selling sucks
“communicate”
to triple your profits
the personal training fitness industry edition
by Duane McGill
Selling Sucks Communicate to triple your profits
Duane McGill
Published by McGillbuilt Fitness Systems at Smashwords
Copyright 2008 Duane McGill
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to
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Testimonial...
Duane McGill knocked my training socks right off! When he said, “The only condition I had with the owners of this gym was, that I could fire any scum bag salesmen” Duane had been employed to come to the gym were I am a personal trainer, to help the sales team, develop their sales skills. At first I was shocked but by about 10 minutes into his presentation, he had my full attention. It was a special Saturday afternoon session he was conducting for the trainers. I could see he had a very compassionate side. His honest approach to the fitness business was refreshing. His basic philosophy was that the time had come when we the fitness world had to change our ideas on how we approached potential clients. Gone were the days were the fitness industry, would scam people out of their hard earned cash. No! His approach was honest and sensible. “Don’t think of the cash you can make, but rather think on how you can help people to have a better life through proper fitness.” He said.
In the past health clubs were known to sign people to long-term contracts in the hopes that the clients would never train, but pay their monthly installments for years.
Clubs would open in one town and after they took the clients money closed down and opened up with a new name in another town. But Duane’s teaching was simple and honest. He taught that we, as fitness professionals, had a to adhere to a special code of conduct. Our jobs were to make people feel important. We needed to help them find the best contract that would suit them. But most of all, we needed to help people achieve their fitness goals. The fitness industry needed to change their “stinking thinking”. We now had to put the potential clients needs above the basic need of making money. After the lecture I approached Duane to find He is a man who has deep religious beliefs. This was evident from the first few minutes of his lecture. I learned a lot from Duane.
I have been involved in the fitness industry for over 40 years. As a competitive Bodybuilder, Manager of the World famous (Original) Gold’s Gym, contest promoter, co-founder of the A.B.A. (Amateur Bodybuilding Association), fitness lecturer (My R.E.S.T system of training), personal trainer, and writer.
But also as an Evangelist who has spoken on 4 continents. I was totally blessed that finally someone had the heart and courage to change the face of fitness, by teaching compassion, honesty and professionalism. It’s safe to say in years to come many will be using Duane McGill’s honest approach to fitness and calling it their own.
I fully endorse Duane
McGill as an innovator in this fresh and honest approach to fitness.
- Pete Samra N.D. 1980
Natural Mr. USA.
************
Crusade to Persuade (Evaluation style)
Build a Culture of Serving People
Setting Appointments, Duplicate Yourself
The McGillBuilt 12 Step Method
The fitness industry is an incredible world. Everyone, at one time or another, has to face the reality of their mortal existence. Everyone is faced with the “get in shape or your going to be in big trouble” speech from their medical professional.
This may happen when we are young or if we are lucky, we will not hear this until we are much farther into our journey in life. Either way, we will eventually hear those spine tingling words. The segments of people that need to hear those words, to actually do something, are just one segment of the population, about 70% to be precise.
The other 30% of the population are the segment of people that “want” to get in shape for their own reasons, not because they were told to by someone who is taking their physical health more serious than they are themselves.
Either way, the fitness industry is noticing a real boom in the market. The awareness of the great benefits that being “fit” brings to ones life is very much on the rise. There are two reasons for this, first of all: Our “heroes” or “role models” for lack of a better description are becoming “buff ”, “healthy,” and “fit.” These are the entertainers of the world; you know who I mean; musicians, actors, and the athletes that are not supposed to be looking so “buff.”
Remember when basketball players looked like basketball players and not like bodybuilders that mistakenly ended up in a gymnasium with a ball in their hand? Remember baseball players that used to be lanky guys who wore baggy uniforms? Now they have 20 inch arms that bulge out of their cloths like a man that is wearing a grade school boy’s shirt.
What about the women athletes? If the athletes of 60 years ago were to come back from the dead, turn the television on and see the Williams sisters playing tennis, they would think that those “guys” have a real bad case of gynecomastia, or in bodybuilding slang “bitch tits.”
