Why should you consider a Consultant for your Fitness Club Pre-Sale?

They could just be the missing piece!

As a fitness professional, investor or entrepreneur you have invested in a new business venture to open your own fitness facility.  First of all, CONGRATULATIONS!  You have an adventure ahead of you that you will never forget.  Fitness is an exciting and hugely rewarding industry to be part of and to be a business leader in our industry can not be beaten.

For many, this investment is no pocket change and so whilst the end product is exciting when fully operational and paying back its investment, getting there can be filled with many ups and downs.  What I want to try and do with this article is ensure you have the relevant skills, resources  and support to deliver your project on time, on budget and with the maximum success.  

So what should you consider:

1) Are you going alone or have you bought a Franchise model.

There are benefits to both models and I have covered this in previous articles (Is buying a Fitness franchise right for me?).  What is important to understand is what level of support do you have access too?  

As an independent club you will rely on your own knowledge as well as that of colleagues you have connected with over the years.  As a Franchise you will get support from the Franchisor.  Be mindful that this support may not be as much as you require and some are better than others at providing on the ground support.  

I have worked with many Franchised clubs over the years as they still believed that having access to a third party with their interest and not the franchise business interest at the forefront was important.

2) What are your own skills?

Its rare to find a fitness business owner or in fact any business owner who is a professional at all the elements of business they need to run a profitable business from the start on their own.  Just for consideration these include:

• Business planning, modelling, funding and finance
• Target setting, pricing decisions, yield management
• Project management 
• Club design, equipment decisions and supplier management
• Sales and Marketing
• Fitness service delivery
• Client Journeys and customer service planning and delivery
• Staff recruitment
• How well do you know the industry, your competitors, and how you fit in 

It is not a weakness to not be an expert in every field.  The strength is being able to identify what are your skills and ensuring you have access to someone with the skill sets that you need.  If this is through the staff you hire, people you know or hiring a specialist for the short term, its important you know where to look.

3) The workload is always greater than you initially expect.

Building a club as well as setting up and selling a new business can be a full time job for not one person but for a whole team.  Its important not to underestimate the effort that is required to get a new fitness club of the ground.

Unwise investment or lack of investment in a strong team or support network can have a massive impact on your success

4) Your pre-sale is the first and only time your club will be brand new

If there is one stage of business you don't want to take a risk on and that’s your pre-sale.  You get one chance to be brand new.  You get one chance to set the tone and your initial impression on the community your about to serve.  Making mistakes at this early stage can be the death nail to a new club. 

That may sound dramatic but having a successful presale not only makes you feel great about your project and gives you a busy, bustling club but it also has massive implications on the clubs financial position

For example:

A club opening on 200 members with an average yield of £50 would provide you with £10,000 in monthly revenues.  If you missed your target by 50 you would lose £2,500 per month until you reached your target.  However, it is not just the 50 members you have to find but also the next months budget too.  So chances are it could take 2-3 months to claw back the deficit.  For every month you are short you are losing money against your revenue forecast.

Not only does this shortfall impact your monthly subscriptions but it will also impact your secondary revenue such as personal training, retail items as well as the possibility of referrals and thus easier membership sales.

A club that opens short of members also runs the risk of not being able to create an inviting atmosphere that again impacts your ability to sell more memberships and again impacts your financials.

On the flip side, a club that opens ahead of target is clearly more likely to be in a better financial position both short and long term.  With an average membership length of  say 12 months, being 50 members ahead of target is not only £2,500 but in fact potentially £30,000 better off in year one just on membership revenues.  add the additional secondary revenues, referrals, personal training and that figure could be far higher.

Being a new club in the community only lasts for so long.  After a while you will become the brand that you have created, whatever this.  By being the new, exciting, shiny club is great to attract new clients and so its at this stage you need to maximise this affect.

5) Its important you enjoy the process

I won't lie to you.  Presale is hard work, long hours, plenty of stressful evenings but they are always FUN.

It will be up to you to create that fun for you and your teams but ultimately that’s what will keep you going through the hard work, the days spent handing out flyers, making hundreds of telephone calls.  Your project should be exciting so if its not then why are you doing it.  

