine this week our consultants are BREAKING RECORDS across the country. We have an amazing new business outreach program which is probably the best in the industry (more on that later)and our direct incentive marketing pieces are doing extremely well. Remember what I said a few weeks ago about marketing “into” the recession. Well the proof is in the pudding. Here’s some quick numbers:

1. $17,000 in membership sales in ONE DAY in Alabama
2. $45,000 in gross membership sales in 1 week
3. $3,000 in new EFT to client in only 2 weeks!
4. 36 direct mail appointments set in one day in Iowa
5. over 500 new memberships sold in the last 3 weeks

Congratulations to the VMG Consulting Team!! Keep up the good work.

As I write this quick post I am sitting in Miami, Coral Gables to be exact. I also happen to be about 25 feet from the ocean sitting on the front porch of one of the most amazing homes in North America…seriously. For the last 3 days I have been absolutely blown away by the experience of this place. Yachts and helicopters have been the preferred mode of entertainment and everything else is simply the best you can get.

I’m not telling this story to gloat or brag. I’m telling this story because this place is truly inspiring. The very successful business man who owns this and many other places like it started from nothing. As i look ahead in my own life i wonder; what will i accomplish in 40 years?

I’m not much for material things and i’m certainly not saying that I want everything that this particular person has. However, this weekend has put perspective on hard work, entrepreneurism, dedication and success. As I sit here in amazement of the empire this man has built and the humbleness of which he has done it with i ask myself and you this: What are you doing to build your empire?

Every day I am seeing more and more pressure on middle market health clubs.  These clubs can typically be identified as a 8,000-25,000 square foot facility with multipurpose amenities, which charge between $40-70 per month for membership.  The problem that we are seeing is that these “middle market” clubs are getting squeezed by lower cost or massive full service facilities.  They are able to offer more services for the same price point or less than what the middle market clubs are offering. Specifically, independently owned, non brand affiliated clubs are struggling the most.  

The issue is that the owners of these clubs are not able to come to terms with the fact that they need to evolve their business model to stay relevant and competitive.  In some cases change might be more drastic than other.  Lets face it, if you are a middle market club owner who charges $49/m for membership and a Lifetime Fitness moves in across the street and offers everything you do and much more for the exact same price, you are going to strugle.  Sticking to your guns is not a marketing or business growth strategy.  

Every situation and market is different.  The formula for success is change.  If you dont know what you need to do, ask someone who does.  I predict a shake out of the fitness industry over the next 12-18 months of 20% or more of the stagnant health clubs.  That means that 2 out of every 10 clubs operating now will fail. The club owners who survive will be the ones who stay relevant and offer progressive business models, and continue to market properly.

Until next time…

Happy Holidays everyone.  First let me admit that I am a diehard University of Southern California Football fan. If you follow NCAA Football no doubt you know who USC is.  My holiday season normally culminates with a USC Rose Bowl victory! 

Lucky for you guys this USC addiction has inspired me to raise the stakes this year. As I sat contemplating yesterday how much money to wager on this year’s Rose Bowl, in which USC with be playing Penn State I figured I’d raise the stakes even more and bet our VMG BLOG readers.

So here’s the deal.  If USC looses I will consult every single reader of this blog for FREE for 30 days. Marketing, sales, new business, personal training, you name it I’ll help you with it!

In addition for all you football savvy readers… let’s bet.  The USC bet is the trump card for everyone but if you want to make the same wager on any other Bowl Game I will bet against any team you pick (point spread considered).  For example:  If you’re a Texas fan and they beat Ohio State you get the free consulting no questions asked.

Hopefully this adds some fun to your New Year.  I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.  Place a comment with your bet on this blog prior to kick off of any game you choose! 

GO USC!!!

Until Next Time…

Chris 

Cash Flow:  a measure of an organizations liquidity that usually consists of net income after taxes that usually provides solvency.   

Happy Holidays everyone.  Today I want to discuss the lack of cash flow in the fitness industry and how it directly relates the ultimate success of your fitness business, and how the next 7 months will be the most important in the life of your club.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that for the most part you feel that your business is not doing as well as it could be.  Furthermore, it’s doing worse right now then it has in the past.  And lastly you don’t have a concrete plan in place to offset this pattern.

