The working hours for today was spent over the phone game planning with Val. Val and I set up a time to discuss new potential members and some aspects of class that needed to be addressed. Topics of discussion that Val wanted my input on twas the lack of stretching during the warm up. Many members stretch on their own, but feel as though they need to stretch a little more before the WOD actually starts and have been making comments on their way out the door. I expressed to Val that in my background of Athletic Training and being a College soccer player, I had to agree with the members, "stretching is super important and can be the reason why someone does or doesn't get hurt." She was going to make sure that she spoke to the coaches and recommend that they add stretching before each class. If these small side comments didn't stop then Val was going to have a sit down with the coaches as whole, but wanted to give them a chance to make the suggested additions to their class regimen. Overall Val was happy to have my input and highly accepts my comments. Within the next few days there was going to be a husband and wife who were going to be dropping by as Drop-Ins and she told them to ask for me in order to get their liability waiver signed and offer them out couples promotion. Among a few other potential Drop-Ins were also topic of conversation, all of which have been active in CrossFit for a few months/years so they were exempt from having to do Fundamentals, but wanted to keep in the loop as they may be asking for me when I am at the box next.
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Some highlights we have at CrossFit GSP is the variety of classes that we offer. One class that seems to draw a lot of attention is our Wednesday night Yoga Classes. Every afternoon on Tuesday's a Yoga reminds via social media is created using picmonkey just like the ones for "fundamentals." Usually Val does these as I have been busy giving tours and doing some other jobs, but tonight she asked me to do as she got caught up in something. These posts seem to be working well as we get many phone calls shortly after they are posted and even the next day. Social media certainly is a new way to communicate in an efficient and fast manner and for CrossFit GSP we rely on it heavily. Not only do we use Facebook and Instagram, but group on deals have also been effective in the past. However, the group on deals are not always followed through. For example if 15 people bought them about five to seven end up coming through the door.
More supplements and apparel was sold today, decreasing our supply one by one and increasing the cash register which is always nice to see. A popular competition group named HQ Fitness called today to discuss the potential to host a Beat The Bracket competition at our facility in a few months. Although I answered the phone this was a decision that Val and Darren had to make since they are the owners. Although I didn't tell HQ that it was a go I was informed about the decision to have them come in and promise to advertise for this event. This event draws members from CrossFit boxes all over the Tri-State area especially those who reside in West Chester, Long Island, New York City, Brooklyn and New Jersey. The date for this event is not yet known, but once we have all the information we will be posting about it at least 2 times a week leading up to it. To continue the conversation from Monday, Val and I started game planning when we would host/offer an inbox competition for all of our members. Finding a weekend where all staff and support staff were around on the same weekend was tricky since coaches have already requested weekends off in the summer time. The month that seemed to work out the best was July 18th. We started mentioning it to members when they would walk in the door to sign in for class. This was down in hopes members would start conversing with each other about it and would make sure their calendars were free for competing or at least attending the event. We both realized that we had more then enough time to plan out the exact start and end time, but wanted to get the feelers out their before the decision was finalized. So far today, it seems like many would be interested in attending or competing. A positive aspect of doing an in-box competition is that it keeps everything close to home, allows members to interact with one another on a different level and gets our coaches heavily involved. The coaching staff will be in charge of creating the workouts (WODs) for this event, but will be asked to create this program as we get closer to the summer month of July.
Additionally, Val and I sat down with one of the main coaches to discuss the possibility of starting a strength training program for all those who partake in the WOD classes. This will give the members a chance to see their improvements and potentially compete with not only themselves, but their friends as well. Plus, everyone likes to see progress and see themselves improve so what better way then to have everyone involved. Tonight was the second week of the open so a reminder post on Facebook was done in addition to Fundamentals class. There was one person signed up so they were given the back portion of the room so the coach and new member could workout properly and not get distracted by what was going on. As mentioned in earlier posts, the coaches leave IOU's by the main computer so Val and I can keep track of the inventory and when the coaches need to reimburse the cash register. In an effort to make this easier and be done more efficiently I drafted an email to all coaches, Val and Darren explaining that a new system would be put in place. This system would include adding the coaches credit card/debit card information into the Front desk HQ website. Normally, whenever someone's bank information is entered they are being entered as a new member. However, the system has the ability to make certain profiles hidden so it doesn't mess up the total client number. Entering their information into the system this way will allow us to charge them whenever the IOU is first found rather then waiting for them to pay and prevents Val and myself from asking them.
