1to1 Magazine Demo

SALES OPTIMIZATION Sales Optimization | BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN Equinox Fitness Equinox Fitness Flexes Its CRM Muscle GOLD e “Understanding that people’s motivation for joining a gym is a personal thing is critical, and this tool helps us keep track of that.” Key Facts ★ Based in New York with roughly 150,000 members in seven states. ★ Employs 5,000 people and operates 45 clubs nationwide, mostly in large cities. ★ According to the firm First Research, the fitness-club industry is a $15 billion enterprise domestically, with 50 companies maintaining a 30 percent market share. quinox Fitness prides itself on being more than just a fitness club. The quickly growing, upscale chain appeals to its slightly older, more affluent customers via chic design, a spa-like aesthetic, and a devotion to cleanliness. As CIO Jeff Grayson puts it, “It’s what you get out of a top-tier hotel in terms of impeccable service and cleanliness. If you stay at a Holiday Inn, everything’s probably fine…but it’s not the Four Seasons or the Ritz.” Although Equinox has grown by 400 percent to 45 locations in the past five years, prospective customers were getting less than upscale treatment, Grayson says. The starting point of all this growth is gym memberships, which can be leveraged at other on-site services like spas, retail stores, cafés, and, in many locations, child care. But the sales experience was not consistent with the club’s service-oriented, luxury message, and management realized that continuing Equinox’s dramatic growth would require reengineering its sales process. “The sales process was managed largely through index cards,” he says. As a result, the staff focused more on last-minute closing than on building relationships. Membership advisors would typically speak with hundreds of prospects each month, then bring their box of leads to the sales manager to review. Prospects were often mishandled with poor follow-up that reflected badly on the Equinox brand. “From the start, we conceived of our reengineering as a business project…with technology as the critical tool,” Grayson says. “And we took as our mantra, ‘Kill the cards.’” Equinox implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM software to support 250 advisors and managers in 36 locations and optimize its sales process. The Equinox team customized the applications to reflect a simple B2C lead management and contract closure process. “Understanding that people’s motivation for joining a gym is a personal thing is critical, and this tool helps us keep track of that,” Grayson says. “Some people join because they’re getting married in six months, or they have a college reunion coming up Our membership advisors’ jobs are to establish a personal connection with the people they’re talking to—and also, of course, to be very effective salespeople in the process.” Now both current members and prospects are handled in a more professional manner, with timely and personalized communication, he says. The improved process emphasizes Equinox as a high-touch, service-oriented company that is interested in clients’ fitness success rather than just a new contract or renewal. And, with prospect data now stored electronically, sales personnel can use that information to communicate more effectively with customers, opening more opportunities for upselling to existing customers, as well as continuing its rapid membership growth. “Every prospective customer now receives a follow-up email from his advisor the next morning,” Grayson says. “It’s generated automatically, but there’s space for the advisor to put in one or two sentences—‘Good luck with the wedding’—to make it more personalized.” Within three months of implementing Microsoft CRM, he says, all lead cards were eliminated, and 100 percent of advisors and their managers were using the system. For the customer, Grayson adds, sales conversations are now more in line with Equinox’s image of being “truly interested in your health, rather than just making a sale.” As a result, he says, Equinox has seen a 10 percent revenue increase and RIO from the CRM system in less than eight months. Additional insight is provided by the tool’s ability to let managers see such trends as same-day closing percentages; if they’re going down, marketing can step in with a promotion that offers a better rate for same-day joining. “The best thing about this is its simplicity,” Grayson says, noting that the quick buy-in from staff is indicative of its ease-of-use. “The results speak for themselves.” —KZ 30 1to1 magazine ★To learn more about the Gartner & 1to1 Customer Award winners, visit: www.1to1media.com/links/G1awards.html http://www.1to1media.com/View.aspx?ItemID=30794 http://www.1to1media.com/links/G1awards.html

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of 1to1 Magazine Demo

1to1 Magazine Demo Contents 1to1media.com Editor's Note Feedback Putting Care in Patients' Hands Loyalty at Work Redefining the Contact Center Agent Introducing Enterprise 2.0 Cigna Dental Drills for Loyal Customers On the Beat 19 Ways to Succeed Miami Heat Schools Its Staff on Sales and Service Marketing Lends a Helping Hand More Than Meets the Eye Customer Service by Committiee Textron's Business Soars by Tracking Customer Loyalty Resources Contact Center Agent as Trusted Advisor Mastering Global CRM Face to Face with Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Ph.D.

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