The Internet has changed the way personal trainers do business. When used correctly, social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube have the potential to take you from being a relative industry unknown to a fully booked personal training SUPERSTAR!
With all of the online developments and opportunities that these new marketing channels have created, there is one thing that hasn't changed and won't for many years to come; the power of the telephone call.
The telephone can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
Regardless of what anyone says, online you is like perfect you. Think about it; you can prepare for conversations, you can research and reply to questions at your own leisure and one of the best features of online discussion is that you have the power to direct where the conversation goes.
The telephone on the other hand means you have to be on instantly. When a lead calls, you have to know all the answers, you have to direct the conversation and you have to close the deal and you cannot do this if you're not prepared.
You'll find that as your online profile grows, many of your leads will come from your social media channels and when they call or submit their details for you to call, they're expecting the same girl or guy to answer the phone that has influenced them in the first place.
Preferably, your online or offline channels pre qualify your leads so you're not wasting any ones time (particularly your own) and what I'm discussing today is if that is the scenario.
Consistency = Closing
So now that you're getting all these enquiries calling your business; how do you convert them into clients before they even step in your door, or on your grass depending on what type of personal training business you're running?
How To Close Leads Over The Phone
The first tip I'm going to give you when making calls to leads or receiving them, STAND UP!
If you're making calls stand up before you start dialing, if you receive a call, get off your ass ASAP. Doing this lets you speak with more movement and emotion which comes through to the prospect. It creates energy as you can't slump or stare at the floor and believe it or not, it will improve your close rate.
OK, now you're ready to close some sales so let's get started.
The introduction:
When calling leads that you've generated from lead boxes, your website or social media via your 'contact me' form or after some back and forth messaging you want to begin the phone call by introducing yourself and asking for the person you want to speak to by their first name. Sounds simply enough and like common sense, but believe me it's not.
You want to say something along the lines of:
"Hi there; My name is ____________ from _____________ and I'm calling today because ____________ visited my website/left their name in a lead box etc. and was interested in getting some more information; would they be available?"
Regardless if they answer the phone or they have to get who you're after, the first thing you want ask them is if they have time to chat which will remove one objection instantly.
"Am I catching you at a good time to chat ________?" If they answer "Yes", great, if not, ask when a good time to call is.
Begin by telling them that "I just noticed that you had visited my website recently requesting more information and so I wanted to touch base with you personally to see if there was anything I could do to help you out?"
Asking if you can help them creates a very powerful psychological connection, because rather then them feeling like you've called to sell them something, you're calling to offer them value; by helping them.
All networking techniques are based on the premise of Help First Ask Last. Once you help someone, they are far more likely to be receptive to your offer afterwards.
Build The Relationship
After this, follow with, "First, I’d like to know a little more about you!" Ask your lead normal questions to build rapport like:
- What they do for a living
- Where they lives
- Why she’s interested in personal training
- What their goals are
- What they're looking for, etc.
Always remember, that this is not about you! The conversation should always be about your prospect; THEIR goals and THEIR needs though you do want to respond to common interests. Like, if the prospect says "I want to get in shape for a holiday" ask them where, mention if you've been there or it's somewhere you'd like to go. These commonalities build and strengthen the relationship.
Find out their "WHY"
Once you know why your lead is looking for personal training, this puts you in the position to direct the conversation toward the sale. For example:
If the lead is looking to lose weight you'll want to make sure you position the benefits of what you’re offering as a solution to what they're looking for. You don't want to talk about how far they're going to be able to run or what they expect to be bench pressing, because that's not what’s most important. You want to emphasize the benefits of losing weight for having a healthier, more vibrant lifestyle.
What you're essentially doing is positioning your personal training business, your service as the 'solution' to what your prospect is looking for and of course, you will spin it to suit each lead.
Answer THEIR Questions
Now that you know more about your prospect, ask them if they have any specific questions. Try and answer them to the best of your ability and if you don't know the answer, don't pretend to. If you don't know an answer, tell them that "it's a great question and you will find the answer for them and get back to them later that day", or something like this.
Which brings us to the close.
Ask For The Sale
Up till now it's been very casual and conversational and this is where most personal trainers collapse, but this is where you earn your money. If you don't ask for the close, how do you expect to get it?
At this point, your prospect should be extremely interested and all they need is a little guidance.
Try something like:
"It sounds like you would really fit in well at __________ and I'm really looking forward to helping you achieve your goals; is there anything else I can do for you or is there anything else you’d like to know before we get you started?"
This your lead to consciously think of their own objectives. At this point, you're pretty much asking "what's stopping you making a decision today?". Sometimes your prospect will need some more clarity about something or need some time to think about it or discuss the decision with a spouse. Hopefully you had already met these objections earlier in your casual conversation.
After you ask for the sale never push anything. If they say that there's nothing else they need, then say:
"Great, what name would you like on your account?" and get their information then and there over the phone. They may still hit you with objections, but if you've qualified your lead properly prior to the call and met all of their possible objections then more than likely you will have the sale.
This technique has worked very well for me in most sales environments. People will disagree and of course there is no fool proof system. What you have to do is find what type of sales process you're most comfortable with and practice, practice, practice!
Please feel free to leave any questions in the comments section below and as always, if you enjoyed this article or found it useful, slam dunk the Facebook and Twitter icons at the top of this post.
Bring it!
Ben
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