Don't Buy Ads: Grow Your CrossFit Box

Why Write A Book?

In 2008, I combined my philosophy that I learn BEST when I paraphrase and teach with the new knowledge that I was gaining in business. When I started posting on DontBuyAds, I was telling myself stories. I was writing because I love writing, and because I didn't want to forget any of this stuff.

When we started studying psychology, behavioural anthropology, and neurology for Ignite, the applications to the business world were immediately apparent. Our brains are not those of our ancestors; our thoughts are not those of our parents. Our business is not the gym business of the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s...or even the modern-day "low-price lifetime membership" model of today.

Nearly 400 posts later, I started worrying about forgetting stuff. Affiliate owners and coaches were emailing questions about problems I'd encountered years before, and I wanted to send them the best answer I could provide. I also wanted to arrange the content from this blog, and many other things I've learned, into a more cohesive process. 

This book is the sum of 7 years of experience owning a gym, 9 years' experience coaching before owning a gym, hundreds of calls with other gym owners, big mistakes, and big victories. There's a lot of research, and many stories. 

I'm a member of the CrossFit Media Team, a position that's been incredibly rewarding. However, this book does NOT reflect the opinions of HQ, and though some on the Media Team will read it, they weren't asked to edit the book because the act would constitute a blessing they won't want to give, in the name of objectivity. 

Cover design by the magnificent Clay Weldon of 321GoProject.com, with whom I'm lucky to share the joy of helping new and existing Affiliates make their businesses better every day.

Enjoy. I sure do.

(click the book to buy it.)

Talking About Community

A few weeks ago, during a Q+A with Jon Gilson (my personal CrossFit hero) an interesting point was raised. It's widely understood that the largest differentiator between CrossFit and 'other' fitness is the community. The Games help; Reebok helps; novelty helps; even satire helps. The community, though, is what changes lives.

In Dr. Allison Belger's The Power of Community: CrossFit And The Force of Human Connection, the psychologist reinforces the idea that we are much greater than the sum of our parts. Sharing initiatives like Steve's Club, Dr. Belger explains how communities like CrossFit form the foundation on which great works can be performed. I can't recommend it highly enough.

The Power of Community: CrossFit and the Force of Human Connection

As Dr. Belger illustrates, our generation has less involvement in social groups than any in recorded history. Raise your hand if you belong to the BPOE; the Shriners; the Legion; a knitters' circle, a reading group....even church attendance is at an all-time low. CrossFit fills that social need - a critical level of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - for many of us.

Overtly, though, "community" is too abstract a concept for many. In what is perhaps the greatest irony of the CrossFit business, our greatest attribute is the one that carries the least promotional weight. It's too broad. "The community is awesome!" is both an understatement of truth and irrelevant to non-CrossFitters. Social support isn't something you can advertise; people assume they already have enough friends. 

Instead, 'Community' must be inferred; alluded to; pictured, but not billboarded. The pictures, the causes, the groups - they're all valuable for keeping people and creating a unified empathy. After they've signed up, 'community' is the flypaper....but it's not the fruit that got them there.

The 'bait' is Size Four. It's The Gun Show. It's the things with which your prospective new member is already familiar. It's framing the benefits of CrossFit against the backdrop of their current context. Talk about The Family to those already inside; talk about The Sweat to those at the door.

Brag about people who are just like your next client (you know what they look like, right? The NEXT guy? Can you sketch him with a pencil?) Tell stories about members. Take pictures of groups. Show the community, but sell the bikini.

PepsoDent and Coloured Bumpers

If you own a CrossFit Box or garage gym, you own bumper plates. They're a necessity. Aren't they?

For decades, folks have been doing OLY lifts with steel plates. They catch the clean, and then lower the weight with a little 'clink!' instead of dropping the bar. If they miss, they miss...but they don't drop the bar. You can make a case for bumper plates being safer, but is that the real reason we use them?

