The most consistent message from fitness business owners in the past year has been ‘we don’t have enough leads.’ Examining consumer trends, Justin reveals why you don’t have the leads you used to – and shows you how to get them again. Learn how to convert vaguely interested people into red-hot prospects and take away a plan for designing a marketing piece that talks directly to the decision-making part of the brain
11. Today, we’ll cover:
• The importance the brain plays in
the buying decision
• Some strategies that will influence
the buying decision
• Some marketing concepts
13. Your OLD brain decides.
It is the actual trigger of decision.
14. 1. Your message must be 100%
focused on the prospect
2. Keep away from neutral
statements
3. Keep away from jargon and
complicated concepts
4. Powerful starts and finishes
to our messages
5. Add anticipation for the
Dopamine Effect
6. An emotional event will
increase recall
Your Old Brain Responds to ONLY 6 Stimuli
15. You can demonstrate the gains
of your product for your
prospects through:
• A member’s story
• A demonstration: 60-100%
• Data: 20%
• Vision: 10-40%
Plus it will help if . . .
16. One more time . . .
1. Your headline
2. Once the old brain judges, hard to
get back
3. Videos of clients sharing their painful
stories & your solution
4. When you use stories, show the
connection
5. Before pictures on the left hand side
and after pictures on the right hand
side
6. 70% of effort on tangible proof
18. One more time . . .
1. Your headline
2. Once the old brain judges, hard to
get back
3. Videos of clients sharing their painful
stories & your solution
4. When you use stories, show the
connection
5. Before pictures on the left hand side
and after pictures on the right hand
side
6. 70% of effort on tangible proof
22. Brainfluence Women
Please consider:
1. Lessening the impact of life
management’s hurdles
2. Images must show women engaged
with other women OR a single open
and caring women making eye
contact
3. Let her know why the membership
makes sense to her family & herself
24. Brainfluence Copywriting
Please consider:
1. Lots of ‘you’s’
2. Real numbers not %’s
3. ‘FREE’ on purchasing not sampling
4. ‘NEW’ to add attraction
5. Adjectives to create emotion
6. Testimonials: name, face &
descriptor/story
7. Z or design
28. Get Out Of The Club
Please consider:
1. Community walking groups
2. Fit Street
3. Visit companies
4. Group training for businesses
5. Community seminars
6. A ‘complete’ charity program
7. At home program first
8. Help your business partners and
they will help you.
9. Are flyers really dead?
29.
30. Justin Tamsett
B.Ed (Phys & Health Education)
Feel free to contact JT: jt@activemgmt.com.au or +612 9484 5501
Follow JT on Twitter: @JTActiveMgmt
To read JT’s blog: www.justintamsett.com
Become an Active Management Fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/activemanagement
And for more information on Active Management: www.activemgmt.com.au
"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."
Pericles
2014 is my 25th year in the fitness industry. Which makes me one of the longest serving business coaches and consultants in the industry in the Asia-Pacific region. This proves:I am really good at what I do; orNo-one will offer me a full time job, so I have to keep working for myself.Prior to my role as a thought leader, I started as a gym instructor, then a personal trainer, sales person, sales manager, club manager, club owner of 1 club, club owner of 2 clubs and back to a single club owner. So the full gambit of roles in in our industry. I have helped 356 individual health clubs, 824 personal training businesses and presented to over 10,000 people across 13 countries with their human resources, retention strategies, social media in more recent times, marketing and differentiation of their business. And every time I work with an individual or present to a group I learn. So I am expecting to learn from you today as well.
My role as a business coach is to challenge the status quo.I believe deep down that if you are playing it safe it is dangerous in business. Break throughs in life and business occur when we stretch our comfort zones. So be prepared today to be challenged around social media.
Last week we announced our theme for 2014.My Big Hairy Audacious Goal is reduce the health care costs across the globe by increasing the number of people exercising so that my daughter can grow up in a world that is not using resources keeping an aging fattening population alive. This year our focus is to #enhance people’s lives by creating better balance, allowing them time to exercise. It is also to #enhance your businesses so that you can help me achieve my goal. And that is why I am here today.
There is also 3 distinct parts to your brain and they all communicate with other and most importantly try to influence each other. Each part has a specialized function:The NEW brain thinks – it processes rational data The MIDDLE brain feels – it processes emotions & gut feelings The OLD brain decides – it takes into account the input from the other 2 brains, but the old brain is the actual trigger of decision. The old brain is our reptilian brain. It is our survival brain: “Fight or flight”. This makes the brain over 450 million years old. This proves a real challenge for sales and marketing. We have a 450 million year old brain; words that have only been used for 40,000 years and written words only about 10,000 years. There simply has not been enough time in terms of evolution for written words to impact the old rain. We need to speak a new language to motivate & inspire the old brain.
