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How to Build Trust and Rapport Quickly in the Health Club Sale

One of the most important and often overlooked aspects of selling a health club membership is creating a solid foundation of trust and rapport…

By: Jim Thomas

"Health club salespeople who fail to put an emphasis on developing trust and rapport actually do a disservice to their members and guests and, in effect, leave the door open to their competition."

If you're working hard in your health club, but aren't consistently generating enough membership sales and getting referrals, chances are it's a matter of building trust. One of the most important and often overlooked aspects of selling a health club membership is creating a solid foundation of trust and rapport.

Successful health club salespeople have a knack for making their guest feel important. They understand the value of building trust and rapport early on in the selling process. It really doesn't matter how knowledgeable you are about your health club, fitness or how many closing techniques you have mastered; unless you earn your guest's trust and confidence, you are not going to make the membership sale.

Once you have established trust and rapport with your guest, you actually have the hard part behind you and can anticipate making the membership sale. While there is no system that will work 100 percent of the time with every guest, there are fundamentals you can use that will help you build trust and rapport quickly to help you enroll your next new member.

Gain the Competitive Edge

Whether you like it or not, people form impressions about you based on such factors as appearance and attitude. When it comes to building trust and rapport, there is nothing more important than making a favorable first impression.

Trust is really believing in someone else in totality. Health club personnel can practice new habits to earn the trust with members. But it vanishes quickly the moment one compromises on their integrity.

It's important to remember that in most cases, your prospect's first impression of you and your health club will be made over the phone or from a voice message you leave.

Here are some suggestions to help you create a favorable first impression:

Be well prepared and ready to go.
Maintain a well-groomed appearance and dress appropriately for your health club.
Be upbeat and personable without becoming overly familiar.

Use Active Listening Skills

Successful health club salespeople take notes, listen attentively and avoid the temptation to interrupt or argue with their prospects. It's a good idea to repeat your prospect's words back to them. By restating your prospect's key words or phrases you not only clarify communication, but also build rapport.

During the first fifteen minutes of meeting your club guest, you should listen more than you talk. Keep your attention focused on what your prospect is saying and avoid the temptation to interrupt or dominate the conversation. Don't go into talk, talk, talk mode. The quickest way to destroy trust and rapport is to interrupt another person.

Establish Your Health Club Credentials

It's important for you to establish your credentials as an expert in the health club industry early on during your tour. Hand them your club business card and or health club brochure, then mention two or three reasons why you like working in the health club industry and for your particular health club.

Make sure your marketing materials look professional and are kept up-to-date. There is nothing worse than signs up…still promoting last month's event.

Look for Common Ground

Before you begin your membership sales presentation or club tour, you must first "warm up" your prospect and make them feel comfortable. A great way to establish common ground during the warm up is to discuss the weather, sports or a local news story. But don't go overboard and allow this you to get off track.

In today's highly competitive health club marketplace, your prospects have many options and are looking for a health club salesperson that they know they can trust to work in their best interest….to help them get the results they want.

Health club salespeople who fail to put an emphasis on developing trust and rapport actually do a disservice to their members and guests and, in effect, leave the door open to their competition. In addition to generating new membership sales, developing strong member and guest relationships will keep your health club competitors at arm's length and your club growing.

About Jim Thomas

Go to About Jim Thomas page.

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