Business owners are passionate about what they do, and they’re good at it! Whether it’s Taekwondo, Muay Thai, or Jiu-Jitsu, many of you initially decided to become business owners in these verticals because you love what you do. When managing a successful gym, there comes a time when you have to follow up with potential students but automated messages can help alleviate that hassle.
But starting a gym can come with many challenges. What first started as a natural passion has now become a task to bring in new customers who will sign up for classes, become regular attendees, and refer your business to their friends. Automated messages can help alleviate that manual hassle of following up with leads.
At Kicksite, we’re here to be a resource for all gym business owners. Being passionate comes naturally, but if you don’t have a background in business or marketing, it can become a dreadful task to get the word out about your classes.
Once you get new leads, what are best practices for following up?
On average, it takes a prospect seven times to hear from you before they finally decide to join your school or gym. As a business owner, we know you barely have time outside of teaching classes to run your business, let alone take the time to follow up with prospects seven or more different times.
Make Content Meaningful and to the Point
In order to create a message that your audience will value, you need to make sure the content is meaningful and to the point. It is important that you lead with an introduction and close with a call to action. You can create automated messages that are meaningful and direct within Kicksite’s communication tools. It allows you customize and personalize the message to appear as though you manually followed up with a lead.
The best times for reaching out in communication vary, but we found that the best time to reach by phone call or text was most successful when done towards the end of the month and the end of the week. The ideal hours are between 2-4 p.m. This way, your leads most likely have less on their plate and more time to answer calls or take a closer look at your message. By email, times are a little more flexible.
Thankfully, follow-ups with potential customers don’t have to take a lot of time. With automated messages, most of the correspondence will work on its own.
Make Scheduling Free Trials Easier with User Friendly Tools
To get new prospects to sign up for a class, you can incentivize them with a free trial or discounted rate for their first month of class. With daily leads, it can feel overwhelming to keep up with scheduling times for these new prospects to come in for their free trial class.
To stay organized and let the prospect choose their free class time, we suggest using a scheduling tool. When a lead fills out the form on your website to request a free trial, they will automatically be directed to the scheduling page to set up their time to come in for their free trial.
How To Set Up Automated Messages
After your prospective student fills out a form, it’s important to follow up with emails to keep them engaged, especially if they don’t schedule a free trial. Communication can happen with your prospect through text message, email communication, or phone call. At times, a variety of these forms of communication are more effective as well.
To create a sense of urgency, we recommend an email message that looks like the following:
1. When a lead comes in through a form
This follow-up should be an inviting message to welcome the new lead on the day they submit the form. Explain to your new lead how you think they will benefit from your studio and any important information moving forward. Most importantly, let your lead know that you are excited to hear from them!
Sample of an initial email follow up from a form:
Hello _____!
We are so excited that you are interested in a class at [gym name]. Our studio will help you expand your skill set and grow in your newfound interest for [sport]. Our instructors will guide you through this journey and explain more at your free trial class. (Include a sentence or two about a service or class that sets you apart.)
Please let us know your availability for your free trial class by scheduling through our calendar. If you have any questions about our studio, please let us know!
(LINK TO SCHEDULING TOOL HERE)
We look forward to meeting you!
Your Name
Title
Phone Number
2. Still haven’t heard back from your lead?
Five days after the form sign up, send a follow-up email reminding them to schedule their free class.
Sample of an additional follow up email:
Hello _____!
We can’t wait for you to come in for your free trial class! Please remember to schedule your class by clicking the link below.
(LINK TO SCHEDULING TOOL HERE)
We look forward to meeting you!
Your Name
Title
Phone Number
3. 14 days following the form sign up
This will remind leads of their form and bring top-of-mind awareness about their initial sign-up. Give the lead an example of the class they signed up for with a description or link for more information.
Sample of an additional follow up email:
Hi ____!
We haven’t seen you at the gym, but there is still time to sign up for [class they inquired about].
Use the link below to pick a class and time preference that works best for your schedule. _____ class is great for your physical and mental health because it __________. To learn more about this class, click here.
If you have any questions about our gym, instructors, or classes please let me know. We don’t want you to miss out.
Sign up with our calendar link below.
(LINK)
Your Name
Title
Phone Number
4. 21 days following the form sign up
Gently remind the leads about their form sign-up again and encourage sign-ups through your calendar. If it has not already been implemented in previous follow-ups, it might be encouraging for the lead if the email is coming from a lead instructor or gym owner.
Sample of a fourth follow up email:
Hi there, _____!
I am the lead martial martial instructor at ___________ . I just wanted to reach out about our upcoming class _______. Are you still interested?
Use the link below to sign up for our class before it’s too late! If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me or our studio.
(LINK)
Instructors Name
Title
Phone Number
In Conclusion
Scheduling tools and sending automated messages are essential to staying in front of your target audience. Even though this plan may seem daunting to launch, we guarantee it will provide the return on investment and give you more time during the day to focus on other parts of your business.
Questions? Feel free to reach out to our Kicksite support team. We’d love to help you with your messaging!