Bumper plates save bars, too. That's why gym owners like them. But do your members really care about your bars? After all, you're a millionaire business owner...why can't you take the value of one monthly membership and just buy a new bar? Sarcasm, of course...but many of your members don't know the answer.

The best feature of bumper plates is that they give clients a reward: after 21 thrusters, they can drop the bar. It looks great, adds excitement, and allows your clients to act out a dramatic sport ideal. Volleyball players get to spike the ball; baseball players can throw the ball into the crowd. We get to bail out of snatches.

This is important, because this REWARD is a critical part of the habit-building process. While bumper plates aren't 100% necessary for CrossFit, they do provide an opportunity for a benefit that ONLY they can provide.

Consider these:

A minty, "clean" feeling in your mouth has nothing to do with how toothpaste works (it would work even without the mint extracts and foamers. Both are actually aggravating your gums; that's what gives you the 'cool' sensation.) However, after you've established a tooth-brushing habit as a child, you won't feel finished until you receive that 'reward' sensation of cool mint.

Before toothpaste was popular, PepsoDent went from a near-bankrupt also-ran to dominating over 90% of the tooth-cleaning market by focusing on the reward rather than the benefits. Heck, less than half of the population brushed their teeth at all before PepsoDent helped build the habit.

Shampoo and dishwashing soap are the same, chemically-speaking. The difference is the perfume, colour, and frothing agents. The suds are the reward. Some shampoos (mostly anti-dandruff) employ different skin irritants like mint to give you the 'scrubbed' feeling, and most of us don't feel clean until after we've rinsed away a good lathering.

Most dry dog food is extremely similar to cereal. Missing are the human-friendly flavourings (though some now add artificial flavours like meat and fish.) What's stopping humans from eating them? The bone shape, the brand name, the dog pictures. In one famous study on conditioning, a professor handed out a bowl full of snacks (from which he also ate) for the length of one lecture. Students ate them w ithout a hitch. Afterward, he revealed they were dog treats. Some students vomited. This is the same effect applied in the opposite direction: a cognitive 'penalty' instead of a reward.

For more on these, read this excerpt from The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

For this reason, I prefer coloured bumper plates. Black bumpers are great, and provide many fantastic 'reward' responses to help build habits in your members. Coloured plates make people feel like they're Pyrros Dimas.

Habit

Anne was still at her desk long after 6pm. The others had gone home, but she was still finishing off the mountain of paperwork that just wouldn't shrink. Finally nearing the end, she felt a bit self-conscious when her boss came over to her workstation, but didn't want to stop. She was on a roll, and thought, "If I stop now, I may not finish at all." 

"How you doing, Anne? Looks like you're moving really fast!" her boss said. She acknowledged him, but kept on working. 

"This is the first time you've done this much work, and you're absolutely killing it. Just keep going. You're doing great, Anne!" He gave her a little punch on the shoulder.

A minute later, spurred by his encouragement, she was done. She stood to grab her jacket, and saw him standing behind her, watching. He clapped his hands together loudly. "Awesome! You did it!" She felt a wave of relief wash over her, and though she just wanted to go home and suffer in silence, she let him put an arm around her shoulders and give her a squeeze. "That was amazing. I'm proud of you! Maybe the best you've ever DONE!" 

Luke wasn't having a great day. He'd been excited all morning: being promoted from stocking the food shelves to Electronics was a big deal, but as his shift neared, he started to become nervous. Maybe he wasn't READY for the heavier boxes, or the challenging setups he'd have to figure out on his own. Maybe his boss had given him the promotion because he couldn't find anyone else. Everyone else had already moved onward and upward, and Luke was trailing behind, still doing the same job as the new hires.

When the time came for work, Luke realized he hadn't eaten for hours. He was hungry. His pants didn't match his blue vest very well, and others were sure to notice. He was short, and wasn't sure he could lift the heavier pieces high enough to reach the shelves. He didn't really know anyone in Electronics, so he put his head down and started to bumble through; one box on another, slide the cart, start from the bottom again. He had a system down...but the boxes were getting heavier, and the shelves higher to reach.

