This is a full transcript from Episode 1 of The Fitness Business Marketing Show. Click the images below to listen on iTunes or Soundcloud.

 

 

ALISON BRIGGS: Welcome to the Fitness Business Marketing Show, sponsored and created by Marketing for Gyms and Personal Trainers, one of the leading and most respected marketing companies in the fitness industry today. Hi, I’m Alison Briggs, and I’d like to introduce you to the creators of the show, industry leaders and all round nice guys Frank Smarrelli and Brad Cusworth. With the combined industry experience of over 40 years, having owned and operated personal training studios, health clubs and managed well over 60 [0:00:25] members, you are sure to get lots of valuable information from this week’s show. So, without further ado, let’s jump straight in.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Thanks Alison, and welcome everyone to show number one. I’m absolutely pumped and excited to be launching our first podcast. This is seriously something we’ve wanted to do for quite a while now, so – yeah. We’re really looking forward to sharing some valuable tips, and just some little golden nuggets that can really assist you in creating a successful fitness business. So, let’s get cracking. Frank, how are you, mate?

FRANK SMARRELLI: I’m very well, Brad. Welcome to our listeners, and – yeah. Really excited as well, mate. We’ve – we’ve probably been talking about this, guys, for almost close to a year. We’ve had bits and pieces going on, developing apps and software for the fitness industry as part of one of our other companies, but – yeah. No, so excited to get this off the ground. We’re going to be running these for most – most weeks. There’s going to be times where we’ll have some special guests, but certainly for the – for the first, kind of, six to eight episodes, it’s just going to be Brad and I just rapping on about the industry and where we see it going – some dos and don’ts and some other bits and pieces. So – Brad, basically, what’s kind of caught your eye this week in the fitness industry – both – not only here, but both – abroad as well?

BRAD CUSWORTH: Yeah. So, mate, I was reading a blog article the other day. It stated that more than 80 per cent of personal trainers fail in their business within three years. This – this number is simply staggering. I just read that and thought, “Wow.” 80 per cent of personal trainers fail within three years.

FRANK SMARRELLI: And, I can guarantee, too, Brad – just to jump in. I can guarantee that would have nothing to do with their ability to be a really good personal trainer. So, it’s not – it’s got nothing to do with the fact that they don’t know enough functional exercises, or they don’t know enough, you know, about nutritional, sort of, behaviours and patterns. It’s probably got to do with – I would almost say, and correct me if I’m wrong – it’s probably 100 per cent got to do with the lack of business nous.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Totally agree. Couldn’t agree more. You could – you can literally be the best personal trainer in the world, but have the worst business. So – yeah. When I read that again, you know, I’d heard it a few times in the past, but it really got me thinking as to – to the main reason why. And, you hit the nail on the head. I think it really comes down to personal trainers not focussing their attention on marketing, and developing their business. Yeah. So, maybe they think it’s going to be easy to build a thriving business. I don’t know. Maybe they think they’ll just tell a few friends and family members, and then – boom! You know, six figure income. I’m – I’m trying to really put myself in their space, and think what the reason might be. But – yeah. Unfortunately, to build a business in this day and age, it just doesn’t work that way. You know, people – people working in the fitness industry really need to start treating their business – – –

FRANK SMARRELLI: Like a business.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Like a true business. Yeah. Absolutely.

FRANK SMARRELLI: Definitely.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Every other – every other industry that I can think of always focuses on, you know, lead generation, marketing sales, business plans, marketing plans, but – yeah. When it comes to PTs, I’d say a very small percentage do that. So – yeah.

FRANK SMARRELLI: Yeah. And, the thing is, like – and, Brad, you would have seen this, ‘cause we were both PTs in the mid to late 90s, so it’s okay to start your business off the back of leveraging off your – you know, your cousins or your neighbour, and your parents and their friends and their sphere of influence, but that’s literally – you know, you might be able to build up to – I don’t know, 20 – maybe even 25 sessions a week, but the reality is those people are not going to stick around forever. So, if you’re not actually building your business systems and trying to build a proper system, like you said, the sustainability is not there. Look, I’m not – I’m not going to mention the club that I train at. Now, some of my clients that are probably listening to this know the club that I’m talking about, but I – I train at a local club that’s probably about two miles from my office, and I’d say that they’ve had at least a dozen personal trainers starts and stop within the last 18 months – at least 12.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Wow.

