How To Eliminate 23 of Your Declines in 2 Min Ep 183

In this Gym Secrets podcast episode, the host shares a strategic tip to reduce payment declines and customer churn in recurring business models. By requesting a secondary backup credit card or ACH payment method at the point of sale, businesses can swiftly address declined transactions, potentially recapturing two-thirds of failed payments. This practice, endorsed by successful gym owner Ed Turney, could significantly lower churn rates and stabilize revenue streams. The host emphasizes the importance of incorporating both payment options in contracts to ensure authorization.

• The podcast is aimed at discussing strategies for gym businesses.
• Topics include acquiring customers, increasing customer value, retention, and learning from failures.

Welcome to the Gym Secrets podcast, where we talk about how to get more.

This quote introduces the podcast's focus on helping gym owners improve various aspects of their business.

• Speaker A emphasizes the significance of managing declined payments.
• Declined payments are a major contributor to customer churn.

I have a very short, very tactical tidbit for you today. How to eliminate two thirds of your declines, which for most of you, half of your churn or more is going to be coming from declined payments.

Speaker A introduces a solution to a common problem in the gym industry—declined payments, which are responsible for a significant portion of customer churn.

• Speaker A suggests a specific tactic to reduce payment declines.
• The tactic involves a particular way of handling card transactions.

And so you use that line and just like that, you will get two cards.

Speaker A suggests using a specific line or approach to secure two cards from customers, which is a strategy to mitigate the risk of payment declines.

• Speaker C outlines the value listeners can gain from the podcast.
• The podcast offers insights based on real experiences and lessons learned.

Customers, how to make more per customer and how to keep them longer, and the many failures and lessons that we have learned along the way. I hope you enjoy and subscribe.

Speaker C details the comprehensive nature of the podcast, covering customer acquisition, maximization of customer value, customer retention, and learning from past mistakes, encouraging listeners to subscribe for these insights.

• Introduce a process to prevent declines during the sign-up process.
• Emphasize the importance of the sale and sign-up steps in capturing customer payment information.
• Suggest asking for identification and writing it down at the time of sale.
• Recommend obtaining a primary credit card and recording its details.
• Advise on asking for a backup card in case of issues with the primary card.

"In the next couple of minutes, I'm going to show you exactly how to not have that happen. And so as soon as you get those declines, you do this process and then you can recapture two out of three of them, which is pretty cool."

This quote outlines the effectiveness of the process being introduced, which aims to mitigate the impact of declined transactions by recapturing the majority of them.

"So it all starts at the sale, starts with the sign-up process."

This quote emphasizes that the foundational step in preventing declines is at the very beginning of the customer interaction, specifically during the sale and sign-up process.

"So after you've closed the sale and you say, hey, can I have your id? You write it on the top and you say, hey, let me treat you for whatever card you want to use."

The quote suggests that immediately after closing the sale, one should request the customer's identification and write it down, which is a part of the process to secure the transaction.

"You get the credit card, you write the credit card down, you say, hey, and so you hold the card and you're facing the prospect and you're like, in case your identity gets compromised or this card gets lost or you have identity theft or anything like that, what card do you want to use as your backup card."

This quote provides a step-by-step method of securing a primary credit card and then preparing for contingencies by asking for a backup card, highlighting the importance of being prepared for potential issues with the primary card.

• Businesses should obtain a secondary payment method from customers to prepare for potential declines of the primary method.
• The backup payment method can be a credit card or an ACH (Automated Clearing House) transfer.
• The phrase "it's just how we've always done it" is used as a social engineering technique to normalize the request for a second payment method.
• Having a backup payment method ensures continuity of service and reduces the administrative burden associated with declined transactions.

"They'll be like, oh, you can use this as my backup card, right? If they're like, no, you can just use that one. That's fine. You just say, we kind of just need a second one. It's just how we've always done it."

This quote explains the process of requesting a backup payment method from customers. It highlights the use of a specific phrase to make the request seem routine and unobjectionable.

"And just like that, you will get two cards. Now, if every one of your recurring members has two cards on file, as soon as you have the declines, you check the account, you swap the card, you run them all again on the backup card and off to the races you go."

This quote outlines the practical steps of using the backup payment method when the primary one fails. It emphasizes the efficiency of having a secondary option already on file.

"This works for any recurring business whatsoever. Get the backup card. You can also use Ach as a backup."

The speaker is advising that this strategy is applicable to all businesses with recurring payment models and suggests ACH as an alternative backup payment method.

• Discusses the use of multiple payment methods to reduce transaction declines.
• Recommends adding both a bank account and a secondary card to the billing contract.
• Suggests that implementing this strategy can significantly decrease declines and churn rates.
• Mentions the success of Ed Turney's gym as an example of effective churn reduction.

to use a card, you can just use your bank account or whatever card your husband doesn't say ha, right. And so any of those things will work. You should put both cards on the contract so that you're authorized to bill both of them. So make sure that you have two spots where you can put it there. But once you do that, you are good to go. And just like that, if you start implementing this, you can, virtually overnight eliminate two thirds of your declines, which for many of you will be over half of your churn.

The quote emphasizes the practicality of using multiple payment methods and the importance of authorizing both to be billed. It suggests that such an approach can quickly and effectively reduce the number of declined transactions and customer churn.

• Credits Ed Turney for his low churn rate.
• Highlights the success of Ed Turney's seven-figure gym business.
• Suggests that others should follow the churn reduction methods used by Ed Turney.

Thank Ed Turney, who was here for the vip day. That's one of the things he did to keep his churn low. And he's got a stellar seven figure, plus gym. And you should do that if you don't have money.

The quote acknowledges Ed Turney for his contribution to churn reduction strategies during a VIP day. It also notes the financial success of his gym, implying that his approach to churn reduction is worth emulating, especially for businesses looking to conserve funds.