Frank Guengerich of Health, Wellness and Lifestyle Services details how community recreation centers should move through the sales process.
The most critical value in sales is to be passionately committed to the organization’s mission and the services being provided. Follow this proven sales process to get the best results.
1. Prospect
One of the most common mistakes is to wait for leads to come through external marketing efforts. It’s important to keep a steady source of leads in the pipeline throughout the year by everyone involved self-generating their own lead base.
2. Make Contacts
Once prospecting is in motion, the goal is to make as many contacts as possible. The definition of a contact is as simple as reaching someone by having a conversation or being in communication with them in some form or fashion. This will open up the line of communication for you to determine if they are a lead.
3. Identify Leads
The definition of a lead is someone who has expressed an interest in joining. Through asking a contact a series of precise questions, you can determine if they’re a lead.
4. Set an Appointment
Once you have determined a contact is in fact a lead, the next step is to set up an appointment for them to come see your facility. Use ‘tie down’ responses when setting an appointment to make it easy for them to make a decision to come see you. A tie down is done by offering two options and not an open-ended question.
5. Take Them on a Tour
It’s vital you confirm the appointment to ensure they will come take a tour. Make sure they know where to go, where to park and where you will be meeting them. Practicing how to take a lead on an effective tour is perhaps one of the most important things you can do to ensure success once they are present. Make sure you cover all aspects of the tour such as discussing the feature/benefits of the facility, including being able to invite a guest as a referral, your mission and everything unique about you organization.
6. Close
Closing a sale is progressing through a series of small steps to get an agreement from the prospective member. You know the objections in advance because there are really only a handful of potential objections. When an objection comes up, always agree with the prospective member, acknowledge their comment but reassure them their concern is something that is easily addressed.
7. Integrate
In order to have a sustainable organization, you must acquire new members and then retain them. In order to retain members, we must plug them into as many programs and expose them to a variety of services so they become integrated and engaged. If we authentically care about their success, this is the most rewarding part of selling a membership. It’s all about delivering on your promise that they will get results, develop a lifestyle of exercise adherence, meet new friends and build relationships.
