The last remaining RELIABLE path to prosperity is your fitness business.

The previous three years prove that.

The stock market has turned into a Vegas casino.

Real estate is “the money pit”.

And there’s no upside leverage to a regular job, if you can even get one.

That leaves your business as the only remaining reliable way to get ahead.

But…

As we enter the 4th year of this economic swamp, there’s NO good news.

None.

So you’ve gotta take a long hard look at your goals and aspirations for the future.

Then you’ve gotta make a choice.

You can either lower your expectations and just hope you’ll weather the storm.

Or you can fight.

Because the gravy train has derailed.

It is virtually impossible to “get lucky” in business anymore.

Just being “really good” at getting results is no longer enough.

You can’t just build it…and expect them to come. Ain’t gonna happen.

We are in the “wash-out” period now, and I believe it’s going to last for quite some time.

Only the strongest, most committed are going to survive and thrive.

Cause it’s truly dog eat dog out there.

And hoping things will change in your favor is not a strategy.

So if your name is NOT on the list below, you are facing a VERY real risk.

The 202 people listed below are all registered for MEGA TRAINING this October 20-22.

These are the fighters – the ones who will prevail – because they know how VITAL it is to keep their saw sharp, to stay on top of cutting edge marketing, to ensure they’re delivering an amazing REFERRAL WORTHY experience to their clients, to get and stay “tight” with the best and brightest in our industry…to learn and grow.

Because if you’re not growing – you’re dying.

This IS the harsh reality of the times we live in. You may not like it, but that doesn’t change the facts.

If you’re not on the list below, you’re not playing to win – you’re playing not to lose. And that’s a losing game.

Whatever it takes, get yourself to MEGA TRAINING.

*****************************
202 REGISTERED
MEGA TRAINING ATTENDEES
(as of this morning)
*****************************

Are you on this list?

