One time I was at a seminar and one of the attendees saw our gym and asked me if we won the lottery? He said you guys must have gotten lucky or have some “top secret” marketing systems.
At first, I was offended because I knew there was NO secret and unfortunately NO lottery. I took a step back.
I thought to myself, how easy it is for people to believe that there is some easy way to get to the top.
We have all fallen prey to this at some point. Thinking there is a quick solution, get rich quick, a 4-hour work week system that is going to magically make their business grow.
I’ll save the suspense.
There is no secret.
Running a small business (any small business), takes a lot of work.
It takes grit. It takes dedication. Most importantly, it takes consistency.
These next five principles will be building stronger businesses for the next hundred years.
Delivering a World-Class Experience
This is the MOST important thing.
People will forget what you have done but they will never forget how you made them feel.
If you deliver an amazing solution that elicits results, you win!
Training results are only a small part of the equation. Experience is what most people will remember.
Was it fun?
Did they make friends?
Did they leave feeling empowered?
These are the big questions.
People come for the results, but they will stay for the experience.
Creating Relationships
This is the ability to find the right people who fit your businesses’ “personality” and want to be part of it.
If you want to grow, get better at fostering real relationships. Attend different events in your town, sporting events, and local games.
Start connecting clients to each other for a variety of services. Maybe one of your members is a lawyer and another needs some legal help.
Relationships are the foundation for every successful business.
Consistent Selling
If you connect with people, you have to eventually sell them something.
Otherwise, they are not your client and you can’t help them.
You have to remember, selling is helping.
If you believe in your service and know it will be of value – you should consistently provide solutions to these people.
You should have a defined set of offerings that meet individuals where they are.
We offer private training, semi-private training, and small groups.
Every program is tailored to meet the needs of each individual.
Selling is a byproduct of identifying problems and creating solutions.
In our article, 5 Sales Strategies to Improve Your Business, (Link) we talk about how to clearly define your sales process.
Systems
I know I said there is no magic system, and there isn’t.
There are key operating systems that will help your business run smoothly when you’re not present.
Furthermore, you need simple systems that run your business in a way that allows you to stay focused on the big picture.
Delivering the experience, connecting, and selling.
Take a minute, look at the various processes in your business:
Intaking clients, success sessions, membership renewals.
Everything should have a simple system.
Streamline the process, write it down, teach it to your staff or delegate it to someone else.
If you want more time, money and the ability to help more people off-loading work to others is the only way.
Get Profitable
This is where we see the most issues when working with other individuals in our at Business of Strength Mentorship.
I know you love helping people and want to grow your business.
At some point, there is going to have to be something in it for you!
If you don’t get profitable and able to pay yourself a “real” wage you’re going to burn out.
The following numbers are what we cover each week/month/quarter/year:
- Revenue
- Profit
- Leads
- Sales
- Retention
These numbers will give you an objective viewpoint of where your business truly understands.
How to use that information for long-term growth is another conversation.
I know this can be overwhelming to some of you.
It’s not my intention.
We were in your shoes and we know how hard it is to get a handle on all of these concepts.
To get to your strongest business, you have to have a plan. Vision, traction and issue solving are the hallmark of great businesses.
Be different.
Don’t follow suit.
Stay in your lane.
Do what you are good at.
We can’t state the importance of these 5 key systems you need in your business. There’s no strategy, marketing tactic, or ad spend that will help elevate your training business more than these.
