Ten Steps to More Profit Through Better Relationships

By Ken Wood: DGS 9.9's Consulting Partner

It is a given that our companies are only as good as our employees. It is problematic for us to do the multitudes of jobs required in a gymnastics business or multi-sport facility ourselves. So we must rely on others, our employees, to get the work done and get it done right. The single biggest problem in most gyms is hiring good employees who are beneficial to the bottom line. For many years, hiring the right person was hit or miss for us. Clearly, something had to change and that change had to come from me. After several attempts my company, Paragon Training Centers in Fredericksburg, Virginia has been able to put together a strong group of managers who are able to understand the importance of increasing the bottom line as one of our company’s goals. However, what may interest you the most is how we have achieved this end.

We have for some time followed the commonly accepted practice of hiring high-quality people with good attitudes who fit the attributes we are looking for and then training them for the position. Unfortunately many less successful companies often hire new employees for skills already possessed and do not recognize the importance of how an applicant’s attitude and work ethic would support the business’s ultimate goal of the bottom-line and profit. Here are ten steps you can take to improve your relationship with your partners (employees) and, if you choose to make these changes, you will see improved relationships, increased profits and a happier staff.

1. Admit your mistakes - Nothing will improve your relationships faster than admitting your mistakes before they are presented to you, or become a larger issue. Show evidence of both correction and learning from it. You can disarm any conflict by admitting your mistake first.

2. Don’t sweat the small stuff - The ability to overlook the daily issues and rise above pettiness goes a long way to giving employees the sense of freedom necessary to do their jobs well.

3. Accept what (and who) you can’t change - The ability to accept an individual as they are is the single most important aspect of showing respect to another individual. It is also sometimes the most difficult.

4. Put people where they belong - Everyone is different and have differing abilities or gifts. The biggest mistake managers make is to look at others through their own gifts and expectations they have of themselves. Doing this marginalizes the individual, making it impossible to utilize the employee effectively, creating an inefficient situation. When this happens the manager has made his own strengths into weaknesses not just for himself, but for the company as well.

5. Appreciate what you have - An employee is motivated more by management showing appreciation for a job well done than any other factor. Study after study shows this. Make sure you show your employees individually what they mean to you as well as the company in tangible, heartfelt ways. Sometimes this only needs to be a word of encouragement.

6. Offer to help - Show a willingness to do any job, any time. Pitch in at parties when understaffed; cover a shift or two when necessary (on top of your own work). Be generally helpful to your staff (no ivory towers!).

7. A positive attitude is a choice - This is infectious, just like a bad attitude. Make sure you set a good example.

8. Change is good - A methodical use of your prerogative to change your mind shows your ability to adjust to new stimuli. If used correctly and at the right time, you will show your staff that you are open to new ideas and ways of doing business. Eventually, your staff will feel comfortable about bringing their own ideas forward, which gives your company more options for improving profitability.

9. OK, what’s next? - Show your staff that working hard to anticipate problems or opportunities can minimize failures or possibly lead to larger profits. For example, changing a policy or tweaking the operating schedule to maximize efficiency during times of peak square footage utilization have the potential to do both, create new problems or make your business more efficient. Encourage your staff to anticipate what these may be and use them in your planning.

10. Require excellence, not perfection - Perfection is impossible. Plan on errors, knowing that everyone is going to make mistakes. By requiring excellence you are telling your staff that mistakes are acceptable but only if they learn from those mistakes and continue to improve both as an employee and a person.

As business owners and managers we are certainly not perfect by any means. Yet, in order to create a healthy work environment where all employees have a vested interest in the viability of the company’s long-term success, we have begun the long path to partnership outlined above. Eventually, if you practice these steps with your department leaders (managers), you will in turn see evidence of your upper level staff enlisting these practices with the employees they are responsible for supervising. The ultimate achievement is a cohesive unit working toward one goal: a team.

Ken Wood is the owner of a multi-sport facility in Fredericksburg, VA and CEO of Paragon Business Consulting Services, an affiliate of DGS 9.9’s. More information on Ken’s services can be found at http://www.gymsupply.com

Creating a Buzz About your Business

HOW TO GAIN MORE CLIENTS THROUGH ADVERTISING, BRANDING AND MARKETING
By Ken Wood: DGS 9.9's Business Consulting Partner

We all know the days are gone when we could open the doors to our gyms and the kids just walk right in. In today’s market, it is important to reach out to our customers in ever increasing ways. But how? Each market is different and therefore each gym must design a plan for its unique environment and mission. One thing that is common to all gyms is that everyone should be using principles of advertising, marketing and branding to maximize return on effort. The purpose of this article is to teach you how to read the map, not what route you should take.