1. John Abare
2. Rommel Acda
3. Chrisie Allemand
4. Nelson Alvarado
5. Mike Alvarez
6. Mary Jane Amrein
7. Naaij Asaad
8. Audra Baker
9. Sam Bakhtiar
10. Clint Barr
11. Jennifer Barr
12. David Beares
13. Brian Benoit
14. R B Berry
15. Jordan Biamonte
16. Michael Bianchi
17. Laura Bickford
18. Laurel Blackburn
19. Matt Blades
20. Christine Boakes
21. Michael Bouchard
22. Dexter Bowen
23. Ken Bowman
24. Mary Catherine Boyorek
25. Paul Britt
26. Jason Brown
27. Rick Byron
28. Rick Caputo
29. Jesus Castillon
30. Kri Chay
31. Matt Clark
32. Jenny May Clermont
33. Sue Clermont
34. Michelle Collier
35. Philip Cook
36. John Daigneault
37. Dave Dambrosio
38. Adam Davis
39. Ben Davis
40. Tina Davis
41. Trish Davis
42. Robert DeFreese
43. Tim Detmer
44. Chas DeVetter
45. Brian Devlin
46. Patrick Diver
47. Anna Dornier
48. Anthony Dornier
49. Daniel Eckerman
50. Trey Eckerman
51. Leanne Ellington
52. Dave Fannin
53. Paul Fetters
54. Stefanie Fisher
55. Brandon Flowers
56. Juan Garcia
57. Cassandra Gaudet
58. Eric Gelder
59. Isabel Gelo
60. Erin Gentry
61. Peter Gibbs
62. Susan Gibeau
63. Jason Goggans
64. Chris Gray
65. Jeremy Gritton
66. Ginny Grupp
67. Carlos Guest
68. Jerremy Guthrie
69. Travis Hackett
70. Karen Hadsall
71. Shaun Hadsall
72. Brad Hamilton
73. Carl Harmon
74. Lori Harris
75. Randy Hartz
76. Kevin Harvey
77. Kristen Harvey
78. Matt Hedman
79. John Heringer
80. Matthew Hickey
81. Josh Hightower
82. Maryann Hightower
83. Mark Hill
84. Hugh Hines
85. John Hinkle
86. Larry Hinson
87. Jessica Hoffman
88. Jordan Holland
89. Zach Hunt
90. Amy Hunt
91. Diana Inglis
92. Mike Inglis
93. Daniel Iversen
94. Tom Jackobs
95. Rita Jagodzinski
96. Gregorz Jasnikowski
97. Bonifacio Jimenez
98. Ryan Joiner
99. Jeffrey Jones
100. Greg Justice
101. Adam Kessler
102. Bret Kliethermes
103. Robert Knapp
104. Carrie Kukuda
105. Barney Kuntze
106. Sean Lee
107. Thomas Leverett
108. Arin Lindauer
109. Tony Lindauer
110. Brad Linder
111. Troy Lindner
112. Michael Lindsay
113. Ben Llames
114. Belton Lubas
115. Paul Lyngso
116. Kenny Mack
117. Shawn Manning
118. Justin Marcis
119. CJ Martin
120. Jim Martin
121. Michael Martinez
122. Rick Martinez
123. Tony Maslan
124. Stefan Matte
125. Kristen McBryde
126. Matt McBryde
127. Kerry McElroy
128. Thomas Mitchell
129. Trent Mitchell
130. Claudia Montanari
131. JP Montanari
132. Michael Moore
133. Alexander Morentin
134. Dave Mugavero
135. Paula Mugavero
136. Mark Murphy
137. Nathan Nowak
138. Lisa Olson
139. Fatimat Olukoju
140. Christopher Page
141. Jake Parent
142. Erik Peacock
143. Conni Ponturo
144. Terry Pratt
145. Julie Prince
146. Matthew Probst
147. Jon Quinn
148. Angela Ramos
149. Fernando Ramos
150. Dustin Rippetoe
151. Deborah Rodgers
152. Desean Rodgers
153. Keith Rodgers
154. Lenora Rodriguez
155. Kirk Rogers
156. Delaine Ross
157. Jeffery Rowe
158. John Saeger
159. Tim Salvador
160. Roberto Santarossa
161. Tom Schiltz
162. Bradley Scott
163. Chris Scott
164. Jayson Scott
165. Jason Scully
166. Heather Seltzer
167. Brian Sheridan
168. Lisa Sheridan
169. Danny Short
170. Daniel Silva
171. Mark Snow
172. Nikki Snow
173. Shondelle Solomon
174. Herman Soto
175. Jennifer Stockero
176. Alicia Streger
177. Shawn Strickland
178. Robert Sutton
179. Rudy Tapalla
180. Terrence Thomas
181. Jeff Tomaszewski
182. William Vasquez
183. David Veras
184. Dagoberto Vila
185. Toby Watson
186. Matt Wells
187. John Wolf
188. Mike Worden
189. Stacy Wyman
190. Julia Zammito
191. Diedra West
192. Christine Fox
193. Marshall Rogers
194. Olivia Burnell
195. Erica Salio
196. Jason Mollter
197. Pamela Winters
198. Kim Saverly
199. Josh Barton
200. Ahmed Morgar
201. Sheila Johnson
202. Brad Zegula

If you don’t see your name above, then go here now to register.

I’ll see you in Orlando,
Eric

Maybe you know by now that NPE was named to the Inc 500 list of fastest growing privately owned companies in America for the second year in a row.

And in celebration of that accomplishment we’ve slashed the price of this October’s MEGA TRAINING event from $495…to free.

All the details on MEGA TRAINING 2011 are here.

We’ve got a tremendous line-up of presenters for MEGA TRAINING, including 8 of your peers who will share with you their most profitable promotions from 2011.

These are “copy and paste” promotions, meaning the fitness business owner who presents will reveal the exact steps he or she took to implement the promotion, the exact marketing tools used, and best practices discovered along the way (so you can possibly do even better).

You’ll leave MEGA TRAINING armed with all 8 promotions so you can “copy and paste” right into your fitness business as soon as you get home.

Here’s a quick list of the 8 profitable promotions you get:

1. Publicity Profits and Expert Positioning – How she leverages the media to get clients for free.

2. 24-Day Challenge Contest – The nutrition “hook” he uses to pull clients like crazy.

3. How to Run a Fitness Client of the Year Contest – His produced 743 new leads, HUGE client love, and so much profit it’s hard to calculate.

4. REFERRAL-O-MATIC – Everybody talks about a referral-driven business…he actually does it…and shows you how.

5. Bring A Buddy Campaign…With a Twist – How to turn your clients into a referral army.

6. You…MULTIPLIED – The most profitable promotion of all.

7. 21-Day Profit Monster – If you can send some emails, you can crush it with this profitable promotion immediately.