Please pardon the terminology, and don’t kill the messenger. I did not create that term. It has been around for as long as guys have been using those funny muscle enhancing drugs.
The Williams sisters are more muscular than any male athlete that played sports 60 years ago. Have you seen the women on the billiard tour? Yes, the billiard tour. I turned on the television the other day, and I thought the Sports Illustrated swim suit models were having a billiard play off to see who was going to make the cover of the magazine this year.
This is one of the reasons for the interest in fitness-we MUST be like our hero’s and role models.
The second reason for the fitness boom is the baby boomer generation. That’s right, baby boomers.
The baby boomers are the largest segment of the population and were born from 1946 to 1964. At no other time in American history have there been more people born than there was during that stretch of time- and what the baby boomers want- the baby boomers get. Since there are 8,000 baby boomers turning 60 years old everyday, guess what we want, and NEED? We want the fountain of youth, and we NEED to get “FIT,” or our days being the mass of the population are numbered, and we have no intention on leaving anytime to soon.
So, no matter what side of the 70% or 30% side you are on, the fact is this-the desire to get “fit” has never been higher in American History.
There is one small problem though, other than gym class in high school, or the occasional uncle that “thinks’ he knows what he is talking about, we as a society have absolutely no idea of how to really get “fit” the proper way.
We have spent the last 35 years of our lives figuring out how to make our life easier through technology. Whatever we can do, to NOT move a muscle, is considered “advanced technology.”
“Look how smart I am, I discovered a way to watch a hundred different television stations without ever moving from my chair; I discovered how to stay on the couch when the phone rings – “ah,” thank God for cell phones!”
“Oh yes, If I do want to shed a few pounds, I will just flip through the television stations and find an infomercial, and order a pill that will have me lose 50 lbs. by the weekend, and oh yeah, they will deliver it to my door to save me the “hassle” of getting off the couch for too long.”
Well, the American population has “dummied up” to this stuff, and now realizes that there is more to “getting fit” than the crap they have been fed all these years. If they really want to get into shape, they need some help, you know: guidance, structure, and accountability.
This is were you come in, but wait not so fast; along with all that we have learned through the technology era, we have also learned how to spot a “SALES PERSON” from a mile away. We know when we walk into “ANY BUSINESS,” someone is going to “attempt” to sell us something. We are on guard for this. “We are watching your every move “Mr. or Ms. Sale’s person,” and guess what you are doing? You are working your sales skills so you can have a better “chance,” and that’s all it is, a “chance” of “selling” me something.”
This is why; if ten people walk through your “fitness” doors, you will be lucky to close three or four of them. In many cases that I have witnessed across the country, many “sales” people are lucky to close
one or two out of ten. Why are the numbers so pathetic? They are embarrassingly pathetic because most people try to “sell fitness.”
I am going to show you how to COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE, and “close” at least eight out of every ten people.
Consider this; if you were sitting in front of five people and all of them spoke a different language, and only one of them spoke your language, would you be surprised if you could only “communicate” with that one person? Of course not, you would think it be foolish to communicate properly with the other four people if you couldn’t “speak their language.” But yet, we sit in front of people everyday of our lives and try to talk to them, sell them, deal with them, and yes, communicate with them. The silly thing is, we think just because they speak our physical language, they should understand what we are saying. This is simply crazy of us to consider. There are many personality types, many different ways in which we were raised, therefore, we are all mentally wired differently and respond differently, and frankly, we accept information in different ways.
Certain personality types are frankly horrified, irritated, and downright confused by other personality types that don’t line up with theirs. So, why are we surprised that we can generally “only” sell people that are our personality types, and we cannot communicate with the others; thus leaving us with a terrible closing percentage?
Once I raise your awareness to this vital fact, you will be off and running in the new world of COMMUNICATION.
My system is guaranteed to work. I have proven my techniques all across this country. I have many, many testimonials of “professional communicators” that have double, tripled, and even quadrupled their income with my techniques of “COMMUNICATION.”