FRANK SMARRELLI: And, the reality is – like, when I walk in there and I see these trainers, they’re not self promoting. There’s no, you know, banners up or there’s – there’s nothing that they’re running. There’s no challenges that they’re running. There’s nothing being posted on their Facebook page, so they’re – they’re not in that mindset to be able to grow their business. So, you literally see PTs walking into the club, they stick around for a month or two, they’re hardly training any – any members, and then within that time period they’re out, and then – you know, the manager or the club operator is hiring a new personal trainer. It’s just like a merry-go-round. It – it just – I cannot believe how much it astounds me how many personal trainers start within that club and literally, within six to eight weeks, they’re not working there anymore.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Yep. It – it staggers me, mate. It really does. And, I think – I think, when it comes to referrals and word of mouth, they’re fantastic strategies and they’re great strategies to get the ball rolling to generate that initial momentum, but after that they really need to add more strings to their bow. And, like we teach, you know – ideally you need at least – an absolute minimum of six to eight different funnels or lead generation strategies to really get that growth in your business. So – – –

FRANK SMARRELLI: Especially at the start. Especially at the start.

BRAD CUSWORTH:Yeah. Absolutely. So – yeah. I really think we’re at a stage in our industry where PTs need to have a massive shift in – in their mindset, and really start treating PT like a proper business, and – you know, part of this comes down to dedicating some more time to learning new strategies, and more importantly, you know, taking time to absolutely action these strategies to generate results in their business as well.

FRANK SMARRELLI: And, being able to sell – like, we often speak to personal trainers about selling, and that’s like – it’s almost like a dirty word in the industry. But, the reality is, if personal trainers don’t know how to sell or don’t force themselves to actually enjoy selling, the sustainability and profitability of their business won’t be there. At the end of the day, we’re all salespeople. I mean, we went to see Ryan Deiss’s team from Digital Marketer last Thursday, and they were all talking about that every single person that’s walking the face of this planet – that’s in business – is actually selling. We’re really salespeople, and personal trainers don’t like to hear that, because frankly we’re so passionate about fitness. We’re personal trainers. If you can’t sell your services, you can’t run a sustainable business. So, the reality is for PTs listening – listening out there to the Fitness Business Marketing Show – number one – episode number one. I’m so pumped to say that. You’ve got to understand – you’ve got to learn how to sell. First and foremost, you’ve got to learn how to market your business, but you’ve got to learn how to sell your services. If you don’t, your business won’t be there in the next 12 to 18 months. That’s the harsh reality.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Could not agree more, mate. Very well said. So – so, next up, mate, we’ve got the very first instalment of Frank’s book review. So, what have you been reading lately, mate?