8. NO-COST Promotion Produces 958 Leads, 108 group training clients and 72K in 60 days

Each of these promotions can generate new clients for you – that’s a tested and proven fact. And most can do so very quickly.

But one of them, in particular (#8) can explode your fitness business within weeks, and it doesn’t cost you a dime to implement.

The man teaching this promotion to you at MEGA TRAINING is a very sharp fitness marketer and he’s got this thing dialed in tight.

There’s no guesswork involved, just copy and paste what he shows you and roll this promotion out as soon as you get home from MEGA TRAINING.

It will more than cover any travel costs you incur to attend (by a factor of 15-20X), and give you the confidence and cash-flow to market more aggressively, with greater certainty in the results…which is one of the big secrets to success.

Read all about these 8 “copy and paste” profitable promotions and everything else you get when you attend MEGA TRAINING 2011…for free.

All the details are here.

Be a consistent fitness marketing maniac,
Eric

P.S. Just for attending MEGA TRAINING you’ll be entered into a special drawing to win Sean for an entire day of on-site business RE-ENGINEERING (he comes to you). This is, by far, the most valuable prize ever given away by anyone in our industry, ever. Be sure to read about it here.

A while back I wrote an article about some of our more interesting clients and the bad habits they’ve gotten themselves into….well, the more I do this, the more I see…so, here’s

Volume II of What Not To Do If You Want To Be Successful in Business…

Keep in mind – these are real live people (no names, to protect the innocent…), but I’m guessing you will be able to relate to some of their stories…and they have ALL signed up to attend Mega Training this year – so if they’re willing to fess up – you can actually meet them and pick their brains….

The Charity Organizer

This happens way too much!  When asked what do you pay your trainers, the answer 9 times out of 10 is way too much!!  This happened recently when I asked a new VIP client this question and found out he was paying 70% of the session rate to his trainer!  And then, to top it off (and I give him credit for coming clean on this), the trainer was also getting a bonus for new sales… 

And you wonder why there’s no money sitting in the bank….

Understanding what you pay out as it relates to what you bring in is critical.  Too many people don’t take the time to really evaluate their expenses and understand what is going out the door.  Or worse, they know it and don’t do anything to change things.

Remember, you’re not a charity. 

These folks are coming to work for you – you’re giving them the client base, the place to work, all the tools they need to be successful trainers -

They have the JOB, you have the BUSINESS.  

It’s great to want to see your staff make good money and be successful and drive nice cars, but do it in a way that allows them to grow when the business grows.  Never pay more than 30-35% of your total expenses towards payroll, and incorporate incentives such as referrals, renewals, and results oriented bonuses that drive the business and allow them to generate more income on YOUR terms.

I had a conversation with a client the other day who told me his trainers get burned out after teaching 30 hours in a week – but he still wants them making 50-60k a year…

Ok, so they live in a high rent district, but seriously? 

There’s a major flaw in that thinking – and the decision needs to be made – do you find folks that can handle the full-time work – or do you pay for part time work – something’s gotta give….

But enough about the Charity Organizer…let’s move on to the….

Dinosaur……

Yes, I said Dinosaur.  Many of you won’t even know what I’m talking about, but I’ve been working with a client over the last few months as they convert from a MS-DOS based tracking system to EZ-Operator.  For those of you that have no idea what I’m talking about – and at the risk of showing my real age, let’s just say that  MS-DOS is ancient – really ancient…. 

We’ll leave it at that.

The point here is that is chugs.  And chugs.  And it wasn’t efficient.  And this business owner (a quite successful business owner, I might add) was the only one who knew how to run it. 

For 25 YEARS he had to work every weekend to pull reports and get his numbers together because it was a painful process and no one else could…not really the best use of his time – would you agree?

The lesson here is that it’s always important to remain current and implement technology to support the growth of your business.  It’s one of the ways you can gain speed and leverage – and allow yourself to focus on the things you need to be focusing on.

The happy-ending here is that this client has successfully removed himself from the Dinosaur, implemented EZ-Operator and now has been spending weekends with his wife and family….

The Hamster Wheel Spinner

We have lots of these.  Folks that are busy all the time – running here and running there and doing this and doing that, and honestly, getting nothing done. 

