Perhaps you believe you’ll never sell your gym. That’s perfectly fine. But what I’ve figured out is that if you run your business AS IF it were for sale, and you look at it through the eyes of a potential buyer…your business will be better for it because you’ll identify issues, you’ll fix those issues, and your business will improve.

There’s an old saying “It’s easier to clean your house once you know you are going to have guests”.

When you’re trying to sell your business, the same cliche applies. Everything gets cleaned, you paint the walls, you right your wrongs and make sure the gym looks it’s best both aesthetically and financially.

So by positioning your business today to operate as if it were for sale, you’ll not only sell it for more when it does come time to sell, but you’ll also make a lot more yourself between now and then!

The key to selling anything is to make it easy for someone to buy. This is especially true when it comes to a fitness business. There are certain things that have an enormous impact upon the eventual price you would like to receive AND the revenues you want to generate between now and then.

Focus on Solid Accounting and Know Your Numbers

Ask any health club broker and they will tell you that a gym with incredibly clean and well-organized books and business records will get the most interest, regardless of asking price, type of gym, etc.

Additionally, good record keeping has been shown to get a business sold for much closer to the asking price than if it has sloppy records. And you will sell in a shorter time frame as well because it makes it easy for a buyer to get a true view of your business.

One of my industry friends is looking to sell his gym. He tried to get a valuation on it and he was told that his records are not organized enough to get a solid grasp on what the business is even worth!  If a broker tells you that, do you think a prospective buyer would be interested for long??  Nope.

In fact, many near-deals fall apart due to poor book keeping and cloudy numbers. A buyer won’t take your word for it, but they will believe the numbers and they will be impressed that they’re buying a business that is run like a business.  Too many gyms, and businesses in general, are run more like it is a hobby.  If you want a real business with real profits and a real chance of eventually being sold for top dollar, run it like a real business.

I hate how much I have to pay my accountant; I can certainly think of more fun ways to spend that money.  But by paying an accountant to keep accurate books, I always know where my business stands, and I can make better decisions to improve those numbers.  I’m certainly not looking to sell my business, but I have found that knowing my numbers helps me improve those numbers.

You gotta know where you are before you can get where you wanna be!

Solid book keeping will allow you to also have a solid grasp on your own cash flow and give you a much better vision for analyzing expenses, payroll, profit centers, and any other financial activity at your gym.

What Happens if  YOU Can’t do it Anymore? 

You either need to have a manager or managers who know how to do everything in your absence. If that isn’t a possibility right now, then you absolutely MUST have solid completion plans created.

My assistant Trudi hears the words “completion plan” nearly every day. When she does anything new, she is to create a completion plan for it. That way if she is out sick or on vacation, someone can step up and do her job by simply following the detailed plans she creates.

She simply outlines Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, etc for every task she ever completes. If she’s gone, but payroll needs processing, I can pull up her payroll completion plan and know exactly who gets paid, how much they get paid, where to send the check, etc. She does this for every task in the business.

If you don’t have this in place for everything you do, what happens if you’re sick, or you’re on vacation, or your manager is sick or on vacation, or if you fire someone, or if you’re in the hospital? (I’m knocking on wood now)

If you have someone who can pick up the slack, or detailed completion plans for someone to follow, your business will be okay. If you don’t, your business will struggle.

And most importantly for the purpose of this article, if you have these completion plans created, or a highly trained staff in place, and you sell your gym…it will be much easier for a new owner to pick up where you left off. This will be a huge selling point for your buyers.

And if you end up offering owner-financing as part of the arrangement (typical in today’s economy), you too will be hurt if it’s not easy for the new owner to implement the systems efficiently.

Tsk Tsk – Unreported Income

We’ve all been in the situation before. Cash deals, PIF’s…hmmmm….it won’t hurt anything to NOT report this to the IRS. Will it?

Or what about all those “business dinners” on your business credit card…or the big screen TV that is in your living room, but you claim it was for the gym.

It happens…but you need to understand that you may only be cheating yourself in the long run.

For every dollar you keep hidden, you’re probably saving 30 cents on taxes, right?  So if you’re not reporting say, 50k per year each year for 5 years, you’ve saved yourself $75k.

But if you would have reported that same 75k instead of stowing it away or not reporting it, the total will be added to the valuation of your business. You have to remember that your business will sell typically at a 2-3 multiple.  Which means that 75k you saved from the IRS would actually be worth 150k-225k in increased valuation to a would-be buyer.

Not to mention that if you were to keep that revenue IN the business, you could use it for additional marketing and staff and other things that will lead to increased revenue, far beyond the amount you hid in the first place.

