Rep It Up: Recent Episodes
Kory Angelin
How education and sales philosophy fits within the fitness industry.
Find out what some of the biggest fitness influencers philosophy is when it comes to driving their fitness business and brand. Each episode of Rep It Up reveals what it takes to be successful from a business perspective as it relates to both big box gyms and studio boutiques. With the climate of fitness changing everyday, it is important to have a skill set that matches. It is not about taking the easy way out but rather taking the position in business as that of an athlete. Practicing and owning your craft to be a leader and to realize you and your teams full potential. Join Award-Winning Trainer, Kory Angelin, as he delivers his take on the fitness industry.
Over the last 10 years as a NYC based Registered Dietitian & fitness professional, Christine Coen has transformed her practice from a traditional weight loss & aesthetic focus into a convergence of the powerful impact of movement & nutrition on mental health. Christine’s own battle & eventual overcoming of depression, anxiety, & emotional eating sparked this change, as movement became her “anti-depressant” and was a major catalyst in her recovery.
Today, coaching women to take empowered action & move their body every day to improve mental wellbeing, boost energy & mood has allowed her to help many clients struggling with depression, anxiety, and overeating issues. Her non-diet approach to health, where weight loss focus is actually put on the back-burner, has surprisingly increased the success her clients have- mentally & physically. Her 6 month group coaching program, The Warrior Evolution, & her daily 22 Minute Warrior Workout are two ways she works with people to help them discover their deeper meaning for improving their wellbeing & create a solid action plan incorporating 4 pillars- movement, nourishment, fuel & mindset.
Get in touch with Christine:
@christine.coen
www.christinecoen.com
When you train over 200 plus sessions per month and a global pandemic hits, what do you do? That was the question Ashton had to ask himself last year when COVID hit. Ashton decided that in order to continue to take care of his clients, he would develop his brand digitally. Although that sounds easy there is a lot that goes into building a digital brand and keeping the training aspect both motivating, as well as, high quality.
Listen to how Ashton was able to not only pivot to a digital platform but eventually create a hybrid version for all of his clientele.
After starting his career in the supermarket business, Tom made the leap to the health market when he became a District Manager for GNC and ending his career as an EVP, GM, and CMO for GNC .
Then, when he met Mark Wahlberg, everything started coming together. The two became fast friends and bonded over their ideas for a line of all-natural, power-packed whey protein powders, energy barsand supplements for anyone who wants to perform at their best. “Our products are formulated to deliver incredible results, whether you’re a weekend warrior, a pro athlete, or a hardcore bodybuilder,” Tom says. “They aren’t junked up with things you can’t pronounce.”
Tom has seen firsthand that people are more active today and looking for products that help them feel more energized, get plenty of clean protein, recover quicker, get ripped, or drop a few pounds. “That’s why we started with a strong base of core products,” Tom explains.
Tom and the team at Performance Inspired also pledge to donate 2% of net profits to charity and continue to grow the company, as well as, be ambassadors in the supplement industry.
Performance Inspired Nutrition
https://pi-nutrition.com/
Follow Tom Dowd
@bigdealdowd
Follow Mark Wahlberg
@markwahlberg
Having over 200 penalty minutes in the sport of lacrosse is not something that most people focus on when they think of Brian Spallina. In fact, Brian will tell you that one of the best descriptions about his career was the word "misunderstood". What does come to mind about a 17 year career in a sport that he basically helped put on the map was his 7 title championships. He will be the first to admit, however, that every single one was a team effort and that is what makes the sport of lacrosse great.
Growing up with 2 older brothers and 1 younger brother and sister, Brian attributes his work ethic from both siblings and parents. "You want a new pair of cleats" his Dad would say, "Ok first you need to rake all of the leaves in the yard".
It was, however, during his High School years at Rocky Point that he really started to understand the game of lacrosse and was fortunate to have some great coaches along the way. Fast forward, 7 championships later over a 17 year career, Brian founded 91 Lacrosse. What started out with having 3 boys and 3 girls lacrosse teams in year 1, sky rocketed to 16 teams in year 2 and is still growing. providing that support and education to kids from all over has been Brians greatest gift through it all. It is one of the reasons why is biggest passion is his teaching career.