Or at least, nothing that really matters to their ultimate goals.

Picture a hamster wheel.  And picture the hamster running on the wheel – just going as fast as it can – so fast it’s legs are a blur…

But, it goes no where.

No focus, no direction, no clarity.  

Sound familiar?

Yes, well I see this all the time.  There’s a couple types of hamsters.  Ones that avoid the “real” work and just do the busy stuff because it’s easy and they can feel like they’ve accomplished something – when in reality, they haven’t accomplished the right thing.

And then there’s the hamster that just gets distracted by the shiny objects.  This person can’t focus on the ultimate goal – or any goals for that manner and usually find themselves with a whole bunch of unfinished projects.

Like I said, I come across lots of hamsters, but one that sticks out is the one who presented his Project List to me with 70 current projects!!  (It may have been more, it may have been less…I stopped counting).  Ask yourself, with that many current projects – how can you possible expect to get anything done?

Doing a weekly review – kills the Hamster Syndrome in an instant. It forces you to stop, take a breath, refocus…

Focus to your goals, prioritize to those goals and getting things done is the only way you’ll actually be able to grow a successful business.

I’m pretty sure you can relate to all these folks and their stories…and the fantastic thing about them all is that they’ve all realized the error of their ways and have made the necessary changes to become successful – they are some of our best clients.

And – you can get a chance to meet them.  Folks like these – and many others – who are already registered to join us at our MEGA TRAINING 2011 event in October…some have attended our past events and it’s the driving factor of what convinced them to become NPE VIP clients.

See you at the event!

Camelia

P.S.  Head on over to the MEGA TRAINING 2011 site for complete details and grab your spot.  

We’ve got some MAJOR announcements about what’s always a fantastic event, and more to be announced later! 

But hurry, spots are filling up quick! 

You won’t want to miss out on the chance to mingle with the Dinosaur, Hamster and Charity Organizer – as well as so many more fantastic people!!

Click here to read all the details and Register for MEGA TRAINING 2011 now.

I’m on the road in Nashville this morning, but recorded this video late last night (in Atlanta) to  “officially” announce that registration is now open for MEGA TRAINING 2011!

Watch the video for more info, then head on over to the MEGA TRAINING 2011 site for complete details and grab your spot.

We’ve got some MAJOR announcements about this killer event, most of which you’ll find over here… but we’ve got a few more up our sleeve we can’t reveal just yet.

Stay tuned as I’m broadcasting more updates from the road over the next month!

Click here to read all the details and
Register for MEGA TRAINING 2011 now

To your success,

Sean

P.S. If you know me at all, you’ll know I’m personally NOT a big Facebook fan. Even though we use it successfully in our business and have helped many of our clients kill it with Facebook advertising and integrated marketing promotions.

However, I’m using our Facebook fan page all month long to share updates and coordinate client and partner get-together events on the road. Head on over to “like” the page to watch details of our adventures I won’t be posting anywhere else!

When you’re asked that question, many people immediately think about their net worth – but just as important as your netWORTH is your netWORK.

You see, it’s very difficult to build your net worth if you don’t have a strong network.

Your network – or your sphere of influence- is an important component to consider when building your business.

Networking is about developing lasting relationships with people of influence.  It’s what allows you to stand out from the crowd – remember the old adage – “It’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know?”….  You’ll want to develop relationships and create long-lasting impressions with people so they think of you when opportunity arises.

This especially holds true in the fitness marketing business – and as Eric always says – that IS the business you are in.

What can networking do for you?  

Networking builds trust.  The relationships we build are the most important component of our life – we need to be able to relate to people and build the “know you, like you, trust you” factor.

Networking keeps you connected and in the know in your industry – and remember – what industry are you in?  Many of you would say the fitness industry right off the bat – but remember – you are in the fitness marketing industry.  As important is it might be for you to keep up with latest fitness trends, it’s equally as important for you to keep up with the latest marketing and advertising trends.

Networking builds your sphere of influence.

Nothing is better than meeting new people and building your sphere of influence.  And this is an evolving process.  As you grow, so will your sphere.  You need to be sure that you continually challenge yourself and ensure that the level and caliber of person you are surrounding yourself with continually challenges and allows you to grow.  Be sure to surround yourself with like-minded people.  If you go to the right events (and yes, there will be some where you will wonder – why am I here?) – you’ll find yourself surrounded by people that you can work with and learn from in some way.

