Our Generation's Zig Ziglar - Eric Lofholm

If you choose to not do what I'm telling you right now, you're gonna make things 10 times harder on yourself. You have to trust me as a, I mean my 20th year of training people all over the world. I believe I can help anybody make more sales. I acknowledge myself as one of the top sales traders on the planet. So just don't disagree with me on this one. Just trust me and do this. And this will make a it'll make a huge difference for you.

Hey fitness fans, welcome back to the Future of Fitness podcast and interview series. This is your host, Eric Malzone, and we're on episode number 86. I get to talk to Eric Loftone. So uh Eric is an expert in sales training, and you don't get to be an expert in sales training without selling a lot of things. And uh he has. He's got the experience, he's got the background, he has a book, uh best-selling book. It is called The System. Um and within this podcast, he shares a ton of insights and information on how to build a successful sales system within your organization. So um sales. Kind of a dirty word for most people. We don't know why. I think it's the uh it's the used car uh analogy. It's all those things, you know, someone knocking on your door, uh trying to sell you something, um, maybe dating myself uh because that doesn't happen too much anymore. But uh people over the age of 40 will know exactly what I'm talking about. So why is it such a dirty word, right? You talk to all these expert marketers, um, people like Mike Percy who's on the show, uh Tommy Hackenbrook, who's coming on the show, um, are not Lesenberg, uh, who's coming on the show. They're all expert marketers and experts at getting you leads in the door. But how about the conversion, right? All that is worthless if you're not converting these people into actual clientele. And if you're not, if you don't have a successful sales system, you really got to put one in place. Now, I've been doing sales for a long time, 20 years. I learned a lot of stuff here from this conversation with Eric. And uh, he's a really sharp guy. Like I said, he gives us uh a lot of keys um in how to do it right away. He gives a lot of value here, uh, which is one of always one of the um things I'm looking for with guests. I want to make sure people are giving value. They're not holding back on any of their quote unquote secret sauce or uh methods because it's it's all about you guys, the listeners, and getting as much value. So yeah, Eric's a stud. Um great insights here. Take a listen and uh let me know what you think. So the fitness accelerator, let's talk about this again because this is really cool and it's growing right now. Uh it's the fastest growing online fitness community of entrepreneurs that you've never heard of until now. Uh, you can go to fitnessprofessionalonline.com forward slash fit accelerator and get more information. But here's the deal it is equal parts incubator, mastermind, and networking group. If you had one connection that you knew would make a game changer for your career, who would it be? There's a good chance I may know someone just like it. So go check it out. It's finishedprofessional online.com forward slash fit accelerator, incubator, mastermind, B I all wrapped into one. And you know what? You don't have to be us there at a certain meeting time. There is no meeting times. You can show up when you want. It's a 24-7, 365 online Slack community, and uh we're always monitoring, we're always adding value. We have hot seats, we have Ask Me Anything's, we have internal podcasts, um, you name it, educational pieces on whatever's current with digital marketing, all of these things at your fingertips for 147 bucks a month. Are you kidding me? That's crazy. We're crazy. And uh right now we're even crazier because we're doing it for two weeks for free. So you can get in and get a trial. So go to fitnessprofessionalonline.com forward slash fit accelerator. Come join the movement. It's a powerful, powerful group. Without further ado, number 86, Eric Loffholm. Enjoy the show. All right, Eric Loffholm. Welcome to the show, man. Good to have you on. I'm excited to be here. Yeah, me too. And you know, I've had um, you know, a couple conversations with you previously to this, and you just have a uh incredible energy about you. And today we're really gonna dig into the paradigm shift that needs to take place within the fitness industry and fitness profession around sales and how that ultimately affects someone's bottom line, quality of life, mindset, stress levels, all those things I'm sure you're gonna dive into because I'm dying to know. So I know if I'm dying to know more from you, I'm sure our listeners are as well. So let's let's do this, Eric. If you can, please um give us a background into who you are and what you do.

Sure. So uh I've been in commission sales since the early 1990s. Um I started my training company in uh 1999. So for I'm in my 20th year, I help people all over the world that want to make more sales, generate more leads, set more appointments, close more sales. My vision for everybody watching this or listening to this is for you to have as many clients as you want. I know many of you work with people one-on-one, and I'd love for you to have a full practice, whatever that looks like for you. And I'm just really passionate about helping people uh get the sales results that they want.

Awesome. I love it. So, you know, a lot of people think sales is something that you're you're born with, right? It's just like a skill that's innate to people. And I can say, having done a lot of years of sales um in various forms, that I'm not a natural born salesperson. Um, you know, I what's your background? Like, were you graded, did you gravitate towards sales professions? Did you was it something that you've been doing since you were little? Like, what's your background that that kind of puts you that you think set you up for the position you're at now, which is a very um influential position to be in?

