There's Always A Way & Tactics for Recession Ep 191

In the Gym Secrets podcast, the host discusses strategies for gym owners to navigate economic uncertainty and shifting consumer behavior. Addressing concerns about customer spending hesitations, the host emphasizes focusing on controllable aspects like health and adapting sales techniques to overcome objections. He highlights the unexpected rise in lead flow for remote training, suggesting that the fitness industry is well-positioned to pivot to online services with better margins. The host encourages gym owners to innovate and not give away their services for free, but rather to solve new problems and charge accordingly. He warns against pre-sales without certainty of survival and stresses the importance of quick adaptation and resilience. The host also mentions his book, "100 million dollar offers," as a resource for listeners.

• Remote training is a chance to reduce overhead and increase profit margins.
• Customers are encouraging the shift towards remote services.

"This is an opportunity where you actually get to have your customers encourage you to go to remote training where you have lower overhead and higher margin."

The quote emphasizes the business opportunity presented by the pandemic for gym owners to transition to remote training, which is more cost-effective and potentially more profitable.

• The podcast aims to help listeners get more customers, increase earnings per customer, and retain them longer.
• The podcast shares failures and lessons learned in the fitness industry.

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

This quote outlines the purpose and content of the Gym Secrets podcast, emphasizing its focus on business growth and learning from past mistakes.

• Addressing customer concerns about spending during uncertain times.
• Emphasizing control over personal health as a selling point.
• The importance of resilience and developing thick skin in sales.

"So the only real comeback that I have right now for that is you look at the person, you're like, listen, there's a lot of things that we can't control right now, but the few things that we can, that's what we should try and control our life, right?"

Speaker A provides a strategy for overcoming sales objections by focusing on the aspects of life that individuals can control, such as their health, which is relevant to the fitness industry.

• An increase in lead flow not seen in years.
• The current situation is viewed as a volume game in terms of leads.
• Adaptability and not being picky about how money comes in.

"I haven't seen volume like this in terms of lead flow in years, which is a good thing. Big picture is like, there's tons of lead flow that's happening right now. And so you just have to understand, it's going to be a volume game, right?"

Speaker A notes a significant increase in potential customers (leads), suggesting that businesses should focus on capitalizing on the volume of opportunities rather than being selective.

• The fitness industry's ability to adapt and continue providing value.
• Comparing the fitness industry's situation to more severely impacted industries.
• Recognizing the foresight of those who moved towards a hybrid gym model.

"And here's a fun one for you. Eight months ago, we talked about having a hybrid gym, and some guys took action on that. And, boy, they are grateful that they did."

Speaker A reflects on previous advice about diversifying gym services to include remote options and acknowledges the benefits reaped by those who implemented this strategy before the crisis.

• Gyms have switched to a hybrid model, incorporating remote training due to better profit margins.
• Remote fulfillment allows for reduced overhead costs and increased margins.
• Transitioning to remote services can result in a significant drop in top-line revenue but can still be more profitable due to decreased expenses like rent and payroll.

"f gyms that just flipped a hybrid, and they had to deal with a bunch of backlash and things like that within their community. They're, like, doing remote fulfillment. And the reason they did it was because the margins are so much better."

This quote explains the shift in the business model of gyms towards a hybrid system that includes remote fulfillment, a change driven by improved profit margins.

• The fitness industry is in a relatively good position despite challenges.
• A positive outlook and creative thinking are essential for finding solutions.
• Physical therapists, as an example, could have adapted by switching to remote sessions instead of shutting down.

"Perspective wise, we're dealt a pretty decent hand in the fitness industry, so you got to flip your thinking."

Speaker A emphasizes the need to adopt a positive perspective in the fitness industry to navigate through difficult times successfully.

• Creativity can lead to finding ways to continue business operations.
• For example, physical therapy sessions can be conducted remotely, with equipment sent to clients' homes.
• The willingness to be creative is crucial for uncovering solutions.

"There's always a way. If you want to be creative, the question is, if you don't want to be creative, there's no solutions, right? But there's always a way."

Speaker A suggests that creativity is the key to overcoming business challenges and that there are always solutions available for those willing to think innovatively.

• Adopting a resilient mindset is necessary to endure tough times.
• The current situation may seem positive, but challenges will increase over time.
• Reflecting on actions taken during hardships can provide insights into one's character and values.

"You have to remember who you are and who you want to be. You're going to look back and tell a story about what you did right now and it's going to tell you lessons of who you really are and who you choose to be."

Speaker A highlights the importance of resilience and self-awareness during difficult periods, suggesting that current actions will define one's character and future self.

• The current climate presents an opportunity to improve sales skills.
• High lead flow and low costs for remote services offer numerous sales opportunities.
• The experience gained in sales during this period will provide valuable skills for the future.

"And guess what? You're going to get really good at sales. You want to make it through this, you're going to get real good at sales."

Speaker A encourages listeners to see the positive side of the situation, where the necessity to survive will lead to improved sales skills.

• There is currently a surge in leads for remote services.
• Despite a lower conversion rate, being proactive in sales efforts can yield better results than inaction.

"The lead flow right now is insane for remote, like, insane. I haven't seen lead costs and lead volumes like this in a very, very long time."

This quote indicates a significant increase in potential customers (leads) for remote services, presenting a unique opportunity for businesses to capitalize on.

• Speaker C interrupts to promote a book available on Amazon.
• The book has received positive reviews and a nearly perfect score.