Having dropped out of high school twice, owning his own business wasn't something that Darren even dreamed of as a kid. Working part time jobs for most of his young career, Darren was trying to figure out how to balance his family and social life. Once he did that, he was able to really understand what it took to compete in the sport of bodybuilding. So much so that he competed in several shows.
How do you go from competitive bodybuilder to owning your own business was the question. For him it was a leap of faith. For Darren it began with setting up a mini store inside a gym where he and a buddy would sell supplements. This amidst the 2010 recession which made it all that more remarkable. With some mistakes along the way and accepting that there is a learning curve, Darren now owns two NutriWolf Retail stores in NY. Specializing in supplements, meal prep and smoothies, Darren has now come a long way from setting up shop inside gyms.
"You have to take risks" according to Darren if you want to be an entrepreneur and willing to accept mistakes along the way. That is part of the responsibility of owning your own business. But for him, the journey was worth it.
Crossing over into entrepreneurship has always been on Tara's mind but actually doing it was a totally different step in her life. Tara realized years ago when she was a Regional Group X Instructor that she wanted to own a business but was very hesitant moving fwd.. Tara says that the number one reason many athletes/fitness gurus do not cross over is because of fear both emotionally and financially.
Although her mindset with her various fitness roles helped her be a leader, it still doesn't take away from the fact that crossing over into owning your business is then all on you and you alone.
As far as her knowledge of F45 was concerned, the brand seemed to follow her wherever she went and so she started to inquire about the type of workout, as well as, the business side of the company. From the moment she finished her first F45 class she said to herself "this is it". She has always had a passion for an inclusive community when it comes to fitness and F45 was where she wanted to stake her claim as a fitness entrepreneur. Listen to Tara's advice on how to make that crossover less stressful.
"It took me 17 years of just blind faith before I got to stand on the podium in the Olympic stadium". That was Louise Hazels journey to fulfill her dream of competing in the Olympics as a Heptathlete. Although she crossed the finish line in her athletic career, her business career has just bolted out of the gate.
She now owns The Slay Gym and along with Director of Training, Eric Strangis, they have set out to help thousands of women worldwide to stay in shape with their online plan Slay Challenge teaching that if you learn how to train and not exercise you'll never fall off again.
There are 2 pieces of advice when crossing over from athlete to entrepreneur:
- Don't jump too soon because that first business for most entrepreneurs will fail.
- Surround yourself with a Gold Medal team to support you
To see more of what Slay is doing:
www.theslaygym.com
www.slaychallenge.com
@louisehazel
@ericstrangis
@slayathletic
@theslaygym
@slaychallenge
Have you ever wondered how many times you should reach out to a potential member? Although it is important to understand how and when you should reach out to leads, it is also just as important to understand what your message should be. Whether it be phone, text or email, your messaging is just as important as how many times you are reaching out. In fact, I find that most of the time your actual conversation with a lead is different than your voicemail, email or text message. Generally speaking you want to have about 8-12 touchpoints with any lead. It is also about making sure that your messaging is all about the customer and less about your product/service. If a customer only hears what you have to offer they might feel like you are like you are just trying to sell them. You should make every touchpoint about the customer's "why" and their goals. Always remember, that the reason why a person joins a gym is to reach a goal.
Ten years ago, Mike Nichols had a dream. During his service in the Marine Corps he had always had a desire and passion to create a program to give active duty and Veteran service members and convert that experience into the fitness industry. After meeting Carol Ann and Chas Rodgers through F45 they turned that idea of a program into a reality.
This reality is now known globally as the F45 V.I.P. which is short for Veterans Impact Program. It is based on 5 pillars for success:
- Employment- creating employment opportunities for service members to fast track into the F45 franchise network.
- Internship- 12-week skill bridge program that helps active duty service members obtain the on-the-job training and education they need to work in the fitness industry.
- Apprenticeship- this program is designed for coaches working in an F45 studio, who want to become Master Trainers.
