Tips On Attaining Your Old Fitness Client’s

Have you got a long list of leads that you have been unsuccessful in getting across the line to join your gym (or take up your PT services)? When was the last time you spoke to these old leads?

For many Gyms, PT’s and Fitness Centers…the answer to that question will be nothing. Just because a lead has turned cold, that doesn’t mean we should move on and forget about them. Old leads can still be brought back into the sales funnel and nurtured once again with the hope of having success in the future. Think about it. At the time you were unable to convert them into a paying membership perhaps that person was not in a financial position to join,  or perhaps they weren’t in the right mindset, or simply had too much going on in their life to finally make the commitment to better health & fitness. So here we are in the future and that lead may be crying out for some help to lose weight, get stronger, increase their confidence and energy…. and who should answer that cry for help but you! Their local Gym. 

Your fitness business should have a nurturing strategy in place for these leads so that you can regularly provide them with both valuable information, and promotional information to get them to finally take action. 

Here’s some ideas for your old fitness lead nurture program.  

1.Automated Email (eDM)

Set up a pipeline of content that positions your fitness business as the experts in health and fitness. Exercise, Nutrition and General Wellbeing emails will help to build up your repute with an old lead, without pushing a special offer or a sales pitch down their throats. Your emails to their inbox will serve as a constant reminder that you are there, waiting and ready to help them. Whilst we recommend these emails shouldn’t be sales orientated, there’s no harm in including clear call to actions at the end of each piece. For example, if your email is about nutrition, a simple call to action at the end to alert them to your nutrition services will align nicely. 

Intermittently you should add some promotional email sequences amongst the value-add content. For example, a 21-day sale, or a 28-day bootcamp offer, a 6-week challenge. Create one campaign per month to re-engage old leads and make sure it is something new each time. You should have a number of emails focused on this offer, so you are alerting the leads about the program, reminding them mid-way and then a final reminder as the offer is about to expire. Make sure you create urgency and really talk to the value your program is providing. Make it easy for leads to get in contact with you to secure the offer by providing links within the email to respond, call or SMS you, email you, or register via weblink. 

2. Automated SMS Blasts

Automated SMS blasts are great for older leads and it provides them with an opportunity to simply text or call you back to take advantage of an offer.

Here’s content that you can share via SMS:

• Simple ‘check-in’ texts i.e. Hey John, quite some time ago you expressed interest in our gym. Just checking in to see how you have progressed with your health & fitness goals. If you are still needing some support, we would love to welcome you in on a free trial session, where we can chat more about how we can help. SMS me back if you are interested. Dave
• Promotional deals – the same promotional deals you have set up to push via email can also be promoted through SMS. Set up 1 – 2 texts per campaign 
• Proof of Results – Before/After shots or testimonials from your clients with a message such as ‘are you interested in getting results like these? We can help you. Message us back and let’s chat’
• Announcements – new services, competitions, changes to the gym or events should be promoted to your old leads via SMS

3.Phone Calls

Cold-calling isn’t for everyone, but it can work wonders. If you haven’t spoken too old leads for quite some time then it may be worth reaching out to them via a phone call. Be clear on your objective with your calls, and make sure you have an incentive ready. Try and get the lead into the gym for an appointment within 24-48hours to improve your chances of success.

You may wish to outsource this to a professional if you really want results and don’t feel comfortable doing this yourself. 

4.Messenger

Lots of leads these days come in via Facebook Messenger. If you have conversations that ended abruptly, or people had excuses that they weren’t ready then and there…it can be easy to send them another quick message to check-in and see whether they may now be in a position to take action. 

5.Snail Mail

Print is not dead! An old-fashioned mail out is quite unexpected in today’s digital world and so there may be an opportunity for you to wow your old fitness leads with something a big different. Two things are important here – the design and the incentive. Make your piece of mail stand out and make sure there is a strong incentive to get that lead back into the fold and keen to try your services again. Shock and awe is the way to go!

Don’t let old leads go to waste. There is still an opportunity re-engage them and remind them about your brand and the services you offer. Implement a nurture program that sees you touching base with them regularly. There will be those that opt-out and simply aren’t interested, but there will also be those leads that move further down the pipeline toward a sale. 

Don’t forget old Gym or PT Members either. You should have a system in place for bringing them back in again too!

If you want a simple and intuitive system for engaging old leads, then look no further than even More Gym Members. This automated software system will send pre-built emails and SMS’s to your prospective clients to help increase your customer conversion rates.