Endorphins, the wonder behind the infamous and oft praised “runner’s high,” are a fascinating component in brain chemistry. This chemical is released during physical activity, and upon release, they bind to receptors in the brain and cause an almost immediate decrease of any pain sensations. Endorphins can also significantly increase feelings of well being—in other words, endorphins are the body’s feel good chemical.

It takes between ten and thirty minutes of activity for endorphins to release. While it varies from person to person, twenty minutes is a generally agreed upon median. Some sources suggest it may take longer for them to kick in when first beginning to work out.

So what does this mean for your club and staff?

It’s no secret that many people sign up for gym memberships, work out a few times, get discouraged, and eventually stop their membership. Part of the reason they get discouraged is because exercise can be uncomfortable when first participating in regular physical activity. Additionally, many new members are not working out for long enough to push past the discomfort and into the endorphin zone. To add another layer of complexity, a huge amount of the public does not realize they can achieve the runner’s high they see on the sidewalks every day without running.

If your staff consists of trainers, or even if it doesn’t, it might behoove your club to incorporate some basic information into member orientation. This can be as simple as talking about the function of endorphins and letting the member know how long it takes that rush to hit. It’s very important to let them know it comes just after things start feeling really hard. The staff member might find it helpful to relate to the member through their own experience. Of course, you’d also want to educate your members on the different between “pushing past hard” and injuring oneself.

Another interesting facet of the human brain is the way we associate feelings with our sense of place. When in a place we associate positive feelings with, it becomes easier to experience those feelings again. Members who experience an endorphin rush in your club are likely to subconsciously associate the two, and thus are more likely to continue coming back for hit after hit of their body’s own wonder drug.

All it takes is a short conversation during member orientation to encourage members to push past their comfort zone. Once they do, just once, they’ll understand the physical sensations they are experiencing—and begin to realize what it takes to achieve real results.

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Contrary to popular belief, some changes don’t have to be painful! As an example, the conversion from paper based sales systems to electronic systems is one of the strongest trends in club management today because it works! Electronic information provides easier prospect tracking, better sales structure and accountability, and long term better member management. From prospecting to member retention, it is all about communications for a club and those critical components of the business best handled in one integrated package that is integrated in real-time with your billing and member management provider.

John Custard, an ABC Financial client with three clubs in Northern VA, is enjoying the advantages of switching from a paper to electronic sales system.

“The [prospect management] software has increased our gross profit by 10% and has allowed us to directly relate the success of the club to the effort of our sales team. We have realized an increase in their closing ratio of nearly 15%. Additionally, it lets me keep my finger on the pulse of what is happening in all of our clubs – real-time – even when I’m away from the club. I know up-to-the-minute, how many calls and appointments have been made and the status of every lead.”

Spread Some Happiness at the Club
When the electronic entry screens look and feel like the paper forms your sales team and staff has been familiar with, the transition is simple and adoption is quick! A big plus for you and your staff is the elimination of unnecessary paper forms which should make everyone a bit happier. One of the truly great features of electronic entry and tracking is the need to only enter prospects into the system once. The elimination of double entry drives significant time savings and minimizes errors.

New Features, But Prospects Still Need to be “Closed”
It is important to note that electronic sales systems are not a silver bullet; it is only a facilitator to better processes in the club. Prospect to member conversion still relies on having a sales approach that leads to closing the deal.

Out With the Old
Traditional sales systems have focused on a model where the end goal was simply driving the sales process to signing up a new member. Using the ‘close at all cost’ model, clubs see as high as a 45% loss of new members. Try a better way. The cost effective goal, and today’s new sales solution, is to manage new members and ease them into a club community insuring that they keep the club top of mind. With this model, the sales cycle is expanded to a total member’s life cycle. The Club becomes part of the member’s community.