- Ownership-F45 recognizes that some of their best owner-operators are those that have served in the military.
- Studios on bases- the ultimate dream has become a reality in having F45 studios on military bases.
Combining these 5 pillars makes the F45 V.I.P. a Global first.
In sales, very often we ask many questions. The problem, however, with asking questions is most often they do not further the cause of getting someone to say "yes" to purchasing your product or service. In fact, many times we actually talk someone out of a sale because we end up sounding too salesy. We spend most of the time talking about "what" and "how" we do things and less time about "why" someone would care.
Powerful sales questions, however, can have three profound effects on the outcome of a sale.
- Plant seeds. Powerful sales questions can plant effective seeds for later on in the sales cycle.
- Overcome objections. Powerful sales questions can overcome objections early on so you aren't faced with them at the end.
- Activate the emotional part of the brain. The part of the brain that makes decisions is the most important part to tap into because sales is emotional.
- When you combine all three of these types of questions you essentially make it as easy as possible for someone to say "yes" to a sale.
Nothing beats a great experience when it comes to your first workout in a new fitness facility explains Marc Arnberg, Owner of F45 Training in Dix Hills, NY. With so many other competitors on the same road as his studio, he really prides himself on creating an inclusive experience with great staff communication. Ally and Sam, Head Trainers, not only make it a point to know everybody's name but all the members know their names as well. That says a lot when you have multiple classes per day and over 300 members.
Marc explains that although doing a comprehensive SWOT analysis is essential when first coming into the market, it is important not to compromise membership pricing for fear of other competitors. Understanding your own value as to what you offer far outweighs what your competition is doing. If you truly believe in your product, then the overall customer experience is the most important aspect to separate you from everyone else. Lowering your price just serves to de-value your brand.
In this episode, Val talks about how the greatness in selling fitness has to be around the customer experience. When Val talks to prospects it centers around three aspects:
- Authenticity- you need to really be authentic when speaking with prospects. This means active listening, as well as, asking open-ended questions.
- Interest- if you do not show interest in a customers story then why would they care about what you have to sell?
- Tactics- this has to do with understanding when is a good time to talk dollars and cents.
When you put all of these strategies together you become more relatable, as well as, the ability to build trust. Val likes to use the quote "The power of the sales is always in the prospects hands".
✅ Generating fitness leads using platforms like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Many fitness brands have migrated away from hiring big marketing companies to build their brand. Instead, they use social media like Instagram, Facebook and even LinkedIn. There are, however, ways to maximize your messaging when using these platforms. Here are some key strategies to generate fitness leads using social media.
1. CONTENT: we all know content is King but it is the right kind of content. In fact, you need to answer one fundamental question when creating your content. Why should someone purchase your product or service. The answer should revolve around a customers fitness goals. After all, someone joins a gym because they want to reach their goal so that has to be in your messaging. This along with a clear call to action is how you engage people more often.
2. CONSISTENCY: if you do not create consistent content then what effect will it really have? You should at least be boosting one post per week to try and generate leads. Create a schedule each week so you know exactly how to formulate your content and then consistency will take care of itself.
- CAPTIONS: a video that has captions are 70% more likely to be viewed and yet this is rarely done. There are some simple websites like www.rev.com that will create captions for a video for you to post. Engaging more people through captions is a great way to generate leads.
Caption website: www.rev.com
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There are 3 keys to running a high performing fitness business. Making sure you have these steps in place will help to ensure you both open with success but retain your customers over time.
- Mastering the lead sales cycle- from the minute that a lead comes in to the minute you decide to try and sell a membership to that potential member, what is your process. One of the keys is to make sure that those initial conversations center around a customers goals. After all, it is the reason they would want to join in the first place
- Establishing appropriate roles and responsibilities- hiring the right staff, as well as, to make sure they have distinct roles can make or break your business. Providing consistent coaching as it relates to sales should be a staple for your staff so they can not only feel supported but essentially it will help them to close more deals.
- Unforgettable level of service- at the end of the day nothing beats a customer experience. Dylan and Justin share what, how and why a customer experience is so important to both new member acquisition and retention of your customers.
