Only you can put your clients on a podium.
Their bosses aren’t writing their names on the wall after a good week in the office.
Their kids aren’t giving them a round of applause after they mow the lawn.
No one else is celebrating them.
You have a daily opportunity to delight your clients. Not just to deliver a good class with individual scaling and cheerleading.
Those are the basics. The best gyms put their clients on a podium.
Here’s how to do it.
1. Find opportunities for “podiums” within your scheduled workouts.
For example, in the workout Jackie, there are at least four opportunities to do something they’ve never done before:
A. Row 1,000 m faster than ever before.
B. Do 50 unbroken thrusters.
C. Do 30 unbroken pull-ups
D. Finish the workout in a PR time.
And I’m sure you already see more opportunities, right?
2. Before the workout, ask each client which podium they’ll aim for (or their personal goal in the workout).
3. Coach the client toward that goal when the workout begins.
4. When he or she hits the mark, write the goal on a small whiteboard and take a creative picture of the person holding it up and smiling. Stand the member on a plyo box with a small whiteboard listing PRs and use the #podium hashtag.
5. Post on your Facebook business page and your personal page. Tag the athlete. Make sure the post is “public” so the person’s friends can see it.
You’re probably already taking pictures of your clients during workouts, right? Uploading and tagging them? That’s not new to anyone. But context matters: a sweaty heap of Henrietta on the floor isn’t as appealing as a beaming Henny, standing on a plyo box, holding a banner that reads, “I DID IT!!!”
This is also helpful to your gym in other ways:
A. It gets your coaches thinking about celebrating success and delighting your clients.
B. It teaches the habit of internalizing small wins.
C. It presents a new way to approach old workouts.
D. It puts small wins in context (“the growth mindset”).
E. It allows for mucho celebration. If you’re using SugarWOD, the fist-bumps will fly.
Checklist:
1. Review your programming with coaches a week before. What are the best opportunities for podiums?
2. Get 10-15 small whiteboards and a lot of whiteboard markers.
3. Allow two minutes at the end of class for podium celebrations, pictures and hashtag time.
4. Post one picture from each class to Instagram; auto-feed to Facebook.
5. Create a Facebook album on your page for the other photos.
6. Tag every person in every picture.
7. Host a Podium Party every quarter.
8. Smile.
Our business isn’t “based on service.” It is service. The best way to service your clients is to show them the path to success … and help them celebrate when they get there.
Your best programming doesn’t matter nearly as much as celebrating success does.
When your clients celebrate success, they’re more likely to internalize joy and gratitude. That is the definition of delight.
Put them on a podium.
Other Media in This Series
How to Delight Your Clients
Delighting Your Clients: Giftology
What Jason Ackerman Learned From 10,000 Hours of Coaching
How to Delight Your Clients Online
