GHR 004: The Hidden Benefits of Failure

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Hey gym owners, welcome back to gym hacker radio episode #4 and today I am going to share with you guys the ONE thing that change my gyms course from failing and not being able to pay me...

...to becoming a 400 member, 1 million dollar run rate local brand...

When I first started operating and marketing my gym the way I am now I was concerned about positioning my gym and attracting new membership...

...without just lowering my membership prices and bringing in people who just want free stuff…

...because at this point all I had to sell on was the fitness itself and it was becoming harder and harder to standout amongst the noise of a crowded market

because I didn’t have a corporate marketing budget, couldn't afford billboards and didn't want to hire salesman to high pressure people into joining my gym….

I just knew that the methods and experience we were providing in our training programs worked and I was excited to share them.

The fitness was really good and I fully expected to make money with it …

BUT I learned it's simply not that easy when every other gym sells on their coaching, community and programs ALSO being the best.

So in testing many different approaches to growing the gym something magical occurred (which was completely unexpected) …

We found the one thing, it was all about the mindset of how we crafted our message to the public

As I began to play with our marketing message I learned that I had to essentially give people what they WANTED…

…to make it possible to give them what they REALLY NEEDED…

We stopped competing on price, in fact we stopped competing all together

Instead of saying we are a better version of the same thing down the road, instead we began to position ourselves as an entirely different concept that was about their individual well being goals

not one about amraps and metcons and language that no one understands to one where we talked about what they were FEELING

 

Instead it was about their goals and going in to how this affected every part of their being

 

This is what they needed. But you can’t lead with that even.

 

You had to make it about them, not about you. And that’s a very hard marketing message to craft,

 

to speak to the masses but also make each person feeling like you’re talking to them individually.

but when we did this they started to pay more money for membership and upsell programs!…

And I did all that without giving even one class away...

...no free trial weeks or months

...no groupons

...no baiting them in with something unethical

...no lowering my prices (in fact, I had to increase them!)

but I had no idea that by helping them transform their lives …

the quality of my life would also be transformed …in the most amazing way.

Like I said earlier …

I was expecting to make some extra money

…but as I helped each one of my members with the amazing systems we built out…

doors of unexpected opportunity started opening for me.

Through my gym I’ve been able to change SO many lives …the lives of so many fascinating people who I never thought would be the type I would want to train …

We now have hours where we have 3 programs running at once (in different rooms) and over 80 people working out at once.

We have built out systems for selling high dollar personal training that allows us to really over deliver for our members...

....and in exchange they pay us with a smile on their face!

There is an amazing vibe and atmosphere in our gym that almost sells itself.

But the REAL benefit (the one that’s not so obvious on the surface) …

has been the fulfillment I get …when a member or client puts it all together …

and as a result their life is transformed. (We've helped a couple people lose over 100 lbs!)

The money’s great …but being instrumental in the transformation of someone’s life …

which directly affects their family (is a tremendous blessing to me.)

And when they express how thankful they are for my help …

the look in their eyes (and the hug they give me says it all) …

And for me (that’s what my business is really about).

I suspect if you’re here …then it’s probably exactly like that for you too …

am I right?

If so, then I’d like to invite you to join Big Litte Gyms Facebook group and connect with fellow gym owners who are running world class gyms, growing teams and changing lives.

In this group we talk about how to grow and scale your gym and team,

create momentum across your entire organization...

...and leave the dent in the universe you KNOW you are capable of making.

Also…

I'd like invite you to go to gymhackercode.com and download the Gymhacker Code absolutely free.

The Code will tell you more about gym ownership than you ever thought possible. The code clearly defines the 6 stages of gym ownership from start stage to mastery.

It will help you define where you are, and in order to know where you are going you first need a clear picture of where you are and what's holding you back

What’s required, how to build the dream team and what the focus of each stage is.

It will help you turn your weaknesses into your greatest strengths, it will help you see the next steps very clearly and help you master your fears, and teach you how to create momentum within your gym like never before.

I hope you guys enjoyed my origin story, stay tuned for episode 5 where we get in to the action steps needed to reach new heights in your gym business.