Assess and Create Balance Between Sales and Service in Your Club

by Karen Woodard-Chavez (President of Premium Performance Training)

Satisfy members and staff at your facility by reevaluating your service policies and creating a better customer experience.

In part one of this article in March, I cited examples of some of my clients in active adult retirement communities (AARCs) who are not as interested in sales training as the health, fitness and wellness industry. But they are ravenous for service training for all staff (not simply front-line staff) that results in a differentiating experience.

It also was referenced that the leaders of AARCs are not selling the facility. (They do not even use words such as “facility.”) They are selling a community in which people want to feel comfortable and stay for years. You might think your facility is doing that, and perhaps that is true, but I have worked with enough clubs to know that that is how they have trained their sales staff. How many sales managers track revenue every day but do not track service experiences every day with staff?

You may say the average age for someone purchasing into an active adult retirement community is much older than our members. Do our members really need to feel engaged, nurtured and a sense of community? Perhaps some do not, but the concept of an engaging, nurturing community is pretty attractive to many people. On some level we know this, but we do not always do this. Instead we try to create loyalty with low prices when true loyalty comes from satisfaction.

Consider the following tips to assess and create that balance in your organization:

Use FORD. FORD is an acronym for Family, Occupation, Recreation and Dreams. It is a card that each staff member (and member) would complete so you know more about them. For members, this can be done in an assessment. For staff, this can be done in a new employee orientation. It is completely voluntary, and for those who do choose to complete the card, it gives us a depth of information to engage in conversation, offer relevant services, better understand behaviors and create a stronger connection and a sense of belonging.

Create a CXO position–Chief Experience Officer. The purpose of this position is to make sure that someone is in charge of the member experience. We make the assumption that every staff person is in charge. If every staff member truly is in charge, then they take ownership with members. The point of having a CXO is to make sure someone is managing, coordinating and creating accountability for all the efforts of all the staff so it is not a fragmented approach. Memberservice is not common sense nor should it be left to personalinterpretation.The “golden rule” is the worst thing you can use as your compass for your member service.

Make it easy to do business with you. Take a weekend and review all of your less-than-friendly policies. Start with your front-line staff and ask them what policies are difficult to explain. Revise or remove these policies. Be naive, never paranoid. Do not punish 98 percent of the members for what you are afraid 2 percent will get away with. Stop threatening and punishing the member. You will win the argument but lose the member.

Take away negative cues. Instead of having signs in the club saying “Using cell phones in the locker room will result in membership suspension,” consider, “We support our member's and guest's privacy, solitude and club experience. Cell phone use is permitted exclusively in the lobby, cafe or offices.” State the policy in a way that makes members comfortable but still allows you to take action against offenders.

Your staff can take a similar approach when dealing with customers by increasing opportunities for staff to say yes. Re-evaluate the policies you have that require your staff to say no. Train the staff to say, “Here is what we can do,” rather than, “We cannot do that.”

Guard against bad bosses. Do you have a manager that focuses only on the bottom line, does not treat members or staff well or just wants to do the task of their job without the spirit of delivery that you expect? That person should not be a manager. Managers should be exemplars, not wedges in the wheel. Coach that person up or out.

Implement and execute consistent MBWA daily for accountability. Very simply, MBWA (management by walking around) is for all managers in the club to get out into the club to:

• Gauge the satisfaction level of the members.

• See how the staff is engaging with members.

• Check out the physical appearance of the club for cleanliness, orderliness and safety.

• Engage with staff to let them know what they are doing well, when they need assistance, direction or correction.

• Engage with members simply to connect, create and deepen relationships.

Meaningful MBWA takes preparation, conversation and a willingness to put yourself out there to hear the good, the bad and the ugly and then do something about it. All management staff should be required to perform MBWA twice daily for 15 minutes each time. Be clear that it is not simply a way to socialize but also insures that all staff are contributing 100 percent to the club and member experience.

Continually assess whether or not your organization is getting to where you want to be or what needs to change. These tools will be valuable in your efforts to create a deeper, richer and differentiating experience for members and staff.

Karen Woodard-Chavez is president of Premium Performance Training in Boulder, CO, and Ixtapa, Mexico. She has owned and operated clubs since 1985 and now consults with and trains club staff members throughout the world. She provides her services on-site, online, by phone and through her books, CDs, DVDs and manuals. She can be contacted at 303.417.0653 or karen@karenwoodard.com.