So, you’re an instructor! You’ve found a gym, you’ve got your disco lights and all pre-class necessities sorted. Your next task is to create a girl gang!
Module 5
Building and Keeping your Girl Gang
Growing your girl gang can be done many ways, here we will go through the what and how.
PART 1 – THINK SMARTER NOT HARDER
What:
Starting your girl gang.
How:
Much like in the marketing module, you really need to set out target areas/shops/locations or interest and relevance, and
Think – where do you go to get your nails/hair/tan done, post office, your local supermarket, corner shops – where would you love to see your flyers/audience come from?
Go in to these places, speak to the women there, peak their interest. Advertise around your local halls/churches, start doing weekly outreach – flyer in your local town area, outside gyms – inside of gyms! You have to go above and beyond, although organically growing (word of mouth) is a great freebie, you have to be willing to work for your girl gang.
What:
When someone says “Oh, seems interesting, maybe” and then doesn’t turn up, or “I don’t think it’s for me…”
How:
Don’t be afraid to ask for their information (phone/email) – as long as they agree, and are happy for you to contact them, this abides by GDPR laws.
You have to be punchy when speaking to new people!
Try saying things like
“Give it a go, I promise you will love it, it’s just the best feeling ever”
“Hey I didn’t see you in class this week, let’s book you in for next week!”
“Bring your friends along, you will all love it, it’s such a great environment!”
Be positive, be bright and be open. Avoid negative connotations, you wouldn’t go to a class if someone approached you with “nobody has been coming to my class”/”it’s been so quiet please come along” – there’s no interest there, and nobody wants to be in a class with Negative Nancy, right! So show everyone your positivity and why Turn’d Up Fitness with YOU is for them.
You could even offer a first class for free, or for them to bring a friend half price/free – incentives are a great way to get involvement!
What:
How do I peak their interest to keep them?
How:
Your Girl Gang are your supporters, get to know them – remember their names, remember their stories and why they joined your class. Adding a personal touch is what keeps someone, they’ll feel wanted and like they belong.
Using the ethos of Turn’d Up Fitness – we empower women, we create a safe space. So show them this. Use the register to see how often they’re coming along, if they miss a session, drop them a message, email or Instagram dm “Hey, we missed you in class today! Hope everything is okay, can’t wait to see you next class” – you’ve given them commitment without asking them to come to class, they will love that you care so much to notice they weren’t there.
What:
Get connected!
How:
Get your girls to follow you on Instagram, liking your Facebook group, keep in contact with them. Like we’ve said in the marketing module, interact with them daily, tag them in posts, make them feel constantly welcome in your class.
What:
Dealing with “no shows”/only a few girls in class.
How:
It’s disheartening, we can’t sugar coat it! But also – it happens to everyone at least once. Sometimes a lot happens to each member and they can’t all turn up, or if it’s an event (Christmas party, Bonfire Night, Easter parties… You get the gist!) Just don’t let it dampen your fire or get you down.
Turn it to a positive – you have a whole room to yourself, whether it’s to dance or to meditate. As we’ve said above, message your regulars, everyone who’s ever been to your class – “Hey, we missed you in class tonight! See you next week, we’ve got a new exciting routine to learn!!”
Sometimes, it’s a learning curve, and a lesson to do more outreach, promotions, suggest the first class for free/bring a friend for free, it can’t always be helped, but if you make sure there’s no reason for it not to happen, it will happen less than often!
PART 2 – WE HEAR YOU
Below, we’ve collected some helpful hints & tips from former and current Turn’d Up Fitness instructors.
Mumina
• I make sure I greet the girls individually (when they’re new) and let them know what TUF is all about. I make sure I talk to them at the end and ask them to follow my social media. I put reminders about class on there and tell them how well they’re doing. It’s hard work but pays off.
• When new people come and say they’re defo gonna come the following week I take it with a pinch of a salt cos that isn’t always the case. It used to really get to me but for someone new I’d say take it week by week and send reminders about class.
• Once the girls are familiar with routines they usually have favourites and if we do a routine that is someone’s favourite I ask them to stand next to or behind me while we dance. I think it makes them feel special and I love it too! It shows I’ve really invested my time in trying to learn their favourite routines.
• Don’t act too keen. I used to message every time someone missed class. Now, if they miss two consecutive classes, I don’t message the second time. I leave it two/three weeks and then try again. The first time you message I find they feel valued and they like you’ve noticed, then when you message again a few weeks later they like that you remember them and actually come back. I found sending every time was more of a deterrent.