Let’s start with definitions. Most of us don’t know the difference between marketing and advertising and even the most savvy club owner will hesitate when asked to define branding. But all three are crucial to creating the right atmosphere for growth.

First, advertising. Advertising is the most commonly used term for what gyms commonly do. Essentially, advertising is any effort you make to communicate with customers or potential customers where you have no direct, personal contact and therefore little control of the outcome. Many media are used to deliver these messages: television, radio, movies, magazines, newspapers, the internet, and billboards.

Marketing is anything you do to attract customers or to maintain current clients that is not considered advertising. For example, putting an ad in your local newspaper about a schedule change is considered advertising. But if your front desk speaks to your clients concerning the virtues of the new schedule, then that is marketing. The distinction from advertising is relationship development and the potential to close the sale. Additionally, there is a managerial aspect to marketing. If the schedule change is in response to research conducted into the schedules of educational preschools in your area, then this is an example of the managerial aspect of marketing. 95% of what gyms do is actually marketing, and the rest is branding.

Unlike advertising or marketing, branding is very possibly a foreign concept to many. Branding is an application of marketing techniques to increase the perceived value of a product. By developing your brand as the quality alternative in the marketplace, you increase the possibility of both new sales and repeat business. For instance, Jello brand flavored gelatin was branded so well that we commonly identify the product category as jello. If you are successful in creating a strong brand for your product, you are then capable of charging more for your product than your competitors based on the increase in perceived value. Notice the word perceived. Actual value is important for retention but perceived value is what counts for attracting new customers.

* How do these three interrelated concepts pertain to the gymnastics business? How can the gym owner know when and how to use each? Unfortunately the answer to these questions is unique to the demographics and mission statement of each individual club and depends upon the types of programs offered. Hopefully, the mission statement for each club and the programs offered stem from research done concerning the demographic characteristics of the area. However, there are a few specific concepts that hold true in every market. One very important principle is to understand that there are three types of customers. The customer you do not yet have, the customer currently in your program and the customer who has left your program. In order to maintain your client base and grow, you must market to all three. To make an impact on any of these types of customers you must make an ‘impression’ an average of five times on each unique subject. A few other ‘basics’ for you to keep in mind:

Branding

* A brand name must be easy to pronounce, easy to remember and easy to recognize.

Marketing

* Corporate Level Marketing is done before the business opens and focuses on the type of business to be pursued.

* Business Level Marketing creates business models to develop long term market growth and strategies for competing in the marketplace.

* Functional Level Marketing is the act of attracting and retaining customers.

* ‘Marketing 101’ is all about the four P’s:

* Product - pertains to how you design your programs to satisfy the desires of the customer.

* Pricing - what you decide to charge for your programs and how you arrive at those prices.

* Promotion - decisions concerning advertising, public relations, sales promotion and how you will promote your club or brand, or even a particular program.

* Placement - since our industry is not retail in nature, this refers mainly to the location you choose for your facility.

* Now that you have all of this information, how do you use it? Relating to all three types of customers, you first must decide what kind of business you are going to be and define your mission statement (corporate level marketing). Second, you must decide how you can compete in the marketplace by creating unique, quality programs designed specifically for the type of client you want to attract (business level marketing). Finally, design advertising and marketing campaigns to strengthen your brand, attract new clients and retain the clients you already have (functional level marketing). Use the Four P’s to help you design your business level and functional level marketing programs and remember, your customers need to hear the message five times or more on any given topic to maximize your chances that it will sink in.

* Using this roadmap you can create a buzz about your business and therefore attract new customers, retain current clients and entice former customers to return.

Ken Wood is the president of Paragon Training Center in Fredericksburg, VA and Paragon Business Consulting Services. Paragon Business Consulting Services is affiliated with DGS/9.9’s and provides consulting and commercial lending services to DGS clients. He can be reached by visiting the DGS website at www.gymsupply.com.