Yesterday’s blog post generated quite a bit of response.

A number of folks commented to the blog their opinion on “Why some folks struggle” AND we also received a few MORE crazy e-mails from folks who were too chicken to post their comments.

One of these folks questioned if this was even a real e-mail we received, or something I just happened to ‘kook up’ to get people going.

I assure you, this is real… and life’s interesting enough that I don’t have to add anything to it.

Anyway, I promised I’d share with you my take on this whole thing today and that’s what I’m going to do.

I’ve also got a special invitation and gift for you today, but we’ll come back to that in a moment.

In case you don’t remember the e-mail we received that spawned this whole thing, here it is:

“Gentlemen:  I gave it my best shot.  I have worked myself into the ground the last few months creating a business plan, new website, monthly newsletter, house list, direct mail letter, press release, article, new business card, strategic alliances, etc…  There are many more of your ideas I would love to pursue, there is just not enough time in the day.

End result so far:  No new clients.

I cannot justify spending $37/month on the NPE newsletter.  Your initial program is outstanding, with many great ideas, but no new clients.

Please cancel my Gold membership as of today.  Thanks.”

———————-

So, why is this person struggling… while so many folks we work with are killing it and having their ‘best year ever’?

Could be a number of things going on here.

I’m not a therapist, nor am I into a whole lotta metaphysical mumbo-jumbo about lack mentality and belief system (although I will say where there’s smoke, there’s fire). I’ll leave all that aside for the moment and cut right to the chase.

I don’t know the exact circumstances of this person’s business but what I do now is that for beginners it’s best to keep it simple.

Learn and master just 1 system FIRST.

Learn how to SELL.

A few folks commented correctly yesterday that leads alone will not directly bring in any revenue for your biz.

SELLING someone on handing off their hard-earned dough in exchange for a product of service you are offering is the ONLY thing that actually brings in money and ‘gets’ you a client.

Without SALES (or conversion of your leads), MARKETING (lead generation) for the sake of marketing is meaningless.

That’s why we teach our AUTO-CLOSER Sales System and encourage many to make it their ‘first’ coaching program they invest in.

Then once you’ve learned how to sell, it’s time to take a look at marketing and I recommend if you’re an independent personal trainer, then start with learning just 1 marketing method before going into a ton of advanced strategies.

My original primary marketing method was public speaking and I used it to build my business and get a waiting list for my services pretty quickly.

One or two good marketing strategies, executed well, is all you need to fill up your books as an independent personal trainer.

However, when you make the leap from just working for yourself to having a facility with overhead and expenses, and a team of trainers working for you, having just 1 or 2 marketing strategies is usually no longer enough to get the job done.

Now you’ve got to generate a volume of leads each-and-ever month to keep the facility busy AND you’ve got the added pressure of significant overhead/expenses pushing you to not just settle for a ‘few leads’…. you need a LOT of leads… all the time!

So what most people do next is start to study the different tactics that can be use to accomplish that goal. They read up on websites, newsletters, advertising, direct mail, strategic alliances, and a whole lot more.

AND THIS IS WHERE THEY GET TANGLED UP.

They get lost in a sea of confusion and never get anything really implemented and working properly.

Mostly because they don’t understand a SYSTEM of how everything should fit together. When frankly…

THAT IS WHERE IT SHOULD ALL BEGIN!

You’ve got to understand the big picture (i.e. SYSTEM) first. Then breaking down how each type of marketing campaign and activity works together within the SYSTEM… and getting traction… becomes pretty easy.

The person who sent this e-mail in (who we still haven’t heard from by the way, so if he/she is reading this please let us know who you are so we can take care of your request) is not alone.

Lots of folks are in a tangled mess with all the information overload floating around the internet today.

That’s why last spring we worked hard to develop a complete program that would help people ‘get untangled’ and understand the ‘big picture’ (SYSTEM) as well as how to integrate all the different tactics, tools, and more that you’ve heard us and many of our members talk about.

If you have NOT read my “How To NEVER Run Out Leads!” Report or received the free companion audio CD, then get your copy at:

http://www.FitnessMarketingExplosion.com

Next week we’ll also offer a 1-hr fitness marketing coaching session to everyone on this list who registers to attend at:

http://www.FitnessMarketingExplosion.com

Lastly, I’d like to encourage anyone who needs help to use the channels of communication we have open (call the office at 888.866.4998 or if you’re a Gold Plus level member or higher then you already know how active the forums are in our membership site) and let us know what’s going on in your business.