Nobody does this better than Sean.  I’ve watched him build his sphere of influence as NPE grows.  And he’s building it in a manner that allows him to continue to grow NPE in the direction he wants by aligning himself with the right kind of people to help him achieve these goals.  Folks are calling him and asking him to be a part of their events and include him in their marketing pieces because he’s not afraid to reach out and connect.  He always makes sure that there is at least one person better than him in his sphere…(I think that’s why he likes to work out with me…he knows I can kick his butt and keep him challenged in some aspects…:-) haha) 

But seriously, it’s important, once you realize you’ve out grown your network, it’s time to build it bigger….

Networking is going to help you market yourself and your skills – and as a result generate more leads and continue to expand your client base.  Because, after all, with no clients you will have no business.  And – it’s usually free!  

Networking is not easy.  

It requires you to move out of your comfort zone, to put yourself ‘out there’ and start to build these relationships.  You are already a little apprehensive about building a business – paying the bills, keeping clients and staff engaged and focused, it’s a lot to take on – but there is no better time than now to begin the networking process.

Ease the pain by jumping in with both feet.  Make it a priority to attend 2 networking events per week – make a goal to meet 10 new people each week.  Still apprehensive?  Arrive at the meetings early – when fewer people are there, bring someone with you, become a board member – just jump right in.  

And please remember to be professional.  If you make promises to someone – keep them.  If you say you’ll follow-up – do so.  Send thank you notes.  Get involved – and stick to your commitments.  You want to establish a strong reputation for yourself – not a weak one.

It takes work. 

Believe me, I know.  Having just recently moved to Orlando, I find that my sphere of influence is now spread out across the country – more than in my new home town.  I’ve been here a year – and realize that I’ve fallen into the trap of being lazy and not reaching out to build my sphere….and yes, a little fearful.  Opportunities are all around us – we just need to reach out and put ourselves out there.  

How?

Simple.  Best place to start is through the Chamber of Commerce.  Big no brainer here.  Where else can you immediately connect to hundreds of other small business owners all with the same ultimate goal of growing their business?

From there, you can branch out to BNI groups, local rotary and Kiwanis clubs.  Trade associations are a good place to look.  Start attending workshops and seminars.  Go to trade shows – become an exhibitor – do presentations.  It’s simple – the more you put yourself out there, the more you’ll get back.

Remember the bigger your network and the more diverse – the greater the opportunities.

Of course, I have not seen a better networking opportunity than our VIP community.  These folks work together, play together and mastermind together.  Why?  Because they are a group of like-minded individuals all with the same goals and dreams.    They challenge each other – teach each other and give back to each other.  Our annual VIP Spring Training this year was a huge success and folks walked away establishing their own quarterly mastermind groups- genius.

There is such value in forming and maintaining a strong circle of contacts.  It’s never too late to strengthen and build your network – and once you start, this solid network will serve you well for years to come.  You’re building the know you, like you , trust you factor – and ultimately, more people will buy from you.

It really comes down to this statement…Your networth is only as good as your network.

So go out and build it.

Ready for Your “Best Month Ever?”

We’ve got 3 new team members in place and things are continuing to crank for us here at NPE.

If you’ve got questions on your business and/or any of our programs the BEST way to get them answered is to request a complimentary consultation with our team by filling out the webform here.

Click here now to request a complimentary consultation on
how you can have your “Best Month Ever”

Lots of fitness business owners struggle to understand and implement the all-important Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

Legendary marketer, Dan Kennedy, describes USP as the answer to this question:

“Why should I (the prospect) choose your solution over and above any other option available to me?”

And vague generalities are worthless here. They do not resonate.

Only meaningful specifics matter.

Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about by showing you Bill Phillips newest unique selling proposition.

It’s good stuff that will help clarify your understanding of what an effective USP in the fitness industry looks like so you can construct your own.

This is a screenshot from Bill Phillips’ newest program The Transformation Solution. And it is a clear explanation of why the prospect should choose Bill’s solution over and above any other.

In fact, he overtly expresses that uniqueness in the last sentence of Step #3 when he says, “This part of the program is what makes The Transformation Solution Program completely different than any diet you may have tried in the past.”