Two members walked into the box today determined to sign up and lucky for them we had a new promotion going on. If two people signed up they were given a couples rate, which means their membership was decreased from $185 month to $150 and their initiation fee was waived 100%. This has been known to work positively for CrossFit GSP's business plan and is a fast way to increase the total number of clients. Towards the end of the day, Val and I sat down to discuss some future events we would like to see happen at the Box. One topic that was very interesting to both of us and Darren as well was getting our name on the cite list for the CrossFit Level 1 Certification. Secondly, was to pick a weekend in the summer where we could host an in-box competition (scaled and Rx). These are topics that will be discussed the next day I am in since these activities take some time to organize and more information is needed. REMINDER - The first open WOD will be streamed live at CrossFIT GSP tonight at 8pm sharp is what GSP's Instagram and Facebook said. These postings have been made all week and today was the start of the open so we wanted to have as much of a showing as possible. No one was coming in for fundamentals so we were able to allow the members to workout while the opening workout was being released. We had members post this information on their social media websites as well so we could have a big crowd. Through out the day the box was slower then normal, because many were coming in for the open announcement and were going to work out afterwards. Mail chimp and I became very good friends today as I sent about 15 - 20 follow up emails and re-organized the front desk. One thing that I have noticed is that there are many folders lying around so Val gave me the opportunity to make it look more presentable.
When it came time to watch the live stream, a group of members brought some snacks which gave it a movie watching feel. The main event took place in Boston, but will be relocating for the remaining four weeks of competition. The workout that was announced took about 25 minutes in total, which gave some of our own athletes the ability to stretch and warm up if they were going to do a test run. These workouts are always released on Thursday night and all competitors who are competing have till monday night to submit their scores. All participants must be judged by a coach and signed off by both parties for it to count or a video may be submitted that captures all good reps and the full workout. This was an action packed night where many of the stronger and more fit athletes gave it a good go around. At the start of my day, I ran to the bank to deposit what was in the cash register since it was over flowing from the weekend. We received new t-shirts and supplements so the members were going crazy buying things left and right. At CrossFit GSP we are affiliated with Kettlebell Kitchen (meal prep company), kill cliff (energy/post workout drink), Total Nutrition and Progenex. Being an affiliate for these companies we have the ability to sell and market these products to our members. When new orders come in most of our products fly off the counter so sales was a big part of today's work day in addition to restocking the shelves and organizing everything so it looks presentable (no open holes). One of our members designs hats and t-shirts so he was able to bring in a large box of hats with out logo on them. These have become a new hit and have almost sold out within 4 days!!
There were also a few people who dropped by and signed up for a new membership in addition to registering four new people for fundamentals. Fundamentals is a good opportunity to get to know the new members and learn about their fitness background. This interaction gives me the ability to discuss their knowledge and previous experiences with the Fundamentals coach so they are fully prepared for each person in their class. Its good to have an understanding of everyone's ability before they start so the coach knows when to push them harder if at all and when to pay more attention to individual detail. Before the day was over I had the opportunity to answer a few phone calls and respond to some emails that came through regarding our class schedule and open gym times. Just about half way through my mentorship and I have a pretty good handle on how the CrossFit community communicates with its members, and potential members via social media and competitive membership prices. However, what wasn't discussed was how Val and her husband Darren got started with their business. This discussion was very interesting and highlighted aspects of becoming a CrossFit owner I didn't know about.