Listen we’re doing very well over here and won’t be affected one-way-or-the-other if someone chooses to cancel a $37/month newsletter subscription with us.

But cutting yourself off from people who can help you… when you’re struggling and really NEED the help… is NOT the wisest decision someone could make.

By receiving this newsletter you’re part of an elite community of several thousand fitness business owners who want nothing more than to help others achieve the same level of success they have achieved and more.

So, ask for help… and we’ll do everything to help you sort things out and get back on track.

Don’t just stick your head in the sand and ‘hope’ things will change… get the support you need to MAKE them change.

That responsibility (and power) is yours.

To your success,
Sean

P.S. If you own a studio or have other trainers working for you (or hope to soon) then you understand that having a complete marketing SYSTEM (not just 1 or 2 tactics) in place is essential to the health and stability of your business. I invite you to download our “How To NEVER Run Out Of Leads” report and audio cd, plus register for a 1hr coaching webinar we’ll be hosting 1 week from today at:

http://www.FitnessMarketingExplosion.com

Summer’s coming - lean times ahead, unless…

You discover how to convert EVERY prospect to a paying client for twice the profit.

Just two spots left in May 14th training:
http://www.AutoCloserSales.com

Back when I was in college at George Mason University, I sold pianos for a summer - a lot of them.

I don’t play the piano, or any instrument, for that matter. I’m the only person in my family without a lick of musical talent.

My mom was a gifted pianist and singer - she cut a record as the soloist for her Church choir back in the early 60’s.

My dad’s pretty good on the piano (well, he used to be).

My older brother, Mike, went to Berklee College of Music in Boston to play the drums. It’s about the most famous music school in the country with alumni like Steve Vai, Quincy Jones, Melissa Ethridge, Branford
Marsalis and John Mayer.

Now Mike’s a Navy Pilot. Go figure.

My younger brother, Zak, is an alternative rock/metal drummer with a band called Common Effect. He’s also 6′ 4″ and 230lbs of muscle, so he THRASHES the drum kit. It’s something to see.

Me, well - I could do a little break dancing back in the day - but I don’t think that counts.

Every other salesperson at the Piano Shop where I worked was a musician. A couple of them were really, really good.

But they struggled with sales.

Just goes to show you that technical profiency in a particular field has no bearing at all on your ability to sell.

Because sales, like playing music, is a skill that must be learned.

And I learned it from one of the best - the owner of the Piano Shop, an older (60′ish) woman named Phyllis.

She had a beehive hairdo and the heavy foundation makeup, a kinda raspy voice from all the cigs she puffed on during the day…she reminded me of a rougher version of Endora, Samantha’s Aunt from BeWitched (the great TV show, not the crappy movie).

Phyllis was ‘old school’ sales. She got down to business.

And she followed (and taught us to follow) a SYSTEM.

She called her sales system the ‘education.’

“Eric, dear, this young couple would like an education,” she’d say to me when handing off a prospect.

For the first month I worked there, I resisted following the ‘education’ and relied instead on what I thought was a God-given silver tongue. I could schmooze with the best of them, and developed rapport quickly.

That worked about half the time.

But 50% closing was most definitely NOT satisfactory to the old battle-axe Phyllis.

So she watched me like a hawk to make sure I gave the complete ‘education’ to every prospect.

And there was some improvement when I followed the system. Enough for me to get a ‘taste’ of how well it ‘could’ work, if I got better at delivering it.

So I went to Phyllis and asked her for some help - I asked her to work with me on my education. And she lit up like the White House Christmas tree. She’d found her ‘protege’ and she was stoked.

Phyllis coached me and drilled with me. We did a lot of role playing until I had it down cold. And she’d watch me work with a prospect and critique me afterwards. It was absolutely priceless training.

And, well, it worked like crazy. I began selling to every person who walked into the store.

I sold Schimmel baby grands at ten to fifteen thou each, and Weber and Yamaha uprights at three to five. And I sold a lot of them. I made almost 20K that summer.

And the bulk of that came in the second half - when I got serious about getting coaching on how to deliver the education like a polished professional.

