If you
are ever lucky enough to have someone copy what you do in your fitness
business, then you are doing something right! If you are passionate about
what you do and committed to being truly awesome at what you do, it will happen
to you too, if it hasn't already.
See,
there are certain things in your business or ours that are easy to copy, so how
do you stay ahead of the competition if you can always be copied. The
first thoughts you may have are about copyrighting and keeping things secret,
or in protecting yourself.
Truthfully,
my opinion is that is typically more trouble than its worth. And think
about it, are you going to hire a lawyer and take someone to court and commit
all that time when now you are budgeting every minute just to find balance?
People
can call their programs the same thing that you do, undercut you on price, and
use the same website and even use the same marketing you use. These are
the small things most fit biz owners way overestimate their importance. I know
I did. But think about it, you can spend weeks perfecting names, prices,
websites and marketing copy and as soon as the competition sees it, they can
copy it.
So how
do you compete?
If you are a trainer/coach, learn
the word KAIZEN...focus on being the best in your area and commit to getting
better every day. Are you committed to spending time thinking about each
client each day and what you can do in your next session to meet their needs. Are
you willing to call them, take them on a grocery shopping trip, review their
food plans, find out their purpose and driving "why". Are you
willing to keep educating your self to be the best resource for them in your
workout programming and lifestyle coaching you can be. Do you approach
your session with them with respect, knowing its THEIR time, not your phone's,
not your time to sit, not your time to socialize with them? Do you treat
those sessions as education sessions with them as well?
If you are a business owner, are
you committed to getting to know your staff, to finding those you know have the
passion to be a servant leader? Or are you just hiring anyone with muscles and
a certification? Do you stay connected to them so you know what they need
to be their best at what they do? Are you committed to investing in your staff,
to their education, to making them the best they can be, hold them accountable,
have high expectations, and make corrections? Many will not. Are
you willing to create systems that keep the client first, strive to provide the
best service that you as a team try to improve every day and hold everyone to
that standard? Are you willing to invest profits back into the staff, the
clients and the service you provide? Do you teach and model appreciation for
the clients you serve?
If your
business is focused on actually being better. Whether a trainer or an owner, are you focused on
relationships, adding value and delivering a better service than anyone else
provides – you are going rise above because most people are not willing to care
that much about the service and the clients they serve to match their actions
with their lip service. You will
find you have almost no competition willing to do all of this.
I have
noticed many will look busy. But
when it comes to rolling up your sleeves and keeping yourself to the high
standard of adding value and creating a new higher standard of client
experience and service, and holding yourself and others there, you will be
among a small group. If you change the game so
that the only way to win is to actually provide extraordinary value - they
don't stand a chance.
That's
why we focused on the word “TEAM” when we launched Revolution Fitness XTEAM. We
know that personal training is inconsistent and so variable that there is no
way to compare prices or results or locations really. We wanted to make excellence a team effort and culture from
the training staff to the clients.
We are committed to delivering the best culture and training in the
industry and within a year were recognized by being voted Best in Lawrenceville.
That's
not a fluke.
So when
it comes to competition, the take home message is this:
You don’t
beat them by offering a cheaper price.
You don’t
beat them by putting them down.
You don’t
beat them with fancier marketing.
You don’t
beat them by worrying about what they are doing, period.
You beat them by being better.
Commit to doing that and they
don't stand a chance.