Give it a read…

Click this fitness marketing image to see full size

For those of you who have AUTO-CLOSER or are EVOLUTION ACCELERATOR or VIP Members, you’ll note that this is the exact methodology Sean used back when he ran his 650+ client personal training business. Sean had a 5-step system that completely differentiated him from everyone else, making his services the obvious choice (which is one of the reasons he was able to dominate his local area), and he teaches you that 5-step system in AUTO-CLOSER, EA and VIP so you can use it too.

If you look at ANY top-selling fitness and/or weight loss solution, you will ALWAYS find a USP.

Always.

P90X and Insanity are great examples, and there are hundreds more. You need to train yourself to be on the lookout for USP’s when reading sales copy from competitors and/or other solutions. Get good at pinpointing their USPs – it will help you immensely in crafting and refining your own so it gets great results for you.

In the fitness marketing business (and make no mistake, THAT is the business you’re in), the Unique Selling Proposition – the “thing” that makes you unique, different and better – is KING.

Because without it, you are just another fitness and weight loss company. Just a commodity.

I encourage you to read Bill Phillips’ entire sales letter a couple times. It’s very strong. Take note of how he builds the problem using LOTS of emotional triggers.

Be a consistent fitness marketing maniac,
Eric

P.S. Need some help NOW with your USP or something else? Get a complimentary fitness business diagnostic consultation with one of our best-in-class fitness business coaches here. Won’t cost you a dime, and you’ll get instant feedback on the best path forward for YOU.

P.P.S. Did you read Camelia’s KILLER article: Client Retention – How Do You Rate? If not, read it immediately. It’s gold.

Last post I made here we talked about finding and retaining great quality people.

That’s the foundation.  Once you build this foundation of establishing a great group of like-minded employees, you will also find yourself getting and retaining like-minded clients.

Clients that stay, pay and bring you more clients.

Let’s start with a question.

How well do you know your client numbers?

How many active clients do you have?

How many new clients joined you over the last month?

How many clients did you lose over the last month?

What is your retention rate?

Here’s a quick exercise.  Pull a list of clients from a year ago.  Compare that to your list of clients today.  If you had 100 clients and 20 of those clients do not show up on your list today, then you have a client retention rate of 80%.

This may not seem so bad, but let’s do some math.

Let’s say these 20 clients pay you an average of $400/month over the course of a year.  That’s $4800 per client.  Multiply that by 20.

$96,000!!

That’s almost $100,000 in revenue you will need to recoup over the course of a year by not paying attention to client retention.  And that doesn’t even take into consideration the additional revenue generated from referrals and additional products bought by these clients.

If you’re not tracking your client numbers, you should be.  Understand your client acquisition and retention costs.  The old adage ‘it’s much more expensive to acquire a new client than it is to retain a current one’ is true.

Do the math.

In addition to building strong staff management systems and instilling your core values in your staff – you must also be establishing strong client management systems and cultivate your ‘client experience.’

What happens to your clients from the minute they walk in your door?  What are you doing to ensure they have an experience that they not only want to continue coming back to – but bring their friends and family to as well?

What is a quality client?

One that stays, pays and brings more clients.

All of us here at NPE are reading the book Secret Service by John DiJulius.  If you haven’t invested in the book – and gotten your entire staff to read the book as well, you should.

It teaches you the fundamentals for establishing the customer experience from beginning to end.  How to get clients to stay, buy more product and refer more customers.  After all, your current clients are the best marketing tools you have.

Two quotes resonant in my mind…first, ‘customers either want the best or the cheapest’…

…which are you going to be?

Second, ‘When the economy slows, consumers give their business only to those companies that have earned it.’

You must establish yourself as a ‘must have’.  When the budget cuts come – you want to be the last to be cut.

We all think like that…Here’s a story I’m almost embarrassed to share, but it proves the point.

When we first moved to Florida, I’d fly to Connecticut to get my hair done every few months or so…granted, I could visit with friends and catch up – but the real reason I was coming back was for my hair.

Yep, all the way to Connecticut from Florida to get my hair done.  Because I’d built such a great relationship with my current salon and they always gave me a great experience, I didn’t want to give them up.

My husband thought I was crazy, but I was not giving it up.

They earned my business and will always have my business.