Yeah, um, I went into sales not to do sales. I went to work for a multimillionaire real estate investor. And so he said, if you want to work for me, you need to do sales. And if he had said, um, I have a job for you in the mailroom to work around me, you need to work in the mail room or customer service. I didn't care what he whatever he wanted me to do. He said he wanted me to do sales. So my first year in sales for him, I was his bottom producer because sales was not natural for me. It didn't come easy to me. I didn't know how to do it. I'd never been professionally trained. And at the end of my first year, I was put on quota probation uh because I'd missed a quota two months in a row. And so I became very interested in improving my sales skills in order to keep my job and to keep my association with this uh mentor. And so I met a gentleman named Dr. Donald Moyne who provided me professional training for the first time uh in sales, and with his help, I hit the quota, which was 10,000 in gross sales, and the next month I did 51,000. I did five times quota, and I've never looked back. And so for me, I wasn't born with the gift of selling. It was a skill set that got transferred to me, and my natural gifting is teaching. So once I had this skill set, I started teaching others how to do it. I then went and worked for Tony Robbins for a few years and branched off of my own back in 1999. So my belief is anybody watching or listening to this, if you want to get better at sales, if you have the that mindset, you're open-minded, you're coachable, uh, any of you can learn how to do this.

Awesome. Awesome. So, you know, I'm curious, you mentioned you went from 10,000 to 51,000, you never look back, right? Something, something must have happened right there. That sounds like a major impact point. Can you do you can you look back and say, okay, this was like something shifted in me, or or what was that?

What what what so to put a context around it? Some of the people that would be watching or listening to this, they might be doing one-on-one um fitness work with clients. Would that be true? Correct.

Yep.

Okay. So let's say somebody watching this, they're fantastic at helping people get the body that they want, but maybe they're not real comfortable explaining their services, so doing that initial presentation to guide them into a one-on-one relationship. And so back at that job, I was doing that over the phone, but it wasn't in fitness, it was in real estate education. So we were talking to people that wanted to learn how to become real estate investors, and I was uncomfortable with that presentation. I didn't know the structure of it, I didn't know how to handle the common objections, I didn't know how to guide people into a purchase. And so what my mentor taught me was how to structure that presentation. So I could consistently give a great presentation every single time. I could fearlessly, boldly ask for the order every single time. And so, like the light bulb what it went on in my mind, and all of a sudden I can now give that presentation outstanding every time. So it'd be like somebody watching this that's uncomfortable with that initial enrollment conversation, and then they got comfortable with it, and then boom, the skill set gets transferred, they have it for the rest of their life to be able to maintain a full practice, you know, as a as a possibility. And so that's what happened for me.

Awesome, interesting. So I guess you know, the big question is, you know, teach me. Like I've you know, I've been doing sales for a while. Um, you know, I I was a successful salesperson within the corporate setting. I built a gym, but I still feel like, you know, um just hold you back. You know, you can't I've always been told things, you know, there's so many different books, selling debito, um, you know, professional selling, like all these books I've I've read over time. Um, but I none of it still, there's no procedure for me in my mind of how to sell, you know, most of the time it's just conversational of something, and I just, you know, you kind of build that that know like trust factor, and then people kind of buy from you. But I've never put it into any kind of structure. And I think that's what a lot of people need is at least structure to start, and then they can kind of become part of them, right? It just becomes part of their behavior. So how much if I'm you know, if I'm maybe a typical fitness professional, how how do you teach me? What do you teach me?