As mentioned in Val's bio they relocated to NYC from FL for an opportunity to work with Reebok in one of their NYC boxes. From there Val and Darren created a dream of opening their own CrossFit Affiliate Gym in NJ. They spent a few months looking for space within Bergen County since it is a heavy populated area and near Manhattan. Soon enough there was an open space in Rochelle Par, NJ which happened to be a women's fitness facility so not much construction needed to be done. Once they finalized this location, they created the name CrossFit GSP (Garden State Plaza). In order for them to use this name and become an affiliate they needed to get their name approved by the CrossFit organization and fill out an application form. Once this step was complete an Architect was hired to inspect the space and built a 3D printed image of what Val and Darren wanted their new business to look like. Marketing through the Reebok Fit Hub at Garden State Plaza and on social media was a big factor for this box opening and for having so many members join before it was even open. Tours were given to all potential members during construction where they were given explanations of the future layout and a brief glance at the blue prints. Although this is just the icing on the cake to opening and owning my own CrossFit Business, it is useful information that will help me pursue my future goals in potentially being an owner as well. The CrossFit Open is a little over a week away and many athletes all over the world are getting ready for the release of the workouts. The open is five weeks long where one work out is released once a week for this five week period. The workouts are released by the creator of CrossFit ever Thursday night at 8pm. At CrossFit GSP we ail be hosting a viewing session of that weeks released WOD at the box and will be streaming it live. Since we are a week away and in today's society people try and plan a head, a posting for this event will be done on Facebook and on Instagram to remind our members about the live streaming. A sample of this can be found below in addition to the "projects" page found above. Now that our mailers/postcards were disbursed it was time to continue following up with potential members. Although not many (hardly any) people have responded to these follow up emails, it is never a reason to stop reaching out. There may be one or two individuals who respond and decide to become members. The emails used are gathered from the liability waiver forms visitors must always fill out. A few phone calls were also made to those individuals who did not leave an email address. These follow ups seem to have a better turn around and we can actually engage in conversation and see what s/he is looking for.
Today was the first day that I helped with payroll. The first thing that needed to be done was to check the hours on the form the coaches submitted and compare them to the coaching schedule. This is to make sure that everyone is getting paid correctly and accurately. Val has blank checks specifically for paying each coach and she keeps these on her at all times so they don't get miss placed or miss used. Once the checks were completely filled out Val signed them and they were placed in individual envelopes and handing to each coach when they arrived at the box next. Once payroll was done with, cash register money was counted and deposited into the businesses bank account at Bank of America. Instead of depositing the whole drawer, $45 dollars was left behind so there was enough room for small business purchases and change for member purchases.
Once i returned to the box, there were a few people walking in with me who I didn't recognize before. I said hello and found out that they were new to the area and saw our sign CrossFit GSP outside on the building and wanted to come check it out. The individuals have never herd of CrossFit before so they were unfamiliar with a lot of the terminology I was using to describe the work outs, (Power lifting, olympic lifting, gymnastics etc.). However, they were interested in taking a tour and were impressed with how big the space was. Information regarding our class schedule, fundamentals class and membership cost was distributed and if they had any more questions they could always come back and/or call us at anytime. More labels were added to our post card/mailers until they were all finished. This actually took me a few hours to finish, but was worth finishing the last 300 plus because now they can be delivered at the post office. I was informed to give Tekeisha a buzz before heading over to the post office so she could inform them that I was coming and to put my order through. When I arrived at the post office with my EDDM package they helped me immediately. They verified how many I had before they took the business credit card, ran it through their system and rubber band them together. The women at the desk explained that they would be given to the postman who has his runs in the zones that I picked and he is instructed to drop one off at every address within his section. Lets keep our fingers crossed we get some new members or at least a few potential members!!! Another Saturday in the books, supplements and recovery drinks were sold in addition to signing up three new members to the CrossFit Community!! One aspect of becoming a new member is that they are always welcomed with open arms. The coaches introduce them to the class if they do not need to go through fundamentals (previous CrossFit experience exempts them) and everyone embraces them for their hard work. In an effort to get our new mailers (post cards) out in a timely fashion for the start of March, I posted up in the office and brined out enough labels for all 500 post cards. Unfortunately a few of them were printed off centered and were unable to be used, but the good news was that not all 500 were going to be sent out. In selecting the town of Ridgewood it was impossible to get an exact count of 500 resident addresses because each of the two sections (zones) of the town that was selected was an odd number. Once all the labels were printed and cut out, it was time to label the post cards. This was going to take a few hours even days, but was determine to finish as quickly as possible. A majority of the day was spent on labeling each post card in addition to answer the phone and answering any question a potential member had in regards to our membership prices and WOD schedule.