Your sales days are over. “COMMUNICATE” your way to huge profits in the Fitness industry.
LET’S GET STARTED!!!
why
are you here? I mean the real reason you are employed in the fitness
industry?
Is it for the money?
Is it because you like to
workout?
Is it because you like to be around people who are motivated to physically “better” themselves?
Is it because you really want to help people with their fitness goals?
All these reasons can be very accurate, but done in the wrong order; these reasons can really back fire on you.
If you are in the fitness industry only for the money, you will probably do some very unscrupulous things to make your money. This is why, if you are here for the money, and you could care less if you work here for a dollar, or down the road at the local Wal-Mart for a dollar; the people that are dependant on your “fitness expertise” will generally feel this “lack” of sincere caring for their health. This, in turn, will make it difficult to close deals. As I stated before, people can smell a sales person a mile away.
Therefore, you will have to, let’s say, stretch the truth a little, or a lot, in order to get a sale. I have been around the fitness industry for over 30 years, and I have SEEN IT ALL.
I have witnessed many, many good people, who have entrusted their local “fitness expert” with their goals and dreams, only to get, what I consider to be a cruel joke played on them. The person that sold them a gym membership, or more importantly, PERSONAL TRAINING, had just set them up for failure.
The sales person had no intention of helping the client fulfill their goals and dreams of being physically fit.
The sad thing is this; everyone that “wants” or “need” to fulfill their fitness aspirations, is really doing it for emotional reasons far more than physical reasons. “Your body won’t go where your mind hasn’t been first.”
The toll on the client’s mind from the lack of results that they believed was going to happen, well, let’s just say, I have seen some very disturbing actions from these people; depression, anger, and a sense of hopelessness that can stay with them forever.
This is not a game here. We should all be in the fitness industry because we REALLY want to help people reach their goals.
Before you are through with this book you are going to learn how absolutely critical it is to attach an “emotional feeling” to the “physical result” your client wants to get from their fitness experience.
I will promise you this; “people get a feeling, then they purchase the feeling.” “Facts and figures make you think; emotion makes to act.”
When you realize the depth of the emotional impact that your promises have on your client, you will do two things:
Number one-you will have a clear understanding why I am going to make you a “Master Communicator” of a person’s emotional “needs” and “wants.”
Number two-you will handle this privilege with kid gloves.
When you realize the magic in understanding the “psychology of human emotions” you will be able to persuade your clients to follow your every word.
This is where the privilege and responsibility comes in. You must respect the fact that you are a “professional communicator,” and people will listen to you, and follow your every word because they trust you. You should never abuse this gift. A person’s emotions are very, very serious. Playing with them is nothing short of criminal.
I am coming at you a little hard right now for two reasons:
One reason - if you are getting offended by my insinuations of your ethics, then you are probably a person that needs to look in the mirror, and ask a few questions to yourself in this area.
Reason two - I hope all the people, that are not the upstanding, ethical, caring, and “people loving” individuals that I am trying to reach; well, frankly, I hope they all put this book down, so I can only work with the upstanding, ethical, caring, and “people loving” individuals that I wrote this book for.
I really do not want anyone reading this material that will abuse this knowledge. I have the absolute best communicative techniques in the fitness industry, they should only be applied by people that will respect, and use them, with the up most responsibility.
-No sales
people wanted-
The first thing I do when I go into a fitness facility is get rid of the
sales people.
You heard me right, companies pay me big dollars to come in, evaluate, re-organize staff, and train their employees. The first thing I do is get rid of the sales people.
I have taken fitness centers from grossing $1000, to having them gross (in personal training) sales $40,000 in a two week time frame. This means from the time I walked into the building, the gross revenue went from $1,000 to $40,000 in the following two weeks.
I did this by firing the sales people. I kept, or hired the people that really cared about the client base. You know who I am talking about, the people that are ethical, caring, and people loving.
These people are very easy to recognize, they are always making sure their clients are happy and well taken care of. They are also the people that ALWAYS say, “I could never be a sales person.”
