Focus on your CLIENTS not the competition Ep 28

In this episode of the Gym Secrets podcast, host Alex delves into the topic of competition for gym owners, emphasizing a mindset shift from scarcity to abundance. He draws inspiration from an iconic image of Michael Phelps to illustrate that winners focus on their own goals, not the competition. Alex encourages gym owners to obsess over client results and experiences, suggesting that this approach will naturally outperform competitors. He advises against wasting mental bandwidth on competitors and instead, to invest energy in improving service, leveraging existing customer relationships, and creating compelling offers to drive referrals. Alex asserts that even in a crowded market, there is ample opportunity for growth and success through exceptional service and word-of-mouth referrals.

• Alex introduces himself as the host of the Gym Secrets podcast.
• The podcast is targeted at gym and business owners looking for insights.
• The theme for the episode is competition, focusing on tactics and mindset.

"Hey, what's going on? Everyone, this is Alex. I will be your host. And you are on the gym Secrets podcast."

The quote is Alex introducing himself and setting the stage for the podcast, indicating the audience and purpose of the episode.

• Gym owners often face direct competition for trainers and clients.
• Competitors may copy marketing materials such as ads and emails.
• Alex empathizes with gym owners as he has experienced similar competition.

"So a lot of times we get gym owners who come to us and who say, I've got this competitor, he's my direct competitor, and we compete for trainers and clients, and he copies all my ads and blah, blah, blah, blah."

This quote highlights the common issues gym owners face with competition and establishes Alex's understanding of these challenges.

• Competition is not just about tactics but also mindset.
• Alex references a famous image of Michael Phelps in a race to illustrate his point on focus and competition.
• The story emphasizes the importance of concentrating on one's own goals rather than the competition.

"But the reality is this, is that whenever someone talks about competition, the only thing immediately, the thing that pops into my mind is that picture of Michael Phelps."

The quote introduces the mindset aspect of dealing with competition by evoking the image of Michael Phelps, which symbolizes focus and determination in the face of rivalry.

• The importance of prioritizing client satisfaction and results to outperform competitors.
• The concept of obsessing over clients to ensure they have the best experience and service.
• The idea that focusing on the client can lead to crushing the competition.

"Losers focus on the competition, winners focus on of been. And that's something that took me a while to kind of, what do you call it? Internalize. You will always crush your competition. If you obsess over your clients, over client results and the experience that they're having and the service that they're having at your facility, you will always be able to crush them."

This quote emphasizes the shift in mindset from concentrating on competitors to concentrating on clients. It suggests that by prioritizing clients' results and experiences, a business can outperform its competitors.

• Transitioning from a scarcity mindset to one of abundance.
• Recognizing the vast potential customer base, even in competitive environments.
• Understanding that the market is large enough for multiple businesses to succeed using the same strategies.

"And the reason I say that is it's really kind of a shift from scarcity to abundance. And just always look at your bottom line. Look at like you're like, I lost two customers. Then it's like, okay, but think about how many other customers are out there."

This quote underlines the need to adopt an abundance mindset, focusing on the ample opportunities available rather than the few losses that may occur.

• The significance of maximizing current customer relationships to expand one's business.
• Encouraging referrals by providing exceptional service.
• The potential of tapping into customers' networks, such as families and friends, to grow the client base.

"And if you're in the gym business, how many people need to lose weight, you know, how many customers you already have, who you're not leveraging, you're underutilizing, you're not trying to get to their families, get to their friends."

This quote highlights the opportunity to grow a business by leveraging existing customers and their networks, which many businesses fail to capitalize on.

• The necessity of proactive engagement and appreciation to retain and attract customers.
• A variety of strategies to enhance customer involvement and satisfaction, such as events, offers, rewards, personalized notes, and regular communication.

"You're not trying to provide exceptional service so you can get referrals. You're not holding events that's going to allow them to bring friends to you. Like, you're not giving compelling offers, you're not giving rewards, you're not writing handwritten cards, you're not calling them up every week, you're not texting them."

