Doesn’t it feel great to come up with a lead generation idea that actually works!!

When I had my Fitness Together studio in Sacramento, I spent a lot of time and money on marketing. I wish I could tell you that all my big marketing ideas were winners, but like you, there were times it would have been just as effective to have flushed the money down the toilet. I’ll tell you, that is not a good feeling.

But there is a FACT about marketing and that is that you must be consistent and continue to market and it will eventually pay off. Of course that does not mean that if you have a bad idea you keep using it. Get input on your ideas; bounce them off non-bias people. The best way to do this is to let them think that someone else came up with the idea and you heard about it and want their take on it. This way they can be honest without the fear of hurting your feelings.

But every once in awhile I would hit on a super duper winner of an idea. The leads would pour in and we would begin to wonder how we would keep up with them all. Oh boy is that a good problem to have. But the downside to that is that if you are not careful you will lose leads and money that you really shouldn’t lose.

If you are setting appointments and closing deals you really don’t worry about those leads that didn’t schedule or scheduled but didn’t show up. You might make a follow up phone call, but you are just too busy and happy counting your money to worry about them, right. Unfortunately, all good things do come to an end as will the flood of leads. But by the time it does it is too late to go back and find those leads and follow up on them. Plus picking up that phone to make follow up calls is the hardest thing to do or to get an employee to do. Everyone hates chasing people.

If you have found yourself in this position then you may be suffering from “follow-up failure”. It can be a terminal disease for your business if not cured. The great news is the cure is relatively simple. You must put into place a follow-up system that will function during busy times and slow times.

The best plan of action is to set up auto-responders that will email a follow up message out to each lead. The rule of thumb with leads is that they may require up to 7 times of contact before they respond. So don’t just set up one message; set up a series of messages. Be careful here because you don’t want to harass them. Your messages should be positive and motivational. If they do not respond after the 7th message don’t give up. Put them into your weekly fitness tips or our monthly newsletter. Stay connected to them so that when they are ready to get started they will know where to go. Remember to set up a flag or a system to remind you to stop the messages after they do respond otherwise they may get annoyed.

Once you have the system set up for your leads you will want to work on the same system for your clients and former clients. By consistently following up and staying in touch with your clients you will begin to slow down your turn over.

As a fitness owner follow up is the one area that I really focused a lot of time on, even though it was a lot of work it was worth it. There are many software programs on the market that you can use including Constant Contact, Aweber, and my favorite Infusionsoft. Infusionsoft is the best because it has the most capabilities of automation, but it is challenging to learn. The other two are a bit easier, but they are less automated and therefore will require much more time and on going manual work on your part.

How you follow up is not as important as will you do it. If you want to make more money, get more clients, and slow down your turn over; you must do it.

Author Bio: Babe Mooney took her fitness studio from zero to $500,000 in 18 months with her marketing and follow-up skills. Don’t have time to learn and manage new software,then check out our “Done-For-You” automated fitness marketing SERVICE. Plus we drive leads to your website and blog via your Facebook Fan page, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We set-up and manage social sites. Babe Mooney CEO AutoPilot Fitness Marketing Solutions

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: fitness marketing,personal training marketing, direct mail marketing,email marketing,lead generation