At the end of his last row, Luke looked up to see his final target: a shelf, high above his head, on which he'd have to shove the final, expensive box. A bright yellow "Team Lift" sticker was on the top cardboard flap, but there wasn't anyone else around, so Luke carefully maneuvered the box into his lap alone. 

"You need help, Luke?" he heard behind him. "I got it," he replied with more optimism than he felt. Struggling upward, he inched the box to his shoulders. A few others were gathering around him. "C'mon, Luke!" they encouraged. "You can get this!" 

He slid his hands under the box, sure he'd be leaving a sweat mark. "Here we go, Luke!" his manager yelled. "Push yourself under it!" cheered a girl from nearby Arts and Crafts. Heaving, Luke managed to slowly press the box up, and snuck the edge of the box onto the shelf. "Finish it!" called a stranger. "Just slide it on! You're almost there!" He did. Then he sat down, winded, while a team of blue-vested comrades slapped him on the back and ruffled his hair. "Awesome, Luke! That was sweet!" they said, as they congratulated him and moved on.

Think either of the above scenarios is likely?

One of the great insights I've gained while writing Enrichment Through Exercise was this nugget from Coach Ty: "No matter what else happens in the session, the client has to leave happy. This is probably the only positive feedback they'll get ALL DAY. If we make no other progress, we have to make sure the child gets praise for SOMETHING."

Enrichment Through Exercise - the book

In, "The Power of Habit," by Charles Duhigg, the author goes into great detail on the pleasure response cycle of the brain. Much like Pavlov's dogs, the brain learns to anticipate a reward associated with an activity - it drools at the thought of food - and eventually becomes depressed if it ISN'T rewarded. 

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business - the book

This is what we're up against in the fitness industry: hardwired but unconscious brain signals that reward Betty for sitting on the couch and watching television at night. The familiar brings us pleasure; the unfamiliar brings us pain. 

To encourage exercise, Duhigg recommends rewarding yourself with "...a smoothie or extra television time." I can think of a better option.

Mimetic Desire

Desire is not a straight line. 

Rene Girard, an anthropological philosopher, puts forward the notion that all of your desires are borrowed from other people. You want this because they want this, or they have it already. 

Girard posits the model of desire as a triangle, not a straight line:

                                                       OBJECT

                    SUBJECT                                                    MODEL

We desire something - an object, a characteristic, an attribute - because we see that others have it, and their possession reinforces the idea that the object is desirable. In this triangle, the Model is the current possessor of the habit or object.

Consider a woman, 40 years old, who visits your Box for the first time today. Her name is Mary. When she's searching your location on Google, does Mary desire to do a pullup? No; it's not yet in her realm of known possibilities. She doesn't care about pullups because she's never seen one done by a woman, perhaps. Mary just wants to lose 20 pounds.

When she's standing at your front desk, Mary still doesn't want to do a pullup. She wants to survive without "sweating too much" or committing another social faux pas. Her goal in session #1 isn't to make friends or experience "the community": it's to survive with ego intact. She doesn't want to embarrass herself.

And then...she sees Julianne hitting five beautiful kipping pullups in a row. Julianne is 40. Julianne has abs. Julianne puts chalk on her hands, and swings her legs like so, and can actually pull her chin above the bar in midair. Wow.

CrossFit thrives at providing behavioural Models, and providing clear paths to mimickry. Not only can we show you Julianne, but we can map you out the ways to BE Julianne.

Successful businesses in all industries do this well: here's Julianne. She likes this purse. You want the same purse? Here's how to get it.

Interestingly, Girard takes the step further, suggesting that when the model and the subject become equals - when Mary can finally link 5 kipping pullups - they become rivals. They compete for acquisition of the object - they start to compare each other's max pullup numbers. As the rivalry grows, the value of the object increases. This, too, is where CrossFit shines: by offering the competitive element, clients can move up through the hierarchy of desire without changing their mode of pursuit (in this case, gyms.) 

