WTF Gym Talk

If you know someone in the fitness industry that claims to be closing 90% of his/her prospective customers on their service....then one of the following statements is true: 1. They are full of shit. 2. Their price is too low. Give this a listen and let me break it down for you.

I think there are two types of prospects looking for fitness - those looking for "starter fitness" and those looking to "enhance their fitness". I dive into what these two avatars look like, how to appeal to both and why it's important that you realize that each subgroup needs it's own special marketing message.

Recently a gym owner made a comment to me that prompted this podcast. He asked me, "Why do you come off like such a dick?" Great question. My style. My delivery. My voice...is mine. It's me. It's not contrived. It's not created to razz you or create a "shock jock" type persona. It's who I am. It's authentic to me and my story. Use this a nod. Use this as a suggestion: ESTABLISH YOUR OWN VOICE. You...

This guy. Brian Strump is probably one of my favorite gym owners. Honest as hell, blunt as fuck...but he's a Michigan fan, so he's dead to me during college football season. But that aside, awesome guy, wise business owner and is constantly providing practical, valuable advice to gym owners. Best part? Brian is technically a competitor of mine. We own competing businesses in the same city. Yet, we...

Have you created the appropriate proven process and educated your members as to how they can get their friend introduced to your service? Or is that structure loosely established and not well known? Why don't more members refer their clients? I've got some answers on that.

When you're talking to a prospect, are you talking yourself out of the sale? My guess...possibly.

Michael Archangel sent me a question that I wanted to make sure that I hit on: separating the role of having CLIENTS vs. FRIENDS. listen up.

If you are looking at something from afar - another gym..another concept...something that you watch with admiration for what they've built. Get up and go fuck with them. Travel. Send an email. Make a phone call. Let that person know that you admire what they've done and you'd like to come check out the machine up, close and in person. The abundance mindset is flourishing in most successful entrepr...

Finally brought Joe Tebaldi, my biz coach for all things marketing + branding related. In this completely unstructured podcast, we literally sit in my office and shoot the shit on marketing, growing your biz in the microgym industry, how fucking up will help grow your business and more. Enjoy...oh and sign up for Spring Training 2018 ;)

"I HAVE to go open up the gym in the morning." "I HAVE to fill in for my coach who called in sick." "I HAVE to fire one of my employees". Don't forget where you came from. Where owning a business was a just a dream. Now you actually own it - and all the headaches that come with it. So think twice before you start bitching about the day-to-day headaches that comes hand in hand with GETTING to creat...

One of the biggest issues with profitability in the microgym model (especially the CrossFit sector) is the issue of creating enough operational capacity to be appropriately profitable. Operational capacity is your ability to generate enough profit out of your space via your workout service logistics. My guess...you are def. not optimizing your operational capacity.

Creating allies + colleagues within your competitive marketplace is a play that most gym owners are hesitant or even openly against. I can't get behind it or understand why. Here's my breakdown as to why I've always created a strong network with my "competition" and how the ROI is 10x.

Jacob W. from BearFitness sent me a request to jam on focus and how should biz owners organize their focus with so many items that require their attention. Great question Jacob. This is one of those - it depends- type situations, but I do my best to layout an avatar for you guys to align yourself with and then pick the best route for you and your biz.

I'm obsessed with the concept of creating rituals in your business and for the group fitness industry - in your classes. Take 10 min out of your day to get a better idea as to how you can start using rituals to create a consistent CX, different naming conventions to distinguish your offering and how the combination of the two allow you to stand apart.

In a sea of microgyms looking to differentiate themselves - many are turning to rebranding efforts, adding in new features and services and including more technology into their training. With the rise of Orangetheory Fitness, heart rate monitor technology has made it's way from the exercise phys. lab class to prime time once again. Does adding this piece of tech help your gym gain an advantage in...

In order to give you guys some context as to where my experience comes from, where my background and mindset comes from...I summarized my journey that has lead me through the fitness spectrum to where I sit today. Hopefully this will give you some context as to where some of my thoughts on the fitness industry come from...

Not many players in the supplement industry that I respect, but this guy is the exception to that. I really don't give a shit if you order his product, but def. learn from the wisdom that he brings to the table in terms of retail, selling any product and organizing the the tug of war between supply & demand.

How much thought do you give to the actual appearance & design of your business? Do you take time to research retail design and figure out how the apparel should hang, look, cost, interact with customers, etc. Your bathrooms, are they there for necessity or to create an experience? Yes...taking a piss in the gym is an experience. It's either gross AF or surprising clean, fresh and impressive. Bott...

One too many emails & DMs asking me to recreate another client's success prompted this one. A great biz coach who has had great success with a certain client, can't guarantee you the same success. You are the X factor. You are the independent variable. Everyone is looking for a button to be able to push to make the leads pour in, to fix their staffing issue, to give them all the marketing answers....

A quick tactic that I use in sales training with my gym owners and I have them utilize during their consultations. If you want more of this - get signed up for Spring Training 2018. wtfgymtalk.com/springtraining

Too much caffeine plus I listened to an entire Logic album and I just decided to turn on the recorder and jam on the daily struggles we experience as gym owners, but that it's all part of the game, and if you want to play you have to be ready to take this shit on every.damn.day.

Another early morning rant where I use the success of companies like Silk & NETFLIX to tell a very important story for any business owner - you have to be unique in order to standout in the marketplace.

What are the consistent practices of your business? Does your company utilize a reliable, enduring set of lexicon, rituals and business flow that creates a consistent customer experience? If you don't know EXACTLY how and why a client has an amazing experience, it means you can re-create it. And if you can't figure out how to re-create it...it won't be long till someone moves into town that has it...

When was the last time you had an Ah-Ha! moment??? Do you have your own "Ah-Ha!" moments, or are you just implementing someone else's? IMO, successful businesses will have "Ah-Ha!" moments. Whether they are as profound as sliced bread, CrossFit or something as internal and unique re-developing the training program for staff. I think most business owners are having their own "Ah-Ha!" moments. They...

Recorded this one while walking Jameo (figures) and I had just come off a call with one of my gym owners who shared with me one of his good ideas and then how he executed. It fired me up so I decided to spit on that topic: Ideas are shit. Execution is everything.