Fundamentals Win Every Time
No matter what business you’re in you need to focus on fundamentals. You can be in architecture, craft-making, engineering, or at-home schooling for that matter. What makes the biggest difference to the bottom line will always be the fundamentals.
You have to have a system for:
Growing Leads. Qualified leads that are your ideal customers. People you love to work with and who love you. You need that faucet always running. Sometimes you need more sometimes you need less, but it always has to be a part of what you’re doing daily, weekly, monthly and annually.
Onboarding New Customers. Do they get a “wow” factor after they purchase? Do they get taken such good care of that they are telling people what they did, who they got started with, and how they were shocked and awed? Or did they just get the appointment reminder for their first session and a bottle of water?
I switched appointment booking services recently on a Sunday evening. Monday morning at 7am I got a phone call from an unrecognizable number and am an early riser. I answered to find a customer service rep asking if I had any questions or needed any support. That was amazing onboarding.
Nurturing the Relationship. So much can be done with email automation. So little is done by fitness entrepreneurs. Email is used like a selfie on social media and self-promotes, tries to sell, and is often a random “have to get an email done” instead of a thoughtful stone on a path where you want to take a customer to see the beautiful waterfall. Does your email nurture consist of a thank you and a reminder to renew? How does that feel if you were the customer?
Follow Up. We get some we lose some. Many prospective customers don’t process quickly and do need time to decide. Now isn’t the right time. If you have a system in place for continuing to follow up they’ll choose you when they’re ready. A customer should never have to say, “I was in here a few months ago, I’m sure you don’t remember me.” Or, “I used to train (with you or ___) but haven’t for a year or so.” They should be reached out to regularly about coming back and with a call-to-action about doing that. There’s a strong possibility otherwise it’s a clean slate and someone else will provide that call to action if you don’t.
Getting referrals. If every client gave you even one referral you’d double your business, right? Naturally they hang out with like-minded people with similar values. The first few days are the easiest to get those if the customer has had the wow factor and is excited. But don’t overlook anniversaries and goal accomplishment celebrations. Reward your customers for referrals. Give them a reason to do it with extra time, VIP status, or a special perk. If you’re doing a great job and they love your service why wouldn’t they want to refer you to a friend? You still have to provide the prompt for them to do it.
Full circle you’re back to the once a week call you need to make. Who is it? A CEO of a company? A government leader? A pastor in your congregation? There is someone who needs your service who influences the lives of others a great deal. You can see they need your help. If it’s in your system it happens. If not, call reluctance, too many more urgent but not important tasks get in your way.
What else should be on your once a week taskbar?