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Nine Successful Low-Cost Promotions to Generate Health Club Leads

Big-Dollar Ads Should be used when the timing is right for a payoff. Here are some ideas to incorporate in the off times or to compliment your big campaigns…

By Mike Chaet

Cost-efficient promotions are budget-friendly, efficient methods of generating names for your club's prospect files, and are essential tools to complement major advertising and marketing campaigns. These promotions share three advantages over big-dollar advertising:

Cost effectiveness
Consistency
Motivation

Cost Effectiveness

You don't get the big-bang effect, but you usually spend less money per member gained.

Consistency

It's a good way to bring in members during down cycles, when advertising just isn't paying off.

Motivation

It provides new prospects to motivate your salespeople to sell, unlike with advertising, where many of the people coming through the door are already sold. The following suggestions are a few examples of low-cost promotions that have proven successful:

The tried and true method of using lead boxes. Although they tend to generate low-profile prospects, they still represent a great volume of leads even today.

1. Personal Prospecting

Personal prospecting, or getting referrals, is the most basic low-cost promotion. Getting referrals from current members is probably the most effective low-cost promotion, since these prospects tend to have a high conversion rate to membership. Member referrals can be obtained through contests, with prizes awarded for the most referrals, or through programs that award prizes to everyone who reaches a specified number of referrals.

The key is to reward everyone who brings in at least one referral. Many clubs overlook members who bring in one referral in favor of members who bring in several. But if 10 percent of your membership participates, only three or four members will bring in more than one referral. So, people who generate just one referral are really the backbone of the program.

2. Lead Boxes

Lead boxes have gained widespread use. They usually contain a limited amount of information about the club and feature a drawing for a gift, such as a limited-term free membership. Salespeople should be responsible for their own lead boxes, including emptying them at least twice a week and carefully following up on all leads. Although lead boxes tend to generate low-profile prospects, they still represent a great volume of leads, which is preferable to spending time striking out in the search for high-profile prospects.

The tried and true method of using lead boxes. Although they tend to generate low-profile prospects, they still represent a great volume of leads even today.

3. Guest Discounts

Guests of current members can be given a "check" redeemable toward a membership discount. The "check" should be dated to expire within 36 hours, thus encouraging the prospect to act quickly to take advantage of the discount.

4. Staff Promotions

Staff promotions, such as "Be My Guest" promotions, can stimulate non-sales staff to bring in prospects for the salespeople. Staff members can get points for each prospect they bring in, and for each prospect the salespeople are able to close a sale on.

5. Initiation Discounts

Produce gift certificates for part or all of the initiation fee, and mail them to current members. They can then give them to acquaintances.

6. New Homeowner Discount

Arrange a deal with a real estate agent who has a house for sale in your market area. Offer to waive the initiation fee for the person who buys the house. You can even make the same deal with several agents. But make it more specific than just a blanket offer to anyone who buys a house. Control who gets it, so they feel like it's something special.

7. Restaurant Promotion

Pick a restaurant in your area and offer to provide a free pass or discount to any patron who purchases a pre-selected "health dinner." Dinners you'd like to include could be red-tagged on the menu. Be sure to provide the restaurant - and the program - sufficient exposure in your club.

8. Free Use of Your Facility to Community Groups

Provide local groups free use of your facility during a time when you're normally closed. Guests should sign in when they arrive, and you can follow up with mailings. The groups must be responsible for their own activities, so there's little to no cost to you besides keeping the facility open.

9. Educational Programs

Present educational programs and lectures to local civic groups. These groups are always hungry for luncheon speakers. Presentations should be low-key and noncommercial - not a sales pitch for the club, but a generic talk about fitness or some other mutual interest. You can always pitch the club afterward to the people who are interested. The beauty of most low-cost promotions is that they're always based on discounted membership fees. They cost almost nothing to offer, and can generate impressive sales and prospects.

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About Mike Chaet

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