FRANK SMARRELLI: Brad, I actually read a really cool book last year – it was probably November last year – called ‘The Membership Economy’ by author Robbie Kellman Baxter. Now, I’ve actually heard her speak on several other podcasts. But, when I started reading the book, the first – you know, I was kind of getting into the first chapter and I thought, “This is, kind of – you know, it’s going to an okay book.” And, by the time I probably got into – probably page 50 or 60, I thought – I couldn’t put it down. I literally read the book in three days. Really, really good book. And, I’m going to talk about it in a moment, but for any club operator that’s looking at increasing their retention, increasing their customer service, increasing their loyalty – this is an absolute must-read. You can get it for, kind of, 15 or 16 bucks on Amazon. Robbie Kellman Baxter, ‘The Membership Economy’. Fantastic Book. I guess ‘The Membership Economy’ is all about putting the customer at the centre of the business model, rather than the product or the transaction. So important, putting the customer first rather than the actual product. Robbie Baxter basically defines the membership – or a membership – as ‘the state of being formally engaged with an organisational group on an ongoing basis’. She further explains, ‘a membership organisation builds a supportive neighbourhood around its actual members, so the promise of connection, community and ongoing value must be delivered every single time’. But, I love the fact that she actually writes about member retention as well. As you know, mate, one of my biggest passions in the fitness industry today is having a real point of difference within your fitness business, and providing a high sustainable level of customer service throughout the actual personal touch. That doesn’t only include the orientation – the onboarding process, but the lifetime of that actual membership. So, if someone’s there for 12 months, you’ve got to be providing that high sustainable level of customer service the whole way through. And, she speaks about that – writes about it in a fair bit of depth. So, in terms of member retention, guys – listeners out there, club operators, even personal trainers – I highly, highly, highly recommend reading that book for that example. She also talks about the optimising process through onboarding. So, making sure that your onboarding process makes the feel – I guess, makes the member or the subscriber feel that, kind of, warm and fuzzy feeling. So, as we all know, the first 30 days of a – a membership program or a PT program is so important. It kind of – in the industry, we look at 30, 60, 90. That 30-day process is so important, and the author, kind of, speaks about how to optimise that process. So, the member’s, kind of – you know, feeling – or that – or the subscriber’s feeling warm and fuzzy. So, really, really, good. She also talks about, you know, better – improving member retention through better relationships, giving your members something extra and allowing them to connect to you on a much more personal level. And, she also says that this, kind of, creates stickiness throughout the relationship. So, it’s not only that first 30, 60, 90, but also creating stickiness throughout that 12 month – you know, 12 month membership or 18 month membership, depending on what you’re actually – actually selling. She kept saying – one thing that I took out, Brad, is she kept talking about – you know, you’ve got to offer value. You’ve got to go beyond the members’ expectations. So, when value far outweighs costs, members become a lot more – less price – I guess they become price insensitive, so they become a lot more loyal. So, again, it’s just about providing that higher level of experience, or more so customer service, so that member then becomes more sticky to your brand and your organisation. Yeah. Look, guys – overall, listeners – overall, highly recommend any club operator or – or manager or personal trainer reading it, even if it’s just from a retention perspective, but Robbie Kellman Baxter keeps talking about the relationship that’s built during the onboarding process, and throughout the membership journey. So, again – highly recommend it. Brad, I’m not sure – have you actually read that book?

BRAD CUSWORTH: I haven’t actually read it yet, but as you’re talking, I’m like, “This would be perfect for us,” ‘cause we’ve actually got firsthand experience with a lot of the principles you’re talking about. With my wife Sarah, we’ve got a program where we run eight-week challenges. So, part of that eight-week challenge is we’ve got a private Facebook group, where you really create that community feel, and it’s all about connection and posting their daily.

FRANK SMARRELLI: Relationship stuff.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Yeah. Relationship building. It’s so important, and I think a lot of trainers out there – they really miss this point. They see their PT business more as an exchange of time – you know, when they come in, they train the client, but when they leave the door they – they really don’t have that follow-up support, encouragement, guidance, that community feel to keep them engaged. And, as you know, that really increases the retention. So – no. It sounds like a great read.

FRANK SMARRELLI: Yeah. But, the – the nucleus – listeners, the nucleus of that particular book, ‘The Membership Economy’, is about member retention is the most important thing in the membership economy, because if you haven’t got that, what happens after a while is the pool of prospects in which you pull from to grow your fitness business – the pool of prospects in which you pull from to grow your fitness business eventually runs out. So, the reality is, with most clubs – and, I speak about this often, Brad, to my coaching clients – I think most clubs tend to peak at that three and a half to four year mark. Now, if you haven’t got corporates moving into the area, or if you haven’t got new residents coming in via residential apartments, the reality is the business can only hit an equilibrium – like, a balance. So, it’s actually going to go backwards. So, I often, you know, say to people that you’re got to spend the time – yes, of course on lead acquisition, but you need to spend just as much time on member retention, ‘cause if you don’t, there is no doubt that after a four or five year period – research tells us is the clubs actually balance themselves out and actually start to go backwards.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Totally agree, mate. And, how many people out there focus most of their time on getting new leads through the door, instead of focussing an equal if not more time on actually keeping the members and clients they’ve currently got? So, it really needs to be that balance of focussing on lead generation, but also the back end of retaining them and keeping them happy as well.

