Behavioural change doesn't come easy, but it can certainly come cheap.
While building your affiliate Family is the best bet for RETENTION (people do what their peers do,) they're not going to sign up for the first visit based on the Community you've built. This would be akin to responding to a personal ad, picking them up at home, liking their father's handshake, and marrying them before 5pm when the chapel closes.
When animals are trained for the movies, the Trainers rarely use punishment. They realize, of course, that Bobo isn't going to learn to skateboard today. On Day #1, Bobo gets a reward - a piece of mango - if he allows the Trainer to place a skateboard in his cage without freaking out. This goes on for a week or so.
In week two, Bobo gets his mango only after he touches the skateboard. Week three, he's required to sit on the skateboard - unmoving - for a moment before the mango is produced.
If you've read the post on Bright Spots, you'll recognize what's being done here: Bobo is taking very small, incremental steps, and building on them. He's rewarded, and though he may not be able to iterate how he's feeling, he knows what that mango tastes like, and how much he'd like to have it. He'll go to greater lengths to achieve the same reward next time - a trait he shares with his human cousins.
Most of your clients are looking for overnight change. That's nearly always a recipe for failure. Instead, start giving them Bright Spots:
"Hey, you made your appointment this week! That's a positive step!"
"This week, I'm going to give you some homework to do between our visits. OK?"
"We've got two solid weeks under our belt. You're even doing stuff on your own! Let's talk about tying everything together now with an eating plan." At this point, you've created enough of a foundation that you can begin to introduce your retention strategy. "Hey, remember that lady we saw at the gym last week when you were stretching? She's coming in next. I'll introduce you. She lost 40 pounds last year!"
Mango, mango, mango.
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