The old brain responds to 6 stimuli:Self centred:The old brain is responsive to anything pertaining to self. Think the old brain is the centre of “ME” with no patience or empathy for anything that does not immediately concern its own wellbeing and survival. For example if you see someone injured in front of you, your new & middle brains would help you feel empathy but your old brain is wouldn’t care, it would be too busy being relieved it was not you injured or hurt. Your sales message and marketing messages must be 100% focused on the prospect. Your prospects want to hear what you can do for them before they will pay any attention to you. If you look at your web site, your content will have for example:Your people;About You;Your mission; Your history;Your values;None of which are interesting to the survival brain of your prospect. ContrastThe old brain is sensitive to clear contrast. What be the most common contrast we see in club marketing?Before & AfterYou maybe also be able to useRisky & SafeWith & withoutFast & slow This contrast allows the old brain to make quick risk-free decisions. If there is no contrast the old brain delays decision or even makes no decision. You must create contrast to get your prospect’s old brain’s attention. Using a neutral statement like:“We are one of the leading providers”“A qualified friendly team”“The latest equipment”is disastrous. This language does not help the old brain sort out information quickly and trigger a decision. Tangible InputThe old brain is not qualified to process written language or the use of words, especially complicated ones and jargon. You will simply be slowing down the decoding of your message and place the burden of information processing onto the new brain. Meaning your prospect will want to think rather than act on making a decision. The old brain is constantly scanning for:What is familiarWhat is friendlyWhat is concreteWhat is recongisable Your old brain will not be able to process concepts like;‘Flexible memberships’‘An integrated exercise and nutrition program” It loves:“Open 24 hours”“Start now” The Beginning and the End The brain likes to conserve energy, so drops off information. If the old brain can anchor a situation with a strong point at the start and the end, it will not seek to use energy to contain information in the middle. Your message particularly in the sales process must therefore have powerful starts and finishes, as the prospect will forget the in-between. The level of anticipation may also impact our level of attention. When we have accelerated anticipation levels, we produce more dopamine in an area of the brain called the ‘reward centre’ – located in the old brain! The extra levels of dopamine raise our attention & improve our ability to retain & recall specific details. Visual Stimuli The old brain is visual. This maybe because the optic never is physically connected to the old brain & this nerve is 40 times faster than the auditory nerve – from the ear to the brain. Here is what we know – when you see something that looks like a snake, your old brain says ‘danger’ in about 2 milliseconds. You then react before your new brain recognizes the object to be a snake. The speed at which the old brain works makes it extraordinarily fast and very hasty. Humans cannot rely on the speed of the new brain, so we make decisions based on visual input. We have to use visual stimuli to ensure we tap into this processing bias. So your images do tell 1000 words- at least! EmotionThe old brain is ONLY triggered by emotion. Emotions create electrochemical responses in our brains. These reactions directly impact the way process & remember information. We have 100 billion neurons in the grey matter of our brains. When we experience emotions a cocktail of hormones flood our brains and this makes the connections between our neurons faster & stronger. As result, we remember events better when we have experienced them with stronger emotions.
The old brain responds to 6 stimuli:Self centred:The old brain is responsive to anything pertaining to self. Think the old brain is the centre of “ME” with no patience or empathy for anything that does not immediately concern its own wellbeing and survival. For example if you see someone injured in front of you, your new & middle brains would help you feel empathy but your old brain is wouldn’t care, it would be too busy being relieved it was not you injured or hurt. Your sales message and marketing messages must be 100% focused on the prospect. Your prospects want to hear what you can do for them before they will pay any attention to you. If you look at your web site, your content will have for example:Your people;About You;Your mission; Your history;Your values;None of which are interesting to the survival brain of your prospect. ContrastThe old brain is sensitive to clear contrast. What be the most common contrast we see in club marketing?Before & AfterYou maybe also be able to useRisky & SafeWith & withoutFast & slow This contrast allows the old brain to make quick risk-free decisions. If there is no contrast the old brain delays decision or even makes no decision. You must create contrast to get your prospect’s old brain’s attention. Using a neutral statement like:“We are one of the leading providers”“A qualified friendly team”“The latest equipment”is disastrous. This language does not help the old brain sort out information quickly and trigger a decision. Tangible InputThe old brain is not qualified to process written language or the use of words, especially complicated ones and jargon. You will simply be slowing down the decoding of your message and place the burden of information processing onto the new brain. Meaning your prospect will want to think rather than act on making a decision. The old brain is constantly scanning for:What is familiarWhat is friendlyWhat is concreteWhat is recongisable Your old brain will not be able to process concepts like;‘Flexible memberships’‘An integrated exercise and nutrition program” It loves:“Open 24 hours”“Start now” The Beginning