FRANK SMARRELLI: Yeah. Well, it kind of sounds cliché, but, you know, it costs six times more money to actually acquire a lead than it does to keep an existing member happy – six times.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Yeah. Wow.

FRANK SMARRELLI: So, lead acquisition – of course lead acquisition is important, ‘cause that’s what’s going to grow our business, but at the same time we’ve got to start to learn more about member retention, and actually put that at the forefront of our minds moving forward.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Absolutely. That’s awesome, mate. I’m looking forward to this segment every – every fortnight that we do a podcast, ‘cause – yeah. I know you’re – I know you’re an avid book reader, so it’s fantastic. Cool. So, before we move on to our Q and A section, Alison has a quick message from our podcast sponsors.

ALISON BRIGGS: I’d like to say a quick thank you to one of our major sponsors, Gym Pages. You can visit their website at www.gympages.net for more information on how to easily create customised landing pages and websites for your business. Now, back to the Fitness Business Marketing Show.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Thanks, Alison. So, Frank, what else do you have for our listeners this week, mate?

FRANK SMARRELLI: So, Brad, every episode we’ll be answering two questions from our listeners. So, if you have any questions, please go to our website on www.marketingforgyms.com, click on the podcast tab in the top menu bar, and scroll down and click onto the banner that says ‘Ask a Question’. This will then open up a pop-up, listeners, and literally just go in there, put your name and email, and ask your question. Press ‘submit’ – or click ‘submit’ – and that question comes directly to Brad and I and our support team. So, the first question, Brad, is – I had this last week. We had this last week, coming through. “I own a health club in Sydney with about 1000 members. How much should I be spending on Facebook every month to try and get it to 1200 members?” “How much money should I be spending on Facebook – ” it’s an interesting question – “to get to 1200 members?” I’m not sure whether decreasing or increasing the spend on Facebook is going to get you to 1200 members per se, but I think, Brad – and, I talk to my coaching clients a fair bit about this most weeks – I think a typical 24 hour club, whether that’s a Jetts, a Snap, a Plus, an [0:14:19] Fitness – I think most clubs should be spending about $350 a month. Now – look, there’s people that would listen to this and probably say, “Frank, we’re kind of spending five and 600.” I believe that if a – a boutique health club has around that twelve – that 1000 members like our listener – look, the question that was asked – I think that if you spend your money wisely, I think $300, $350 can get you a long way on Facebook. So, as an – as an overall marketing strategy on Facebook, I think that if you’re spending $300 to $350 and you’re spending that wisely – when I say that, too, Brad, you kind of know my philosophy on this – I think that Facebook has changed enormously over the last 12 months. People are sick and tired of being sold to on Facebook. That’s why so many people went to Insta – sorry, went to Snapchat, now back onto Instagram. It’s because people are sick and tired of being sold to. So, I think that most people listening to this – club owners, operators and PTs – start to reallocate most of your funds – not all, but most of your funds into organic based posts – what we call organic jabs, and also organic jabs with soft selling. So, rather than – you know, 12 months ago people would just only spend their money on right hooks, basically sales-based posts. So, get smarter with the way you use Facebook nowadays and start to allocate some of those funds into non-sales based posts. For example, if you have a small group fitness training facility, if you were to post a really kick-arse 60 second video and – and write some cool stuff – some people say fluffy stuff, but write some cool stuff about the video or about the actual class or the brand without selling. Now, if you were to, say – let’s say you spent, kind of, 20 bucks on that over two days, to me that’s a really smart boosted post, ‘cause to me that’s subliminal selling, or subconscious selling. If the video’s kick-arse, and the video can have a call to action at the end, but what – what people were doing, and you know this as well as I do, Brad – what people have been doing over the last 12 months and continue to do so in the fitness industry – people are only spending money on their sales-based posts. So, with the reach the way it is at the moment, less than one per cent, if you’re only boosting your sales-based posts, Brad, what are mainly people seeing in the newsfeed?

BRAD CUSWORTH: Yeah. Exactly. It means they’re not getting any – any value in their newsfeed. They’re just being sold to constantly.

FRANK SMARRELLI: That’s right.

BRAD CUSWORTH: ‘Cause they won’t see those – those other posts.

