Nail the first call

When you speak to someone for the first time over the phone, that person will subconsciously be making a number of decisions about you in just the first 20 seconds. Mainly trying to determine things like ‘who is this person?’, ‘do I like them?’, ‘what do they want?’, ‘how long is this going to take’ ‘what’s in it for me?’ and ultimately, ‘is this a conversation I want to continue right now?’ For this reason, the way you open this call is crucial. Too many people fall into the trap of trying to consult too early, diving straight into qualifying the lead or asking big questions about goals and aspirations right off the bat. You should absolutely aim

to get into these questions if you can, but the first priority at this point is to reinforce your brand with a friendly, supportive voice and lock in their commitment to come to the studio. Here’s a helpful way to structure this initial call for maximum impact…

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1. FIRST IMPRESSIONS FIRST

2. ‘CONGRATS’ NOT ‘THANKS’

3. LOCK IT IN!

4. ‘WHILE I’VE GOT YOU’

5. EASY OPENER

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1. FIRST IMPRESSIONS FIRST

Introduce yourself with a friendly and assured tone. Tell them your name and where you’re calling from. Don’t forget, this person got in touch with YOU. Approach every call with the unshakeable assumption that they are excited and waiting to hear from you.

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2. ‘CONGRATS’ NOT ‘THANKS’

There’s a sentence needed here to reaffirm what you’re calling about eg: “I’m calling about the trial you signed up for”. A sentence like this is absolutely fine. However, a common habit to avoid here is to say, “thanks for booking onto our trial”. Yes, it’s nice to be polite, but the subtle message you’re starting with here is that it’s the prospect doing you a favour. Reality check: You have an incredible service, you have limited spaces, you’re probably offering a discount on your incredible service PLUS, whether they know it yet or not, they just took the first important step towards a better,

fitter, happier, healthier life.

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They really deserve a “Congrats! / Great job!”. YOU deserve a “Thanks!”

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3. LOCK IT IN!

The number 1 priority for this call is to lock in next steps, everything else comes second. If the call cuts out or they have to go and you don’t have a next step agreed, this could be the last time you hear from them. Equally, some people love to chat, you could get drawn into a 20 mins lovely conversation before they tell you they’ve already signed up somewhere else. Even if you are calling prospects who have signed up for a trial, intro, consultation etc and the next step is to book a time to come in Don’t leave this to chance!!

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Here’s three tips to increase your chances of success and maximise show ups:

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TIP 1: Don’t Get Hustled off the Call

FACT: People will try to hurry you off the call saying ‘I have to go’ or ‘call me later’ or ‘I’ll do it online’.

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ALSO FACT: They do have 15 more seconds, plenty of time to at least agree a time to speak again.

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Try not to get flustered and say ‘ok, thanks, bye’ , this could be the last time you ever speak and they will never know how good their life could have been! Instead, train your reaction to be more like “Ok cool, are you free at 5pm? ... No? 6pm? Ok perfect speak then, bye!”

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TIP 2: Don’t Get Thrown Off Track

You may get questions fired at you that could throw you off track, you can simply defer these by saying “thanks I can come onto this in a second, first let’s get you booked in”.

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You will get responses such as ‘I will drop by one evening this week’ or ‘I will come in over the next couple of days’, you can respond to this by simply suggesting a time or selection of times available. Even if these won’t work, they will be much more likely to suggest a time that does.

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TIP 3: Sell The Appointment

You can add value to the appointment by having something exciting to tell them about at the gym/studio. This could be a freebee (t-shirt / /coffee / body scan / guest pass) or even just something fun going on (members brunch after our lunchtime class). You can add urgency by limiting this by time or quantity, or both (free t-shirt for the next 10 people this week), to give them a reason to disrupt their normal routine and make time to come in.