Plus, it is so frustrating for a new owner to uncover all of your secrets and find out that you lack integrity (bad news spreads quickly).  At the end of the day, integrity is everything. Plus, Karma is a bitch. If you do the right thing, every time, you will be rewarded. Do the wrong thing knowingly, and karma will get you.  Don’t blame me, blame the Universe.

Now let’s assume you really are entertaining the idea of selling your gym. You’ve pictured yourself as a buyer and you’ve fixed all of the problems above.

How do You Sell Your Gym and for How Much?

First of all, don’t try to do the valuation yourself. Secondly, don’t have your accountant do it. Bottom line, you both would try to value it at the highest possible price, then you’ll be upset when it doesn’t sell.

Selling a gym is not like selling a house. Just because a similar gym across town or in the next town over sold for X amount doesn’t mean that yours is worth the same. Yours could be much higher or much lower depending on a variety of factors. It is much more than just revenues and net profit for a fitness business. It is future receivables, a competent staff, profit centers, upward potential, equipment and other assets, real estate, your location, member attrition, lifetime value of clients, your lease, historical trends, and much more.

If you own a gym with revenues exceeding ten million per year, you’d be best off to get a business “appraiser” to do your valuation. If your revenues are less than that, a business “broker” will do just fine.  Health club broker Todd Lipton is a great place to start.

NOTE:  Don’t use a real estate broker for your valuation. They typically only know how to valuate and sell buildings, not businesses.

If you do own the real estate, you can have a real estate broker valuate the building and land, but you still need a business broker to valuate and sell the business. A business broker wants more commission, but typically the commission can be built into the selling price of your gym.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re planning to sell your fitness business now, in the future, or never. The fact is that if you operate your business as if it were for sale now, you’ll earn more money now.  And of course you will be able to sell faster, and for closer to your asking price when the day does come for you to sell.

Offering discounts to family members has been common practice throughout the history of the fitness industry.  Nearly all gyms offer a discount for additional family members, but it is very important to determine just how much of a discount to offer.

I want to begin by saying that there is no “perfect” tour.  However, based on my experience, here are some tips that will give you the greatest opportunity to close more sales.

First of all, the tour strategies mentioned below require a proper tour setup, consisting of a strong greeting and prequalification.  Your greeting should make the prospect feel that they are the most important person in the world at that moment.  In addition, a prequalification form should be used every time, without exception.  By filling out a prequalification form, not only will it help provide you ammunition to overcome any objections they have, it also allows you some conversation points to get them to know you, like you, and trust you.

I like to start each tour by letting the prospect know that when the tour is finished, you have a special opportunity for them.  This lets them know that you will be asking them to join today, eliminating any surprise when you do.

Don’t give the same tour to every prospect.  Based on their prequalification form, you’ll know what interests them the most.  If they say they’re interested in getting stronger, don’t start by showing them the cardio equipment.  If they say they’re interested in classed, don’t take them to the free weights.  Every tour should start in the area in which they will be most interested.  If you don’t, they won’t be able to focus on the other great aspects of your facility because they’ll be waiting to see the amenities they are looking for most.

Ask a lot of questions that stimulate a YES response.  Questions like “It’s a nice facility isn’t it?”, and “We have lots of classes, don’t we?”, and “I assume your spouse supports your decision to improve your health?”.  The idea is to get them to say yes as many times as possible so that you create a pattern of positive responses, causing them to say yes when you present prices as well.  Always remember that telling is not selling.  You need to stimulate the prospect’s thought process and get them to tell you the reasons they are at your facility.  If you tell them, it won’t influence their decision.  But when they decide for themselves and verbalize it to you, your chance of selling to them increases exponentially.

After you have finished touring the facility, you will ask one final commitment question, which will provide the perfect transition to the price presentation. This question will allow you to gain a final commitment that will remain fresh in their mind before you present prices.  Ask questions such as, “You’re going to like it here, don’t you think?”, or “You can picture yourself working out here, can’t you?”, or “The facility has everything you need to meet your goals doesn’t it?”

You want to make them feel as if they have already made a commitment to a membership. If they do have any concerns or questions, pause on the floor and address all questions before presenting prices. Once all objections are satisfied, ask them to have a seat so you can help them decide which membership option is best for them.

The tour is typically the area where a sale is won or lost. By controlling the conversation and asking a series of questions, your tour can easily take half an hour. No matter the size of your facility, a tour should never take less than 10 minutes. They have likely toured other facilities, so make sure your tour is the most memorable. They need to feel that your club is the answer to all of their problems.

Remember, there is no perfect tour process, but if you implement these strategies and are genuine in your approach, you will find that the sale will be made long before you present prices.

Consumers are too smart these days to fall for strongarm tactics or smarmy sales pitches.  So there are many times, no matter how good you are, that you will miss sales.  Combine that with the fact that there are a dozen other fitness options awaiting your missed guest, and you certainly want to believe in the be back bus.