FRANK SMARRELLI: Yeah. So, it makes total sense to start reallocating part of your monthly budget, whether that’s 300, 350 or 400 – reallocate part of that monthly spend into your organic jabs and organic jabs with soft selling. Now, for larger clubs – you know, I have some clients with, kind of, that 15, 16, 1700 – for bigger box clubs, then – yeah. For sure, you can kind of be spending between 450 and 500, but I actually really believe that clubs – and I know some clubs that spend $600 and $700 on paid traffic a month. I just think that you’re not using your money wisely enough. If you have to spend $700 to $800 – if you’re a boutique club and you have to spend $700 or $800 on Facebook ads every month, then I think you need to relook at your entire marketing strategy, ‘cause I – I just believe that you probably should allocate or reallocate some of those other funds, or some of those funds, into other marketing channels. I think you said this earlier on in the show, that personal trainers kind of need seven to eight channels to actually grow their business faster.
So, I would – I would allocate – reallocate some of those funds into jabs and jabs with soft selling, and if you’re spending $600 or $700 on Facebook, take off $200 or $300 and go and spend it in other marketing channels. But, to answer that question directly, $300 to $350 for a boutique club that has about 100 members, I think that will go a long way if you know what you’re doing on Facebook.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Totally agree, mate. Just to back that up as well, like, a common theme with everything that we teach, and it’ll be a common theme with these podcasts that we do, is the important of adding value to your followers, rather than just – often most people make them say, “Sell, sell, sell.” And, people get – people are sick and tired of being sold to. So, you’re not adding value, and – and even spend, as you said, spend a little bit on your boost, to actually get that value out as well as on your – your bigger posts as well.

FRANK SMARRELLI: I mean, the average punter – you speak to the average punter, and we speak to a lot of average punters in terms of when we go to sporting venues and that sort of stuff. People have just gotten off Facebook. So many people have gone onto Instagram, and the main reason is – it’s because frankly it’s just not as noisy. It’s not as crowded. It irks me when you just jump on someone’s newsfeed and all you see is sell, sell, sell, whether that’s selling directly or indirectly, I just think that people have got to start to get a lot smarter with the way they use Facebook and start selling more from a subconscious, subliminal level. So – yeah. That’s – that’s my take on that question, Brad. What have you got? What – what kind of questions came up for you this week?

