Hey, Bedros here… Hope you’re great 🙂
Around this time each year I get asked the same questions from fitness trainers who want to get more clients into their boot camps. Usually it goes like this… “Hey Bedros, I lost a bunch of clients over summer break. What kind of boot camp marketing can I do to boost my business?”
Inevitably my answer always surprised them: “the lowest hanging fruit is to get more referrals from your existing clients.”
One guy who’s really good at filling up his boot camps to capacity through referral generation is Brian Kalakay, author of TT Boot Camp Games, member of my 100K Info Mastermind group, and an all around good guy!
So I’ll let Brian tell you how he generates a boatload of referrals, and he’ll even give you one of most popular boot camp games for you to try with your clients.
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Hi Brian here,
September is here and that means its an official start busy season for personal trainers and fitness boot camp owners. People are taking their kids back to school and coming back from vacations. Finally, people trying to get back into their routines. Now is your time to get a jump start on some referral programs and bring your client membership numbers back to normal, if not better than normal.
The first thing you have to do if you want referrals is work on creating a unique training experience that people cannot find anywhere else. If clients feel like they are a part of something fun and exciting they are naturally going to want to let everyone know about it. They reason for this is, they want to be “hero’s” to their peers. They want to be the first person that told everyone about this awesome program that now everyone is a part of; it’s just human nature. We all want to be the first person that found out about something…
How do you create an experience that will make everyone want to refer others to come try it out?
There are many ways to do this. I personally use Boot Camp Games. I’m sure you have heard the buzz around boot camp games and how effective they are at growing your boot camp and getting new clients. Today, I am going to tell you about how to use these games to help generate referrals and jump start your fitness business going into this fall season. Here are 3 easy ways to generate more referrals by using games.
1 End your boot camp sessions using games so everyone leaves your facility feeling energized and excited. This will increase the chance of them telling their friends about it on Facebook when they get home.
2. Verbally remind them about how much fun they had playing the game and ask them if they know anyone who wants to have fun while they workout. Here is an example of what to say to your group after the game is over:
“Did everyone have fun? Are you all energized? Do you feel amazing? That’s what we like to hear! We like to have fun and kick butt at the same time! I want everyone to take a breath for a second and put on your thinking caps. Fall time is almost here and we all have friends and family that have let their fitness levels slip over the course of the summer. Wouldn’t it be awesome if they could experience what you just experienced in a workout? Here is what I need your help with…We are trying to help people get back on track for fall time and we would love to help them live healthier, like you guys and girls. So, if you know someone who could benefit from this type of workout, make sure to get a card from my assistant before you leave and pass it to them in the next 7 days. At the end of 7 days the person who has referred the most people will get a surprise gift.”
1. Make sure you have everyone check into Facebook before they leave and post how much fun they had at boot camp tonight playing games. Pick a random person that checked in and give them a wristband or something cool for spreading the awareness.
2. Incorporate Referral Cards and Free passes into your games. This way they will have the tools in their hands to refer people when they leave for the night. Here is an example of this…
Russian Twist Hand Down Race
Format: Two even teams of people
Supplies Needed: Referral Cards/Free Passes
How to Begin: Make two even teams of people and sit them down in a single file line. Have each team sit in a Russian twist position while facing the opposite team. Make sure everyone is spaced out evenly with about one person space between each team member.
Objective: To pass all of the gift cards from the front of the line of people to the end of the line before the other team does.
Rules: Put an even number of gift cards at one end of each team’s line. When you say go, they have to pass the cards to the next person (One at a Time).
To do this they will grab a card do a Russian twist by moving the card across their legs and onto the ground next to the person beside them.
Then that person will pick up the card, do the Russian twist and repeat the process until the card reaches the opposite end of the line.
Repeat this process until all of the cards have traveled from one end of the line to the other.
The first team to get all of the cards passed down wins.
What to do after the game: Have everyone take between 1-3 cards and give them to a friend, family member, or co-worker that would be interested in your program.
This is a great time to get referral tools into your clients’ hands because they are all jacked up from the energy of the game and they will want to share this energy with people in their circle of influence.
To make this even more effective, structure a referral contest with your clients to track and measure how many referrals each person is bringing in. Give the person who brings the most referrals in a prize.
I hope these methods help you out in growing your fitness boot camps this fall and help you reach new levels. Remember, everyone is going to start looking for workouts to get them back on track. Let games help differentiate your boot camp from the gym down the street. Just remember to play the games right and use them to generate referrals and new leads in the process.
I would love to hear about how you are using games to better your fitness business! Feel free to comment or post below and tell me your ideas 🙂
Brian Kalakay, CFT, CTT
Creator TT Boot Camp Games
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Get Over 31 Ready-To-Use Boot Camp Games
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