How does this affect you? Simple: pack the gym with models of behaviour. If you have to do it for free, at first, do it for free. Take one from Skip Chase's book, and invite every waiter and hairdresser in town - models who are constantly in front of people, chatting - and have them do CrossFit for three months. The biggest risk is inviting a new person into an empty gym: devoid of models, they have nothing on which to base their desire for CrossFit.

(You don't have to say, "You can come free!" Instead, give them a coupon for 3 free months. That way your rate is unaffected, and you're giving away a coupon, not a freebie. Small difference in fact, big difference in the psychology of your other members.)

Changing Our Tune

Stolen from a friend's facebook status:

"In the gym today for spin class. Walked past two girls. One was doing wall ball, and the other said, 'Hey, you look just like the girl in the commercial!'"

One of the more popular early posts on this blog was called, "The Elevator Pitch." That was almost exactly two years ago today, and the biggest problem facing the CrossFit Affiliate: how to answer the question,

"What's CrossFit?"

Now that everyone knows the answer (or has formed a perception, or their answer,) the question will change.

"Why can't I just do CrossFit at my current McFit?"

In other words, why do I need to come to YOUR gym to do CrossFit?

Ready?

The 20-Mile March

Last Monday, we had 21 new clients walk through the door. 

This may sound like a positive - what Affiliate wouldn't want even HALF that number to wander in and try CrossFit? Jim Collins argues otherwise.

One of the most important concepts in Great By Choice is the 20-Mile March: consistent, slow growth. He repeatedly makes the case that slow growth is more predictable, solving staffing costs; it's more reliable, because fast growth in January usually predicates no growth in February; it avoids the herd mentality of shifting alliances; it allows each client to experience our service on their own terms.

For our sake, my own experience in gaining (and losing) hundreds of members is this: it's easier to create a relationship in slow months than in busy months. When three people sign up, I have time to learn about each. I can find out about their families; I can find their Bright Spots. 20 people, in one day? I can't even remember their names. Three is about my limit.

Our growth target for 2012: three new members per month. That's it. 36 this year, total.  We can set a low target because, at close to 90% retention, that means we'll keep 33 of them into 2013. When our monthly signups rise, our retention rate goes down. 

This may not appeal to you. You may be reading other blogs who trumpet, "40 new people in OnRamp this month! Woohoo!" that IS a sexy achievement. How many stay?

I'm not suggesting that you turn anyone away; of course not. What I am suggesting is that you focus on building a diesel engine, constructed to stand up to the elements and last a long time, instead of shooting all your fireworks in January and waking up alone in March.

What Your Members Aren't Saying

About a month ago, I issued a challenge to Affiliate owners: choose 10 random members, and let me call them. Nine answered the call. 

Our survey went like this:

"Good morning. It's Chris Cooper, and I'm calling on behalf of CrossFit WetBlanket. Can you spare a couple of seconds for a quick satisfaction survey?"

 - Yes - 

"Great, thanks. Your name was randomly drawn, and anything you say will be carefully considered, but your identity will be kept a secret."

If a member couldn't be reached by phone, we left this message:

"...I'd like to send you an email with a quick survey on it; if you'd like to fill it out, that would be terrific. If not, no problem; just keep CrossFitting!"

Our questions (narrowed to four, upon recommendation by an expert)

1) Would you say you're completely satisfied by the service at CrossFit RipTorn?

2) How often are you able to attend?

3) Any changes you'd like to see at the box?

4) Any comments you'd like to leave (anonymously) for the coaches/owners?

The comments were overwhelmingly positive, of course. There exists a built-in bias in any type of survey: people who answer are more likely to give positive responses than people who don't. Even more so, people who are disinterested or "in the middle" - neither overjoyed, nor upset - are the least likely to answer the survey; email, especially, seems to encourage participations by the extremes.

