A presale is where you sell memberships before the club opens, so on opening day you already have people working out. Here's why it matters.
If you're new to the fitness business, you might be unsure as to what a presale is. It is basically where you sell memberships before the club opens, so that on opening day you have people in your gym working out as if they have been going there for years. Some will argue that the presale process is one of the trickiest and most crucial elements in determining whether your new club will be successful when it opens.
Presales can be beneficial to your business in multiple ways. The first, and perhaps the most obvious is that it can build excitement within your market. For example, if your plan is to open up a bodybuilding gym, then you can really drum up the hype in the local bodybuilding community. Tell people how amazing your gym is going to look and about all the different bits of kit you're going to have — just make sure you can live up to all this on opening day!
By getting people excited about the club before it even opens, you will already be building a strong reputation for your gym. People will see how great your plan is, and the sense of excitement and reputation before the club has even opened will be enough to show people how great your gym is. Even at this early stage, it will be helping brand your name. If you do it right, prospects will know the name and mission of your gym before it even opens, which can only be a good thing.
From a business point of view, it will also help build relationships and strengthen the teamwork between your members. It gets everyone driving the business together, mucking in and doing their bit to set the foundations for your membership base.
Our team member and keen bodybuilder Brandon has had experience in working for a gym during the presales process and knows that it is important to do it and do it well!
"Presales are essential for the initial set up of your new business because you are making sure that you have an income for as soon as you open. Even though having outstanding marketing is essential, if you have no payment platform to set up memberships, direct debits and host your members how will your presales be a success? Now, maybe I'm biased because I'm part of the team, but ClubRight is that platform. ClubRight allows you to start off in presale mode so that you can get your members rolling in before your club has even opened."
Overall, the team at the ClubRight camp are very much in favour of a presale, because as Brandon mentioned — it allows you to start generating an income right from opening day. But what do you think? Are there any other gym owners out there that have a more unconventional approach to presale? Because we'd love to hear from you!