Today staples called and said they were ready for me to pick up my order. Yahoo, the mailers are ready! In order for the mailers to be sent out, the post office explained that they need to have the Every Door Direct Mailing (EDDM) sticker on them, but no one could tell me where to find this sticker. So i spent a majority of the afternoon driving around to different staples and local post offices until someone was able to give me a phone number to call. Finally, I was able to reach someone over the phone at the post office head quarters who was happy to help me. The women I spoke with was named Tekeisha, she explained I needed to print, hand cut and paste this EDDM sticker in the upper right hand corner on the back of the mailer. I expressed to her that I had no idea staples nor the post office could help me and that I read the post office website inside out in order to complete this project efficiently.
She apologized for the miss communication and expressed that I was not the only one who had trouble the first time around. I did learn that if a business is mailing a flyer to less then 1,000 - 1,500 people it is considered EDDM and specific addresses are not needed for printing. However, once you reach the 1,000 mark is when it becomes a Mass Mailing and exact address are given by the post office. Interesting fact that I didn't know about!! Needless to say that this project was going to take longer then expected, but now that I had the tools to complete the mailers I could begin the final process of pasting each stamp on all 500 post cards. However, labels were purchased with the company card and the receipt was copied and placed in the filing cabinet for future reference. If it weren't for Tekeisha I don't think I would have been able to complete these mailers, but both Val and I were happy that we had all the information needed to continue this marketing effort. Although there is no way to really determine the Return On Investment (ROI) we realized that the final cost factor for everything ($250 roughly) is about the same as a one month membership to CrossFit GSP. Therefore if we only get one member from these mailers we have made even and would re-evaluate repeating this strategy at a later date. Over the last few weeks Val, Darren and I have had small discussions regarding new marketing strategies or ideas that could be done in order to get our name out there. One idea that was agreed upon was creating a mailer (post card) that would be distributed to a specific area in a specific town. This was an idea I cam up with, but was limited on the number of post cards that could be printed and where it was going to be distributed. The restrictions lied upon the given budget for this marketing strategy. The total amount allotted was $400 which could be used for the actual mailers and the cost for dropping them off at the post office.
The process for deciding which company to use regarding Staples, Vista Print etc. was not an easy task. I took my time experimenting on different websites creating a mailer of all different sizes and colors to get the best idea on price and which one was the cheapest yet most valuable. By the end of the day, Staples was going to be the company to print our mailers. Now, this was the first time any of us have every down something like this so the process was not an easy one. In order to get these mailers printed in a timely and cost efficient manner, we had to use regular printed paper instead of the glossy kind (it increased the cost and print time a decent amount). An example of this mailer can be found on the "projects" page and keep in mind that the actually size is about the same size of a standard postcard. The owners wanted the 500 post cards to be delivered in Ridgewood, NJ as it is a town about 15 minutes away and doesn't have a CrossFit Box in the town. Lets keep our fingers crossed that these will draw in some members from the Ridgewood area. These mailers will be available within the next day or so, so I will update the status of them as they are ready and about to be disbursed. Monday afternoons in the box are sometimes super busy and super slow. Although not many members are at GSP Monday afternoons, there is generally still a bunch of work that needs to be done. For instance, the social media web pages that CrossFit GSP use include Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (occasionally). Having access to the GSP Facebook and Instagram media pages allows me to go in and add a post whenever necessary. Today, like any other Monday postings needed to be done and today I was in charge of posting a picture on both social media webpages. Some examples of these can be found on the "projects" page. The posts done on Monday are to inform and remind those Facebook and instagram users that CrossFit GSP has fundamentals on Monday nights and encourages people to sign up if they are interested in giving CrossFit a try. These postings are made using a program called picmonkey that allows you to edit and customize a photo for future use. This website is actually pretty cool and allows you to get in touch with your creative side!!