Given those constraints, there were a few responses that will really help Affiliates improve their Boxes, keep their clients, and make better first impressions.

Some of the most helpful comments, unedited:

"Mood and attitude is (sic) contagious. Trainers should be aware of this at all times. I think  trainers should be aware of this at all times. Sometimes their mood can affect the members perception of the business."

"I'd love to see us tighten up the wam-ups - maybe add some practice of the Oly lift moves and fewer reps of more varied exercises to warm up. Also specify "5 minutes to practice things you suck at." 'Cause we all have something. :)"

"more stretching or guidance on what to do on our own before class to warm up"

"All floors should be cleaned more often. Dog hair is a problem."

"I'd love to bring my friends, but I'm too embarrassed" (to show them the bathrooms)

"I'm worried about the heat situation in the winter. I hope it's not too expensive for them to heat the place properly."

"Yes, I hate the online schedule thing. It takes too long and I come the same time every week. I thought I did a recurring appointment but no one new I was coming."

"I think coaches have to be more consistent. Some allow people to show up late, or do different warmups than the rest of us."

"The only thing that comes to mind are the hours. Although they work for me, I think a 7:00AM (after the 5:45AM) and a 5 or 5:30 PM session might be appealing to current or prospective members. "

"I think we should be allowed to come in and do our own workout while the CrossFit group is going on."

Conversely: "People should have to leave the gym completely when the group time is on."

...and, just to make everyone feel good, the positivity stuff:

"love it! Cold turkey to crossfit!"

"Besides the awesome workout and very helpful staff, there's a great feeling of community within the walls of CrossFit X.  I think that's what draws me back""

"I love the coaches! Especially M!  I wish she was there full time.  The guys are great too.  R is awesome and I am really starting to like JD.  They are all very knowledgeable and interested in individual goals."  

"They do a great job—they make a point to get to know us so they can encourage us in meaningful, personal ways. They need to continue to pay attention to our form and make sure we’re doing exercises right before we do more, faster, with more weight. But they keep learning, offering more options, and trying new things with us—good people."

"Overall though workouts are always challenging and the trainers are great. I've had private trainers and paid as much as $75/hour -- this is a far better value.  "

"You guys have literally saved my life. I was depressed and spiralling out of control. Then I found (CFX) and I feel like a different person now."

The Business BaseLine

People aren't rational.

When you meet them, people are defensive. They're defensive because they're scared: scared of looking stupid; scared their gut will flop out of their new Lululemon shirt; scared they'll be told that they shouldn't be wearing that; scared you'll tell them they've been doing it wrong for the last ten years. They're trying to stand there and grin bravely, PVC over their heads on their first visit to this scary concrete torture chamber, frightening acronyms written messily on a dirty wall, surrounded by strangers who are experts, Lizard Brain screaming to duck and cover, and you're saying, "3,2,1...." and they think they may actually pee a little on those box jumps....

And yet...people can get over it. The brain's ability to adapt, even to stressful circumstances, is remarkable. We talk about plasticity a lot in Ignite seminars, but it never ceases to surprise me: any objection, no matter how logical, can be overcome by a strong emotional trigger. For instance: "When I saw your dirty bathroom floor, my skin crawled. But I stayed for a class, and thought you guys were really nice and the group was really welcoming. So I stayed. I still hate your bathrooms, but...."

What people require from you is the establishment - and constant reinforcement of - an emotional baseline. "No matter what else happens, at least THIS will be true...."

• "I'm having a terrible workout. This might be my worst 'Helen' time ever. But I know Coop won't tell me not to come back...."
• "I'm out of sessions, and I forgot my wallet at home. Class is about to start. But they'll let me in today, because they trust me and I trust them not to embarrass me about it."
• "CrossFit Flashbulb just posted on my facebook wall. I won't block them, because they won't tell me to lose 20lbs in front of my friends....or at all."
• "I can bring my friends with me, because even if their bathroom is dirty, I think they'll love the coaching enough to tell me I was right to come here. I'll be socially validated....I think. I wish they'd clean the bathroom! Maybe I'll wait a month...."

