On a scale from 1 to 7 with seven being a very extroverted personality and 1 being very introverted, where would you rate yourself?
I would rate myself a 3.
For example: I don’t mind getting up in front of a group of people and doing something that I know I’m good at, but I find small talk exhausting.
If you’ve read through Starting a Bootcamp Business then you will know that this one trait caused me to lose a lot of clients early on. While I’m all for living a life congreunt with your personality, this was one area that I had to step out of my comfort zone.
Watch the video below to see what I’m talking about and we’ll continue on after.
Now, a story
I was speaking to a trainer the other day (let’s call him Bill) and he was telling me that they had noticed a big drop off over summer.
A bunch of awesome regulars had started disappearing from the sessions.
So I asked him, ‘Have you called these clients to see where they are?’
‘I’ve emailed them’, was the response I got.
‘Why haven’t you called them?’
‘I think they might be on a trip or there is something else I may have forgotten’, Bill replied.
I was starting to see the problem here. Bill thought that by calling his clients he was invading their personal space. So I told him the story that I just told you in the video and then I said,
‘Call them. Stop what your doing and call them right this instant. If you leave it you will just make more excuses for yourself.’
The result
Last week I spoke to Bill and he told me that he doubled his numbers in his Saturday class. One of his clients greeting him by saying, ‘Thank you so much for calling!’.
Regulars also started showing up again at his week day class and he now has dates he can expect his other clients back at bootcamp.
To build a community in your bootcamp your must build relationships. To build relationships you must build trust. To build trust you must show your clients you care.
Who are you putting off calling?
Pick up the phone now and call them.
The other video I was referring too
Watch from the 31 minute mark if you want to skip to how phone calls build trust.
Kyle Wood created Bootcamp Ideas in 2010 when he was hunting around on the internet for workout ideas. He ran a successful bootcamp in Victoria, Australia and spends his spare time managing this site, adventuring (or lazying) with his wife and find new ways to make bootcamps even better.
Leave a Reply