The responsibility of your membership sales representatives is to generate business, not simply take walk-ins and call-ins. For that reason, your reps must have a five-point lead generation plan (5PLGP). These components include referral activities, alumni member activities, corporate activities and community outreach activities. They should have a membership sales goal for each of these activities.
The purpose of the 5PLGP is to create 50 more leads per month per salesperson and a consistent flow of leads. To do this, your salespeople must schedule time for these activities, which means they will not be on the rotation for calls/walk-ins the whole time they are on duty. Once they implement the 5PLGP, they will be happy to generate their own business rather than waiting for business.
To make this plan effective, your staff must do these things daily:
Hand out new member guest privileges.
Sell by walking around (SBWA) a minimum of two times each day.
Send out VIP invitations through phone calls, face-to-face meetings and emails.
Follow up on leads by phone.
Manage their database.
Set five appointments.
Generate two sales.
For each week of the month, your staff has different things they should do.
WEEK ONE:
Attend the weekly sales meeting to discuss SBWA/VIP talking/invitation points and guest traffic goals (five guests per representative).
Schedule a three-day energizer for prospects to attend the first Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the month to kick the month off with momentum.
Make VIP calls.
Implement promotional launch.
Hand out club passes in classes (only first week of the month).
Follow up on new member guest privileges.
Call alumni.
Promote five-week programs.
Sell out next month’s five-week program (20 people).
Offer new corporate/group sales presentations.
Do two current corporate/group activities.
Host a special VIP weekend for 10 VIPs/guests/prospects for each of the representatives working the first weekend of the month.
Attend your sales meeting to discuss all SBWA/VIP talking points/invitation and guest traffic goals.
Continue to follow up on all first week activities to generate traffic.
Poke head into five-week classes to build rapport with participants.
Do two new corporate presentations.
Do two current corporate account activities.
Host a special VIP weekend for 10 VIPs/guests/prospects for each of the representatives working that weekend.
WEEK THREE:
Attend your sales meeting to discuss all SBWA/VIP talking points/invitation and guest traffic goals (the goal is five guests per rep).
Continue to follow up on first and second week activities to generate traffic.
Poke head into five-week classes to build rapport with participants.
Prep for alumni program.
Prep for kudos list.
Host a three-day energizer on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or on Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Kick off first day with a cocktail party followed by two days of exercise/games/leagues and the fabulous club experience. If the energizer is on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, make it open to prospects and their families on Saturday and Sunday.
Send out a reminder to members and guests that their new member guest privileges expire in X days.
Host a VIP weekend for 10 VIPs/guests/prospects for each of the representatives working that weekend.
WEEK FOUR:
Attend your sales meeting to discuss all SBWA/VIP talking points/invitation and guest traffic goals. (Goal is five guests per rep.)
Continue to follow up on all first, second and third week activities to generate traffic.
Close all five-week programs and invite participants to join the club.
Host your current lead wrap up event on Wednesday or Thursday. This is an early version of closeout so your reps have more time to close sales before the end of the month. The goal is to get 15 or more guests that day.
The sales rep working that weekend hosts a special VIP weekend for VIPs/guests/prospects. (Goal is to create 10 guests for the weekend.)
Does this type of systematic plan look similar or dissimilar to how your staff’s weeks at the club lay out throughout the month? If you are not seeing the kinds of sales you expect, make a move to this format for the next four months and see what kind of change you see in sales production.
BIO
Karen Woodard-Chavez is president of Premium Performance Training in Boulder, CO, and Ixtapa, Guerrero, Mexico. She has owned and operated clubs since 1985 and now consults with and trains club staff throughout the world.