BRAD CUSWORTH: Yeah. So, a question I had from John in Victoria this week. He said, “I’m a PT that has just graduated. Should I focus on getting clients through Facebook or do I need a website first?” So – yeah. Great question, John. The short answer is that you need both, and obviously I’m going to elaborate on that. A website should be regarded as a central focal point for all of your marketing efforts. I really believe it’s essential. So, it’s an essential part of your business. You need to build a name, first of all – obviously a name for your business. But, you also need to build a brand as well. So, I’m just going to run through a few quick tips for setting up your website, and then I’m going to talk a little bit about your Facebook page as well, ‘cause they really – I see it that they work – really work hand in hand when you’re starting a new business. So, initially, the website should contain a welcome video with a really good opt-in offer to generate leads, and there’s so many trainers that we work with that don’t have any offers on their website.
So, we definitely recommend adding that. With your website, you should also have a bit of a bio to tell people about – it might be your passion for fitness, why you became a trainer. Also list your qualifications to add a bit of credibility to what you’re doing as well. You should also have a services page, with a list of the types of PT that you offer. So, starting out it might be just one-on-one, two-on-one, possibly some small group training as well. So, have a bit of a blurb for each one. You also need a contact page so people can easily connect with you, and, you know, make sure you have a Google map there as well so people see where you’re – where you’re located. Now, they’re the absolute basic essentials for any website. So, anyone starting out with a new business can start with those features, and as you grow, you can then add additional features – like, you might add a testimonial page. You might add an image gallery showcasing your studio or whatever it might be. You can add more pages as you go, but the absolute basics is what I’ve just covered there. So, definitely recommend that in terms of the website. Now, I’m just going to run through quickly the first steps, ‘cause I know this will be relevant to a lot of our listeners, that they’ve just become qualified. You know, the Australian Institute of Fitness churn out 7000 new PTs every year. We talked about earlier that a lot of those fail, but I know a lot of people are at that stage where they’ve been qualified and they’re wondering what to do next, which is what John’s asking. So, first step would be, think of a business name, then go to godaddy.com and see if that name is available. A lot of them are taken nowadays, so you might need to get a little bit creative with it, but you might even try .net, which is what we do with some of our domains these days. The next step is get a logo created. You can use something like fiver.com and get a logo done for five bucks, and after this you can get your – get your website created. Now, obviously we can help you with that if you do need a hand. We’ve got a platform called Gym Pages, where you can get up and running for about $67 a month, which is really easy. But – yeah. We can support you with that. Now, after you’ve got your website up and running, you definitely need to be on Facebook. Now, obviously there’s a number of platforms available these days. You’ve got Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat – the list goes on. Twitter. But, we believe Facebook should be the first step, so you don’t get too overwhelmed. Every new business should have Facebook.
So, you want to make sure you set up a page for your business, rather than having a profile, and then make sure you use consistency with you – the name should match your website, the logo should match your website, obviously. The branding, the colours, the timeline banner that you use – everything should be congruent so that your messaging and your branding is consistent. And, then from there it’s just a matter of starting to post content regularly on your Facebook page. Invite all of your current friends, family. Get them to start interacting with your page, which will really start generating that initial momentum and really get the ball rolling when you’re starting out as a new PT. Also, don’t be scared to ask them to help you out by sharing your page on their own profiles, and liking, commenting. That will really help to get that initial momentum, which is probably the hardest part when you’re starting a new business. It’s – you know, you’ll do a post and nobody will see it, but you’ve just got to persist and really leverage off your current contacts to – to get that initial – initial exposure that you’re really looking for. So – yeah. To sum it up, John, I definitely recommend getting your website, getting your brand, getting your logo, getting your colours sorted, get Facebook up and running. And, like I said earlier in the podcast, treat it like a business from day one. Don’t treat it like something – you know, “I’m just going to see if I can get a couple mates train with me.”

FRANK SMARRELLI: That’s the problem isn’t it, Brad? That’s the problem. Like, PTs start – start looking at it – if you start looking at your business like that from the get-go, it actually creates a pathway. That’s the way you’re going to treat your business for most of the time. But, if you start to actually look at your business as a proper business from day one, well that’s how you’re going to view it most of the time. So, you’ve got to set up yourself – set yourself up properly from the get-go.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Absolutely. So important. I’ll just give a quick 30 second recap on that, because one of my – one of my clients, I’ll never forget her. She was an absolute superstar. She was getting qualified with the Australian Institute of Fitness. She loved training. She loved fitness. She was actually just starting her Cert III, and she called me up and said, “Brad, I know you guys deal with marketing. I’m – I’m currently doing my Cert III. I want to make sure I hit the ground running.” So, she called me up and she said, “What should I do?” I said, “Look, start thinking about your brand, your name, your business, your logo, your setup for Facebook now.” So, she did all of that. She had everything ready to go. We had her website ready to go by the time she was qualified. But, while she was only doing Cert III, she was already posting content on Facebook. She had 700 likes on Facebook before she was qualified and before she opened the doors. You know what? Within a week, she had a fully booked out – she had a fully booked-out group training session with about 30 women. So, it’s just – – –

FRANK SMARRELLI: That comes back to mindset, doesn’t it Brad?

BRAD CUSWORTH: And, attitude – and attitude, and being ready from day one – how are you going to treat it like a business?

FRANK SMARRELLI: Definitely. There you go. Beautiful, mate. Well said. That was – that’s – yeah. Great answer. You know, solid question and great answer. Well done.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Cool. So, this brings us up to the last segment of the Fitness Business Marketing Show.

ALISON BRIGGS: And, now it’s time for Frank’s Weekly Rant!