Yeah, well, uh, it starts with mindset. And if you were working with somebody to help them get the body that they wanted, that that that uh client might be living in a story of everything I've ever tried that's never worked before, I can't get myself to follow through and eat the right things, I lack the consistency, and so you might work with them on mindset. Well, in sales, it starts with mindset. Now, if somebody's watching or listening to this right now and they have resistance to sales, that's totally normal because in our culture there's a stigma to sales. So when many people think of sales, they think of arm twisting, high pressure, manipulation. So now we have a fitness professional who wants to help people and does not want to be a used car salesperson. Yeah. And so then they're just like, okay, I want to you know give this presentation, but I don't want to come across salesy. And so um, it starts with letting go of resistance to sales and realizing that this is how I teach sales, and maybe this can help some of the listeners here. It's a style of communication that increases the likelihood that the other person says yes. So if you want more yeses in your life, then you would want to learn sales, which is a learned skill. If I want more yeses with my wife, my children, my employees, my clients, my joint venture partners, my sales presentations. If I want to get more yeses, then I want to learn how to communicate with somebody in a way that guides them to a yes, and there is a learnable science to this. And this is what my mentor, Dr. Boyne taught me. Now, he approached selling from a scientific standpoint. He wrote his PhD dissertation years ago on what separates average salespeople from sales superstars. And he essentially cracked the code in this step-by-step methodical way, this this way that anybody could duplicate. And Dr. Moyne duplicated himself and me, and now I've made my life's work to duplicate myself and people all over the world. And we'll cover as much as we can on this interview. I'm not going to hold anything back and say, oh, you got to go buy the book. Like I'll give you every answer that you have, every question you have at the best of my ability to support your listeners. So it starts with mindset. And what I teach is selling equals service, sell from honesty, integrity, and compassion. Selling is about leading, selling is about moving people to action. So it starts with embracing sales, no different than the fitness trainers watching this. Tell me if this is true. They're gonna be working with their clients in part on their mindset about fitness and habits and repetition and what they're eating. Is that true? Yes, absolutely. Cool. So everybody gets that. Now we just take that same thought process and now we apply it to selling. So it's like this is hard for some of you, but to let go of this resistance, this is a paradigm shift. It's a shift in your thinking. Okay, so now let's say you're you're open to thinking differently. Now let's get into the nuts and bolts. So there's a structure to an enrollment conversation, and it doesn't matter to the industry, it doesn't matter if it's a real estate agent or a fitness professional. Um there's a sequence to the presentation. So if you're gonna make a cake, there's ingredients and then there's an order that the ingredients go in. So there's a recipe, if you will, to this presentation, and it starts with trust and rapport. Because when the um the potential client comes to the enrollment conversation with the fitness professional, they themselves, the potential client, might be like this because they know it's an enrollment conversation. Some people come in totally open and they're ready to buy, they're ready to go. But other people they're like, yeah, I'm here because I want to have a better body or I want to have more energy or I want to improve. But I know you're trying to sell me something, so that they're like this. So what we want to do is we want to get them to lower their resistance, and the way we do that is by building trust and rapport. So, some techniques you can do. Um, use flattery. You might say, you know, I want to, I want to acknowledge you for coming into the gym. You know, the fact that you're here, this is the first step. You made a decision to come down today and hear how I can help you create the body that you want. And I just want you to know, just right off the get-go, that's huge that you've made that decision. So great job. Yeah. So now it's like, okay, great. I get to the person's gonna be feeling good, right? And we're gonna encourage them a little bit. And then um we're gonna build a little bit of rapport. It might be some small talk, like uh, because if it's face to face, they likely live in the same area. So, how long have you been here in the area? Oh, okay, do you have any kids? And you're just kind of getting to know them a little bit. And then um, from there, I would pivot into what I call an agenda script. And what you do is you set the stage for how the appointment's gonna go. So it would go something like this. Um, so what I'd like to do now is share with you how our appointment's gonna go today. Uh, first, I want to ask you some questions to get to better know what some of your fitness goals are, you know, um anything you've tried in the past. I want to have an understanding of what your eating habits are like. And then after I ask you those questions, then uh I want to take you on a tour of the facility. And then from there, I want to share with you how I work with clients like yourself, and we can talk specifically about your goals. And at the end of our time together today, I'll share with you exactly how I work with clients like yourself. I'll share with you um what the fee structure is, and if you feel comfortable, you'll have the opportunity to hire me as your personal trainer. And if not, then no problem. Sound good? And then go, sounds good. So now what we just did is we set the stage that this is an enrollment conversation. I will be asking you to sign up with me at the end if I feel that you're a good fit. So it doesn't have to be like weird at the end when we get to the money, because if I haven't, in in my language, call that a pre-frame, if I haven't set the stage for what we're here to do, that this is an enrollment conversation, then I might be uncomfortable when it gets to asking uh when I ask for the money at the end. I might um so anyway, just it helps the conversation. So before I go any further, let me just check in with you if there's anything you want to go deeper on or comment on, and then I can give you the next part of the presentation.

No, that's good. I mean, I'm I'm going through my own, like, so as you're going through this, I'm going through my own sales processes. I remember every because I've done so many consultations in my gym setting days, right? Where I've sat down and that I want to confirm some things, and I also want to have some aha points of like me going like, shit, that's a great idea. You know, I wish I incorporated that. But number one, uh congratulating them on showing up and taking the first step is such a that that what that does to the mood in the room is like, hey, you've already done the hardest part, really, which is showing up, you know, and let's just let's see if we can take that away. And then what I loved about that too is you pre you automatically told them, hey, at the very end of this, I'm gonna be asking you for a sale, you know, I'm gonna be asking you for your business. And I think that's a huge part of where most fitness professionals miss because they wait to the very end and then they kind of like kick rocks, you know, and then like, well, you know, would you like to join my gym or would you like to do some private training? But now you've you've set the table, right? So that agenda is incredibly powerful. So um, yeah, this is good. Keep going, keep going. This is a this is fun.

