Don't Buy Ads: Grow Your CrossFit Box

C-Myth Mastery

After a few weeks of listening to Michael Gerber's book, E-Myth Mastery (mandatory reading for Affiliate owners,) I sat down and created specific job descriptions for all staff, and a monstrous operations manual delineating both responsibility and reward.  As challenges go, this is more akin to a 10k run than a tough METCON: none of it is particularly challenging, but it takes a long time, and I'm distracted easily.  But it was worth it.

When it comes to coaching, nearly every Affiliate with more than one coach will eventually hit the hurdle of coaching differentiation.  Some coaches are more technically proficient; some are more schooled; some are more charismatic.

What SHOULD you standardize? The order of your coaching progression.  This means efficient transition (minimum time from introduction to achieving a full movement,) continual progression for the client, and smaller, clearer steps along the way.

Here's an example of the problem: Jenny's trying to get her first pullup.  She's got her kip down; she's no longer challenged enough by bodyweight rows to push any sort of adaptation; she just can't put it all together.  In a group of twelve, where half can do pullups and half can barely do a bent-knee bodyweight row, Jenny's stuck in the middle.  If the coach doesn't have a clear plan for progression, they're most likely to polarize the group (can't do a pullup?  Bodyweight rows it is!) Jenny gets a good workout, but doesn't move closer to a full pullup.

Our idea: exercise placards (fancy posters) on the walls. 

Maybe it's a bit too Bob Hoffman for you, but it helps.  The poster clearly shows the progression, including the threshold necessary to move up a level.  We tested with a lot of groups before we added the thresholds, but if you disagree, you can just use your own.

Bonus: we're shipping these in high-quality format to local high schools, police stations..anyone who asks, really.  We don't charge for them.  Want to download the template, change colours, change the disclaimer, add your logo, or otherwise rip it apart?  You can download our versions here.  Feel free to share, print, sell...but please give us credit where it's due. 

I'm not advocating homogeneity among your staff.  In fact, I think members SHOULD have favourites.  If I hear the argument: "Tyler's my favourite!" "No, Mike's better!" I'm smiling.  Since no coach can appeal to everyone, different styles means better client coverage.  But for the good of the client,their rate of development shouldn't differ by coach.  Maximum rate of progression should mean that clients reach high levels faster and attract other clients.  Rave about a woman getting her first pullup on facebook, and count the 'likes' half an hour later - this is the good stuff!

The Elevator Pitch

For time: "What's CrossFit?"

CrossFit is a social workout.  It's a community.  It's a revolution.  And it grows ONLY through the telling of stories; the relay of excitement; the in-person experience. 

Friends bring friends to CrossFit.  Are your clients good at recruiting?

If someone walks in off the street with questions, can your staff sum up the experience in 30 seconds or less?

If you're stuck on an elevator and someone notices your t-shirt, can you recruit them before they reach their floor?

This is the notion behind the 'elevator pitch': a quick overview of the benefits (not features) of CrossFit. Just enough to get them to try it once.  Enough to get them to pursue the conversation, or read the Journal, or skim the FAQ on your site.

I've been searching for a good 'elevator pitch' for two years, and finally found one I really like, on an Ontario CrossFit affiliate's page.  After the Ontario Sectional, I scanned every Affiiate's blog for days.  Consequently, I can't find the exact post again, though I've tried.  If this is yours, email me and I'll give credit where it's due (and a free t-shirt!)

So....what's CrossFit?

CrossFit combines the best parts of weightlifting, sprinting, calisthenics, and kettlebells.  Plus, we do a little bit of basic gymnastics.  By sticking to the most effective exercises from each, we can do these really efficient workouts in about 30 minutes.  They're hard, but they have to be.  It takes a couple of years to be really great at CrossFit, but you can be good in a few months.  Wanna try it?

Without being too technical, here are the parts that I like:

• Lots of 'colour' - people associate different feelings with words like "sprinting" and "gymnastics"
• Plain english, no jargon
• Seems unscripted
• Addresses scalability without saying the word
• You don't have to write down any web addresses
• Triggers a lot of follow-up questions
• Defines CrossFit as a discipline (like karate or dance) instead of a 'workout craze'
• Ends with a question

I'm using it.  Got something better?  Pitch me below!

PS - teach it to your clients, too! Say it in front of them whenever you can!

