How to Put Together a Successful Pre-Sale for Your Fitness Facility
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The pre-sales process is one of the trickiest and most important elements in determining whether or not your new club will be successful when it opens. The steps to a great pre-sale (the time prior to a club opening when you market the club and begin to accept members) are many. If this is your first club, I would highly recommend hiring a consultant to help you. However, if you are determined to do this on your own, you must keep several things in mind.
Perhaps one of the most important first decisions you will make is when to start the pre-sales process. Here are some things you must complete before you begin pre-sales:
- You have done your due diligence.
- You have signed your lease to your club.
- Your architect has started reviewing your program needs and measuring them up against the floor plan.
- Your architectural plans have been completed and submitted to the township for final review and approval.
- You have hired a general manager.
- You have talked with your general contractor, architect, landlord, equipment manufacturer and interior designer to determine the dates they say they will be finished.
- You have set an opening date, factoring in unforeseen obstacles, such as bad weather, misrepresentations and miscalculations, that could delay the opening.
Most clubs start selling memberships at the end of construction because having a prolonged pre-sale is not advisable and will turn off potential members, especially if you have delays that require a lot of new projected opening dates.
Pre-sales is beneficial in several ways. It:
- Creates excitement in the market.
- Enables the club to begin marketing efforts and get a head-start on building the membership base.
- Creates a membership base to market to.
- Begins building a solid reputation for the club.
- Helps “brand” your name.
- Builds teamwork.
- Allows you to evaluate staff before actual opening.
- Gauges marketing and advertising venues and efforts.
- Gets the word out that the club is close to opening.
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