Yeah. Yeah. And um, so then the next part in the agenda script, we said we're gonna ask them some questions. So then what you can say is so now what I'd like to do is I'd like to ask you some questions so I can get to know you a little bit better. So you might go through questions like, um, how long have you been thinking about wanting to improve your fitness? And they might say, Five years. All right, wow, it's been a while. Um, what have you tried so far? Then they're gonna tell you. Um uh, what types of exercise do you like to do? Uh, do you like to do classes? Um, do you feel that if you were working with with me as an instructor, you'd be more likely to follow through on your goals and your commitments? Um, do you see accountability as a role to assist you in creating uh the body that you like? Is there any part of your body that um you're not real happy about that you'd like to see different? Um let's talk a little bit about uh your food because um what you're eating is something that I think is really, really important. There's your fitness level and there's what you're eating. So tell me about you know how many meals a day do you eat? And do you do something, you know, ask them questions about their nutritional level? Do you drink water? Is there anything in your diet right now that you already know this isn't good for you? Fast food, um, alcohol, whatever the case may be. Um so you ask them these questions and then say, um, on a scale of one to ten, how motivated are you to make a change uh in your in your fitness level? Um imagine you now have the body that you want. What would be different for you in your life? Um, how soon would you like to get there? So you're gonna ask them these questions, and they're gonna basically give you everything you need to hear for you to be excited about working with them one-on-one because you know, as a great fitness instructor, you can get them those results. And you also know that if they've been thinking about it for five years, what they've done on their own hasn't worked. So they need somebody like you. So like it gives you confidence. You're confident because you you know, based on the problems that they share with you, you know they want a result different than what they have, and you know that what they've tried so far hasn't worked. And so then you do that, and then then you go in, maybe you take them on a tour of the gym, and this is getting into kind of the nuances of of your industry that I don't know exactly what you know is the best way to do it there. Maybe you take them on a tour of the gym, building some more rapport with them, and then probably the most powerful thing you can do next is tell them some success stories. And you know, if you've been in the game a while, you've got some really great stories, and this is so persuasive. And you say, Let me share with you um uh a story of a client that I worked with and look for similarities. So I'm 47 years old, and uh I'm not looking like as I'm working on my fitness, I'm not looking to get like a bodybuilder physique, but I want to have more energy, want to be a little bit stronger. So you'd want to tell a story of someone else, ideally in their 40s to 50s, like myself. I'm a business professional. So if you had a story of another busy business professional, here's where they were at, and uh, here is where they got to. And so then that paints the picture for me. And really, what you want to do is you want to script the stories out. You want to have about seven stories, and you're gonna tell the same stories over and over and over again. And with a uh client, you're probably gonna tell two or three stories. You're not gonna tell all seven. And the way you structure the story is to say, here's the problem that they had when they came initially to meet with me. They would start and stop and start and stop and start and stop. They couldn't get themselves to follow through, they needed the accountability, they did not have a good understanding of nutrition, and so that was their problem. Then they hired me and we did a six month program. And uh during those six months, I laid out an exact step by step plan with their nutrition, with their fitness. And I'll be honest with you, they didn't follow it 100%, but they did it about 80%. And the bottom line is they got the result that they wanted. So once they went through the six months of training, Here's where they're at now. I think I can do something similar for you. I think I can create a similar result, help you do something along those lines, and tell them a couple stories, and then you can pivot to the close. And you can say, um, what I'd like to do now is share with you how I work with clients like yourself. And in the close, all we're doing is just explaining how our program works. So what I'm gonna recommend for you is a 90-day program. And we're gonna meet uh for this many sessions over 90 days. This is what the investment is, here's everything that's included. Um, and then I like using a limiter. And what I mean by that is in my sales coaching practice, if I was, if I had room in my practice for a total of 20 clients, I might say in my clothes, the maximum number of clients I work with at any one time is 20. And the reason why I limit it to 20 is I'm very busy speaking, I have other interests in my life, I'm married, I have my kids, so I found that I personally could work with 20 clients. So I'd explain to them the package, the price, everything. And then my clothes is would you like to be one of the 20 clients that I work with? Very soft, very elegant, and I've done over a million dollars in one-on-one coaching business with that primary close. I've done different things, but I almost close everyone the same way. I just say, Would you like to be one of the 20 clients that I work with? So if you can handle 10 clients, 20 clients, 50 clients, maximum clients I work with at any one time is this. Here's how it works, this is what the investment is, and then you just simply say, Would you like to be one of the 30 clients that I work with? And then you're silent. And then they're gonna say one of three things. It's totally predictable. They're either gonna say, Yes, I would, they're gonna say no, or they're gonna give you an objection. And their objection is I need to think about it, I don't have the price is too high, I don't have the money, whatever they're gonna say. But a lot of people are just gonna say, Yeah, I would, because they took the time to come down and meet with you. So they're pretty darn motivated. And if you just guide them correctly, if I have somebody that says, Eric, I want some sales coaching help, kind of like somebody saying, Hey, I want to improve my body, great, well, let's hop on the phone and do a free session. If somebody gets on the phone with me for a free session, they're they're not close, but they're pretty close. Yeah. Because they took the time to get on the phone with me and they acknowledge that, yeah, they want to improve. And so here, here's this person, five years they've been trying stuff, nothing's ever worked. And you're giving them a great solution, you're confidently conveying how you can help them, and then you just guide them to the end and you just ask for the order, and that that'll get the job done.