Brodsky's Invaluable Errors

This morning in Inc. Magazine online, Norm Brodsky lists his Top 5 lessons learned through mistakes.  As a guy who's made a LOT of mistakes - and tries to learn from them every time - I was drawn to the article to find that I have a lot in common with ol' Norm.

1. Competition is great.  As CrossFit grows, we're now facing inter-box competition in some of the larger markets.  Brodsky thinks this is a positive.  “In a young industry like ours, you have to spend an inordinate amount of time and money just explaining what you do and why prospective customers should pay you to do it,” he explains. The more competitors you have, the easier that task becomes.”  Brodsky's in the self-storage industry, but he could be talking about ours.  In an earlier essay, called "The More The Merrier," Brodsky outlines his theory in more depth.  His basic idea: competition is a great for educating the market, making comparison shopping possible.  Folks will assume that every CrossFit box is the same until they're more educated, and you can't do that alone.  When you have a lot of competition, all you have to worry about is being better; the education of "what is CrossFit?" will eventually diminish.

2. In 'Firing Carlotta,' Brodsky talks about his policy of not hiring friends and family of employees. Most CrossFit boxes don't have a lot of employees, but most are met first as clients, and then trained to train.  This is a practice advocated by Greg Glassman, and recently adopted at our box.  However, the most important lesson here is to have a written set of rules for the workplace, and stick to them even when it isn't convenient or comfortable.  When Lisbeth Darsh posted her question about Trainers dating clients on the Affiliate Blog last week, it struck me that if there were a written policy in place beforehand, the problem would be uncomfortable but solvable.  No policy?  Elephant in the room.

3. Sales Commissions Don't Work.  Early in our practice, we relied only on private, personal training as our sole revenue stream.  This was our pre-CrossFit era, and Trainers were paid only on a per-client basis.  So I implemented a 'bonus' system, based on hours coached, total revenue for Personal Training, and total revenue for Group Training.  Every week, I'd update them on their progress to keep them motivated.  Attached to every paycheque was a chart indicating how close they were to achieving bonus.  Guess what? Not a single Trainer attempted to increase their bookings.  Sure, they missed their bonus when they didn't achieve it, but never took strides to improve their percentages.

Brodsky's argument: you don't want people for whom money is the principal motivator anyway.

4. Marketing Is A Waste Of Money.  My favourite!  People have been conditioned to ignore advertising.  They're immune.  The more slick the brochure, the less likely it will be read. However, I'd argue that Advertising is a waste of money.  Marketing is the image you portray: your smile, your blog, your professionalism, your public image.  It's not your haircut.

5. The less you're around, the better for business.  Staff trained to think autonomously behave as if it's their company.  They care. They take ownership of problems. Last weekend, while traveling to the Ontario CrossFit Sectionals, I left the box in the hands of two newer staff members who were hired for their ability to project excitement in the Box.  These guys are proficient coaches.  They're not perfect at signing people in - yet.  But every time we posted an update from the competition, they'd scream it out to the group training back home.  The crowd was kept on-edge, tense, and roaring for 48 hours.  If they were following my "How To Coach" checklist, would the effect have been as good?  No way.  Employees who are scared to make mistakes will never take the risk to do anything remarkable.  Before I understood this, I couldn't be away from the gym for more than a few hours without calling in; I micro-managed.  Hire for personality, and then allow that personality to shine.

Brodsky's got some good stuff here, and it applies heavily to CrossFit.  Inc. is a good add to your Google Reader, if you haven't already done so.  Brodsky's mistakes reinforce lessons learned from my own - why wasn't I reading this five years ago?

100 Reasons To Compete, Not Just Coach

This post was originally called, "100 Reasons I'm Competing At Sectionals," and was posted on my main blog site.