Ben Ludwig is no stranger to success. he recently grand opened a Kansas gym and had over 100 members workout on day 1. The question is how do you effectively build your brand to open with success. Ben believes in accomplishing 3 keys in your pre-sale.
- Member Experience- first and foremost putting yourself in the shoes of a member. Speaking with them initially about their goals and empowering them to talk about how they would feel reaching them.
- Inclusivity- keeping members engaged through various touch points along the way of a members lifecycle.
- Community-reaching out to your surrounding community and ask how you might be able to help them vs. what you want to give them (i.e. free passes).
By having a strategy around these 3 pillars, it will create value, as Ben states, when it comes time to offer them a membership. Greater value means greater buy in from a customer. At the end of the day, Ben challenges people to think more about the customer side of the business rather than how great a place you have to offer.
Having coached dozens of leaders to support their development to the next level, Kevin brings a broad industry knowledge that has helped leaders and teams increase impact and performance in the retail, food and beverage, software, fitness, hospitality/resort and construction industries. Kevin has developed innovative programs in high growth companies to drive strong employee engagement, culture and leadership development efforts through being a strong thought leader and driving results in attracting, developing and retaining talent. Kevin is passionate about helping people excel, achieve their goals and find the work that they love and inspires them.
Serving leaders to create impact, develop high-performing teams, lead with purpose and intent to generate results
Working with Kevin, executives confidentially share their most pressing challenges:
· Struggling to create leadership influence and impact within their organization
· Lack of leadership growth in their career
· A new leader looking make immediate impact in their role
· Not achieving the results they want for themselves or the organization
· Searching for effective ways to develop high performing, engaged teams
This often creates frustration and can lead to feeling unfulfilled or dissatisfied, not generating the goals that you want for yourself, and can lead to emotional burnout.
When we work together, this changes.
· You become clear on your strengths and goals
· Your ability to communicate effectively and with impact increases
· You handle conflict with greater ease
· Your leadership influence expands with higher levels of confidence
· You generate results through causing the goals you want to achieve
Kevin Jonell draws from more than 25 years’ experience working for companies such as Starbucks, 24 Hour Fitness, Vail Resorts, PeopleSoft, University of Denver and BluSky Restoration Contractors, in human resources and operations to help grow leaders and achieve the results they want.
Maximizing your fitness profile on INDEED to land your next role
Have you lost your job or actively looking for your dream one There is so much turnover in the fitness industry especially during COVID. With that in mind we talk to fitness expert turned Account Executive for INDEED on some best practices to elevate your profile. There are so many strategies when posting a resume on one of the largest job platforms in the world. Melissa explains that just in July there were more than 6 million resumes uploaded. Listen to some tricks of the trade so you can land your next role.
One of the biggest changes, explains Melissa, is the switch from listing your roles and responsibilities on your resume to listing your actual results. Employers want to see what you had achieved in your past roles vs. what the role actually was.
As Amy thinks back to all of her past roles she always found a way to live her passion in her job. She always enjoyed blending passion with meaning even if she had bigger dreams early on in her career. It has always been about helping more people so fitness in her mind was a natural fit.
The first change in Amy's young career was leaving the athletics side, as an athlete and Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, and making the move to the fitness side as a trainer. She then worked at the Premier Health Club in San Diego where her second big break happened. Amy's Personal Training Manager at the time had received a promotion and tapped Amy to be the next Manager. This, after only one year as a trainer, led Amy to bigger aspirations in the industry.
Having been familiar with IDEA Health and Fitness Association her entire life, attending many of their conferences and summits, she received an opportunity later on in life to good to pass up working as the Vice President of the Fitness Group at Pocket Outdoor Media which includes IDEA Health and Fitness Association, Oxygen Magazine, IDEA China and Korea. She is really passionate about IDEA and their initiatives. IDEA's members strive to provide resources and support to help you grow your career, be more successful and achieve that through many different platforms. With five publications including the award-winning IDEA Fitness Journal, as well as, digital publications, this is where Amy has made a home trying to impact many more fitness professionals. Ultimately it is about keeping fitness professionals in the industry longer.
