Social proof is imperative if you are looking to drive leads toward your fitness business. Of the many types of social proof you could accumulate, few are more powerful than a good old-fashioned client testimonial.
Your potential customers want to envision their own success in your space before making a commitment to working with you, and hearing from people like themselves in this context will often give them the nudge they need to make the investment. Fortunately, asking for a testimonial is easy, and often interpreted as a compliment by the client.
Potential Responses
There are two types of responses we typically receive when requesting a complimentary quote for our website or social media content:
Absolutely! I’ll get you something ASAP!
Really? Me? I’m not very good with stuff like this. What would you want me to say?
First things first, you should never attempt to redirect those who offer the first response. Ride the momentum of their positivity, and thank them profusely for their efforts. Their enthusiasm and can-do attitude regarding the request will only be soured if you attempt to dictate their approach to the process right from the start.
In my experience, the clients who fall into the latter category far outweigh the former. Don’t ever abandon this population as a result of their hesitation. You made this request of them for a reason, and can extract some golden material with just a little bit of direction.
Try This
The next time someone asks you what an optimal quote would look like, ask them to answer these four questions:
Was there a frustrating problem that inspired you to get in touch?
What led you to believe we may be the optimal gym to help?
Was there a specific moment you began to notice training results?
How has your life improved as a result of the time you’ve spent with us?
Here’s an example of a testimonial from a client who visited CSP for a short-term consultation and has since been executing our programming in a distance-based format. He worked off of these four questions and came back with the following:
"I spent years guessing my way through the process of strength training prior to discovering Cressey Sports Performance. Thankfully, a friend of mine recently shared a CSP exercise tutorial on Facebook that caught my attention. I was thrilled to finally find a gym that was as interested in sharing “the why” behind their exercise selection as they were to demonstrate “the how.” I now have a better understanding of the importance of proper warm ups in advance of each training session, and a newfound desire to get my work in at the gym."
That quote will drive more business my way than a generic: “These guys are the best. I’d recommend them to anyone!”
If you can present a story about training at your gym that is easily relatable, you’ll soon be headed in the right direction.