1. Three words: "Go, coach, go!"
2. Frequent exposure to uncomfortable situations is good for you as an entrepreneur.
3. If you don't go this time, you probably won't go next time, either.
4. "Feeding The Baby" - I'd probably just stand there and pantomime everything if I wasn't competing.  You're likely the same.
5. Gotta represent the "unnaturals" who didn't play sports their whole lives
6. Got an Army to feed!
7. Setting an example is worth 100 articles.
8. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WIN to be a hero in your box.
9. You've got a unique perspective on the sheer volume of work necessary to pull it off, and the organizer needs empathetic friends on game day.
10. The worst-case scenario (last place?) really isn't bad at all.
11. It's our sport.  It grows through our support.
12. It gives you a unique opportunity to interact with other Affiliate owners.
13. I love my team. You're likely the same.
14. You'll get to see what works, what doesn't, and what's just mediocre.
15. Competing at CrossFit = winning at life.
16. Solid time with your coaching staff outside the normal locale.
17. You're a good stick against which to measure your members.
18. I get to wear 3 of my favourite hats in the same day: cheerleader, coach, and athlete.
19. The next day, I'll wear my fourth favourite, when I write about it.
20. CrossFit is a grassroots-driven culture.  This is us reaching for the sun.
21. Affiliate owners who aren't yet friends will be within 48 hours.
22. Anything for a cool t-shirt.
23. Feeling your lizard brain writhe during the last 10 seconds before the start.
24. Frequent exposure to physical stress makes you better at dealing with other stress.  It's a physiological fact.
25. You've got to be able to relate to your most elite athletes.
26.  Local press, baby!
27. You'll be better at building your own events in your own box.
28. 48 hours of post-Sectional glee.  Almost like a refractory period.
29. The incredible photography that shows up afterward!
30. Watching the CrossFit community flex its collective muscle.
31. Watching the CrossFit philosophy flex its solid muscle.
32. As an adult, you just don't have the opportunity to be amazed that often anymore.
33. Other coaches are competing.
34. If I keep meeting new people, I don't have to learn any new jokes.
35. This train only goes forward or backward.
36. Posting the WODs on my facebook wall got 21 responses...in the first 10 minutes.
37. I think this is the 'right' carrot to hang in front of people.
38. You'll learn like crazy.
39. You'll have more people to cheer for at CrossFit Games 2010 in Aromas (hey! I warmed up with that guy!)
40. Business cards don't get you very far in the CrossFit universe.  But sharing a puke bucket opens a lot of doors.
41. You're as young as you're ever going to get.
42. OPT owns a box, too.
43. It's all about the story.
44. You'll know, in minute detail, how my programming works.
45. You're right there to provide support when your athletes need it most.
46. You're there afterward to celebrate.
47. "The walk" over in the morning with the Team. Nervous jokes are double-funny!
48. You'll improve your own skills.
49. You'll get to train more often with your coaches.  Want to resolve an unspoken issue?  Deadlift with the staff member. 
50. Writing this list is really easy - that's reason enough!
51. 
    Test, revise curriculum, repeat.
52. Your form will be checked against the highest standard.
53. How else would you know?
54. You're building an exercise habit, too.  You don't ever stop.
55.  You've  already got the calluses.
56. So you can convince 20 people to come next year. 
57. Last year, I met the editor of CFJ at the CrossFit Ontario Challenge. 
58. Want to gauge the depth of your 'family?' Count the 'good luck!' messages.
59. Best seats in the house are on the stage.  See # 4, "feeding the baby."
60. Gotta stop other athletes from eating the jar of pickles before the pickle-eating contest.
61. The family's watching back home.
62. If you ask it of others, you have to be willing to put it out yourself.
63. You'll share a chalk dish with some of the best lifters,writers,and businesspeople in the country.
64. The two most important words to know as a leader? "Follow me."
65. "This is a truth derived through competition, not debate." - Greg Glassman
66. The only way to get better at ANYTHING - business, math, snooker, or exercise - is to do it with a group of people who are better than you.
67. Exercise theory funneled down to a fine point.  Either it's true, or you lose.
68. Only the bullfighter really knows what it's like in the arena.
69. Comparison.
70. It's nice to be in an environment where "lockout" doesn't refer to striking auto workers.
71. The post-WOD surge of creativity.
72. The sound of 20 bars slamming the ground in unison really drills the point home that we're at the start of something big here.
73. Solidarity.
74. Invites for guest appearances at your box!
75. Equipment ideas. 
76. A glimpse of the next level, waiting for your footprint soon.
77. Not everyone knows you, even though you've "friended" them.
78. You keep ridiculous hours.  Maybe you have a young family AND a business.  And if YOU can do it........
79. It will keep you humble for another year.
80. Proud, but humble.
81. The competition IS a great reward.
82. You get to call yourself and your athletes a 'team,' and wear cool shirts and get rub-on tattoos
83. If people are willing to pay to watch you, you're an athlete.
84. It might just be fun.  Even when it's not fun....it's still fun.
85.  The three brand-new CrossFitters who signed up this week will love you.
86. The Saturday Morning, 9am group is doing the same workouts!
87. Twitter updates crank up the hype in your box!
88. You've got something to talk to clients about while they're rowing.
89. There just aren't many sunsets left to ride off into.
90. We're collectively nudging the human genome back in the right direction.
91. The species didn't go through this whole evolutionary process to be better at watching Oprah.
92. EVERY time we've called, the Catalyst Family has answered. Time to repay the favour.
93. You'll have fans.  You need to know what that feels like, just once.
94. WWKMD? (What would Kyle Maynard Do?)
95. Now, I can link muscle-ups and do HSPU on the parallettes.  I couldn't until I committed.
96. House specialties of different boxes become obvious.  Want to get stronger?  Go to this box.  Want speed? Look at their programming.
97. I get to live like a professional athlete for the whole weekend (thanks, Ray!)
98. I have a reason to train hard, eat right, and sleep.  Also, complain.
99. You can impulse-buy stuff for your Box.  Or 30 tshirts.
100. I can.  Therefore, I must.