Too many salespeople are focused on the next sale, rarely taking the time to effectively follow up with any missed guests, simply because they believe the be back bus doesn’t come back.  Well, the be back bus DOES come back if you follow a few simple rules to get them to know you, like you, and trust you.

• Send a handwritten note or thank you card, expressing your appreciation for them taking the time out of their day to come see you.  If you didn’t provide a trial membership pass or gift card before they left your facility, make sure you provide one inside the envelope.  If you did provide them a trial pass or gift card, include an extra one for them to give to a friend.

• Send an email or text message the same day they visit your facility, thanking them for their time and reminding them of their fitness goals they shared with you

• Call them within 48 hours. I would just say, “Hi John, its Curtis from Anytime Fitness. I just wanted to say what a pleasure it was meeting you the other day and to see if there were any other questions about how we can help you with ________(fitness goals).

If you get their voicemail, leave same message but bait the hook with some type of mystery reason to call you back:  “Call me back because I just found out about something that you’ll find really cool”.

The calls can continue frequently for a few weeks, and more sporadically over time.  You only remove them from your call list if they have asked you to stop calling..  Remember, you don’t know what is going on in their life right now and you might just call in a moment of need.

Invite them to any event you are hosting.  A member appreciation event, a month end closeout, a seminar, etc.  You can also always call to extend their trial pass that has expired.  Or you can call and let them know that the club is going to pay for them to meet with a personal trainer.

If you follow this system diligently, you will find that there are more people than you thought who are willing to get on the be back bus.  A missed opportunity to sell on a first visit doesn’t necessarily mean the sale is lost forever.  The decision to join a gym is a big decision and there are some people who just need more time to think.  Get these people to know you, like you, and trust that you have their best interests in mind, and you will be surprised at how many make their way back through your doors.

“A Powerful Collection of Sales Techniques to Help You Overcome Objections and Close More Sales Than Ever Before”

Click the title above to download your special gift.

Expect the new show to go out over the weekend!!  Who knows, maybe you’ll have more time to watch it…could be a good test

Curtis

Websites and Resources Mentioned in the Show:

• www.HealthClubProfile.com (A special application for a limited opportunity for the right gym)
• www.GymMarketing.com (Fitness Marketing Group corporate website for health club consulting and campaigns)
• www.Fiverr.com (one of the coolest Killer Resources ever.  Prepare to be addicted)
• Health Club Marketing with GymSuccess.com, the most complete resource center for gyms

Link to Downloadable Prequalification Form

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A special tribute to his Airness, Michael Air Jordan.  Love that man.

Satisfaction guarantees and especially money back guarantees on health club memberships or personal training clients can be a little unnerving for many fitness business owners.  But it shouldn’t be.  I explain why the positives of this system far outweigh the negatives.

One of the coolest Killer Resources ever.  What are people willing to do for $5.  Crazy stuff, business stuff, it will blow your mind how many cool things a cool Lincoln will buy you.

How do I sell so many health club memberships?  Easy.  Want to know how easy?  Watch the show.  You can thank me later.

As always your thoughts are appreciated. Please leave a comment below that will benefit the other viewers AND will get you noticed by Google. Enjoy the show!

Michael Jordan is the man,

Set Daily Goals

Aw come on Curtis, I wanted a real strategy not a boring generic one. Well guess what, if you skip this strategy, you might as well skip all of the strategies I share because this is the foundation for profits each month.

And it’s so easy I can show you how to do it in two steps…

1. Determine how much you want to make each month

The way I do this is to add 5% to whatever our sales were in the same month last year.

2. Divide this number by the number of working days that month

So if you did 20,000 in sales last June. This June you’ll set a monthly goal of (20,000 x 1.05) = $21,000. That is your monthly goal. Then you’ll divide that by the number of working days in June (21,000 / 26) = $807

So your daily goal for sales is $807 in this scenario.

Each day you will recalculate. So let’s say on “day one” you gross $1,400. That means at the end of the day you will subtract 1,400 from $21,000 which leaves you with $19,600 remaining to reach your goal for June.

Then divide 19,600 by the number of remaining working days in June (25)

(19,600 / 25) = $784

So now your daily goal for the remainder of the month is $784

You can write this on a board in the office so everyone knows the number that has to be reached.

I promise you this is the number one way to always make sure your goals are reached each and every month. By keeping this number fresh in your mind each day, it keeps you focused on that goal throughout the day.

Your entire team needs to understand that something needs to be sold every day, and they must be reminded how their actions are helping the overall mission of the business.