More emails were added to the Mail Chimp server so Darren could continue send out his monthly/weekly announcements to all the members. A few members from a CrossFit box near by cam in to take a tour of the facility and for a drop in session. They were three men interested in possibly switching to GSP so they wanted to get a feel for the place. I gave them a tour of the facility, and highlighted key aspects that we have that most boxes don't. The biggest seller is our Open Gym time as we have multiple times through out the day, in addition to private mens and women's locker rooms with showers free charge and an indoor track. These are highlights that always seem to attract outside members so it is important that they are said at every walk through. These potential new clients filled out liability waiver forms and joined in on the next available class. Unfortunately they were not willing to commit to our box until they worked something out with their current box in regards to their cancellation fees. Lets keep out fingers crossed these gentlemen return soon. Today is the day of CrossFit GSP's 1st Birthday Party so it was going to be a long day, but a good one. The morning started off at the box signing members in and gathering supplies for the party at local stores, that was starting later on at night. While at the box, cleaning of the locker rooms was done and weights were all put back after each class. The coaches did a good job cleaning up knowing that there was a party going on later on. The phone was ringing off the hook so it didn't leave much time for computer work today, which was a nice change of pace. Those individuals who called were all prospects for the upcoming fundamentals schedule and for tours of the facility. There were four people who decided to come down today and check out the box and potentially jump in for the free trial class (or at least watch). Fundamentals are healed Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30, and we now have five people signed up for each class. Having this number of people already signed up is a good sign, and means that we have five potential new members. The number of clients at GSP is slowly increasing and hope to reach 200 by the end of the year. Currently we sit at about 135 members with a few cancel memberships and injuries causing two members to put their membership on hold.
Once I had a few minutes to sit down, I was able to continue adding emails to Mail Chimp for both potential and current members. New email updates and memos are sent out by Darren on a weekly basis sometimes monthly depending on the announcements. This helps him and Val maintain contact with all members with out having to email everyone individually or take up space on the businesses gmail account. During my time inputting emails, I sold two Total Nutrition Products all paid with a credit card. When these products are purchased with a credit card the item and cost is written down in a note book and the payment is done through the companies separate iPad. This iPad is only used for Total Nutrition products because it is linked up to Total Nutritions database so they can track what is being sold at GSP. A side note - instead of receiving a printed receipt the iPad and Front Desk HQ system has the option of emailing a receipt. This seems to be the most popular option that all members and visitors chose to use. Today was a busy day filled with productivity and many potential new members. Saturdays seem to be the best day for walk ins, phone calls, and when new members sign up. ___________ The Birthday Party started at about 7pm, but I showed up at about 6pm to help set up and get the box in order for a mini party. Val had arranged a photo booth to come and take pictures so I set him up in the back corner of the room so he could have as much space as he needed. Tables were filled with party favors, water and soda, balloons were scattered around the room and the food was catered by a local supermarket. The most challenging art was hanging a pinyata from the ceiling. Since there are rings involved in CrossFit they are hung from the ceiling. So the pinnate was tied to the rings so it was easier to take on and off. This made for a fun game for later on in the party, in addition to pin the tale on the donkey. This event was a big success and gave new and old members a chance to mingle and get to know one another. Its hard to meet all the members since there is a morning crew and an evening crew so this was the best opportunity. Over all today was a long and busy day, but certainly productive! Made some moves on obtaining new members, selling some items and celebrating CrossFit GSP's 1st Birthday!!! Checking the phone when I walked in, there were 5 voicemails waiting to be listened to. In checking the voicemail the messages were all for Darren the other Owner of CrossFit GSP regarding Verizon, and potential supplements that could be sold at the box. In talking with Val and Darren many of these phone calls are scams and that they are never really interested in many of the supplement calls because the ones they have already True Nutrition and Progenex seem to be popular, so why switch. One of the good things about getting peoples emails from their liability waiver form is that a mass email can go out at one time. A system called Mail Chimp allows you to create messages and send to multiple recipients all at the same time. These emails drafts can be saved for future use as well, in addition to the contacts that are inputted. I was in charge of inputting emails for potential members into mail chimp for the next mass email that will be going out regarding new promotions or announcements. We combined emails that were collected over the last few months so this was going to take a while. However, I was determined to get as many entered in as I possible could every day I was there. These emails will be utilized to current members for announcements regarding class schedule, new classes, and competition news that is occurring at the box or other boxes as well.
Unfortunately, I had a few members call today to cancel their membership. Normally, there needs to be an email with a full explanation 2 weeks prior to canceling, but Val was willing to make an exception. One of the members canceling as moving and the other didn't have an excuse, but was still granted the cancel with no penalty due to being an avid member for almost a full year. |
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