Being Big Brother

Part of the overwhelming charm of Constant Contact: you know who's picking up what you're putting down.

A decade ago, I endured a long weekend of 'sales training' with a firm called Frank Foster and Associates.  Frank's idea: the only 'bad' potential customer is the 'maybe.'  A customer who says "yes!" is great, it goes without saying.  A customer who says, "no, thanks" is your friend - because you can move on to the next potential member with your great idea immediately.  But a customer who says, "hey, maybe!" requires a lot of your time and energy to try to turn them into "yes,"  and you'll usually fail.  They're just being polite.

Frank was talking about cold calling (I didn't really like Frank.)  I'm talking about your monthly newsletter.  (If you're not putting out a monthly newsletter, go do that now, and then come back.)

For our first three years, we sent our newsletter to a growing list of recipients without ever removing more than ten people. Though they may have been tired of listening to us, the uninterested audience would prefer to just hit either 'delete' or 'spam' than reply and thus, offend us.  Our first email list was drawn directly from a local Chamber of Commerce website, and chances were good that recipients would eventually meet us.  So they'd trash the newsletter, and we'd never know.  This is not good.

If a client wants to remove themselves from your newsletter list, that's fine.  They should have that choice, so you're not irritating them (they'll find their way back eventually.  Don't worry.)

IF, though.....

Mary receives the email.  She's not interested, but she knows that Sherri will like the sound of OnRamp.  She forwards the email to Sherri, who clicks from the newsletter to our site.  After reading about OnRamp, she clicks the tab for the next Running Group.  Maybe she signs up right away - after all, it's easy, because you're using MindBodyOnline now, right? - or maybe she'd rather call first, just to have her intuition stroked a bit. 

....and you see it all.  With Constant Contact, you know where Sherri got the newsletter.  You know which offering interested her.  You could, potentially, be ready for her when she calls.

Typepad is similar.  Twice per day, I let myself check our hits.  Hits aren't everything, but if there's a major spike, it's nice to know why.  In the new marketplace of paying attention, don't you want to know who's reading the menu?

If I wasn't checking, I would never have known that CrossFitNYC has linked to us several times.  I wouldn't know which type of essays our audience prefers to read and share among their friends.  I wouldn't know who is visiting our site from a friend's facebook page. But I know, because I check.

Call me paranoid, or obsessive-compulsive, but if I'm going to perform, I'd like to turn on the house lights once in awhile to make sure the audience is still there. 

Extreme Persuasion

One of the many benefits of being on the road at 5am: I get to listen to the BBC World Service programs when I'm between audiobooks.

Last Tuesday, I lucked out.  I caught most of this Discovery program on persuasion.  It illustrates the whys and hows of convincing people.  It's twenty-six minutes long, and every minute is worth the listen, but here are the highlights:

There are 5 elements of persuasion that, when put together, are nearly irresistable.  The author, Dr. Kevin Dutton, created the SPICE acronym to help us remember:

1. Simplicity:

            Most of the brain's processes are automatic.  That means that we 'skim' information and put together puzzles with many pieces missing; we 'infer' the missing pieces based on our perception of the big picture. This is partially why so many fender-benders occur so close to home: the driver looks in their rearview mirror at the same street they've seen a thousand times. The brain 'inserts' a picture of the empty street, even if the driver doesn't actually see the street; the car behind him becomes invisible.