Even as an owner/investor the project are fun and I have not met and owner yet who has not got more involved than they planned.

So Why Hire Someone to Help?

1) First of all the cost of having support is never as expensive as you may first think.  For instance Black Raccoon has packages from remote support from just £349/month to a full service pre-sale package for £3999.

2) A consultant has the experience to advise on or will know an expert who can advise on all the points in point 2 above.  Any good consultant will harness your skills and add value to the areas you need additional support.

3) A consultant is often and expert in Pre-sale.  they will have seen what has worked elsewhere, what pitfalls to avoid and how to set up your club for success.  By avoiding mistakes that others have made you to achieve success without the same level of pain.

4) The support will reduce the pressure on you as a business owner and allow you to enjoy the process

5) You will have a sounding board throughout the process allowing you to think big whilst still maintaining focus on what your original goals and vision was.

Having worked with a range of clubs from franchise business to independent clubs and company owned businesses I have really seen the value that a consultant can offer.  Don't see them as a cost, but instead as a resource to achieving success.  If you would hire a builder to build your club, why not hire a professional to help ensure you business is also create on solid foundations

Why Should Hotels and Fitness Businesses Consider Hiring Consultants

The first thing that always used to strike me when i was contacted by a consultant was "why would I need a consultant?" I was was the club, some years we had success, some years were tough but ultimately my bosses were happy and there was no risk of unemployment.

As I went further through my career I learnt that hiring the right people for the right roles meant I could put my focus in the right areas of the business to ensure we maximized success.  Quite often though I found I was hiring individuals on later to utilize their skills to plug a different skills gap.

It led me to the belief that my approach was right, round pegs for round holes.  what was wrong was that I was having to train and develop these pegs first and fit them into the right holes.

Then came the recession and impact that then had on sales and flow through to our profit.  With no realistic prospect of driving the top line it meant that something had to give, this was costs and ultimately like most businesses the payroll.  I am not aware of any hotel or leisure business that has stood up to the recession and said they refused to cut costs and not to lose staff.  Either by natural attrition and then not replacing them or by much harsher decisions such as stricter management or redundancies.

Now that we begin to shows signs of recovery, many businesses are again looking for growth on their sales lines but are still nervous about employing the resources to achieve this growth.  There is certain level of commitment that is needed when starting to employ to deliver growth and challenge which often holds back decisions such as this.

This is where an industry consultant can make a huge difference.  Consultants may appear expensive and i guess if you hired them full time to achieve what you wanted then they probably would be! However, that is not how you should use them and the benefits to your business can be massive.  This is why?

1) There is no commitment other than that signed by you and the consultant.  This can be short or long term or even results based if you both agreed
2) They are industry experts so other than your own business protocols require little or no training
3) They should require little or no supervision
4) They will bring with them an array of idea's, techniques, information and knowledge that can be passed on to not only bring success but lead to long term gains, long after they have stopped working with the business
5) As they are likely to work less days the costs is often far more palatable that if you hired a full time Manager in that role.  There is also no holiday, sick or pensions to consider paying
6) Their cost would not have to appear on the payroll line.  This is often important as most business leaders see this as a key driver with regional and national Directors making reduction of payroll or productivity scores a massive focus.  By invoicing for services an accounts team could choice where to place the cost.
7) They would bring with them potential solutions to other parts of your business that may help solve challenges you have faced in operations etc
8) They are impartial and could therefore give accurate and direct feedback regarding your operations as well as providing the solutions to the challenges.  Employed staff are unlikely to offer up their own failings and often spend huge amounts of time and effort covering them up
9) They are able to provide insights into competitors
10) Their work schedules are often more flexible and Freelance staff will work around when you require them in the business
11) Consultants are often branded with no having the same desire to see success in a business as they are not part of the team.  What needs to be remembered is that their reputation is built on your success.  If they fail with their projects their work dries up.  It is therefor in their vested interest to ensure you are successful. So even if for purely selfish reasons (which is rarely the case) it is important they buy into the product and deliver you success
12) Finally.....and probably most importantly, they will pass on this vast knowledge to your teams so that when they leave your team will be set up for success

I used to make the mistake of seeing consultants in the wrong light. World leaders, Governments departments, Large public companies all use them.  So should the Hospitality industry!  We have seen great change over the past 5 years and so maybe starting to embrace the opportunities that a consultant can give  is worth exploring

Project Body UK Consultants

Success is paramount

A Nottingham based Leisure, Fitness and Wellness Consultancy.  We aim to provide a innovative solutions and a results based approach to driving success for our business partners.  