Given the current climate, Amy is most proud of helping to deliver on a plan that she has thought about for many years which is health insurance. For many people in the industry out of work, this plan is for fitness professionals, as well as, small business owners. You can sign up and/or terminate at any point throughout the year. Amy points to the fact that it is also long overdue for the fitness industry.
What is to come for this fitness icon? IDEA WORLD Virtual Convention is the next big event hitting Aug. 21-22 and will be really unique this year. Obviously it will be virtual but what will be different is that it will be in real time using some unique technology platforms. Everything is LIVE! A person will have the ability to actually engage with presenters making it really unique in this virtual environment.
With all of these different initiatives going on, it is no wonder what has been motivating Amy throughout her career. Helping people move fwd. in the fitness industry and changing lives will always be at the heart of her mission.
Mike Nichols, Director of Military Operations for F45 Fitness had an idea 10 years ago. It was to take Veterans experience coming out of the military and to help them get jobs in the fitness industry. Mike served the Marines as a Marine Corps. Drill Instructor. for over 20 years and says that there are certain times in your life that you have to make tough decisions that can change the trajectory of your life. Entering the Military was one of those types of decisions and Mike hasn't looked back since. As a Marine Corps. Drill Instructor, Mike has always been into fitness, specifically with High Intensity Interval Training since the Marines typically use this type of programming when training. He bases his drive for results on the 14 Leadership traits: Justice, Judgement, Decisiveness, Integrity, Dependability, Tact, Initiative, Endurance, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty and Enthusiasm. While in the Marines, Mike has always been inspired by helping others and often thought about a program of sorts to help them once they leave the military. Upon leaving the Corps. after 2 decades he joined an F45 studio as a member because he was used to the H.I.I.T. type of training and was immediately attracted to the workout and community. He then pitched that idea he has had all those years back to F45 to help military servicemen get jobs at fitness facilities. Fast fwd. a decade and he has made that a reality. Mike now implemented the Veterans Impact Program and has created an entirely new Division for the fitness company. There are 5 Pillars to the program. 1. Employment 2. Dept. of Defense Internship Program 3. Apprenticeship 4. Ownership 5. Putting F45 studios on military bases There is no doubt that Mike's drive and determination is an inspiration to all and one that will continue to help Veterans for years to come #OORAH
Optimize performance and recovery with the Whoop fitness tracker says Mike Lombardi, Strategic Partnerships and Performance Manager for Whoop. In this episode, we talk about the rise of wearable fitness technology and the 3 pillars that Whoop is based on which is strain, recovery and sleep. Having been a high level athlete himself, Mike realized that understanding these pillars can have a profound impact on optimizing performance.
Mike talks about how Whoop looks at the quality of that sleep and then one can make adjustments to their training program depending on that data.
Whoop can now stage all of that data along with heart rate data and can give you a good idea of when you are in light sleep, REM sleep and slow sleep . This allows them to prompt changes that you can make to increase performance.
Learning the 5 stages of customer awareness is the key to understanding a customer.
Stage 1: Unaware of the product
Stage 2: Pain aware- you know you have a problem but unsure how to fix it
Stage 3: Solution aware- you know the solution but not ready to take action
Stage 4: Product aware- you know the product but are shopping around
Stage 5: Most aware. It is here where you are an advocate of the brand
Once you understand where a customer sits in one of these stages, it becomes easier to tailor your marketing to them.
Les Mills has 130,000 instructors and 20,000 clubs globally that offer their programming. In this episode, Mario Tarquinio, Business Dev. Director for Les Mills discusses how they have used their innovative equipment, as well as, their on-demand platforms to grow those segments of the business. At the same time, what precautions they have offered their partners as they have seen gyms open up around the world. Within the first 30 days, they have seen about 65%-85% members return to the gym. Listen to what Mario says about how they help with messaging around cleaning, distancing without compromising a great workout.
There has been much said about the competition between big box gyms and smaller boutique fitness studios. There are 2 reasons why 10-42 year olds are flocking to boutique style fitness.
