We all get lucky every now and then and a lead walks through the door ready to buy a gym membership or purchase classes no matter the cost or what’s included. Wouldn’t it be a dream if all leads were that way? But, since we live in reality and understand the ins and outs of the health and fitness world, we know it can take more groundwork to turn a lead into a member.

So what is the easiest way to keep a lead from losing interest in your club and turn them into a member? It's all about communication.

Communication Delivery: Email, Call, Text

Let’s say a lead walks into your gym or studio. They give you their email, phone number, and opt into text message marketing, but they aren’t quite ready to buy a membership or classes just yet. This is now your opportunity to take that lead and nurture them into a money-paying member.

You can go about lead communication in a lot of ways, that is why testing your delivery is important. Most experts agree that email is the best way to initiate contact with a prospect. But don't be afraid to experiment and find out whether email, phone call, or text gets the best response. Track your progress, and switch it up for the next outreach. By doing this, you can see what is working and what isn’t.

Sticking with one communication method decreases your chances of connecting with your prospect. Testing different communication delivery tactics will help you figure out which communication methods work best for you and your prospects.

Also, try to get into the mind of your leads. If you’re nurturing a lead who is a millennial, for instance, emailing and texting may work best. Overall, test out different methods and see what works best for your business.

Communication Frequency: Daily, Weekly, Monthly

Just as there are options for the way you send your message, there are tons of options for how often you communicate with leads. The entire point of nurturing a lead is to communicate consistently over time until they become a member. But how often is too often, or not often enough? Although this can depend on the lead, the best way to gauge frequency is to put yourself in their shoes.

For example, if you went to go buy a TV, and you decided to wait, how often would you want the salesperson to follow-up? Enough to be engaging, but too much communication will quickly frustrate and annoy you. A good rule of thumb is to follow up two times within the week they came in originally (with different communication methods), and then once a week after that. This gives your leads time to breathe, but allows you to be consistent and nurture them.

After two months of weekly reach-outs, try reducing it to one time a month. However, you may find that your own custom schedule works best and that your follow-up schedule may differ depending upon the type of lead.

Pro Tip: Use the follow-up scripts from the Club OS prospect handbook to guide your sales team in their lead nurturing communications.

Communication Creativity: Ads, Events, Giveaways

When someone says communication, most people think of direct conversations. Although lead nurturing does often involve direct conversations, it also involves reaching your leads in alternate ways.

For example, Facebook Lead Ads or Brand Awareness Campaigns are great ways to reach prospects without directly speaking to them. You can also ask them to like your Facebook page to stay up-to-date on deals and promotions in one of your follow-up emails or texts. A little reminder on their Facebook timeline about your gym or studio keeps your business top-of-mind.

Giveaways can be another great way to get your prospects back in the door! Running a giveaway through your social media pages encourages people to engage with your content for a chance to win. Giveaways can also work hand-in-hand with community events at your gym. They are a great way to get prospects involved and move them down the sales pipeline.

Overall, nurturing leads is a process that can’t be defined in one sentence. It’s a lot of little pieces working together to create one successful workflow.

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