HOW TO GROW YOUR GYM WITHOUT ADVERTISING💰🔥 ...and how learning how to market can make up for the fact that your gym isn’t as good as you’d like it to be (because if it were, it would already be growing on its own).... Ep 58

In a candid discussion, the host delves into the dichotomy of organic growth versus marketing for gym businesses, emphasizing the limitations of relying solely on word-of-mouth once a gym reaches a certain membership threshold. The host argues that while organic growth is ideal, marketing becomes essential when service delivery can't scale with membership increases. Marketing generates crucial cash flow, enabling investment in service quality and team training. The ultimate goal, the host reflects, is to create a service so exceptional that it naturally enhances marketing efforts, as learned from their own experience with gym launch. Additionally, the host mentions a book, "100 million dollar offers," as a valuable resource for listeners.

• Speaker A introduces the topic of growing a gym without relying on traditional marketing.
• There are two main schools of thought regarding gym growth: one emphasizes the importance of marketing, while the other suggests growth should be organic without spending on ads.
• Speaker A shares personal experience of starting a gym and experiencing organic growth initially.
• Challenges arise when the gym reaches a certain number of members, and the owner can no longer provide the same level of service to everyone.

"Hey, what's going on, everyone? I wanted to make you guys a quick video this morning. I've been Mia, so I apologize. I've just been busy growing back my facial hair. I'm just kidding. We have our gym lord summit in a week, and so I've just been prepping all of our presentations and all that kind of stuff. But the topic of today that I wanted to kind of dive into with you was how to grow your gym without marketing."

This quote introduces the video's purpose and the upcoming discussion topic, which is about strategies for growing a gym without traditional marketing.

"And what I wanted to kind of talk about was kind of like, the two schools of thought that kind of exist out there. There's, like, one school of thought that's, like, all about marketing. Like, you need to know how to run Facebook ads, you need to learn how to sell and all that kind of stuff, right. The other school of thought is the don't buy ads. You know what I mean? Like, don't market at all. Don't spend any money. You should be good enough to grow on your own."

This quote outlines the two prevailing opinions on gym growth: one that advocates for marketing efforts like Facebook ads and selling techniques, and the other that believes in growth without financial investment in marketing.

"So, you know, where do you lie, right? And so in the beginning, a lot of times, at least for me, when I started my gym, I didn't know how to market. And so my gym grew organically. So I was like, okay, that's what I need to be doing."

Speaker A reflects on their own experience with organic growth due to a lack of marketing knowledge, implying that many gym owners may start with a similar approach.

"What ends up happening, and this happens to most people, is that their gym stops growing organically at a certain point. And usually it's because your ability to give service to every single person that comes into your facility goes down as it grows."

The quote addresses the common plateau in organic growth faced by gyms, attributing it to a decline in service quality as membership numbers increase.

• Speaker A discusses the natural growth trajectory of gyms through word of mouth and the initial excitement of a new gym.
• The challenge arises when the gym's membership increases to a point where the owner cannot maintain a high level of service for every member.
• This inability to scale service effectively often leads to stagnation in membership growth.

"Right. It grows organically. You get word of mouth. You're asking them like, hey, we're starting the gym. Please bring your friends. You know what I'm like. You have that kind of vibe. It's exciting, it's new. People come in, right?"

This quote describes the initial growth phase of a gym, which is fueled by word of mouth and the excitement of a new establishment.

"And the issue is that as you get to 50, 60, 70, 80 members, all of a sudden you can't be there all the time for everyone. And so your ability to scale service, delivering service goes down."

Speaker A explains the difficulty in maintaining the same level of personal service as membership numbers increase, which is a key factor in the gym's ability to continue growing.

• Businesses often reach a point where they stop growing organically due to the service level provided being equal to or less than what they're charging.
• Organic growth is considered ideal, as it suggests the business is good enough that customers will recommend it to others without the need for marketing.
• The challenge arises when a business does not grow organically, leading to cash flow issues and the inability to pay bills.

"hat point organically, and then they stop because the level of service that they're providing versus what they're charging is equal or less."

This quote highlights the plateau that businesses reach when their service quality does not exceed the cost, which hinders organic growth.

• Marketing is essential for businesses that cannot grow organically to generate cash flow.
• Cash flow from marketing efforts can help a business overcome initial growth hurdles, such as hiring staff to scale operations.
• The speaker believes in the necessity of learning marketing skills unless the business's quality allows for organic growth.

"The problem is what happens when it's not growing without marketing, right. And you need to still pay bills and you still have cash flow issues."

The quote addresses the dilemma of businesses facing stagnation without marketing, emphasizing the importance of marketing for financial stability.

• The speaker initially focused on marketing and sales but learned the significant impact of having an exceptional service or product.
• A high-quality service or product can exponentially increase the effectiveness of marketing dollars.
• The experience with gym launch taught the speaker that an amazing service or product can greatly amplify revenue.

"And so I learned that having an amazing services, amazing product totally compounds how much money you make."

This quote reflects the speaker's realization that the quality of service or product can significantly enhance the returns on marketing investments.