FRANK SMARRELLI: Thanks, Alison. And – yeah. My weekly rant this week is more marketing, not less marketing. More marketing, not less marketing. There are so many existing brands growing globally, and even more – you know, new brands coming into the market, regardless of whether our listeners are in New Zealand, Canada, UK, America, et cetera – Australia. To survive, you really need to be – you need more marketing, you need better marketing, you need better marketing initiatives, better marketing strategies – not less marketing with a head in the sand approach. And, it just amazes me how many people that I meet that say, “Frank, our competitors are doing this, and they’re doing this.” “Okay. Cool. What are you doing?” “We’re not really doing that anymore. We’re not really –“ “Okay. So, what are you doing?” “We’re not doing much.” You know, to me, Brad, that’s kind of a sand – as I mentioned, that’s a sand – sorry, a head in the sand approach. This is a marketing game, listeners. Like, I cannot emphasise this enough. This is a marketing game more than it has ever been, in this particular space or competitive space that we find ourselves in. Don’t – don’t just be another face in the crowd. Stand out from the crowd. It’s a question I often ask my coaching clients. “Do you just want to be a face in the crowd, or do you want to stand out from the crowd?” And, the answer to that should be completely obvious. It amazes me how many group fitness or team training based brands that are being release into our marketplace at the moment throughout the world – you know, this doesn’t include the smaller type of independent studios and brands that are also opening – most of these fitness businesses are basically fighting for the same target market. So, rather than succumbing to the competition, what I said is be better than the competition. Consistently review your points of difference, or more so your value points of difference, and market the hell out of your fitness business. Don’t have that head in the sand approach. Step up. Roll your sleeves up and start marketing your business more. Optimise the shit out of your Facebook newsfeed. Get better at doing your boosted posts. Get better at drawing traffic to specific online pages. Start using Instagram more than just doing a couple of boring old posts here and there. Optimise your onboarding and orientation process to set yourself up for referrals down the track. So important. I can’t believe how poor some of the orientation and onboarding processes are in our industry. It’s almost embarrassing, to be quite honest. Remember the term ‘outreach’ – ‘outreach marketing’. It still has a place in our industry. It still has a place in our industry. Relationship marketing. Setting up strategic alliances with local trainers, local schools, local people. It’s a faster way, guys, to grow your fitness business, than doing the old boosted post – an odd boosted post here and there on Facebook. Relationship marketing still has a place in our business. Get busy. Roll your sleeves up. Get on the bloody phone when it’s quiet. Connect, and connect, and connect. Even if it takes you ten times to connect with one single prospect, make sure that you – you know, this sounds very cliché, but follow-up is key. Make sure that you guys are rolling up your sleeve – sleeves and doing as much as possibly physically, mentally and emotionally to actually grow your business. More marketing, better marketing. Optimise marketing, listeners. Not less marketing. Brad, that’s my weekly rant.

BRAD CUSWORTH: I love it, mate. Well said. So, listeners, just a quick reminder. Every single podcast episode, we’ll be answering two questions from our listeners. Now, if you have a question that you would like answered, simply go to www.marketingforgyms.com. Just click on the podcast tab in the top menu bar, scroll down and click on the banner that says ‘Ask a Question’. This will then open a pop-up. Simply put in your question in there and submit, and then we’ll cover as many as we can on the next episode of the Fitness Business Marketing Show. So, Frank, we made it to the end of episode one, mate.

FRANK SMARRELLI: Well done. Well done, mate. Well done. Absolutely loved it.

BRAD CUSWORTH: Fantastic. So – yeah. Enjoy the rest of your day, mate, and look forward to the next one.

FRANK SMARRELLI: Thank you, Brad. Cheers, mate. Thank you.

BRAD CUSWORTH: All right. So, listeners. As always, until the next Fitness Business Marketing podcast – knowledge without consistent action means very little, but when you take massive action, you are sure to generate positive results in your fitness business. To wrap things up, Alison has a quick message from our podcast sponsors. Have a great week, and bye for now.

ALISON BRIGGS: I just want to quickly thank our major broadcast sponsor for making this Fitness Business Marketing Show possible. Marketing for Gyms and Personal Trainers offers the most comprehensive PT business accelerator program in the world. I was voted number one business growth program for personal trainers in 2016. The program is currently accredited with Fitness Australia and offers 15 CEC points upon completing an online multiple-choice assessment. Visit www.marketingforgyms.com and scroll down to PT Business Accelerator Program under Services for more information.