Yeah, yeah. You know, I'm I'm just running through the thousands plus consultations I've done, right? And one question I have for you is you know, at some certain point, I agree, if if most, especially in the fitness profession, if people have taken the time to show up at your gym, like, and here's the thing that most fitness professionals need to understand too, is for most of us in the profession, fitness is is probably easy, right? It's something that it's just part of our lives. You know, I've been an athlete since the age of five. I just if I don't work out, I go crazy, right? Um and but for almost everybody else who comes into your doors, that first step is so tremendously huge that they actually book the time and come in. Um so that that's a number one is I want people to understand that too, because you're making such excellent points about how to get them through. And the other thing I have a question for you, because this happens quite often, you know, um, whether it be you know, that particular day, this person's having an off day, or you know, they have 3,000 other things on their mind when they're sitting with you during this consultation, or whatever it is, you can see when their their attention starts to drift or anything like that happens. Do you have any ways of kind of the nuanced details of like what's actually going on in that person's mind? Is there any cues that you pick up on? I'm no, I'm sure this is a huge topic because now we're getting into psychology and and all that, but you know, what cues are you looking for during the consultation that may dictate how it's gonna go?

Yeah, um as as far as the presentation, if you if you follow the structure, and you and you can certainly you can deviate if you need to, but if you if you stick with the structure, um it is extremely, extremely effective. Now, if I was talking to somebody and I intuitively sensed or they said something in the presentation that kind of let me know they weren't fully present, something was going on, I might just stop the presentation and ask them, you know, is there anything going on that you'd like to share with me? Or is everything okay? And I'm a sales coach, but sometimes people start talking to me like I'm the counselor because we have a rapport and they start just opening up with what's going on in their life. And so, kind of a similar thing, when people enter into these one-on-one relationships with us like this, there's a certain trust level. And so you, if you are sensing something's going on, whether it's while you're training them, like the in the workout, as you start working with your clients, you're gonna know if they're having an off day or not. Like you're gonna see it in the workout, you're gonna see it in their attitude. And so you might just ask them, hey, is everything okay? And they might go, you know, I had this situation happen with my daughter today, and it's you know, it's got it's in their head and it's affecting their workout. And that can be true in the sales presentation as well. If you're connecting with something and you're you're you're sensing that there's something off, um, but my general rule of thumb would be get this structure down. Because I'm I'm in a similar business in that I'm selling sales coaching, you guys are selling fitness training, it's a one-on-one, and maybe you do group as well, or you're selling product, but just let's have the conversation be about one-on-one for right now. I basically give every one-on-one conversation, it's the same structure. And human beings respond in predictable ways. Because I have a structure to follow, it raises my confidence. Like if my daughter's in a play, I know she's gonna knock it out of the park because she has a script and she's gonna practice and she knows what she's gonna say, so she's gonna put confidence in her body. And the problem, if if we don't come with a game plan and if we wing it, you're not gonna be projecting confidence and certainty. And one of the things that people buy is confidence and certainty, and people need to be led. So these people, when they come to see you and they're struggling with their fitness, and there's all kinds of reasons why they can be struggling. This is my view. They need to be led. They need you to say, I'm the expert and I can help you. And I'm gonna show you step by step how to do this, and I'm gonna make sure that you're gonna get the results that you're looking for. And they need to feel that confidence in you. So when you have your presentation down, like you can be confident as a trainer, but if you're not confident in your sales presentation, the whole time when they're like getting ready to make the buying decision, you're not conveying that. So it's like show up really powerfully in the enrollment conversation, just like you do as a trainer, and that comes from getting a set presentation down where you can just do it over and over and over and over and over again. And so that's that's what this conversation is all about.

Yeah, awesome, Eric. So can we review the the formula again? Go through it, kind of one bullet points.