Bingo, that’s my person. That’s the one that I want to teach my techniques to. That’s the one that will be well on their way to making a six figure income; that’s a minimum of $100,000 a year.
I have done it many times, and I am going to continue to find these caring individuals for the rest of my life.
I take these people and make “communication professionals” out of them. I erase the “sales person” stigma, and teach them to do what they are really supposed to be doing, which is “COMMUNICATING” to their client, the value of their service. At this point, their client can see how that “value” can impact their lives. Thus, the “value” of the service that is being “communicated,” becomes a “value” to the client.
I will ask you this, do you think a person that joins a fitness facility is better off just training on their own?, or do you really believe that the person would get far more benefits if they received guidance, structure, and accountability by someone like YOU?
If you really think that a normal person that joins a fitness center could get the same results by exercising by their self, instead of having your professional guidance, then of course, you are definitely in the wrong business.
On the other hand, if you are the kind of person that believes, without a shadow of a doubt, that not just the normal person, but everybody would absolutely benefit far more by having a professional trainer, such as yourself, be by their side to help them reach all their fitness, and emotional goals, then why in the world would you be thinking that you are selling them anything?
You are giving them the opportunity to get far better results than they could possibly get on their own. If a person were dying of thirst, and you owned a water stand, I am quit sure you would not be thinking, “Gosh, I really don’t want this person to think I am pushy or too forward. I mean, if he really wanted some water, he would tell me, wouldn’t he?” Sound familiar?
Let me tell you why we have this innate thought about this situation.
We are all brought up to view “sales people” as BAD. I mean, for the most part, we have definitely not been brought up to say, “Yippee, there is a sales person. I sure hope he will “talk me” out of the money I have in my pocket, so I can go home and regret what he just sold me.” No, no, we steer away from those people until we need them, sort of like policeman. We want nothing to do with them, until we really have to deal with them, but even then, we still aren’t very comfortable around them.
Now, fast forward to your adult life-you’re out looking for a job, you find all kinds of options, but you really want to get into the fitness industry. Why? Because you really like to exercise, you like people, you like to be around people that are motivated, and you would love to help people reach their fitness goals.
“O.K., I guess I need to work the front counter, you know, just basically handing out bottles of water, protein shakes, and energy drinks. I can do this – this is easy.”
I use the term handing out, because to say there is any “selling” involved in this, is like saying that you sell Big Macs at McDonald’s-you are an order taker, period!!
“Maybe I can be a trainer; that would be fun! Yes, I think I am going to be a trainer.”
Off to work you go- now you are a trainer. Well, as the days go by, you are introduced to the SALES PERSON. THE BIG UGLY, you think to yourself, “I could never be a sales person, I would hate to feel like I am bugging people, or being pushy; If they would like to by training, then they will ask me for it – right?”
Of course, little do you know, the clients you’re currently training; are there because of the sales person.
You see, the reason even so called good sales people have a hard time having an endless amount of prospective clients sitting with them, is this-when you view yourself as a sales person, you automatically have a bad “picture” of yourself in your head. This is because you have always thought of sales people as bad, or at least pushy.
We, as an American culture, seem to think if you are aggressive, fast talking, pushy, quick witted, “are a great bull shitter,” hard closer, and “never take no for an answer” kind of person, then you will make a great sale person.
This is SO NOT how the truly great sales people act. The sales profession is the most lucrative profession in the World. This being the case, why do most of the sales people we know live paycheck to paycheck, and bounce around to different industries looking for the “right one?”
They go to an industry, blow the thing apart, in terms of “selling.” By this I mean, they produce good sales numbers very quickly, then, before you know it, they’re gone, on to the next gig, leaving behind a trail of disaster and complaints from their last job.
Or, they get promoted, at the same place that they blew up those great sales numbers, and fall flat on their face as a manager because they really have ZERO people skills. To manage people, you need people skills; in fact to “sell” effectively, you need people skills.
These people are what we call “slick Willie” sales people; you know exactly the ones I am talking about.
