Nine laws series: Law #1

THE NINE LAWS SERIES:

LAW #1.

This nine-part series takes a deep dive into Madlab’s 9 Laws, laws that, if followed, will lead a business to improve the most important six key performance indicators (6 KPIs):

- Average client value
- Client retention
- Dollars per coach hour
- Total coach pay
- Business profit
- The ability to build a sellable asset

First up is Law #1:

A client’s first day should be done by appointment only in a one-on-one setting with a professional coach and should be administered as a sit-down consult without physical training.

Here’s how following this first law lays the foundation for success for the client, the coach and the business.

The Client

Every single person has their own story, their own goals, their own priorities, their own reason for considering joining your gym, and their own emotional pain that is leading them to think you might have a solution to their problem. And unpacking their story, their goals, their pain can’t really be done any other way than through honest, open conversation.

Can you imagine finding out a prospect was just told by his doctor that he’s on the borderline of becoming a diabetic and has high blood pressure and needs to change his lifestyle ASAP in a group class workout or even in a personal training session when their focus is on learning how to squat, not on revealing what’s really going on in their lives?

Instead, sitting down with a prospect and asking hard questions to get to the bottom of why they contacted you in the first place is the first step in building a trusting, open, honest relationship with a professional coach who can help them with the problem they most want to fix.

Because when the prospect reveals personal information about themselves, they will start to see the value in what you can do for them, value that will determine their willingness to pay a high price each month for a personal coach who is giving them real results. And with results comes a willingness to continue to pay—i.e. Retention.

The Coach

Having the chance to really dig into what’s going on with a prospective client is going to put the coach in the best position to actually help the client get the results they want.

Instead of making programming adjustments on the fly, for example, as you’re watching a client struggle with a movement, a one-on-one consult will allow the coach to get to know the client’s injury history, training history, fears and apprehensions, goals, priorities, schedule, nutrition habits, and, of course, their “real story” for being there, putting the coach and client in a position to succeed, both from the standpoint showing the client the value of having a coach and offering a real solution to the client rather than just a hard workout.

And because coaches in the Madlab system are compensated on a percentage of revenue basis—which comes down to their ability to acquire and retain clients (Law #6)—Law #1 sets them up perfectly to earn a high dollar per coach hour and total coach pay (KPIs 3 and 4).

The Business

Real simple here, when clients are willing to pay a high price for a coach and are seeing results, and when coaches are earning a good living, both are likely to stick around, which is exactly what the business needs for long-term success.

While Law #1 is but the first step in the process, it’s essentially the foundation upon which the other eight laws are built. Check back soon for a detailed description of how Law #2 affects the client, the coach and the business.