CONNECT AND LISTEN. YA HEARD ME??
I think I heard this first from Mike Boyle: "You have two ears and one
mouth, use them in that order."
Your mom always told you to listen.
Your teacher told you to listen.
We say we listen, but do we really?
At least back in the day it was being "rebellious" and it was a way to be
cool. Or so we thought.
I think we built those habits over time and now there is a lot of white noise
and we are not hearing our clients. I had this syndrome as well: "I got it, no
worries, I know what I'm doing and what my clients want." Blah, blah, blah.
Life will put you in your place and make you learn if you don't listen, so I'm
speaking from experience. So I listened.
I think one of the best things for all of us would be to shut the fuck up and
really listen!
This truly applies in all areas of your life but I'll make it about your fitness
business (feel free to apply wherever you need it).
My team and I spend every day talking to members, even if it’s just one
member after training, and listening to what they're saying. Really listening.
When I hear there is an issue then I write it down to see what I can do
about it (and no, it can't always be fixed, but listening and working on
improving it shows people you care).
Many times it's things you don't want to hear but the truth is you actually
DO want to hear them because it gives you an opportunity to improve the
situation or fix the issue.
Honestly, people will tell you what they want and need to help them if you
keep an open ear. It won't come in the form you may expect it but that is
why you have to really keep an open ear and connect with members (a
little more about connecting later).
In the past couple of months, our clients influenced the following changes
or additional programs:
 Hearing the stereo and music suck made me go overboard (in the
best of ways) and put in the sickest sound system. It has pretty
much got "club atmosphere power". The members really enjoyed the
change to say the least!
 Even though we have "desk dates" where we will help clients with
anything they need, from nutrition to lifestyle strategies and
additional training, too many people didn't reach out and decided to
go with other "diet" alternatives. This upset me a lot as I knew (and
felt they knew) that we have all the resources to help them and then
some. Rather than being pissed of for too long, we have now added
an accountability program (level 1) and individualized nutritional
programs/accountability where the clients meets with a trainer 1x a
week and goes into specifics of their nutrition (level 2).
 After starting Strength Camp for men and that being a success, we
started hearing some ladies wanted to lift heavier and do more
athletic types of training to build athletic bodies that not only "show"
but "go" too. We decided to add a Strong(Her) Camp and with ONE
post on Facebook have a 37 person waiting list (with a 24 space
maximum).
 Getting special edition Vigor Ground hoodies made. Not only that
they are dope, but they will extend the micro-branding, make clients
happy, and make some profits for the gym.
There are more changes we made, ranging from things the team does as
well as our WOW front desk team. The point is that 3 out of 4 points in the
above examples will make client's results better, build a deeper
connection, AND create a new revenue stream for the gym.
This doesn't mean you don't use your filter, because, let's be honest, some
people will recommend the dumbest shit. It just means that you are open
to listening and hearing the people you serve and check yourself
first before you start pointing fingers at whose fault it is. It will make your
business better and more importantly it will make you better as a person.
With listening comes connecting to our clients. I still can't believe that
some people talk about systemization so much and focus on it so much
that they end up trying to systemize caring. You. Can't. Do. That. Shit!
I'm all about systems, but each person at our gym is a client (remember
what that means "under our care") who we care for and connect with. That
is more important than having the "perfect" program or getting all their
"macros" right.
Rather than going ape shit on this topic, here's a video I did that I made
about connecting to members.
<insert video>
Have a notebook in the front of the gym and have every one of your team
make a note when members are giving recommendations on things they
want and need. You can go over them in team meetings and strategize
what to add or improve in your business.
You can and should also have a comments box where people can put in
recommendations, as many people are not confident about speaking up
(put the box somewhere a client feels like they are not getting looked at for
submitting a comment).
Connect. Listen. Improve. Become Legendary. Rinse and repeat.