These are the people, which we as an American company, think we need to hire in order to have our product or service effectively “sold” to the consumer.
Getting back to why, if the sales industry is the most lucrative industry in our country, why are so many sales people starving? This is why; those people are just sales people. They are not professional communicators, they have zero people skills, they talk more about themselves than they do the customer, and they are WORRIED about MAKING THE SALE.
This is the absolute worst person that you can have in your company. The professional “sales person” that makes the big bucks, does everything with the prospective client other than “SELLS THEM!!”
This person doesn’t jump job to job, looking for the next big thing. This person makes well into the six figure range, often more in the range of $200,000 than $100,000.
This person can run a sales staff of any amount, because he or she has phenomenal “people” skills, and has a clear understanding of what is really important to the client. By the way, what is important to the prospective client IS NOT having you feed them a line of crap so they will buy from you, so you can get a commission, then run home and pay your electric bill before it gets shut off.
I did get a little off course here. Let’s get back to what happens when you have a “bad picture” in your head of what the “sales person” image is.
You instantly and automatically have reservations about approaching people on the fitness floor, or calling them on the phone, because you have “labeled” yourself a salesperson. So, now you must manifest the feelings of a sales person. You start to think, “I know this lady
thinks the only reason I want to talk to her is because I want to “SELL” her personal training.” “I know this person thinks that I am calling him on the phone because I am trying to “SELL” him personal training.”
So, you start to dread going to work, because you are viewing yourself as a “con man.”
You need to change your paradigm to what you are really there to do; which is to “COMMUNICATE” the “value” of your service, so your prospective client can see how that will impact their lives, thus the “value” of the service that you are “communicating” becomes attached to your client’s “value system.” “We all have a set of values, and through those values, we filter our reality, if we are doing things that are in conflict with our value system, we will “self defeat,” and “sabotage” the situation.” This will not be the only time in this book that you will hear this. You must “line-up” the value of your service, with your client’s value system, period!
QUIT SELLING AND START COMMUNICATING the value of how you can change their lives. If you don’t believe in the value of what you are communicating, then find another area of life that you do believe in. Start to share and communicate that information, so you can feel proud of yourself, and quit looking at yourself as a pushy sales person. Only the lowest forms of life would feel good about that image of themselves. I wouldn’t wish that “picture,” of one’s self, on a good hearted person that really cares for people. If you look at what you are really doing in the fitness industry, you will see that you really are changing people’s lives for the better. In fact, if it wasn’t for you, most of them would have quit the fitness center.
Do you realize that 42%
of all the people that join a fitness center, become “inactive,”
and quit coming to the center within the first 30 days of joining?
Do you realize how many people you have kept in the fitness center by being there for them, providing structure, guidance, accountability?
You truly are a vital part of their success-be proud of that. Hold your head high. Quit viewing yourself as a “sales person” and start viewing you as a “communicating professional.” You are someone who cares enough about the clients “wants,” and “needs” that you are willing to learn to do whatever it takes to communicate the value of your service, so your client will realize how valuable it will be for them in their lives.
I believe in what you have to offer them, and you obviously do to, or you wouldn’t have read this far.
Let’s do this
thing-let’s go!!!
Selling Sucks
Guidance, structure, and accountability- all the things we love to hate. Athletes love to hate it. Movie stars love to hate it. Musicians love to hate it, and anyone that is striving for a worthy goal loves to hate it.
When all is said and done, and the goal has been accomplished; the pats on the back, and all the praises for a job well done have been expressed- there you are- giving thanks to all the people that helped you through it.
Then you give special thanks to that one person - the glue that held it all together. That person you couldn’t stand, or at times hated. They made you continue when you thought you had nothing left, and you just wanted to rest. This person was on your tail all the time, seemingly enjoying the anguish of your pains. When you didn’t think you could take another step, this person gave you the courage to go on. They knew how badly you wanted to reach your goal, and they were determined to make sure that you didn’t “get in your own way.”