• The speaker's approach to business evolved from a marketing-centric perspective to appreciating the value of service quality.
• Their experience in selling marketing and sales services led to the understanding that these elements are amplified by product quality.
• The speaker's perspective changed, now valuing the combination of marketing skills and exceptional service as a formula for success.

"And so now it's totally made me rethink all of the things that I originally thought about with regards to the gyms."

The quote signifies the speaker's shift in business strategy, moving from a pure marketing focus to a balanced view that emphasizes the importance of service quality alongside marketing.

• Understanding the importance of not just delivering the services customers pay for, but also providing additional value.
• The significance of surprising customers with more than they expect to foster loyalty.
• The concept of over-delivering to customers to ensure they stay with the service.

"What they come in for and pay you for for fitness and services is what they come for, but what they stay for is everything else that you're able to give them that they didn't ask for."

This quote emphasizes the idea that customers are initially attracted by the core services of a business but remain loyal due to the unexpected extras they receive.

• The use of a book as a marketing tool to build rapport with the podcast community.
• Offering the book at a low price on Kindle as a strategic move to increase accessibility and interest.
• The long-term vision of building relationships with the audience for potential future business partnerships.

"I have a book on Amazon. It's called 100 million dollar offers that over thousand five star reviews. It has almost a perfect score. You can get it for $0.99 on Kindle."

This quote highlights the strategy of using a highly rated and affordable book to engage with the community and establish credibility.

"So it's my very shameless way of trying to get you to like me more and ultimately make more dollars so that later on in your business career."

The speaker candidly shares their motive behind offering the book, which is to build a favorable connection with the audience that could lead to profitable collaborations in the future.

• The importance of going beyond what is promised to the customer.
• Examples of unexpected services that can be offered, such as impromptu massages and daycare services.
• The philosophy of under-promising and over-delivering to avoid customer disappointment.

"It's everything that you can possibly think of to make their life easier. Like giving them literally, like insanity. Like impromptu massages, daycares, events, social gatherings, community, like, all these other things that you can give them to satisfy all their other needs."

This quote suggests that providing a wide array of additional services, some of which may be quite unexpected, can greatly enhance the customer experience.

"Because the worst part is, if you over promise and under deliver, it's better to under promise and over deliver."

The speaker is advising that it's preferable to exceed customer expectations rather than fail to meet them, which can damage the business's reputation.

• Reflecting on past experiences to improve current business practices.
• The necessity of reaching a point where exceptional customer service becomes a key driver for business growth.

"And so, like I said, if I went back in time, I probably would be running things. So just basically the way we run gym launch now, exceptional customer service, et cetera."

The speaker is comparing their past business approach to their current one, which focuses on outstanding customer service as a cornerstone for success.

"But the thing is that unless you've turned that corner, there's really no way for the business to grow unless."

This incomplete statement implies that a pivotal change towards prioritizing customer service is essential for the growth of a business.

• Cash flow is crucial for learning and investing in oneself and the business.
• Without a clear initial business model, growth may stagnate due to inadequate service delivery.
• Marketing and sales are essential for generating the necessary cash flow to improve business operations.
• The goal is to create a business so compelling that it grows organically, much like Chipotle with minimal advertising due to its product quality.

And that's where the marketing and sales comes in. And so what that allows you to do is it gives you the cash flow to learn. It gives you the cash flow to buy information from other people. It gives you the cash flow to invest in yourself, to invest in the business more.

This quote emphasizes the role of marketing and sales in providing the financial resources necessary for business improvement and growth.

Because unless you are lucky enough to have started with an unbelievably clear idea of how to scale delivery, how to scale service, how to train the teams, et cetera, likely the gym won't grow past a certain point because the delivery is just not good enough.

This quote suggests that a well-conceived initial business model is rare, and without it, growth is limited due to subpar service delivery.

Chipotle doesn't advertise that much because the food's amazing, right? Doesn't need to advertise, and that's how the gym should be.

The speaker uses Chipotle as an example of a business that grows organically due to product quality, implying that ideally, gyms should strive for the same.

But the reality is that most gyms aren't, right. And so in the meantime, that's why you need to market and sell, so that you learn, like you get the cash, so that you can have the time and the resources to go learn how to make that gym the way it should have been originally, right?

This quote acknowledges that most gyms do not initially meet the ideal standards and thus need to focus on marketing and sales to finance improvements.

• Organic growth is desirable but not always achievable without additional efforts.
• Learning how to market and sell is crucial when organic growth is not occurring.
• Marketing and sales skills can be acquired quickly to support business growth.

The answer is yes, it should grow organically. But if it's not, then you need to learn how to market and sell.

This quote implies that while organic growth is the goal, the reality often requires gym owners to actively learn marketing and sales to achieve growth.

• The speakers encourage gym owners to engage with their community for support and growth.
• The mention of Gym Launch and the upcoming summit suggests an existing community and resource for gym owners.

And if you're a gym owner and you're in here. And you're not in gym lunch. You should be because it's really good.

This quote is an endorsement for Gym Launch, suggesting it as a valuable resource for gym owners.

All right, guys, have an awesome day, and I'll talk to you soon. And, gym lords, I'll see you at the summit next week, all right?

The speaker closes with well-wishes and a reminder of an upcoming summit, reinforcing the sense of community among gym owners.