This quote lists specific strategies to actively engage with customers, which can lead to increased customer satisfaction, retention, and referrals.

• Attention units are a finite resource, and focusing on competition negatively impacts productivity.
• Mental bandwidth should be allocated to improving service for customers rather than dwelling on competition.
• Engaging with customers through various methods like calls, messages, personal videos, and handwritten cards can be more beneficial.
• Organizing events and promotions within a business can drive customer engagement and retention.

Literally, we only have so much bandwidth, right, that you can allot to certain tasks.

This quote emphasizes the limited capacity for mental focus and the importance of prioritizing tasks that contribute to one's own success rather than wasting energy on negative thoughts about competitors.

And if you can just take that bandwidth and apply it to, how can I better serve my customers?

Alex suggests redirecting focus from competitors to customer service improvement, indicating that this shift in focus can lead to better business outcomes.

Are you making announcements before and after every session to promote your offers?

This quote is a prompt to self-evaluate whether one is effectively communicating and promoting offers to customers, highlighting the importance of maximizing opportunities within one's business.

• Market saturation is not necessarily a barrier to success; multiple businesses can thrive using effective systems.
• The fitness industry, like the restaurant industry, can support multiple successful entities in the same market.
• Fundamental business practices can be overlooked when too much emphasis is placed on competition and marketing.

What would happen if we had ten gyms in one market that ran all of our systems? Then it means that we should have ten gyms that are doing well.

Alex posits that proper implementation of effective business systems can lead to multiple businesses succeeding in the same market, suggesting that competition is not a zero-sum game.

How many restaurants are doing well, right?

By drawing a parallel with the restaurant industry, Alex illustrates that many businesses can prosper in the same space if they operate effectively, implying that the focus should be on execution rather than the number of competitors.

There's so many people that need to lose weight in any given marketplace.

This quote underscores the demand in the fitness market, suggesting that there is ample opportunity for numerous businesses to succeed by addressing the needs of the population.

• Alex emphasizes the numerous methods available for acquiring customers beyond Facebook ads.
• Gym Launch, Alex's business, is used as an example, with over 50% of new customers coming from referrals.
• Alex advises focusing on providing exceptional results and creating opportunities for customers to bring friends.
• The importance of referrals is highlighted as an indicator of a business going viral and achieving word of mouth.

"Do you know how many other ways there are to get customers besides running Facebook ads? A lot, right?"

This quote underscores the idea that businesses should not rely solely on Facebook ads for customer acquisition, as there are many other viable strategies.

"We're 50% or more on referrals. Can you all say that 50% of your new customers each month that are coming in are from referral?"

Alex uses this question to challenge listeners to evaluate their own customer acquisition strategies, highlighting the success of his business's referral program.

• Alex advises listeners to concentrate on their own business rather than on competitors.
• He suggests that focusing on winning and improving one's own business is the key to success.
• The concept of "winners focus on winning, losers focus on everyone else" is introduced as a motivational statement.

"Don't worry about your competition. Focus on you. Winners focus on winning. Losers focus on everyone else."

This quote encourages business owners to direct their energy towards their own growth and success rather than getting sidetracked by what competitors are doing.

• Alex ends on a motivational note, encouraging gym owners to take action and work with his company.
• There is an implication that those who do not take up the opportunity may be left behind by competitors who do.
• Alex signs off with a positive message, wishing listeners an awesome day and saying goodbye.

"If you're a gym owner and you fill up your gym or one of your competitors is working with us, then you should definitely set up, because otherwise, you all about to be stomped."

This statement acts as a call to action for gym owners, suggesting that they should engage with his services to avoid falling behind in the market.

"Hope you have an awesome day, and I will catch you guys on the flip side. Bye."

Alex concludes the conversation with a friendly farewell, leaving listeners with a sense of goodwill and anticipation for future interactions.