The main ingredients needed for any float center to increase memberships are assertiveness and professionalism. Rarely (I estimate 5% of the time or less) does a client ask if they can sign up for a membership. Sometimes clients ask, “how often do people float?” This is a good sign.
Any question about float frequency is a convenient segway into your Membership Pitch. But don’t count on it! Your client shouldn’t be doing the work for you! If you want to increase your float center’s community of regulars and increase your profitability - you will have to step up and lead your clients.
So, here are five easy-to-implement tips to dramatically improve your membership sign-ups.
5 Ideas To Increase Membership Conversions
Implement these non-pushy sales concepts into the buying process and increase your conversions for your float center or business.
By: Rob Bass | October 1, 2019
1. Smile & Shake Hands First
This establishes you as a leader. You are no longer just the person at the desk, you are a leader, Right as soon as your client walks into your float center - greet him or her with a smile, eye-to-eye contact & a friendly handshake. This establishes comfortability, and but more importantly, you become the context-expert. You become the person they can trust to facilitate this brand-new experience they're about to embark upon.
2. Offer Your Clients Water Before & After Their Float
Offer to serve your clients as much as you can. They should be as comfortable as possible in your center, and for some of them, this is their first time floating, so they may be somewhat anxious. Serving your client can be very relaxing, and shows them you care about how they feel and this can held build upon your relationship.
For a side thought, your clients aren't just signing up to float, they're signing up for the entire experience from the moment they walk into your float office until they leave for their vehicle. You're there to deliver an experience.
Make sure they look forward to coming back.
3. Prime Your Membership Pitch
Throughout your conversation with your clients, both before & after their floats, sprinkle in membership benefits when it’s appropriately connected to the topic. For example, if the client asks if your center provides any other services besides floating, an appropriate response may be something like, “Yes, we offer massage/sauna/etc and those services come with a discount when you sign up for a membership.”
Another instance is when clients return from their float. A good question to ask is: “Were you able to relax quickly or did it take you some time?”
Whether your client says, “Pretty quick” or “It took me a while to relax” both are common and you could respond with “Yes, that’s fairly common, especially for 1st and 2nd-time floaters. Many of our members have found that their third and fourth floats produced a much deeper relaxation.”
This establishes the idea that many people return to experience floating again, so much to the effect of signing-up for a membership. It also reiterates you as a leader & professional, because you are familiar with an experience they just had that was unfamiliar to them.
HINT: your clients are looking for some grounding. Give them the data their searching for.
4. Be Assertive With Your Pitch
Before your client asks to pay for his/her float, introduce your memberships formally. Something like, “Just so you are aware, what most people do instead of paying ‘full price’ is sign-up for our memberships…” Communicate the best benefits of signing-up for a membership. Do not go into all the details of the membership.
Right here, less is more.
If your client is interested then they’ll ask for clarification before they sign-up. Then, most importantly, close! You have to ask your clients if they want to sign-up, directly! This is where establishing yourself as the leader throughout the whole interaction works well. To “beat around the bush” or ‘softly offer a potential membership’ would be incongruent with everything up until now. Close with something like, “would you like to take advantage of that?” or “which membership do you have questions about?”
5. Keep Your Powder Dry
There is a high probability your client will say some type of “No” after your first attempt to close them on signing-up for a membership. Common responses from clients are, “I want to think about it,” or “I have to ask my spouse first.” You can expect this response & be comfortable knowing that the majority of membership sign-ups convert on the 2nd time you close the client. In this case, you can take "no" for an answer. We never want to be too pushy with our sales techniques.
Respond with something like, “Okay, I understand” and proceed to check out. But before closing their order, sweeten the deal. Maybe your float center offers a free float for signing-up a membership or another type of bonus. It’s important not to advertise this bonus on the first time you attempt to close the client. Save this benefit for your 2nd and final close… “what if we gave you a free float on top of the membership deal? Do you want to do that?” You will convert many clients into float members with this approach.
Most importantly, have fun with your closes. Once you've eliminated the fear of clients saying no, you'll begin to enjoy the process. Eventually, clients will start saying "yes".
HINT: They're saying "Yes" to you, not the deal. ;)
BEFORE YOU GO
If you're looking for an advantage in producing more members for your float center or an industry-respected sales-training course for your employees, the people at The Float Mind have taken and benefited from the 7-Figure Sales courses through Cardone University. (Not a lie. We bought it with our Amazon credit card.)
This course has helped train a handful of float facilitators to understand the membership selling process to best serve their clients. Having your employees on the same page when it comes to selling memberships is important. This course will help.
Enjoy and happy closing!
The Float Mind
The Float Mind is an online media content provider dedicated to delivering inforpublic on the benefits of flotation therapy and a media hub for float industry professionals.