Most fit pro’s are running outdated, ineffective referral programs. In this video, Pete explains how to run referral campaigns that generate consistent leads and turn your clients into sales people.

I want to share with you a tip which I just sent here for a friend and she asked me, “Pete, my referral programs for my fitness business suck. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Plus, when I sit down with them, I don’t know what to say.

The sales aren’t converting. I’m closing like really really poorly.”

So I asked her how she was closing 

“Well, I think I’m doing okay.”

I said, “Okay well tell me what your numbers are.”

And she said, “Oh. Actually not that okay. I’m closing TWO out of TEN.”

She was closing at 20%.

The good news is, we can do a lot with two out of ten! There’s a hell of a lot we can do with two out of 10. However, we can’t do a lot with nine out of ten.

I’ll share with you what my answer was about creating a good referral system, one that actually works. And then when they sit down with a new lead, what to say to them. How to not suck at sales.

So here’s the thing with referrals.

Everyone does referral systems these days, right?

But they’re not exciting. In fact, they suck.

Most of them are like “bring a friend and I’ll give you a free session”. And maybe five years ago they were working really well to get new leads into your business.

But these days, I don’t see them working very well at all.

So I’ve got a better system which I really really like.

I shared it with my friend and she’s been running with it for a few weeks now and she’s crushing it. Her sales ratio is now up to six out of 10, which is a lot better than two out of 10.

Instead of the old “bring a friend, I’ll give you a free session”, which is really shitty, here’s what we did.

By the way I got this original idea from John Goodman so had tip to him over Pete C DC(?).

The idea is for every 10 check-ins the client does on Facebook, or tags, you give them a prize.

For example:

• Tag me 10 times this month and you get a free smoothie at the local smoothie bar.
• Tag me 10 times this month and you get some merch, you get one of my training t-shirts or a bag or a bottle.

She kept changing the incentive every fortnight or so. Every so often, she was changing the incentive.

And it exploded.

All of the clients are now checking in two or three times a week and tagging her her personal Facebook page saying “I just crushed a workout with Sally, put 15 kilos up my deadlift.”

“Just did this with my trainer.”

“New PB, crushed the workout.”

All that kind of stuff and she was getting huge spread from each post.

The reason I like this over “bring a friend, I’ll give you a session”:

Number one, each time this person tags you, it’s showing you off to 500 or more friends, right? People have around 550 friends on average. I mean a lot of people have 5000 some will have 2000 but the average is 500 or more.

Those people are going to see it.

So that’s a cool thing.

No one else is doing it. It’s a cool thing I’ve been seeing. I don’t see anybody else doing this yet. Hopefully, some of you guys apply this tip today and start killing it.

People want to show off they’re working out.

We’re all the same on social media. We put our best images forward and our best message forward. We’re not going to put our shitty days. We put our highlight reel up.

So people want to project this image that they’re super healthy and working out and putting smoothies up, and put some workouts up.

It’s way better that people want to share that on Facebook that they’re killing a work out and mentioning you at the same time.

Another reason it’s good is that the incentives are moving the client toward their goals.

We have Away Goals or Toward Goals. Away Goals is going out drinking twice a week, which is spending money they could be spending on training. They’re blowing one to four hundred bucks a night and they’re smashing their liver. The next day they’re not going to work out or eat well.

These incentives give them a smoothie, give them some merch. You give them something that’s moving them towards their goals, which is going to help you in the long run as well.

That’s why I like it way way better. It moves them towards the goal.

It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s new. It’s not shitty like “bring a friend, I’ll give you a session”. Who cares? Nobody’s doing that. It doesn’t work.

The second thing I helped with was what to say when you get a referral or any lead and they sit down with you.

Two sales tips I want to give you, which will help you move your sales ratio to something more like nine out of 10, not two out of 10.

The first thing is, instead of trying to sell to her or to him, think of it as becoming the assistant buyer.

Nobody likes to be sold to, but people like to make a buying decision. That’s powerful.

Instead of forcing something onto this prospect, we’re just helping them make an informed decision. That’s why we’re sitting next to them, like a friend would, helping them to make a decision instead of trying to ram it down their throat.

This still happens in the fitness industry, sadly, like it’s the 90s.

We’re now an assistant buyer. We’re helping them make a decision on what’s going to be best for their needs, goals, wants.

The second sales tip I gave was: at the end of a simple, clear direction.

Something I like to say is along the lines of “Alright, Sally. So based on your goals, needs, and wants. I’m gonna recommend either the three week or the four per week, okay? Which of these two could you see yourself getting started on today?”

That’s it.

Two simple options. Drop them on paper. Don’t give them a menu with twelve options.

Keep it simple.

Offer the two, one of them they are going to select. If not, you might have a third up your sleeve at a cheaper price point. It’s as simple as that.

To wrap up, we went through the new referral system – down to the old one, it sucks – and two keys to get your sales ratio up towards 9 out of 10 or above.

If you’re doing 8 to 10 out of 10 with every prospect you see, you’re killing it. You’re doing really, really well.

If not, apply these tips. I bet you can in no time go from two out of 10 to a 9 out of 10.