and the End The brain likes to conserve energy, so drops off information. If the old brain can anchor a situation with a strong point at the start and the end, it will not seek to use energy to contain information in the middle. Your message particularly in the sales process must therefore have powerful starts and finishes, as the prospect will forget the in-between. The level of anticipation may also impact our level of attention. When we have accelerated anticipation levels, we produce more dopamine in an area of the brain called the ‘reward centre’ – located in the old brain! The extra levels of dopamine raise our attention & improve our ability to retain & recall specific details. Visual Stimuli The old brain is visual. This maybe because the optic never is physically connected to the old brain & this nerve is 40 times faster than the auditory nerve – from the ear to the brain. Here is what we know – when you see something that looks like a snake, your old brain says ‘danger’ in about 2 milliseconds. You then react before your new brain recognizes the object to be a snake. The speed at which the old brain works makes it extraordinarily fast and very hasty. Humans cannot rely on the speed of the new brain, so we make decisions based on visual input. We have to use visual stimuli to ensure we tap into this processing bias. So your images do tell 1000 words- at least! EmotionThe old brain is ONLY triggered by emotion. Emotions create electrochemical responses in our brains. These reactions directly impact the way process & remember information. We have 100 billion neurons in the grey matter of our brains. When we experience emotions a cocktail of hormones flood our brains and this makes the connections between our neurons faster & stronger. As result, we remember events better when we have experienced them with stronger emotions.
If you want attention . . . show a baby’s picture. This will attract readers and engage their brain – so long as it is relevant. Australian researcher John Breeze tested two images of babies using eye tracking imagery and found: If a baby is looking directly into the camera ie at the reader, they are fixated on the image and see not much else. If however the baby is side facing and looking at the copy or the headline, the headline and copy got more attention than the baby. Breeze concludes: “We will look at what the person we see in the ad is looking at.”
Brainfluence & CopywritingIf you want to convey a positive message use real numbers, not percentages. If you are describing a benefit of your product or service express it in terms of absolute numbers will maximize impact. Good: 90% of our customers rate our service excellentBetter: 9 out 10 people rate our service excellent Use the word FREE on purchase not so much on sampling. Otherwise people will pick up the sample with no intention to buy. A small cost would slash inappropriate sampling . Use the word “New.” Novelty activates our brain’s reward centre, so when we see new products we find that attractive. Use Adjectives. Some researchers will say too many adjectives slow down the reader but Brian Wansink found that descriptive menu items increased sales by 27%. If you want to create emotions when people read your copy, use relevant, compelling adjectives. Testimonials. A name, face and story will be more effective testimonial. It will be more convincing and more memorable. Use simple copy for men as they process in a less abstract and more sensory way.
Brainfluence in Printing Branding agency Millward Brown found paper ads caused more emotional processing than digital. According to the study physical media left a deeper footprint on the brain. The physical paper is therefore more ‘real’ to the brain. However digital ads can do more which will have a positive effective as well. Paper needs to be a heavier stock. Researchers asked people to study job candidates by looking at their resume placed on a clip board. One clip board was heavier than the other. The people given the heavier clip board judged the applicants to be more ‘serious’ in the job. Sounds weird? Our language further reinforces this with heavy being a synonym for serious in some contexts. So to get serious, get heavy paper! Since tactile sensations clearly influence, we should consider rigidity, texture, embossing, die cuts and so on as they all have an impact. Clear crisp and hi-resolution images will have a greater impact. Research by Song & Schwarz found that readers of simple font were more likely to make a commitment and act because it was easier to process and digest the information.However, it was found to aid memory retention and recall, we use a more difficult font to read. You would use this for a tag line or your phone number or your call to action.
Brainfluence in Printing Branding agency Millward Brown found paper ads caused more emotional processing than digital. According to the study physical media left a deeper footprint on the brain. The physical paper is therefore more ‘real’ to the brain. However digital ads can do more which will have a positive effective as well. Paper needs to be a heavier stock. Researchers asked people to study job candidates by looking at their resume placed on a clip board. One clip board was heavier than the other. The people given the heavier clip board judged the applicants to be more ‘serious’ in the job. Sounds weird? Our language further reinforces this with heavy being a synonym for serious in some contexts. So to get serious, get heavy paper! Since tactile sensations clearly influence, we should consider rigidity, texture, embossing, die cuts and so on as they all have an impact. Clear crisp and hi-resolution images will have a greater impact. Research by Song & Schwarz found that readers of simple font were more likely to make a commitment and act because it was easier to process and digest the information.However, it was found to aid memory retention and recall, we use a more difficult font to read. You would use this for a tag line or your phone number or your call to action.