Here are 8 productive channels for generating new client leads. You’ll have a good idea of which are going to work best for you and where to concentrate your efforts.
For all of thee angles remember the three golden rules for engaging new clients.
A. Keep It simple. Make sure everything you communicate is clear and concise.
B. Call to action. Always include a clear call to action in your materials and communication. Tell the client exactly what they need to do next.
C. Track your strategies. Design your outreach in a way that you can track what’s working and what isn’t. This might be asking clients to quote “OFFER A”,“PARTNER B” “REFEREE C” when they respond to one of your offers. However you track results, it’s important you do it so you can avoid spending time on strategies that just don’t work.
- Referral scheme
Your existing clients are your best route to new clients. This will happen organically, people talk about things they like and they want their friends to enjoy things they like with them.
Your job here is to make it easy for people to bring along a friend and to make the client feel valued for making that recommendation. - Physical Advertising
Your in-person services are what marketeers call hyper-local. Most people do not travel long distances to attend fitness and wellness. Those services necessarily take place somewhere convenient.
This makes old fashioned physical advertising a valuable tactic. Posters and fliers in prominent local places with high footfall of people in your demographics. Where do your clients go? Get your marketing materials up there.
And remember – always give include a call to action: whether that be contact details, the times of your sessions… whatever you want your client to do next. Spell it out and make it easy. - Social marketing
Social networks are where many of your clients will spend most of their online time. If that’s true for your client base, it’s also where you should be investing sales time. That doesn’t mean you need to have a super-sales-y social profile, nor does it mean you need to think about paid ads. But what it does mean that having an engaging, responsive and vibrant social channels where you interact organically with your client base will be a lead generator in its own right. Having an online marketing strategy will help refine your social media efforts. - Reciprocal marketing
Are there local businesses who have the same client base as you? Some sort of complementary service? This could be a cafe, salon, bookshop? Can you do a deal with them to promote each other to your client bases. A special stamp card for coffee at the local cafe for your clients? 10% off at the book store for your clients.
And they can offer some sort of reciprocal deal in their stores to promote your business. - Profile building
Sometimes when trying to generate leads you’ve got to think laterally. Are there opportunities for you to raise your profile locally? Could you volunteer to do a free session at a care home or a youth club for example? Those markets might not be directly in core market but running those sessions first of all might provide a valuable service to the community, but also if you run those sessions other people might here about it? Staff and residents of the care home and youth workers, parents and teachers of the kids at the youth club will here about you with a very positive image. - Local influencer
Do you know anyone with a big local influence and following? It could be a local blogger or just someone with a high profile in the community. We’re not talking a TV A-lister, just someone locally with a bit of a footprint. If you can find one why not invite them to a class, or if that’s not a possibility, would they be willing to mention your services to their following. - Intro offers
People’s buying habits differ. For a lot of people, within reason, price doesn’t really come into play when they are making a buying decision. But for others, particularly when trying something new, there can be reticence about spending money on something they aren’t sure if they will enjoy.
For that reason introductory offers are a good idea to make the decision to walk through the door a shot to nothing. In the grand scheme of it it’s also a pretty sound investment for you too. Sure, there will be some clients who come for a discount session or a free session and you won’t see them again. But for a far larger number of clients who may otherwise have not taken the plunge, you’ll have a long-term client. - PR
Advertising can be expensive but you don’t always need to pay to get into local media. PR is strategy of “selling in” a story to media outlets. If you can come up with something interesting and newsworthy your local media might well be interested in covering it. This needs to be something topical, different, extravagant that will interest the readers of the publication. You won’t get much interest if you ask them to run a story saying that you’re launching a new class on a Monday morning. But you might have more luck if you organised a 24 hour event fundraising for a local charity.
For more information on Gymcatch group fitness business software and how it can help your yoga, pilates, dance or personal training business. Get in contact to book a demo or start a free month.
Ollie founded Gymcatch in 2015 with the aim of making participation in fitness easier for all. As founder, Ollie served as CEO since Gymcatch’s inception. He’s currently focused on growing the platform through strategic partnerships, corporate development and growing the team. Prior to founding Gymcatch, Ollie spent 10 years at Barclays, latterly as a Director covering the TMT sector. He gained an MBA with Honours from the University of Chicago in 2013 and higher class honours in Philosophy and International Relations from the University of Bristol. Outside of the office, Ollie enjoys travelling, playing and watching cricket and spending time with his young family. He supports a number of charities focused on increasing physical participation.