Secret Service gives you some great ideas to establishing the client experience.

Here are a few additional ones – that as simple as they may seem, you’re probably not doing them on a consistent basis…

First, follow through.  Always do what you say you’re going to do.  If you promise information, send it.  If you say you’re going to follow-up on an item.  Do it.  Nothing is worse than unfulfilled promises, getting the runaround or being inaccessible.

Second, be consistent. Remember, when you’re on ‘work’ time, it’s game face time.  You’re on stage and every action that you do is being scrutinized.  Don’t let ‘moods’ affect your interactions.  It’s always about the customer experience.  They are not your friends.  They are your customers.

Third, Connect. Have fun.  Be funny.  Enjoy the time.  Share a story.  Be real.  Listen.  Share your experiences.  Doing so will get them to see you as dependable, credible, and trustworthy.

Finally, (and there really is so much more), establish yourself as a life long resource. Continual share knowledge, new ideas, new products and services.  The more you have to offer, the more the benefit, the longer they stay.

Remember, client retention.  It starts with you and your staff.  Set the example – live by your core values and mission.

Know your numbers – understand what your client retention numbers are.  If there are holes – fix them.

And, of course, build your client experience.

Quality clients.  Ones that stay, pay and and bring more clients.

Ready for Your “Best Month Ever?”

We’ve got 3 new team members in place and things are continuing to crank for us here at NPE.

If you’ve got questions on your business and/or any of our programs the BEST way to get them answered is to request a complimentary consultation with our team by filling out the webform here.

Click here to request a complimentary consultation on
how you can have your “Best Month Ever”

We’re celebrating our Independence Day (July 4th) here in the US this weekend, so lots of festivities and little work for us right now.

But I did want to break away and share a NEW video with you we just posted:

Freedom and Independence are BIG values in our book over here.

And I’m honored we’ve been able to play a role in helping so many folks experience much MORE of it in both their business and personal lives.

This is a really cool video that speaks to both those themes.

VIP Membership is Now Open

We’ve now reopened VIP Membership for a limited time and info-packs are flying out the door.

If you haven’t requested yours yet, then fill out the form here and we’ll get yours out in the mail to you today.

This is THE place where all the top fitness business owners come to grow.

Whether you’re a studio/facility owner, Crossfit affiliate, boot camp, or Gym… this is where it’s at for PROVEN systems and tools that put you on the profit path.

Click here to request a VIP Info-Pack and get all the details on this program

To your success,
Sean

P.S. You know once upon a time, on July 4th in 1776 a group of gentlemen signed a letter, sent it off to the King of England,  and CLAIMED the freedom and independence that they decided was rightfully theirs.

And that’s how America was born.

What are YOU waiting for in “making the decision” to claim YOUR freedom and independence?

In the fitness industry one thing we can say for certain is that a great coach changes lives.

Yeah, it takes two to tango, so client compliance is critical.

But a great coach finds a way to influence, motivate and hold the client’s feet to the fire so results are achieved.

A great coach INVESTS in the relationship with the client just as much, if not more so than the client invests in the coach.

Because a great coach cares about the client as an individual.

If you’re a great fitness coach, you understand what I’m saying.

Here at NPE, we’re blessed to have the two best fitness business coaches in the world.

Sean Greeley and Camelia Herndon.

You already know about Sean, but Camelia sometimes “flies under the radar”.

Unless you’re a VIP.

Camelia Herndon, Fitness Business Coach of the Year, with Eric Ruth at MEGA TRAINING 2010

Last year at MEGA TRAINING, our VIPs awarded Camelia Coach of the Year.

Four of our VIPs, led by Vaughn Bethell, picked up Camelia’s chair with her in it, and carried her – Cleopatra style – to the MEGA TRAINING stage while the crowd roared with approval.

Then I read a poem I wrote for her (it’s below).

One thing is for certain, Camelia is loved, appreciated and respected by our VIPs (and by all of us who work with her).

Because Camelia truly “goes the extra mile” to help all our VIPs get off to an explosively fast start – on the RIGHT path – and then guide them all the way to the top.

The incredible success of NPE VIPs is proof that Camelia delivers results and changes lives.

And here’s a fact you may not know: before joining NPE, Camelia was a SEVEN-figure fitness business owner. Yes, 7-figures. So she’s “been there, done that.”

