This month, people are investing in their health. The fitness industry gets to profit from that quest, but businesses that are prepared with a well-trained sales department are profiting the most.

During the next six months, I will share a basic training program to help your sales department increase sales, focusing on the five Rs: relationships, results, retention, referrals and revenue.

The success of your sales staff depends on deepening current relationships while creating new ones. Staff must follow up with members to ensure they are getting desired results and refer them to other services and professionals if they are not getting results. Doing so deepens relationships and leads to more referrals.

Referrals also happen by inviting members to club functions with a guest. Each membership person should host five guests per week, which creates 20 to 25 more leads per staff member each month. If your staff delivers on the first four Rs, then the revenue will come. Your salespeople must track their behavior to understand what works, what does not and how to reach the desired outcomes.

Assess which of the five Rs your staff deliver consistently and which ones they need to practice. Create a job description to guide them in how to deliver the five Rs. The description should include the primary job purpose: Create and deepen relationships with members that will add value to their membership and enhance their sense of belonging and community within the club. It should also include a secondary purpose: Contribute and generate revenue to the club through honest and enthusiastic membership sales and service and to participate in advertising and promotions.

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