Back in 2005 I was working with Phil Kaplan on a project (Phil’s not the Celebrity fit-pro in question). As part of that project, he asked me to interview two Personal Trainers who worked at his Fitness 21 Health Club.

These weren’t your average, run of the mill trainers…these two were stars.

One was named Michelle – a great gal who delivered torturous workouts that got incredible results.

The other star trainer was Billy Beck III. Billy used to skin chickens for a living (no kidding) until he decided to pursue fitness as a career. Not only is he now a celebrity, but he actually trains celebrities. A really passionate guy who knows his stuff.

So I’m on the phone with Billy doing this interview and he starts telling me a story about how he was driving across one of the many bridges down to the Florida Keys, and at this one particular bridge he sees a guy on the left side of the bridge with a fishing pole. The guy’s just kinda hangin’ out, having a smoke, trying to catch a fish.

On the other side of the bridge there’s another guy fishing.

But this guy has like ten fishing poles all set up in buckets (so they won’t tip over), and he’s scurrying up and down his line of poles reeling in one fish after the next.

And that’s when Billy says to me, “You know, marketing is like fishing, the more poles you have in the water, the more fish you catch.”

LIGHT BULB GOES OFF! BING!

Best damn marketing metaphor I’ve ever heard. I put it above even the “will you marry me?” metaphor, in terms of it’s power to change everything for you by taking the focus off of just one or two “magic bullet” tactics, and putting it where it belongs: on lead-generation strategy incorporating integration of multiple tactics…multiple poles in the water.

Since that day, I think I’ve used that metaphor hundreds and hundreds of times.

In fact, a few months after that interview I was down in Fort Lauderdale speaking at Phil Kaplan’s Forum and I publicly recognized Billy as the source of that quote. And I’ve since repeatedly referenced him when I’m explaining this fitness marketing principle.

Call me old school, but I believe in giving credit where credit’s due.

Just like when I refer to Market, Message and Media, or talk about the EAR referral formula (Earn, Ask, Recognize/Reward), I always attribute those terms/systems to the originator, Dan Kennedy. When I talk about marginal net worth of a client or host/parasite relationships, I reference Jay Abraham. When I talk about “entering the conversation already in your prospect’s mind” I credit Eugene Schwartz, and when I refer to the AIDA copywriting formula (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action), I always mention John Caples.

It’s a respect issue.

Let me translate the metaphor into some nuts and bolts stuff for you, just so you’re clear on how to put this to use in your business (and your life – a couple comments on wealth building are below).

In a nutshell, “poles in the water” means that you want to always be on the lookout for LEAD SOURCES.

These can be any number of things from:

- Local internet marketing tactics (an entire category here, which I’ll cover on the video coming tomorrow)
- Publicity (again, an entire category in which there are many opportunities)
- Strategic Alliances (same deal here)
- Public Speaking (same)
- Advertising

I want to take a second and talk about advertising.

You know, within your local community, I’m willing to bet there are at least 30-50 different viable advertising opportunities for you.

Everything from community newsletters to daily newspapers; from local magazines to val-pak; from door hangers to targeted flyers. (Ever considered flyering the cars parked in front of Whole Foods on a Saturday with an offer for a nutritional seminar or free report on accelerating your metabolism? Teach ‘em nutrition on the front, sell ‘em PT or bootcamp on the back.)

And these are just the obvious choices. If you pay attention and dig around a bit, you’ll find dozens and dozens of viable advertising opportunities…that you can get dirt cheap…and then you TEST them.

If they generate good leads, and you can convert enough of the leads to break even or better on the “front” (usually just takes one prospect to client conversion to do that), then you now have a certifiable “pole in the water” you can count on to be productive.

So you build a little system around it that runs mostly on auto-pilot, funneling you a steady stream of leads on a consistent basis.

And you rinse and repeat with more lead sources.

My friend, that is the ultimate secret to stabilizing and growing your new client acquisition virtually on auto-pilot. And here’s something worth noting: not only does that kind of lead generation systemization make YOU a happy camper, but it adds TREMENDOUS VALUE to your fitness business should you ever want to sell it, or pass it on to your kids one day.

A group of clients producing $X per month in revenue is a good thing (upgrade that to a “great” thing if those clients are on til-forbid continuity/EFT), but when it comes to placing a HARD number on the value of your business, there are few things sexier than PROVEN automated marketing systems that acquire new clients consistently at break even or better.

Whether you ever plan to sell your fitness business or not, the 5 core fitness business systems you want to have in place in order to ensure profitability are:

1. Proven external lead generation marketing systems

2. Proven follow-up conversion system (sales)

3. Proven internal marketing systems (relationship-building, referral-generation, up-sell, cross-sell, re-sell)

4. Some form of til-forbid or fixed term continuity/EFT system with at least a percentage of your clients

5. Kick-ass fulfillment system (client service that gets results and creates a “WOW!” experience)

That’s also worth writing down and posting to your bulletin board. Because when you get those five pieces of the puzzle in place, then you truly have a fitness business that rocks, AND one that has serious residual value…a real, hard asset.

But look, where the rubber meets the road is with your external marketing. Cause if you’re not getting leads, then you’re not getting clients. It starts and ends with effective external marketing.

So grab this Fitness Lead Generation Special Report and audio CD now and discover how to never run out of leads.

Be a fitness marketing maniac,
Eric Ruth

P.S. I said I’d share something on wealth creation, so here it is.

Just like you want multiple poles in the water for your fitness marketing, you also want diversification in your investments. But you will never have the resources to invest in solid mutual funds (there are some, despite this mess), bonds and real estate, and also make sure you have a full 5-6 months worth of cash on-hand (right now, I’m REAL glad we follow that rule), until and unless you start doing this…

PAY YOURSELF FIRST!

Every single month (or bi-weekly), you need to be pulling 10% out of every dollar you earn and socking it away into an account that you do NOT touch…BEFORE you pay anybody else.

Let’s be honest, our folks have been preaching that to us since we were knee high to a grasshopper. But have you done it? If you’re like 90% or more of the people in this world, you have not. And now is the time to start. If you take nothing – zero – away from this post today, please take that. Pay yourself first. Okay?

Got comments or suggestions on anything in this post? I’d like to hear what you think. Post them below and I’ll respond.

Here’s another fitness marketing post you may enjoy.