If you want to be coached by the best, by someone who’s already climbed the mountain you want to climb, who truly cares about you and is as invested in your success as you are, then Camelia’s the one.

Grab your no-obligation VIP Info-Pack to learn more about working closely with Camelia and our entire team so THIS YEAR becomes your breakout year…THE year you get your fitness business “dialed-in” and humming along, producing clients and profits just like the hundreds of other VIPs.

Get your VIP Info-Pack here.

Great coaching changes lives,
Eric

P.S. Here’s the poem I wrote for Camelia and read to her on stage at last year’s MEGA TRAINING event:

This is a little poem for our minivan driving soccer mom, superstar fitness business coach, Camelia Herndon.

There once was a woman from Connecticut,
She has grace, intelligence and etiquette (hey, you try rhyming with Connecticut)
She’s stronger than most men,
By a factor of ten,
But you’ll never hear her brag, not even a little bit.

But the quality that means the most,
If I may be so bold…
Is that Camelia, more than anything else,
Has a big, beautiful heart of gold.

Camelia, you’re simply the best. Thank you for all you do.

P.P.S. To all of our U.S.A. subscribers and clients…HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! Have a great 4th of July!

Now go get your VIP Info-Pack here.

This past weekend we held our first annual VIP Spring Training event.  We invited all of our VIP’s to come together for a weekend of networking, workshops and top notch information.

The event was attended by over 80 of our top VIP clients and was a huge success.

As I wandered through the weekend listening to everyone talk and network with each other, it became apparent to me that one of the underlying struggles with many of our business owners is staffing.

Finding and retaining great quality people.

Coincidentally, later that weekend as I was waiting for the 6 inch nail to be taken out of my tire (yes, that’s the second one in 6 months – I think Orlando has a tire company conspiracy where they lay nails down on the road – but that’s another story), I came across an article in June 2011 issue of Inc. Magazine entitled “Core Values – The crucial element in well-run companies?  Leaders who know what they believe in”.

It’s an excellent article and one I highly recommend reading.

The main focus of the article is the importance of establishing core values and living by them – not only yourself, but the staff you surround yourself with.

It’s always important to consider the character of people you bring into your culture…some will fit, some won’t.  Your mission is to create an environment that allows those that do fit your culture and do choose to work with you succeed.

One of the first lessons we go through with any of our NPE clients is to establish your core values, mission and vision.

It’s the foundation of your business.

It’s what drives you – and should as a result, drive those that you surround yourself with.

Core values are the underlying factors to building a strong business base – not only in what you believe, but what you instill in your staff.

The article highlights a company I know you all are familiar with – TRX.  TRX’s founder, Randy Hetrick spent 14 years in the Navy SEALS.  To say he doesn’t have a strong core value of fitness and physical wellbeing would be an understatement.

He has built a company on the foundation of this fitness core value….as he says “A fit soldier is a happy soldier.”  Employees at TRX cycle, run, they are triathletes, they run the gamut of all fitness spectrums and believe in a culture of fitness.

What matters to the business is that employees be in the best shape possible.  Hetrick believes that folks at their physical best will deliver their best.   Business hours are flexible, the priority is health and wellbeing – not to say the work doesn’t get done, you’ll find many lights burning in the evenings and on the weekends.

Think you’re going to find someone lacking a core value of fitness working at TRX?

Probably not.

Think these folks stay around?

Absolutely.

It’s important that you establish this culture of values and shared beliefs.  This is how ultimately you will find the best people and keep them for life.

So, how do you do this?  First and foremost, as we do with all NPE clients, you must establish your own core values and mission.

What’s most important to you?

What is it that you want to instill in your clients and staff?

This is the foundation of your business – and it makes perfect sense that if you’re establishing these core values – they should also be the foundation of all employees that you bring on board.

Second, you must lead by example. One of my favorite Dick Chilton quotes is “Leadership is earned…not given”.   Folks are coming to work for you not because they are lucky to come work for you, but because they have chosen to come work for you.

If you keep this mindset in place and establish an environment where the goal of your business is to create productive, fulfilled employees, then you will have a culture that is like no other.

As a result, employees will give you their best – they will pull together in the best of times – and in the worst of times.    You will have earned the right to call yourself a leader and developed a community that works together and stays together.