So um it's trust and report, and then it's the agenda script, how the appointment's gonna go, then it's the probing questions, then it's uh tour of the gym, then it's success stories, then it's the close. And so those are the steps for the enrollment conversation, and uh, you get that down, and you you could go from being awkward and uncomfortable asking for the money to be powerful and confident and having a full practice the rest of your life.

Yeah, yeah, and it's interesting, just you know, once again, reflecting my own mind of how many times uh the power of the pause, right, at the end during the close of just saying something and shutting up is so incredible. How many times I've talked myself out of a sale just because I was uncomfortable with that little bit of silence. Like, it goes because that that like 10 seconds of silence that may take place there feels like an hour, right? For if it's just if you're new to it. So kind of walk us through the importance of that because I think that's a really key component for most, because we'll automatically, here's what a fitness profession does is we'll just discount the heck out of everything that we we do. It's like, oh well, yeah, oh, so you're a mother of two. I have a mother's discount. So, you know, here's my mother's package, right? Versus, you know, really valuing you. And I think I'm sure that's across all industries, but give us some insight into that moment in time because I think that's one of the hardest parts.

Yeah, well, to kind of put it in a context for everybody um watching this, like I would imagine if you were in an enrollment conversation with somebody and you said, Is there anything you know that you're doing that's you know hurting you in your eating habits? And they go, Yeah, I snack a lot after 10 o'clock at night. A lot of potato chips, a lot of ice cream, I'm watching TV, right? The person that's doing that probably doesn't understand how detrimental that is to them accomplishing their health goals. And so you're like, look, that's one of the things we're gonna do. We're gonna reduce that down, and eventually we're gonna eliminate that. You're not allowed to eat after nine, you know, whatever you're gonna tell them. So in a sales conversation, when we get to the end, you kind of have to ask for the order and be silent. Because if you don't do that, it's like eating ice cream after 10 o'clock. That's what it's the equivalent of. And so you just simply say to them, you want to have your ask. So it could be as simple as, are you ready to move forward and um you know, sign up to work with me? I like, you know, would you like to be one of the 20 clients that I work with? You want to have your ask statement down, and when you get to the end, you're gonna say that and you're gonna be silent because people need to be, they need to be put in a position to make a decision. So if you don't, if the Girl Scouts don't say, Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies? Nobody's buying. They have to say that sentence. If if you walk up and they just start talking to you, but they don't say, Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies? They're gonna sell 10 times the cookies if they just say, Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies? And then they're silent. So we we've got to guide them at the end. So think about it. They came to the gym, they've met with you for you know 30, 45 minutes, you've learned all about their challenges, you learned all about what they want to create. You know you can help them. So just explain them at the end. Here's the package, this is the investment, here's how it works, this is what I'm gonna do for you. Would you like to be one of the 20 clients that I work with? And then be silent. And if you choose to not do what I'm telling you right now, you're gonna make things 10 times harder on yourself. You you just you have to trust me as a, I mean, my 20th year of trading people all over the world. I believe I can help anybody make more sales. I acknowledge myself as one of the top sales trainers on the planet. So just don't disagree with me on this one. Just trust me and do this. And this will make a it'll make a huge difference for you in your results. And if we have time, I'd love to give a couple of ideas too on how to get new people to come down to the gym and meet with them. Because I've got some tips on how they can get like it's one thing, like the appointments you're running, but then how do you get even more appointments to fill up your calendar and then apply this methodology? That's a different conversation. If we have time, we can we can dive into that too.

Yeah, yeah.