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TAKING PAYMENTS OVER THE PHONE

If you are calling people who have reserved a spot on a paid offer, but haven’t yet paid, then your second priority is to take payment on the call. This isn’t always possible, which is why getting the visit locked in comes first. But this is something you should always aim for, so here’s a few tips:

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1: Be prepared. Make sure you have the necessary payment pages and systems open and ready to take a payment, and you are familiar with how to use them.

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2: Be assumptive. You will find a phrase like “Do you have your credit / debit card to hand?” gets much better results than asking if they want to pay.

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3: Make it easy. Any extra steps you throw in the way just increases the chances of inaction. Remove every barrier you can and make it quick and easy for them to make payment right now on the call.

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4. Don’t get hung up on it. When all said and done, the main outcome is to end the conversation with the prospect feeling great about F45 and excited for the visit they have arranged. Whilst taking a payment when someone is happy to do so over the phone is a big steps towards this goal, getting caught up in an awkward exchange at this point can steer you drastically off track.

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4. ‘WHILE I’VE GOT YOU’

If you make it this far, GREAT WORK! You are safe in the knowledge that if the call cuts out or they have to go, next steps are already firmly locked in. Now’s your chance to ask some questions. Using a phrase such as “while I’ve got you...” can provide a natural segue into this next part of the call.

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5. EASY OPENER

One thing every salesperson needs in their locker is a reliable ‘Easy Opener’. This is the question that you use every single time you talk to a new prospect, that you know will open up the right conversation. 

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This need to be:

1. Easy to ask

2. Easy to answer

3. Eases your prospect into opening up about what’s important to them.

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Go with whatever question feels comfortable, but keep it simple. We suggest something along the lines of ... “what made you get in touch” or “what attracted you to us?”.

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First call examples

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Hi Dave,

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It’s Jim here from Jim’s Gym, congrats on getting one of our trial spots this month!

When’s a good time for you to come down, how’s Wednesday evening? 

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Ok, how about Thursday? Do you prefer mornings or evenings? Perfect, you’re booked in the 7pm class on Thursday with Claudia. 

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Great timing actually, we are running free body composition scans this week. These are usually £100 and will help you understand exactly how to hit your goals. Please get here 20 mins early and we can do this.

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While I’ve got you Dave, what made you sign up for the trial with us?...

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Hi Lucy,

It’s Chris here from Chris’s CrossFit, well done for bagging one of our intro spots this

Month. Let’s get your first class booked. We have a few slots available tomorrow, would 6pm or 7:30pm work better for you?

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Ok great, that’s booked. Saturdays are awesome actually, the best class of the week and we all go for coffee after so you get to meet some of the other members.

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Do you have your credit / debit card to hand so I can get this locked in for you now? 

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Your trial is now fully paid, you're booked on the 7:30pm class on Saturday and you need to arrive at least 15 minutes early.

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While I’ve got you Lucy, what attracted you to our gym?...

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REMEMBER...

Everyone has a different style, so it’s important you take this structure, fine tune an

approach that feels comfortable, sounds natural and works for you!

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GOOD LUCK!

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Planting the day one offer 

The “day one offer” positioning statement

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WHAT? A carefully constructed 20-second statement for new trialists on their first day.

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WHEN? It’s VERY important that this seed is planted BEFORE they go into the session, not after. Ideally the very last thing they hear before they head in there.

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WHY? Most people on a trial won’t be thinking about joining on day one, they will be sitting back and enjoying the ride with no real decision making thoughts or intentions. Dropping a day one offer on them after the class will be too much to process. Planting the seed beforehand means they will spend the next 45 minutes paying closer attention to their experience, formulating questions and assessing whether it’s right for them.

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HOW? Here’s a tried, tested and finely tuned example that you can start using right now...

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“Just one last thing before you go into the session… What we do here is a bit different and some people just know on day one that it’s right for them. If this is you, then we absolutely want you with us. So, we have a day one only joining offer if you’re ready to commit today. You still get the rest of your trial before the membership starts, it just means you can get fully involved right away and save some money. Go and enjoy the workout, think about it, and I'll have a protein shake on the house waiting for you when you finish.”

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