The fitness industry has for the most part enjoyed uninterrupted growth for the last 10 years.  The number of clubs has quadrupled and our industry went from a million dollar industry to a multibillion dollar goliath almost overnight.  We managed to do all this with almost no growing pains…until now.  Like it or not the industry is changing, there is more competition, consumers are more informed and prices are being compromised by low cost business models.  Yet business owners in some cases are not a wear of the changing climate in our industry.  Why should you be?  You have been eyeball deep in running your business.  It’s our jobs to bring this to your attention.

Cash flow is perhaps the most important factor in creating a profitable business.  The problem is if you don’t have it how do you build it?  That is the million dollar question.  In other words, how do you make money if you have no money to spend? ….remember it takes money to make money.  This is where the dilemma ultimately lies and it is a BIG, BIG problem for 8 out of 10 clubs across the country.  Believe me you’re not the only one in this situation.

Low and no cost methods like the ones outlines in our free book Guerilla Marketing for Health Clubs (visit www.gymmarketing.com/resources.php) is a good starting place but ultimately you will need a comprehensive and sometimes higher dollar value marketing approach to achieve maximum impact. This is when the promotion question must be answered; to promote or not to promote? 

Over the next 7-8 months I predict a shake out of the health club industry.  The clubs who do not stay ahead of the curve and build membership via aggressive marketing and promotions will unfortunately fail.  Incentive and priced based marketing methods are WORKING!  As a business owner you must be open to the idea that the market place is changing and that an overall change in your business model might be necessary for survival.  Restructuring is going to be the magic word.  The businesses who embrace change and exploit will come out of this recession more profitable than ever. 

The approach will be different for every circumstance.  Membership prices and amenities, personal training methods, and other profit centers may need to be adjusted to achieve maximum profitability.  Now Vitality can’t do it for you but we can certainly help.  Fill out our club profile at www.gymmarketing.com and I will evaluate your position for FREE, give you tips and outline possible options, including no cost membership campaigns that might get you started on the right foot and free up your CASH FLOW.  Let’s get focused! 

Until next time…

Chris Batchelor

Chris
www.GymMarketing.com

It seems more and more health clubs , and for that matter many businesses have forgotten about the importance of customer service. Owners, managers and staff members are resenting the fact that the actually have to be nice to people…imagine that. There is a strange sense of entitlement and an “I’m better than you” attitude in almost every service based business i have visited and our industry has become infamous for it.

On a recent trip to my favorite burger joint here in Jacksonville I came across a small sign on a soda fountain that read as follows:

“Thank You Customer,

You the customer are the most important visitor on the premises. You are not dependant on us, we are dependant on you. You are not an outsider in our business–you are part of it. We are not doing you a favor by serving you…you are doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so.”

Think about that statement and apply it to your business. It has had a profound effect on ours…

Chris
www.GymMarketing.com

Have lower than expected revenues put a stress on your relationship with your landlord? For some of you the hard truth is that your monthly overhead is getting harder and harder to clear. No matter what size of type of health club you operate RENT is by far your highest expense. Unfortunately covering your rent payment is most likely taking away from your fitness business operating at 100%. The logic is simple; if you’re struggling to make your rent payment then there is less money to spend on marketing methods that keep your revenue at a place that is profitable for your club. This is the fitness industry’s equivalent to “The Rat Race” we’ll call it the “RENT RACE”. You have found yourself in a constant, reoccurring pattern of scraping by. Worst of all it is clubs that are in the predicament that economic changes and slightly slumping numbers will cause the ultimate failure of the business. That is of course if you do nothing about it!

Did you know that it is a FACT that fitness center are among the top 3 business most likely to default on a lease? And your landlord knows that! And they gave you a lease anyway! Use that FACT to your advantage. Everyone is hearing about bailouts, mortgage re-negotiation, and bad lending practices. Guess what…the same economic principal that apply to over 40 million home owners apply to your business too. You can’t afford the rate you are paying, at least not right now.

Simple solution:  Ask your landlord to redo your lease or reduce your payment, with promist to pay later.  Sound impossible?  I know of 3 gym owners who have done just that!  And all 3 were able to negotiate lower payments.  Why?  Well if you were the landlord, wouldn’t you rather have some money coming in than have a business close their doors, ending all cash flow from that tenant, then have to deal with the legal issues involved.  When all you had to do was reduce rent by a couple grand…

I bet you hear “You need to spend money to make money” all the time. Let me propose a radical idea: “SAVE MONEY TO MAKE MONEY”, allowing you to spend the same amount or less that you are spending right now. But rather than spending money of overhead you will be spending it on marketing to bring sales into your club.

until next time…

Chris
www.GymMarketing.com