When you stood there in all your glory, there was one person in the room happier for you, more so, than you were yourself. In the fitness industry we call this person “YOUR PERSONAL TRAINER.” The guidance wielding, structure oriented, accountability driven freak show, this person would rather lose an arm than see you fail.
This is why I am on a “crusade to persuade” everyone that enters a fitness facility to have a personal trainer to help them reach their goals.
Let’s dispel a few rumors about personal trainers.
1. Personal trainers always scream at you and make you feel so much pain, that you want to die. FALSE. Personal trainers guide and instruct you, as well as push you to levels that you can handle. Levels that you would generally not push yourself to, but they also understand your limits.
2. Personal trainers are big ugly monsters with 20 inch arms, regardless if they are a guy or a girl. FALSE. Personal trainers are highly educated people in the area of physical fitness. They study all the latest discoveries in the fitness industry, to ensure maximum results for their clients. They are also very fit, and practice what they preach.
3. Personal trainers are only needed by people that don’t know what they are doing, or are too “weak minded” to help themselves.
FALSE! Professional athletes, all across the World, have personal trainers. Personally, I won two National Championships in Power-lifting, and I NEVER entered a contest unless my trainers schedule was in line with mine. I needed my trainer’s guidance, structure, and accountability as much as anyone else did. When I worked in fitness centers across the country, my job was that of general manager, also known as, a fitness director. I was the person who made sure the trainers had plenty of clients. This was a very easy process, due to my strong belief in the value of personal trainers. My goal was to make sure everyone in the club knew the value of a personal trainer. What I found, is that many people can’t get out of their own way. What I mean is this; people have a great way of rationalizing (rationing lies) to themselves that they can get the results they are looking for, on their own. I knew better. You will never convince me of that. I don’t care how much you know about getting fit, if you are really serious about getting great results- you need a trainer.
What eventually would happen, was the prospective client that walked out my door, not having joined my training team, (I will cover the “training team” concept in an upcoming chapter) would eventually quit coming to the club.
All of us, who have been in the fitness industry for any length of time, have seen this take place: A person joins the fitness center with all the best intentions; they have their goals firmly established in their heads, they know what they want to look like, and they are excited to get started.
Day one, the person walks into the club, starts to get comfortable with the equipment, and reads the instructions on the machines. Of course, the machines give you no instruction on proper hand placement, proper breathing techniques, or a structured routine to go by, etc, etc. The person works out- by their definition- goes home and looks in the refrigerator for that healthy “after work out” nutrition, of which they know nothing about. They do this for about two or three weeks, just long enough to still be sore, but yet, see no results.
The person does a quick review of their progress. They see that they are taking time to go to the club. They are feeling like they have gotten run over by a truck, they are making a major effort in “watching” what they eating, yet, they have absolutely no clue on what to “watch” for. They haven’t seen any results in this “lengthy” time period- you know, from the beginning, to the whopping two to three week period. They get depressed, and then find 20 reasons why they just do not have the time to come to the club anymore.
Now, does this sound familiar to any of you personal trainers? I thought so. I literally felt like I was letting them down if I didn’t do whatever I could to show them the value of having a personal trainer.
I knew most of them were going to end up quitting the club, because they got depressed and discouraged. I was personally responsible for their existence in the club; I had almost full control in keeping them a part of our workout family. The service I had to offer, was going to keep them healthy, and living a much better quality of life. I took this responsibility very seriously.
I have been around the fitness world for over 30 years. I know the value of feeling great about myself. I know that, me feeling great about myself, is the main reason that I have been successful throughout my life. Whenever anything or everything went “kaput” in my life, I always had the fitness center to go to. I could just go there and let it all hang out. I could look in the mirror and say, “You know Duane, no matter what is going on in your life, you still look great and have your health. Everything else will work its way out.”
This is why I was on a crusade to persuade to get as many people as I could to join my personal training team, and I was going to get as creative as I could. I was determined to develop a system that would make it obvious to my prospective clients that they badly needed the services of my personal trainers. I was going to develop a system that was so emotionally driven, that they couldn’t wait to have one of my trainers work with them.