An awards winning team with over 25 years experience in the leisure and fitness industry within small clubs, hotel based environments and large 5000+ member facilities we have the experience and know how to enable your business to be successful.  We have also run our own fitness and well being company for the last 7 years both with the Natural Group and Project Body UK.

We understand the pressures and difficulties faced by a modern health and well being business, let us guide you along the right path.

Our Key Services Include:

• Full Consultancy service - a root and branch review of the operations, sales, staffing, H&S, plans and performance.  We will create a plan to develop the business and to achieve success.  We will work closely with you and provide the tools and expertise to deliver results.
• Auditing - a detailed analysis and feedback on your current operations, sales & membership processes along with support and tools to enable change.  We will also help ensure company and industry audit compliance by carrying out those audits prior to the official dates and ensuring challenges are managed.
• Retention - a review of your retention statistics and current processes to ensure a detailed understanding is ascertained followed by a workable and effective plan to enable you to reduce attrition to satisfactory level.
• Mystery Shopping - the best way to understand your business, its challenges and successes is to allow us to mystery shop your club or business.  Not just as a prospective client but as member of regular client.  Businesses that invest in an effective mystery shop program show massively improved focus and standard from employees and ultimate drastically improved results.  
• Operations Support - a large range of operational tools made available to allow your business to improve every aspect of its operations.  These include daily operations and safety check, gym checks and standards, full range of weekly and monthly reporting tools, booking processes and operating procedures and risk assessments.
• Sales and Marketing - a full assessment of the businesses current practices with support and guidance to improve these and the results.  We can provide full training, new processes, marketing plans and ideas, support with online presence and social media.
• Business Planning - setting your business up for success is often missed to to lack of time or expertise.  Doing so often leads to the challenges that business then faces.  We can help create that road map to success.
• Training - a range of training courses available including sales, first aid, lifeguard, operations, H&S, pool plant

Our team are dedicated to ensuring our clients achieve results.  A successful business is shown not only through its profit but also by its members loyalty and feedback, its staff engagement and its reputation in the wider community. By investing in our support we will ensure you obtain a greater understanding of your business position as well as a wide range of solutions.

For more information on how Project Body UK can help get in touch or log onto www.pbukconsulting.co.uk or call 07929369658

Staff Engagement

The Importance of Employee Engagement

You will read in many business leaders autobiographies about the importance of your employees to the success of your business.  Richard Branson put it best when he said:

No business will fully achieve their pinnacle without the input and the growth of their employees.  No matter how energetic, clever and hard working the manager is, without an engaged and effective team the true potential can never truly be reached.

We live in a world where everything is measured and the end result is what counts most.  I agree with the sentiment to a point but I must stress at this point that success is not always measured by reviewing the balance sheet.  For example, many clubs saw a down turn in their business during the height of the recent recession.  This down turn was not caused by a sudden change in staff morale, effort or skills but by something far more powerful.  Believe it or not but managers were still dismissing staff for missing targets and budgets based purely on paper based performance criteria. I my mind this was utterly ludicrous!

Many outside influences can impact the success of the business and it is the manager’s responsibility not his/her teams to control these the best they can.  A manager should take responsibility for the success and failure of the business.  Those club and managers who take a realistic approach to business and manage their teams based on effort, idea generation, retention and service standards as well as the bottom line are far more likely to have long term success than those who don't.

So what is that you are looking for?

1) Train your team: Whatever their role they should be trained to the highest standard.  This does not mean spending huge sums of money but does require investment in time.  Not just time to deliver but time to plan.  If you want the training to be effective and meaningful then it needs to relate to your business and the context in which you want the new skills to be delivered.