When there's no tellling HOW low you'll stoop; when the relationship between you and your client doesn't appear to have a firm foundation; when you act differently toward them on different days of the week...you don't have a relationship worth sharing.

A final note: I'm talking here, of course, about your social contract. Just as emotion can overcome logic to help you, it can also harm you: no matter how good your coaching, or how much you've changed their lives, if you break that contract once, the rest won't matter. The foundation has to remain solid and strong.

Where They're Coming From

I started lifting weights in my last year of high school. Dragged into the weight room by a friend, we tried to figure out the old Global Gym stack system (but didn't get much further than the biceps curl, leg press, and bench press handles,of course.) I'd never have tried if he hadn't pushed me into it. A skinny kid, I had a very limited athletic background; lack of knowledge was a huge hurdle; fear of doing something wrong in front of a gym class was paralyzing.

The University weight room was the same story, but this time, I didn't have anyone to pull. I had, back then, a tendency to blow things out of proportion ("What if the machine looks different? What if I do something wrong and get yelled at? What if I get kicked out in front of other people? What if people immediately know that I don't know what I'm doing?")

Fortunately, this pit-style weight room had something I recognized: a treadmill. I sidled up to the door, clung to the wall, slowly squeaked my way onto the treadmill...and watched. I'd jumped from one safe lily pad (the doorway) to another, and I had a 'safe' place from which to plan my next move.

I'm making more of this than it really was, of course. I wasn't paralyzed by fear, but I was definitely anxious. Whenever a new person walks through your door, though, and sees concrete block; loud music; pullup bars....and no treadmill, they're going to have some anxiety. When the brain perceives anxiety, its response is flight. Duck and cover. Start the "Dee-fence! Dee-fence!" chant.

Let's consider the range of new joiners to your Box:

• Jim's done CrossFit elsewhere. He's a part-time member at KleenexBox across town. He's not telling you that he dislikes the grip of your pullup bar because he's a jerk; he's just nervous.
• Salvatore has done P90X for three years. Before that, it was GloboGym. His entire paradigm has never deviated from "Back and Biceps Day/Chest and Triceps Day." He's not asking you which muscle groups you're working with a power clean because he's stupid; he's just nervous.
• Amanda has already lost 30lbs. She's finally got the courage to buy a gym "outfit" at a store...and guilt tells her that she's spent the money, and now she has to USE it. She wonders why you don't do more situps. She's not arguing with you; she's just nervous.
• That guy who's been a member of your gym for two years...but never joined your coached groups? He's warming up with overhead squats because that's what he's good at. He wants to cling to the familiar. And he's nervous.
• The Pilates instructor who asks why you push out on the abdomen, instead of drawing in? She doesn't want a fight, not on your turf. She's just nervous.
• The firefighter who's top dog at the Station down the road? He's not doing half-rep back squats with 400lbs because he's a cheater, or has some other character flaw. He's just nervous.
• The guy trying to lose weight, who doesn't take off his outdoor shoes when he goes into the bathroom? He's not trying to keep his socks clean. Just nervous.
• The woman who praises the "supplement" or diet guru during her intake interview? She's nervous, too. Scared to death, actually.

Rare is the person who will stride through your door, plunk down their waiver, and ask for directions to the record board. Despite their bravado, if it's their first time, they're scared. They may be compensating; they may be arrogant. That's their defense. They're not taking a run at you; they're putting on a brave face for their own sake.

Recognize it as such. Agree with what they say, just like in the Improv Theatre. Give them reasons to see they're already on the right track (Bright Spots.) DON'T mention that you've noticed their truck circle the cul-de-sac three times in the last hour.

Fear is the barrier that's stopping most people from joining your Affiliate. Remove it as quickly as possible.