- Scalability-for owners it is much easier to scale and tailor the needs to a group of members with a focus on program design
- Community- nothing beats an in-person experience and boutique fitness are amongst some of the best at it.
Most people think it will be difficult selling gym memberships once gyms start to re-open. I believe that with the right strategies in place, it will be easy. Concept 1: it is all about a person's goals. Do not forget to do an effective needs analysis the next time you have a customer on the phone. Concept 2: personalize a tour. Gone are the days of museum tours. Those get stale and do not really cater to what a customer wants to see. Concept 3: great brands charge premium pricing. Just because the world has been shut down does not mean you need to start discounting your product/service.
Have you ever wondered how a trainer becomes really popular and sought after? Much of it has to do with their education. Focus Personal Training Institute, one of the leading schools in the U.S., examines the history of personal training education and how they have worked to transform it into higher learning. They focus on 3 ingredients at their school- technical proficiency, Integrity and professionalism to produce truly motivated trainers. Listen to what you should look for if you are hiring a trainer.
Anthony describes what it was like to sit in a hospital bed for 5 weeks without any human contact. Anthony talks about what it was like to find out that not only did he contract the virus but so did his wife and 5 of his trainers. Having defeated the virus, his mindset then shifted to re-open strategies for his two F45 studios and what it would take to get back his membership base.
Listen to how F45 Fitness Franchise Owner, Vanessa Robertson, in Tennessee strategized around her re-opening amongst the Corona Virus. From surveying her members to see what percentage would return to making sure her cleaning message is on point. This can set the tone for the rest of the boutique fitness world.
From finance to fitness, Jeff Harnois has always had a passion for fitness. Now he owns F45 franchises in Virginia, Colorado and Boston. Listen to what he has done to keep his members engaged during COVID-19 and what the plans are for a re-open.
Bill walks through his journey from before his famed appearance on The Biggest Loser to his success and struggles after the show. Bill's never give up attitude is back and talks about what he will do moving fwd to keep himself active during trying times.
While the world of fitness has gone virtual, few have been successful like multi-unit franchise owner, Marc Arnberg. In this episode, Marc explains how building consistent communication during a global pandemic is vital in engaging members over to a virtual platform.
What will your strategies be when it comes time to open your doors again. listen to my top 3 keys to think about which includes your cleaning message to your members, organizational structure and programming.
All objections really mean 1 of 2 things. First it is about that the customer did not see enough value in the experience that the sales person gave them. Secondly, a customer gives a wide variety of objections such as "I have to think about" or "I want to shop around first". In this episode you will learn the 5 steps to overcoming an objection-Listen, Empathize, Isolate, Re-enthuse and finally come up with the solution. Never be at a loss for words the next time someone says no.
Most people will tell you that a sales experience is most unsettling when you get to the end of the experience. That is the time when you have to ask for the money to make the sale. Most often, it is the moment when we either talk to much or actually forget to end the conversation with the actual "ask". The number one reason why sales people don't make a sale is because they forget to ask. learn how easy it really is to ask for a sale in this episode of #selloutzone.
We focused in episodes 1 and 2 about setting a goal and then staying consistent with trying to achieve it. Although this is a great way to try and be successful, there is still 1 more piece of the puzzle and that is to hold yourself accountable when need be. If your not holding yourself accountable in both fitness and business then who is?
In episode 1 of Fit2Sell we talked about how making a goal in both a fitness regimen, as well as, in business goes hand in hand. In episode 2 we will talk about how once you set that goal, you need to work day in and day out at achieving it. This holds true for both a fitness goal, as well as, success in business.
There are 3 reasons why I believe working out in some consistent fashion can directly result in success in business. In this first of three parts, I talk about how goal setting is really the same whether it is part of a fitness routine or business. These parallel themes help to build consistency in business.
The goal of a great brand is to get someone to believe in what they believe in. in other words, it is the philosophy of the product or service that sells that product/service. Most companies, however, focus mostly on a price promo or sale than the actual experience they create with a customer. The key difference is the ability to provide top notch service combined with a good price point.