Can we dive into it right now? So I think that's uh Yeah. So here's what happened when I started my company. I was 28 years old, and I had a vision to become the Zig Ziggler of my generation. Nobody had heard of me. I had a poor website, I had a uh a bad business plan, but I had a dream and I had a vision. And I didn't have any clients. So it's like, all right, how am I gonna go manifest this and how am I gonna turn this into reality? And the way I decided to do it was with prospecting outreach. Because I recognized there was millions of salespeople out there that could benefit from what it is that I have, just like there's millions of people out there that can benefit from what all of you guys have, and there's thousands of people, for every one of you watching this right now, there's thousands of people in your community that can benefit from your one-on-one work. So, but it's not like these thousands of people are gonna come banging on your door to come in for a visit. So I recognize to for me to reach all these people, I had to go reach out to them to essentially ask, are you interested in increasing your sales? And when you do that, you get a lot of no's. So the rhythm of prospecting is no, no, no, no, no, no, yes. And what that means is I reach out to somebody, are you interested in increasing your sales? And they say no. Reach out to another person, and I keep reaching out, and eventually I'll get a yes. As evidence of that, I'm on this podcast with you right now because one of my team members reached out to you and said, Hey, can we connect you and Eric Offel? And we had a lot of people that we reached out to that didn't respond or said no, and then you said yes. So I'm here because of prospecting outreach. So, what you can do on social media is you're all you're all connected to people on social media and you just start chatting with them with a direct message, say over Facebook or Instagram, and at some point you pivot and you say, I specialize in helping people create the healthy results that they want. I'm curious, do you have any goals that you're currently any health goals you're currently working on or you'd like to work on over the next 90 days? So you're just chatting with anybody. Just chat, chat, chat, chat, chat. And at some point you pivot. I'm just curious. Um, I help people with their their health and fitness. Do you have any health goals that you're currently working on or you'd like to work on over the next 90 days? And if they say yes, then you say, you know, I'd love to have you come down to the gym and do a session with you in person where I can talk to you about your situation and share with you any ideas I have on how I can help you. Would you like to come down and meet with me? Yeah. So you just created an opportunity. And I had done this my entire career. I built a global training company, I have thousands of clients, and it's because I went out to people proactively. So you can do all the marketing that have the people coming to you. That's cool. But you can go to anybody. For example, you can do that with a Facebook post. Do you have any health goals that you're currently working on or you'd like to work on over the next 90 days? Comment below if the answer is yes. 12 people comment. Send them a direct message. Uh hi, you commented on my Facebook post that you have some health goals to work on. Um, just curious, what's one goal you have? Great. I help people like yourself achieve these goals. I'm a I'm professional in the industry. I'd love to help you. Would you like to come down and have a free session? Or you can do the session over the phone, whatever the case may be. And there are, I'm just telling you right now, there are thousands of people in your community right now that if you reach out to, you will get many of them respond, and that is a way to ensure that you have a full practice the rest of your life.

Yeah, I love it, man. And you know, it makes me think I'm not exactly sure how I found you. I can't remember who it was, or it's something, you know, somebody reached out to me. You know, it's a meeting. Well, Francesca's on your list.

That's right. And she is in the health and wellness industry, so she's a follower of what you teach. And as she got to know you, it just clicked in her brain, oh, maybe I can get the two Erics connected. And so that's how we ended up getting connected.

Oh, that's awesome. It's awesome. You know, and a lot of times it doesn't have to be uh you you know, the outreach can be so incredibly simple. You know, I um I posted something on Facebook about a month ago uh because I have another podcast called The Fitness Blitz, which is short and it highlights fitness professionals. So if you're listening, you want to be on that podcast, let me know. But all I did was write a post on my social media, on my Facebook, it said, hey, I'm looking for some great guests within the fitness industry uh to highlight on my show. And you know how many, how many guests I got off that? 60. 60, 60 guests. Wow. Yeah, all qualified, great guests, super excited, and this is 60 new relationships. Awesome. And it's uh, you know, it's I think an old Eric like a year ago would have been like, well, I gotta develop this email system and like, you know, have this lead nurturing and all these things. I'm like, no, I'm just now you just post on social and uh let the community kind of take care of it.

So I got a text last night from a gentleman who had seen me speak over a year ago, and he was with his friend, a gentleman named Kevin. And I was with Kevin on his boat this past Friday. I was up in Washington on business, and we took a boat ride out on the water there. And so Kevin had just spent some time with me, and he's really excited about what I was teaching. And so this guy that saw me speak over a year ago, who I don't know, was with his friend Kevin, and so my name came up, and so the guy texted me. He goes, Hey, I'm with Kevin, you guys were just out on the boat together, and I just want to say hi. So now he sent me this message. So I chat with him a little bit over text, and then I pivoted and I said, You know, if you're interested in learning about how I help businesses grow, I'm doing a webinar next week. I'd be happy to send you an invite. And then he goes, Yeah, I'd like the invite. So we were just having a conversation, but I pivoted and I just it's kind of like I threw the fishing line out there. And he said, Yeah, I would be interested in that. And then he sent me a text back and he goes, Would it be okay if I invited my friends and colleagues to the webinar? I'm like, Yes, you can invite them. But see, here's the key point. He didn't text me to say, Eric, how couldn't you help me grow my business? Yeah, he just texted me because he wanted to connect from his friend, and then I pivoted. So, in your conversations you guys are all having with people, you can just chat, chat, chat, chat, chat, and then just pivot and just say, just out of curiosity, do you have any health goals that you're currently working on or you'd like to work on over the next 90 days? The reason that the key point is that you'd like to work on, maybe they don't have any goals that they're currently working on, but when you phrase it like that, they're like, Yeah, actually I would like to get in better shape over the next 90 days. Yeah. So then they go, yeah, great. Well, then we should talk. And it doesn't mean the first time that you you meet with them, it doesn't have to be in person. You can say, hey, why don't we do a phone consultation? You have some goals? I'd love to hear about them. Can we hop on the phone for 15 minutes? And then you hop on the phone, and then from there, then you can more further qualify them and then bring them down to the gym if that's what is the right fit for them. Or maybe some of you have a nutritional line, maybe it's the nutritional line that they need. So you want to be thinking, you know, at some point pivot, right? At some point pivot and then ask them, and they would have an interest in learning more about your fitness line or your or personal training or whatever the case may be. Um, there's an opportunity that you guys can bump into, you know, probably almost daily with what I just shared.