For example, there is a wide range of sales based skills that can be trained.  Leisure sales are specific skills and so should be trained as such.  Break down what is expected and how you want it to be done. 

By breaking down your expectations on how you want the process delivered you can then manage effectively against this.

2) Set your expectations but make them realistic: You should set out the individual and teams goals at the start of the year so everyone is aware of what needs to be achieved and what is being expected.  However, remember that your goals are not always your team’s goals.  You cannot simple pass down all your managers’ expectations of you to your team.  Often only you can influence those goals and so it will only de-motivate your team.

Also don't make stretch goals where you feel the targets are already a challenge.  Over cooked expectations will have a de-motivating impact right from the start and can have devastating impacts on performance.

3) Get buy In - You should involve your team in the developments of the annual business plan.  Whilst you are there to guide the process and ensure the key elements are included you should allow your team to develop the overall plan and have a massive input in how you plan to achieve your goals.  Letting go and allowing input is not a weakness but in fact the opposite.  It shows you value your team’s idea and allows them to feel they are part of the team’s success and not yours.

There is nothing worse than working hard all year for the manager to take all the credit

4) You need to make it fun.  We spend a significant amount of our adult life at work. If it is not fun then what are we doing. We work in one of the best industries in the world for encouraging fun and enjoyment, clients count on us to make their leisure time fun so why is it that we don't encourage our staff to play at work.  (To learn more read the FISH book)

You do not have to compromise standards to create an environment where your team feel they are able to be themselves and have fun with members.  You want to encourage interactions with members, any interaction will encourage retention and those ones that build friendships are like gold dust and should be cherished.

Only you will know your team, but you should look for opportunities that will build on this premise.

5) Show your team loyalty.  You are responsible for the business performance not your team.  You should push your challenges on too them.  You are there to protect your team from senior managers and ensure you create a bonded team ready to fight for success. 

6) Manage performance: you should manage performance fairly and with understanding.  Harsh & intimidating meetings to discuss a previous month with only make the employee nervous and overly concerned about the end action.  You want this person to perform and achieve, you will only do this by offering support and guidance.  It won’t work with everyone, but if you hired a person for a reason then quite often that gut feeling was true.  Work with them and in time you will find that star quality.

7) Celebrate success: Don't under estimate how impact celebrating success is.  It may be a small milestone for you but it is often a big one for the team or individual.  Get superiors to congratulate the team or employee, it can work wonders for them to feel they are being recognised by senior members of staff.

Enter awards, compare your team against other clubs in your business and pick out what you do best.  You can always find things you are best at.  If not then that's where to start with your goals.  

8) Create competition; we are in business to be successful are we not.  To quantify success we are all compared to others.  Whether than be other clubs within your business or against industry statistics it’s important you compare.  This also allows you to create competition, a them versus us attitude with a drive to be the best can have profound impacts on success.  Getting those last few sales at month end to beat your fellow club can be just the incentive you need.

Enter industry competitions, when we won the Flame awards the whole team bought into the process and the need to win.  That period was probably the most enjoyable 12 months in business as everyone was sold on the idea and the need to win and achieved it.  A brilliant feeling

9) Don't be afraid to hire people more qualified than you:  I hear all the time "they are over qualified".  How can this be the case?  Until you interview someone you can never understand their motive for wanting to work for you.  They may want less stress, less responsibility, be coming back from time off with kids.

Ultimately, you have the potential to employ someone with great skills on paper and who could offer a key to future success.  Don't miss an opportunity because of your perceptions of threats to you and your position.

Be brave!

We all want success; bullying and old school management is not the way to do it.  It can be easier to discipline and try and force performance.  In the long run you will end up with far more stress and anxiety, an unhappy team often with the same challenges as you started with.

Change your attitude, look and plan for success and let your team take you there.  Your job should be to assemble, guide and encourage.  Hire experts to do a job and let them do it.  Your life will be far more enjoyable and the success with be far more satisfying.

Project Body UK Consulting

www.pbukconsulting.co.uk