If it weren’t for Phyllis coaching me, I would have been an average 50% closer like the other salespeople at the Piano Shop who reflexively relied on their musical skills to sell - just as I had relied on my wits.

Those guys resisted coaching from Phyllis - while I embraced it. They drank Schlitz after work. I drank Heineken.

Getting good at sales was the foundation on which I’ve built my career. Now I just do it more in print than in person. Getting good at sales is the single most important skill any business person can learn.

If I have children, they will be required to get sales jobs at some point. It doesn’t just prepare you for business, it prepares you for life.

And being good at sales is almost always a function of two things:

1. The quality of your system
2. The quality of coaching you get

So it’s no surprise that every fitness professional who goes through our AUTO-CLOSER sales system training just explodes their numbers.

Because Dick and Sean are the two best salespeople and sales trainers I’ve ever seen. You cannot get better training and a better system anywhere, at any price.

And make no mistake, the training and coaching is the secret.

Think about it. You can give some outta shape guy the best fitness protocol ever developed, but if he doesn’t get trained on how to follow it (and have accountability and coaching along the way), chances are
really good he’ll get less than half the results he would were he actually working with you, right?

Now’s your chance to get the sales training/coaching -and the sales system - that is having the most profound, documented impact on the fitness industry than any other.

We still have two openings in our next AUTO-CLOSER live training beginning May 14.

They’ll certainly be gone by the end of the day today, so grab your spot now - and explode your sales just like every single fit-pro has who’s gone through the training. Go here to claim your spot:

http://www.AutoCloserSales.com

Get trained by the best,
Eric Ruth

P.S. Summer is coming. That’s slow season. Every single prospect REALLY counts. Closing at 50% is a recipe for trouble when you need every single client you can get. Double your closing and double your profits starting now:

http://www.AutoCloserSales.com

P.P.S. If price is an issue for you, I encourage you to listen to the couple dozen testimonials from your fellow fit-pros that are halfway down the page. When you can close eleven grand in one day like Cliff Latham, or go from 2500/month to 20K/month in 30 days like April Smith, or have an 80 grand month like Ed Downes, close 8K packages like Neil Edwards…the list goes on…well, what’s THAT worth?

There are few guarantees in life - few ’sure things.’ This is one of them. Not one person who’s gone through AUTO-CLOSER has failed to immediately explode his or her sales…to the tune of tens of thousands. Now it’s your turn.

Like we say, “the numbers don’t lie.”

http://www.AutoCloserSales.com

Auto-Closer™ class registration is now open.

We’ve got just 10 spots available. Seriously. We take just 20 students per class and half the seats are already gone from pre-registration after our last launch.

As I explained in my video post yesterday, this is NOT how we traditionally launch a new class but we’re under a time crunch here and have to get going.

Read all the details and register now at http://www.AutoCloserSales.com

Class schedule will be as follows:

Class 1: Wednesday, May 14th at 12pm EST

Class 2: Wednesday, May 21st at 12pm EST

Class 3: Wednesday, May 28th at 12pm EST

Class 4: Wednesday, June 4th at 12pm EST

Class 5: Wednesday, June 11th at 12pm EST

Class 6: Wednesday, June 18th at 12pm EST

In addition to the live classes, you’ll also have 2 private consultation gift certificates, 3 role play critique certificates, and access to the Auto-Closer™ class forum on the membership site to get all your questions answered.

We’re coming up on the 1 year anniversary of our first launch of this program and I’ll tell you this class is an absolute blast for us to teach.

The success stories that have come out of this program continue to blow us away and have FAR surpassed all our original expectations.

Read all the details and join us in a thrilling program that will forever change your business (and your life) at http://www.AutoCloserSales.com

NOTE: NPE members please call the office at 888.866.4998 today to receive your standard registration discount.

We look forward to working with you!

Yesterday I had a meeting with Eric & Dick about our dilemma with needing to launch the next Auto-Closer™ class… pronto!

It’s going to be short and sweet, but I think we’ve come up with a good solution.

Watch the video below for all the details. Due to the big time constraint we’re under, this is the ONLY notice you’re going to get about this special opportunity.

And if you don’t have any idea what Auto-Closer™ system is, then visit http://www.AutoCloserSystem.com for full details how this sales training program can explode your fitness business (and your life) in a big way.

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