Make this week amazing…

Curtis Mock

In this week’s episode I

Websites and Resources Mentioned in the Show:

• www.twitter.com (Make sure you set up your Twitter account asap)
• www.FitBizOnTwitter.com (Make sure you follow Fitness Business Television on Twitter!)
• www.ClubSolutionsMagazine.com (A fantastic, and free, health club magazine)
• Health Club Marketing with GymSuccess.com (In my completely biased opinion, the most complete resource center for gyms)
• www.Twellow.com (A killer resource that lets you find people in your market who are using Twitter)

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You’re pretty sure you should be discounting memberships for family members, but how much should you discount?  Should you discount at all?  I go over a few scenarios for you that will help you determine the best pricing for your additional family members who join.

Twitter is the new hotness.  Whether you love it or hate it, it doesn’t really matter.  I can’t stand Twitter to be perfectly honest with you, but I know that fitness professionals are using it.  For you the fitness business owner, you have thousands of people in your market who use Twitter every day.  You need to find these people and get them to listen to what you have to say with this week’s Killer Resource.

Overcoming objections can sometimes be tough, but the worst of all is “I want to think about it”.  No one likes to hear that objection.  But it’s not as difficult to overcome as you might believe.  Follow my instructions and you will certainly help your chances of increasing the close rate on prospects with this objection.

Don’t forget to leave a helpful comment for other viewers. Not only will Google notice your website URL you put in the space provided below, you will also receive the book from my library mentioned on the show!

Enjoy!

And always remember…What would Curtis do?

In this week’s episode I

Websites and Resources Mentioned in the Show:

• www.FitBizOnFacebook.com (Fit Biz TV’s Fan Page on Facebook…JOIN or suffer the consequences)
• www.HelpMyBusiness.com (Andrew Lock’s web TV show: “arguably” the best TV show on the Internet
• Google Keyword Tool (This baby will definitely help you understand what your prospects are searching for)
• Health Club Marketing with GymSuccess.com (In my completely biased opinion, the most complete resource center for gyms)

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Welcome to a Special Valentine’s Day Episode of Fitness Business Television!  Make sure you watch until the end because my video editor Victoria put together a special Valentines Day wish for you

Low cost competitors…sigh…it sucks that they’re lowering the value of a gym membership…but man they’re smart.  I’m not sure why it’s taken this long for someone to come in with the Walmart model for gyms, but it’s here, and it’s profitable.  But as a mid-level multipurpose gym, how do you compete??  Learn my thoughts in this week’s Ask Curtis Segment of the show.

What are people in your city searching for on Google in order to find your fitness business?  Are they searching for gyms, fitness centers, health clubs, personal trainers?  All of them?  With this week’s Killer Resource, you’ll be able to know exactly what people are searching for…AND what keywords you should optimize your website for.

You know the feeling.  You present prices after touring a prospect and you get that nervous feeling wondering what kind of close you’re going to have to use on them.  Well I have good news for you!  I have successfully used one close, 5 simple words, throughout my sales career…and I’ll have you know I had a helluva sales career.  Start using these 5 words after presenting prices and you’ll find your closing percentage increase exponentially.

Don’t forget to leave a helpful comment for other viewers.  Not only will Google notice your website URL you put in the space provided below, you will also receive the book from my library mentioned on the show!

Enjoy!

I am 100% Dedicated to Your Success…

In this week’s episode I share with you what to say to a prospect who asks why they should choose you over a low cost competitor, how I’m able to get twice as much accomplished at work, and a great way to increase the retention and loyalty of your gym members. (Oh yeah, and a dancing Yeti)

Websites and Resources Mentioned in the Show:

• Health club marketing with GymSuccess.com
• Dual Monitor 1 (This is the exact monitor I have on my desk)
• Dual Monitor 2 (This is a much more affordable monitor, very similar to mine)

This weather sucks

I don’t care where you are in the country, you’re likely experiencing some inclement weather.  And hopefully you’re enjoying it more than me.  I grew up in the cold midwest, but I have become a bit soft since moving to Florida.  But this cold is likely leading to more sales for your fitness business, so I’ll stop complaining.

With all of the low cost fitness competitors popping up, sometimes it’s tough to explain why a prospect should choose you over one of the low cost options.  Showing off success stories is a great way to Show…not Tell.

I get a lot accomplished in any given day.  Though I never feel like I get enough accomplished, I do know that I get more accomplished than most people.  I attribute a great deal of this productivity to having a couple of computer monitors.  Join me on a tour of my office to see how I have this set up and how it will benefit you to do the same.

A Bragging rights wall is one of the best fitness sales tools you could implement.  This thing sells for you!  Whether you own a personal training studio or are busy selling at a health club, this tool will definitely help you sell more personal training and health club memberships.

Don’t forget to leave a helpful comment and you will receive the book I present on the show!

Enjoy the show!

Dedicated to Your Success…