In a candid discussion, the host addresses the prevalence of fear mongering in the fitness industry, criticizing the notion that certain marketing strategies, like six-week challenges, are inherently unethical or detrimental to business. They argue that the core of a successful fitness business lies in making offers that convert and educating customers on the best services to achieve their long-term health goals. The host emphasizes that upselling is a standard practice across various industries and encourages fitness professionals to overcome poor money mindsets. They advocate for presenting clients with options that align with their goals and budgets, ensuring both client success and business profitability. The host concludes by urging fitness professionals to play the business game effectively and ethically, focusing on value exchange and customer success.
"I wanted to talk more about it, which is fear mongering. Fear mongering. And the issue that a lot of you guys see in the marketplace." "So six week challenges will kill your business, blah, blah, blah."
The quotes highlight the prevalence of fear mongering in the fitness industry, particularly around the concept of six-week challenges, and set the stage for the discussion on the impact of such tactics on businesses.
"You need to make an offer that converts. That is the point. That is the entire game, right?" "None of those things will help someone achieve their real long term goal of having a sustainable weight loss, healthy lifestyle, et cetera."
These quotes underscore the importance of creating effective offers in the fitness industry and the irrelevance of the offer's duration to long-term health goals.
"If you have poor views around money, right? These are your poor views. I can't make money because I am a good person, right?" "There is nothing illegal about upselling someone."
These quotes address the misguided association between making money and ethical behavior, and they challenge the idea that upselling is inherently unethical.
"You go to a restaurant, they're going to ask you if you want an appetizer, what's that, a fucking upsell?" "You go to rent a car, they said you want the minimum insurance package or maximum. Guess what? They're both fucking upsells."
The quotes illustrate that upselling is a widespread and accepted business practice in many sectors, questioning why it is viewed differently in the fitness industry.
"The reality is the consumer that is out there has no idea the difference between a dance studio and a crossfit."
This quote suggests that consumer confusion in the fitness market contributes to the misperceptions around business practices like upselling.
They don't know the difference between keto and Paleo. They don't know the difference between counting calories and whole 30 and eating clean. They don't know what any of it means.
This quote highlights the general lack of consumer knowledge regarding diet and health concepts, indicating a need for education.
And so our job as experts, or supposed experts, hopefully you're decent at something, right, is that you can actually inform them of what other options they have so they can get what they really want.
This quote emphasizes the role of experts in educating consumers to help them make informed decisions that align with their goals.
Sandra, you're here. You want to lose 40 pounds. The 14 day free trial is probably not going to do it for you.
This quote illustrates the importance of understanding the consumer's goals and offering a solution that is more likely to lead to success rather than a standard, ineffective approach.
And so if you see this stuff that's out there and it's like, don't market this way. Don't market that way. At the end of the day, you need to market things that convert. You need to make offers to the marketplace that they are going to click on so that they come into the gym.
This quote suggests that marketing should focus on what attracts consumers and prompts them to take action, which can then lead to opportunities for education and transformation.
You give them the ham, give them what they want so that you can give them what they need, right?
This quote uses a metaphor to explain the strategy of offering consumers what they initially desire to engage them, which can then be leveraged to provide the more substantial support they need.
Video version of this, which usually has more effects, more visuals, more graphs, you know, drawn out stuff, sometimes it can help hit the brain centers in different ways.
This quote suggests that visual elements in educational content can facilitate learning by appealing to various cognitive processes.
I didn't know there's circuit training and weightlifting, right? I thought weightlifting would make me bulky.
This quote represents a common misconception that needs to be corrected through consumer education.
You don't market. Hey, you need to count your macros and do resistance training and have programming and learn all these skills. You don't market that. Why? Because Jenny ain't going to fucking sign up.
This quote conveys the idea that marketing should be accessible and appealing to the average consumer rather than overwhelming them with technical details.
"so what happens is, as the fitness entrepreneur who has a poor view around money, you think all of this is unethical, right? All of this type of marketing, anytime I market something and then someone comes in and then I, dear God, upsell them, which is as american as apple pie, as american as capitalism."
This quote underscores the misconception that marketing and upselling are inherently unethical, highlighting that such practices are, in fact, typical in American business culture.
"Fundamentally, how most business models work is through expansion revenue, all right? Revenue that is not the core offer."
This quote explains that many business models rely on generating revenue beyond the primary product or service, demonstrating the importance of upselling and expansion revenue.
"If you want to not get taken advantage of, market whatever the hell you want, market whatever converts, because you're a grown ass person, it's your business."