"Hey, guys, real quick, if you're new to the podcast, I have a book on Amazon. It's called 100 million dollar offers."

Speaker C takes a moment to promote their book, which is relevant to the topic of business and offers, suggesting it as a resource for listeners.

• Speaker C has written a book available on Kindle, dedicating over a thousand hours to its creation.
• The book is intended as a significant contribution to the community and a means for Speaker C to gain favor and potentially increase future business opportunities.

You can get it for Kindle. The reason I bring it up is that I put over a thousand hours into writing that book, and it's my biggest gift to our community.

This quote explains that Speaker C has invested a substantial amount of time in writing a book intended as a gift to the community, which is available on Kindle.

• Speaker A discusses the transition from in-person group training to one-on-one remote training.
• Emphasizes that one-on-one training offers more value than group sessions.
• Highlights the opportunity to make a good living while providing excess value to customers through remote training.

And so that's the opportunity that we have right now. And the nice thing is that we can actually make a good living selling remote training and providing value in a way that's actually in excess of what we did in person.

Speaker A is pointing out the financial and value-added benefits of selling remote one-on-one training compared to previous in-person group training.

• Speaker A warns against pre-selling services without certainty of delivery, equating it to stealing.
• Advises against selling long-term packages if there is uncertainty about the business's survival.
• Suggests pivoting the business model to adapt to new circumstances and solve problems differently.

So if you are not sure, do not sell paid in fools for a time duration that you aren't even sure if you're going to be alive.

Speaker A warns against the ethical implications and potential risks of pre-selling services for a period when the business's future is uncertain.

• Speaker A describes the urgency of adapting business models during crisis times.
• Discusses the necessity of rapid development and implementation of new strategies.
• Emphasizes the importance of honesty and readiness for change within the team.

You got to pivot the model. If you're not allowed or able to build or solve problems the way that you were solving them before, you got to find a new way to solve the problem and you got to do it fast.

Speaker A stresses the need to quickly pivot and find new solutions when traditional methods of problem-solving are no longer viable.

• Speaker A advises on handling customer objections regarding spending during uncertain times.
• Encourages focusing on controllable aspects and overcoming objections with a positive mindset.
• Suggests that for every customer who says no, there will be another opportunity to sell and help.

We should be focused on the few things that we can. That's the overcome.

Speaker A is encouraging a focus on the aspects of the situation that can be controlled to overcome customer objections.

• Speaker A insists on the importance of not giving away services for free.
• Emphasizes that free services undervalue the work and do not contribute to the business's sustainability.

You need to stop giving away all your shit for free.

Speaker A is making a point about the necessity of charging for services to ensure the business's value is acknowledged and maintained.

• Emphasizes the importance of creating a superior product or service and charging for it, rather than offering freebies.
• Stresses the necessity for entrepreneurs to focus on truly helping people by providing quality.
• Suggests that lowering prices can be an excuse for not being confident in the product's value.
• Encourages entrepreneurs to solve new problems as a means of economic exchange.

And because of that, I'm going to be able to advertise and spread the message to a far, like, much further than everyone else's, okay?

This quote underlines the speaker's belief that by providing a better solution that is worth paying for, they can reach a wider audience through advertising.

Lowering your price is an excuse for yourself because you aren't proud enough to give the thing at full price.

Here, the speaker criticizes the practice of lowering prices as a sign of a lack of confidence in the product's worth.

The rules of economics haven't changed. All you have to do is find the new problem and solve it.

The speaker is reinforcing the fundamental economic principle of identifying problems and creating solutions, which is the essence of entrepreneurship.

• Discusses the risk of commoditization in the gym industry and the need for differentiation to survive.
• Highlights the importance of adding unique services, such as remote training, to stand out.
• Suggests that adaptation can lead to higher profit margins and market share.

And I said, right now we're at this point of commoditization, right? A lot of guys are going under.

The speaker is acknowledging the saturation and challenges within the gym industry, indicating a critical point where businesses are struggling.

If you have no way of differentiating, like, adding remote services and 101, you're going to be fucked.

This quote emphasizes the need for gyms to differentiate themselves by offering additional services to avoid failure in a competitive market.

• Urges entrepreneurs not to succumb to fear or negativity during tough times.
• Encourages looking at crises like a pandemic as an opportunity rather than a reason to quit.
• Promotes the idea that determination and adaptability can lead to success despite significant challenges.

So the only thing that you can't do is be afraid. And you just can't get down on yourself because there's going to be a million reasons and a million good reasons that you should quit right now.

The speaker is advising against fear and self-doubt, suggesting that while there may be many reasons to give up, one should not.

Because honestly, what other choice do you have?

This rhetorical question implies that perseverance is the only option, as giving up is not a viable solution.

• Announces the upcoming release of a new service aimed at acquiring customers through paid traffic.
• Mentions the goal of converting customers to higher price points using a hybrid fulfillment model.
• Shows excitement for the potential of the new service to transform the business.

Remote gym stuff is coming out tomorrow. Super excited about it.

The speaker is introducing a forthcoming service that aims to revolutionize customer acquisition and retention for gyms.

It's a way to acquire customers from paid traffic in local markets and the entire fulfillment of hybrid to keep those and actually get them at higher price points.

This quote details the strategy behind the new service, which involves attracting customers using paid traffic and offering a hybrid model to maintain and upgrade customer engagement.