• Send reminder emails a day or two before class. I copy and paste mine and just send it to everyone booked in. I change it weekly though.
• Be approachable. I always make sure I know everyone’s names. It’s really hard to remember when they first come but I make an effort to make sure the second time I put the face to the name. This makes them feel valued and important.
• Use their photos in marketing materials. My girls LOVE it when I use their photos – they then share the post which helps get my name out there. My girls are my biggest supporters so I make sure I’m their biggest supporter too by showing them they’re the most important part of my classes by using them to advertise.
Chloe S
• I have a closed group where my members can join, that’s where I do the weekly bookings and keep them updated on latest news. Doing this means that they get a notification when I post in the group so that they never forget to book on etc and it makes them feel welcome.
Kelly
• Make it personal. I’ve got to know my girls a little and I have let them get to know me a little too. While still being professional, add the personal touch. The girls know I’m exactly like them, not just a business head. I make sure I’m personal enough to be able to have a joke with them and help them relax as it can be quite nerve-wracking.
• Make it personal. I’ve got to know my girls a little and I have let them get to know me a little too. While still being professional, add the personal touch. The girls know I’m exactly like them, not just a business head. I make sure I’m personal enough to be able to have a joke with them and help them relax as it can be quite nerve-wracking.
• I keep members coming back by keeping any offers I have going fresh. I always try to come up with a new gimmick to get them to come to class.
Nadine
• Always greet and say goodbye to everybody.
• Woman of the Week to recognise those going the extra mile
• Use your sign-in sheets as trackers, if somebody comes one week but not the next, you can follow up with a message to say missed you in class tonight hope to see you back etc
Lauren
• Tag members in all your posts, it reminds them about class.
• Make sure you make the time at the start AND the end of class to make them welcome and then ask how they found it and if they will come again.
• If someone hasn’t been for a couple of classes, message them asking if they’re okay and you hope to see them in class soon.
–
Mumina
– Promote your classes like mad and message everyone you know.
– Don’t rely on your friends cos they mean well but have a tendency to not come to your classes.
Nadine:
-‘My neighbour’ website ads
-Local group pages online
-Mums’ groups
-Always carry a leaflet/business card so that if you meet someone and get chatting they can take it away as a reminder to follow up and look into classes
Claire
– Flash mobs – me, Anna and Mya work together to recruit. Working together is the best way to get people to come to your class.
– Me and Georgie do a lot of events together too. The girls love that we get on and it makes them trust us and trust our vision. It just makes it so much more fun! We also share our girls (I know the Barry girls do this too and it seems to work amazingly there as well)
Emma
– I offered free taster sessions to get people interested, with varying levels of success. I then dressed in Turn’d Up gear and visited other classes and groups in those gyms and halls handing out flyers and talking about Turn’d Up. I would say around 50 per cent of those I talked to then came to try a taster session. I feel the personal approach really worked for me.
– To grow numbers, I ensured that all the ladies that came to my classes felt special. I made sure I knew them by name and tagged them in photos. I them asked them to share so that their friends could see what Turn’d Up was all about. This led to people tagging their friends in videos and photos and usually eventually trying the classes out.
– It does take time to build up a class and I think the most important thing I’ve learned is to be consistent. Always run your class, don’t cancel willy nilly, be on time, be friendly and then the momentum will build and so will numbers.
Lauren
Invite your friends and family to your first class, It’s always encouraging to have people you feel comfortable around there supporting you! (Even if it’s not their thing, just ask them to come to the first class, they might be surprised!)
Georgie
– Everything I have done has been on social media. I ensure that everything that goes out is professional and something I would sign up to. I don’t over-push my classes because for me word of mouth from my girls is what keeps girls at class and enjoying it. They’re buying into an experience not just a weekly class – that’s how I like to think of it anyway.
Leanne
– Friends knew I was on the training and were eager for classes so I did a taster class straight after for them. A few others tagged along thanks to social media and now it’s really growing!
– Learning from the business mentor on the course was a bonus. She taught us how to use social media properly and it’s working.
Susannah
Facebook, flyers and word of mouth have worked wonders for me. A large majority of my members have come from Facebook advertisements.
Gemma
– Find a venue that suits you first, and make a date .
– Set a goal to work towards.
– Put posters up locally.
– Use flyers and Facebook ads if you can.
– I concentrated on building one class before I branched out. It took me nine months to build my classes up. It doesn’t always happen overnight.
Linzi
Over the months I’ve worked hard to market my classes using social media and placing leaflets in nearby areas. But it has mostly been word of mouth. The girls that have been coming the longest are always bringing new recruits along!