Keeping the Club Top of Mind is the way to Retain Members
It is just as important now to reach out to a new member the week after they join, as it was the week before they joined the club. Fitness is a passion and the club must fuel it. From prospect through membership, the club must continue to market club services and products. The good news is that today there are integrated programs, like Customer Won, designed to support both sales and member satisfaction. You don’t have to pay three vendors to do the work of one software package. You can now better target the marketing for better return on marketing efforts.

What’s Working; What’s Not?
Don’t scratch your head and guess, now you can know. Now with what is called a cloud-based system, you can access your business critical information in near real time and not after hours of someone building a spreadsheet. The information is available in a few clicks of a mouse. With electronic sales systems, your business information is delivered to your inbox as you need it; be that daily, weekly, or monthly.

Now as you start the day you can know the leads and prospects (which before might have been lost in a paper system) that your team is working. You track and understand which direct mail or marketing programs are causing your phone to ring and creating guest traffic at the club. Most importantly on a daily basis you can know your clubs sales success and the sales effort required to reach that level.

Stop asking questions, KNOW the answer. Are leads being worked? Know your staff’s activity level. With the click of the mouse, you can see total sales activity – leads called, prospect appointments, shows/no shows, guest passes and of course, new members. Now you can know the answer BEFORE you ask the questions of your staff.

GAIN More Sales Per Week From the Current Lead Pool
We all know that with a better system and structure in place, membership sales will increase. Electronic sales system help your staff exceed their goals by providing tools to better schedule the next steps with a prospect or member. Additionally, owners and managers get reports and insight into the daily activity in the clubs improving their ability to drive staff behavior. Now you have a rainmaker in your electronic friend that will help close a minimum of one to two more prospects a week.

In the end, it’s not a secret and we’re not talking rocket science. You know you must acquire more new members from the prospect streams you already have. One of the keys to future growth comes in finding new possible revenue streams in the business model you now have. A sale is no longer just the advertising you use to bring a prospect in the door. Today, it is a total picture that changes by the hour. The model for club growth today is open and fluid based on accurate and real-time information and data. In the end the most important topic is to keep the club on the minds of prospects and members.

Customer Won is an integrated, real-time partner with ABC Financial; by employing Customer Won’s electronic sales system, a club owner can do everything and more in acquiring, engaging, and retaining members. For more information on Customer Won’s products and services, please call us at 703-621-4624.

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If so, it may be time to update the tools and software you trust to help you manage your club’s reporting and day to day operations. To be sure, ask yourself these 4 key questions.

1. Is Your Health Club Management Software Being Used For More Than Billing?

Any software trusted by your health club must provide you with the ability to harness all your resources at the highest efficiency levels.

Most gyms have integrated club management software for billing but the opportunities to streamline your operations far exceed collecting dues. Your software should give you control over multiple other actions such as check-ins, class scheduling, member retention and marketing.

2. Do You Know How Clean Your Locker Rooms Are?

More to the point, do you know how clean your locker rooms are – without looking inside them? You’ve got staff, you’ve got schedules, and the rest should take care of itself. However, you can know the state of your locker rooms more precisely through the reporting capabilities of the right health club management software.

3. Are Your Employees Coming In On Time?

Keeping tabs on the number of employees that help you keep your club operating efficiently is no easy task, especially when you manage multiple locations.

Yet detailed reports generated by the right health club management software can keep you updated on employee attendance and performance.

4. Do You Have Enough Bosus On The Floor?

Not just bosus but bands, bars and balls – and yes, towels – all of your inventory can be tracked and kept at full force through club management reporting.

One of the essentials to fitness club enhancement is the ability to stay on top of all the tiny details in real time fashion. Customized reporting lets you choose those specifics you need to follow most closely.

Did you pass the test?

As the health club industry continues to boom, it’s essential that you understand how efficiently your club is operating on every floor, in every corner, and with every member and employee.

In order to do that, you’ve got to combine the best health club management software with the knowledge of how to use it to its fullest capacity.

To learn more about the capabilities of health club management software we offer, request a demo from ABC Financial.

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