The best call to action for fitness and wellness businesses is an offer that lets them sample your customer experience before they commit.
Accelerate prospects’ purchases with “try before you buy” options in your health club, yoga studio, weight loss program or medical practice. It’s a great way to let them dip a toe in the water and check out your programs, services and approach.
1. Demo with current client
Example: A chiropractor collaborates with a happy client to demonstrate self-massage with foam rollers to a runners’ club or cycling group.
2. Demo with volunteers
Example: Offer a healthy-back lunch-and-learn at a local employer, using audience volunteers to help demonstrate postural improvement techniques.
3. Panel discussion with outside experts
Example: invite a local bariatric surgeon, nutritionist, exercise specialist, health coach and psychologist to give brief presentations followed by Q&A on overweight and obesity treatment options.
4. Panel discussion with current clients
Example: invite two moms and two dads to provide their “what works and what doesn’t” advice for busy families who want their kids to be active and eat healthfully.
5. Trial membership
Example: Offer a limited-duration membership — one week, two weeks, 30 days.
6. Taped audio session
Example: Tape a typical client session — especially useful for counselors, dietitians, and health coaches where talking is the primary interaction with clients.
7. Written transcript of session
Example: Provide a written transcript of a typical client session — again, especially useful for health and wellness businesses where talking is the primary interaction with clients.
8. Taped video session
Example: Tape a typical client session — especially useful for spin classes, personal training sessions and other activities where people are actually moving around.
9. Session breakdown
Example: Create a nicely-presented bulleted list that tells potential clients what to expect in their first visit. “You’ll be privately weighed, and then we’ll introduce you individually to the other program members. After that, each person will share one “learning moment” from the past week. You’ll share your own learning moments starting in Week 2.”
10. Free attendance at regular class
Example: free class coupons for your normally scheduled fee-based group fitness classes
11. Free attendance at special promo class or session
Example: Every Friday your nutrition consulting practice holds a free seminar on a specific aspect of preventing or managing diabetes.
12. Observation
Example: Your medical fitness center offers a six-month healthy eating program. You invite potential participants to watch a single class so that they can see what’s involved.
13. One-on-one talk with current customer
Example: Your personal training studio maintains a list of clients who are happy to chat one-on-one with potential customers. You proactively suggest and then make the introduction.
14. Free charitable event training
Example: your corporate wellness business offers a year-round training program to support all the cancer walks and runs in your local community.
15. Free ice water or other seasonal item
Example: To demonstrate your attention and authentic care for your customers, your wellness business hands everyone an icy bottle of water as they leave your facility during spring and summer, or a loaner umbrella when it’s raining.
16. Free music playlist
Example: your movement center features a huge variety of classes, all accompanied by great music. Share the monthly playlist so people who like the tunes can play them and buy if they wish.
17. Free webinar
Example: Your online fitness and health coaching business offers a free webinar on the last day of every month with unique fitness and lifestyle tips that underscore why your business is distinctive.
18. Fundraiser with open access
Example: Host a day- or week-long fundraiser that offers open access to selected services, programs or classes for the duration of the fundraiser.
19. Free teleconference
Example: host a teleconference every other Tuesday evening where you answer questions from anyone who wishes to call in.
20. Streaming video
Example: Your health club offers streaming live video of the main workout area on your website. At any time, potential customers can see what’s going on in your facility.
21. “A day in the life of…”
Example: Share audio or video clips of current customers describing how they apply what they’ve learned from your wellness business to their daily lives.
22. Taste test or sampling
Example: Offer taste tests of nutritional products or hold a sampling of featured recipes from your diabetes self-care program.
23. Sample week
Example: Your women’s wellness center posts a week’s sample menu and a week’s sample workout for download from your website.
24. Public seminar
Example: host a no-charge seminar at a public location. Make it interactive, not a one-way monologue. Plan roles for your staff and selected customers in the experience.
25. Free assessment
Example: offer a complimentary “baseline” fitness, nutrition, stress, sleep or health risk assessment. If they’re not ready to buy right away (and many won’t be), try extending an invitation to one of the free events described in this list.
26. Passive freebies
Examples: Offer free use of underutilized resources at specified times. Examples: massage chairs, aquamassage equipment, relaxation DVDs, plain-vanilla stationary cycles, and so on.
27. Outdoors events
Example: Schedule selected fitness classes or sessions outdoors during pleasant weather.
28. Shopping mall events
Example: Offer a free weekend yoga class at a local shopping center or park. The more the merrier!
29. Park events
Example: Host a free Meetup at a local park — say, a family walk and BYOP (bring your own picnic).
30. Free seasonal services
Example: Have your in-house nutrition professionals offer free holiday recipe makeovers. Promote it through local media and networking partners.
31. Free introductory sessions
Example: your weight loss business offers a 24-week program. The first four sessions are free.
32. All-you-can-eat
Example: A yoga studio allows prospective students to take all the yoga classes they wish for a week or ten days.
33. Jointly host an event
Example: Your personal training studio partners with a local bike shop (LBS) and a local triathlon shop to offer injury prevention workouts after training rides, swims and runs.
Last but not least
If you have a serious prospect and they come up with a different way they’d like to “try before they buy,” resist the urge to say “We don’t do that.” Keep an open mind.
After all, they’re telling you what it would take to turn them into a paying client, member or patient.
Shouldn’t you listen?