For our sake, the take-home lesson: keep your message as simple as possible, so there are no gaps to be filled.

    2. Perceived Self-Interest

    People decide what's important for themselves based on what similar people are doing.  Of course, "similar" is determined by the individual, NOT by you. An example: a Beijing study showed that adding "Our Most Popular Dish" to any item on the menu would increase that item's sales by 20%.   The closer the peers were related to the individual, the more likely the individual would take on the characteristics of the peer. 

For us, this underlines the necessity of telling stories about the AVERAGE client, instead of just posting pictures of firebreathers.  The more commonalities between the viewer and the subject, the more likely the viewer will be to take ownership of the same ideas.  This is called, "social proof," and people tend to trust it more than data.

     3. Incongruity

    This is true of tonality of voice, "non-verbal communication," and typical cliches used in advertising.  Cliches, as I've often railed, are dismissed by the brain and never permeate (partially for the reasons in #1, above.) When you're using cliches, the listener automatically "fills in" the gaps, "solving" the puzzle.  And once the puzzle has been solved, it's discarded.  It requires no further action and is thus not stored.

However, start with a familiar model, allow people to infer what comes next....and then throw in an unexpected curve, and you're demanding attention. Partially because of Lowenstein's Gap Theory, people can't stop themselves from watching until the end.  Mozart was a master at this.  But so was Vic Bloom, who wrote Archie comics.  In a book from my childhood, Bloom was talking about writing for comics, and he used this example over four frames: Souphead is skateboarding, and slips off.  The skateboard continues down the street, unseen by Jughead, coming around the corner with a huge burger blocking his view.  If you had to guess the next frame, you'd likely guess it would feature Jughead on the ground, covered in ketchup.... but Bloom's recommendation was to have the skateboard pass harmlessly between his legs.  Start with the familiar, then throw a twist.  In the final frame, Souphead, chasing his skateboard, rams into Jughead, and they're both splattered.

    4. Confidence

There's a difference between being in authority (you're the boss) vs. being an authority (you're a trusted expert, often removed from the immediate situation.) 

For us, this is why a client who reads our blog daily and finds information, delivered for free, to a large audience, is more likely to commit for the long term than a client asking questions in our office.  Any client who accepts you as an authority, instead of just the holder of their long-term contract, will be more likely to become a part of your gym family. 

The old adage that 'a clipboard will get you anywhere,' is absolutely true.  Speak with confidence, and you can talk your way into (or away from) anywhere.

    5. Empathy

    Empathy has more in common with similarity than sympathy.  If you can demonstrate commonality ("that WOD killed me, too!") it's more effective than, "good job!  That looked hard!"  There IS no fixed 'sales' process that works: those most successful are the ones who can apply situational context to recommendations for services.  For instance, "Great time on Eva!  The only thing that helped me get better was running coaching from Mike, last June. '

The SPICE model makes a lot of sense.  Does advertising have any place within that model....or does it take away from the messages you're trying to deliver?

Nurses' Week May 10

One terrific group with which to become involved is nurses:

• They're very close-knit.
• They make decisions based on the recommendations of other nurses.
• They share triumph and tragedy (...and that's more important than factual data.  You believe your friends more than you believe the truth)
• They're more likely to influence the behaviours of hospital patients than doctors are
• They're mavens.
• They're notoriously bad eaters.
• Many smoke.
• Depression is rampant among nurses doing night shifts.

Alas, nurses are typically overworked to the point of exhaustion, faced with tragedy daily.  They're exposed to a lot of workplace-related stress AND rotating shiftwork, which makes their cortisol levels extremely high, and thus they have a tough time losing weight.  They're also more prone to low-back injury, since their job frequently requires bending and twisting, often following a long period of sitting.  Hospitals invest in clumsy, clunky machines to help them lift, but nurses frequently choose not to use the lifts due to their awkwardness. If an infirm patient has to be shifted onto his side, a nurse will choose to perform an odd, uncomfortable lift than travel out of the room, down the hall (maybe to another floor or wing,) recover the machine, and still be required to set the lift properly for the patient. 

Price tag for patient lifts?  $600,000 and up.

This year, we're celebrating nurses, and offering help.  We're going to do free 'Nurses' Week' CrossFit classes - nurses attend free, whether they've done OnRamp or not - and a free 'safe lifting clinic' on the final Saturday (May 15th.)  Yes, it's a terrific way to get new nurses into our box; it's also the right thing to do.