The speaker empowers fitness entrepreneurs to take control of their marketing and to focus on what works for their business, emphasizing autonomy and experimentation.
"If someone does a 14 day trial and they have no other things that get added onto that, how's that going to help them?"
The speaker questions the long-term effectiveness of promotions without upsells, suggesting that additional offers could provide more substantial benefits to clients.
"There's no difference between doing a trial and upselling someone versus just upselling them on the first visit. It saves you time. It saves them time."
This quote challenges the idea that there is an ethical difference between when you upsell, suggesting that doing so immediately can be more efficient.
"It's pure just nonsense. It's pure people feeding on poor money mindset for trainers and fitness professionals, right? It's the, I'm a good person and that's the reason I don't make money, right?"
The speaker criticizes the flawed logic that equates having a good character with a lack of financial success, identifying it as a harmful money mindset.
"That's not giving up your morals, that's just being fucking stupid. You're not upselling someone who's just dumb."
The speaker bluntly states that avoiding upselling is not a moral stance but rather a poor business decision, emphasizing that upselling is not taking advantage of customers.
"It's called a straw man argument, all right? It's when they say, like, if you market this type of thing, your gym is going to become a churn factory."
The speaker identifies a common fallacious argument used to dissuade fitness professionals from certain marketing tactics, explaining that it's not a guaranteed outcome.
"There are tons of gyms who are churn factories, and there are tons of gyms who are not churn factories. And what they market is independent of what they do in their doors."
This quote refutes the straw man argument by providing evidence that marketing strategies do not directly correlate with the quality of the gym or its retention rates.
"So for you, get over all of your I can't sell people things. Like, all you're doing is presenting them information so they can make an informed decision that is best aligned with their goals, given their priorities."
The speaker encourages fitness professionals to view selling not as a negative act but as providing information that allows clients to make decisions aligned with their goals.
"If you go to a therapist, the first thing they ask you is like, what are you trying to get out of this?" "They're trying to clarify your goal."
These quotes underline the significance of goal clarification in therapy, which is also applicable to business practices. It highlights that the first step in providing effective service is understanding what the client hopes to achieve.
"You clarify what you're trying to get out of it. You clarify the different variables that they have to work with and that you can offer support with, and then you figure out which package of those things is going to help them get to their goal with the highest likelihood of success."
This quote expands on the process of clarifying goals by considering the client's variables and aligning the service package to increase the success rate.
"And then you work backwards from their budget so that you can match the highest likelihood of success with their maximum budget, which also increases the likelihood of the person achieving it and increases the longevity of your business."
This quote stresses the importance of budget considerations when planning services, indicating that success is tied not only to service quality but also to financial planning.
"Maybe you have a trainer who has really bad views around money, and it's like, you're only about the money now. It's like, well, how do you think you get paid?"
This quote addresses the negative perception of being "about the money" in business, suggesting that making money is a necessary part of providing a service.
"It's not money from selling. That's not the money that you get paid. Right. So if you have people in your business who have issues around making money and feel like money is purely an exchange of value, and if you make less of it, it's because you are not providing it."
This quote clarifies that money earned is a direct result of the value provided, and earning less might reflect a lack of value delivery.
"And the reason that you are not providing is because a lot of times you're afraid of asking to help someone."
This quote suggests that a barrier to making money is often the fear of asking clients how one can assist them, which is essential for a successful transaction.
"People have these morals around selling stuff that's just like, it's insane. And these morals around marketing offers that just comes from just out of nowhere, right?"
This quote reflects on the irrational moral standards some people hold against selling and marketing, which are essential components of business.
"There are laws. Obey them. Once you know the rules of the game, then play the fucking game. You know what I mean? Like, business is a game."
This quote emphasizes the importance of understanding the legal framework of business and then engaging in it strategically, as one would in a game.
"So if people are in the door and you do not ask them how you can help them, believe it or not, they won't give you any money because you didn't make them aware of all the things that you have."
This quote points out the necessity of making customers aware of all available services, including upselling, to facilitate transactions.
"Would you do personal training for one on one? For 10,000 a month? Yes. Cool. Then put it on your menu because there will be someone who might take it, and then you're both better off because they get their personal training and you get $10,000 a month and you're pumped, right?"
This quote highlights the advantage of offering high-priced options, as there may be customers willing to pay for premium services, which is profitable for the business.
"Upsell them because it's as american as apple pie, as american as capitalism and ultimately helps your customer achieve what they actually want, which is a long term outcome."
This quote promotes upselling as a quintessential aspect of American business culture that aligns with customer goals for long-term outcomes.