Yeah, awesome. I love it. So, you know, I think um, you know, maybe one key point that we can touch on here because uh is the mindset that people have, you know, you mentioned that earlier towards sales, you know, this used car salesman feeling that we all have when we hear the word sales, we think pushy, we think um, you know, trying to rip you off, we think all these things, right? But what's what what are the what are the drills or the the things that you help people with just to get started on changing their mindset? Because, you know, let's play if you're sitting across from somebody and that's what you believe about sales, is that you're a used car salesman, you're not gonna sell anything, right? You have to come across from something I would imagine you're probably gonna coach me through this, is like you have to be confident in your value. So, how do you get people to start shifting that mindset from used car salesman to, yeah, there's there's several pieces to it, and change begins in language.

So instead of saying, you know, I I hate sales, I feel like I'm a used car salesperson, we're just not gonna say that anymore. It's like the person that comes in to train with you and they go, I never follow through on my health goals and commitments, I never follow through on my eating regimen. Well, don't say that. Change the story. One of the ways we experience reality is through the story that we tell. And so we realize sales is a piece of business. It's a piece of having financial abundance, it's a piece of having a full practice. And so we change the story. We change the language. So what I teach is that selling equals service. This is an affirmation. You apply auto suggestion. You say to yourself over and over and over and over and over again, as Napoleon Hill taught us in thinking we're rich. Selling equals service, selling honesty, integrity, and compassion. Selling is about leading, selling is about moving people to action. It's a paradigm shift. It's looking at it in a different way and realizing enrollment is a part of the business model. Yeah. And so it starts with that, and then you get your language down. And as you get your language down, you increase your confidence. And once you start getting some results, that really puts the win in yourselves. It's like the person who gets on a scale, and for the first time in however long they can remember, they have lost five pounds. And they're like, Yes. The other day, I'm working on a on my own fitness goals right now, and I did 100 push-ups for the first time since I was in my 20s. I'm 47. And I was just like, Yes, I did it. I was so excited. We need the wins.

Yeah.

We need the wins, okay? I ran a sub-10-minute mile on the treadmill, which you know that's not very fast, but for me, it's fast. Like I haven't done that in a long time. And so, but in business, we need the wins too. And so it starts with changing the language and then applying some of these principles. You know, if you guys will apply these principles, I know it'll work. And one thing, Eric, I want to, I want to put an offer out to you that it might be interesting if one of your one of Your clients or one of your listeners that maybe is struggling in sales. Maybe we do a like a live coaching session and we get their permission to record it. And we record it as we put it out on your podcast or we put it out in your content, wherever we put it out. Because it might be interesting to hear me coach somebody who, you know, they are they're in the fitness industry and they're having their struggles, and I can help them create the breaks and then everybody can like listen in. So if you ever want to do that, if you have somebody that would like that, instead of just having me coach them, let's record it so we can, you know, create a lot of value for a lot of people.

Yeah, yeah, we're definitely gonna do that. And uh, we already, you know, as a date of this recording, August 1st, 2018, we're building out a platform that will be networking fitness professionals and within there providing a ton of useful information on how to grow their business. So by that time, by the time this is out, in about four to six weeks, that'll be up, and that's where we're gonna do it. So um it's gonna be a member, it's gonna be a member of the month. Um and uh I think this is the perfect place to do it because that's uh it's the thing that it's it's just fitness professionals struggle with sales.

You know, I'm sure it's any industry, but I just because I've been in it for so long now, I just I think it's especially in the fitness industry because the type of person that's gonna be drawn to doing the fitness, they're they may some of them have a great business mindset, but some of them may have resistance to to selling. You know, a lot of business owners that I work with, they're res that they want to do the work, like a photographer. They want to do the photography or the videography, but they don't want to sell it. And I think a lot of people in the fitness industry, they want to do the training, but they don't want to have to sell it. But the problem is you got to sell it to have the person to train. And I can help those people with the methodologies that I teach, like what we're talking about here. These are concepts that will assist the industry so you guys can be comfortable with your selling and have the financial abundance that you want to have, as well as your fitness abundance.

Yeah, yeah. And who doesn't want that, right? Who doesn't want the financial abundance? You know, I talked to so many fitness professionals are so happy with what they do because they're truly helping people, but they're martyrs, you know, they're martyring themselves in so many ways because they're you know, the average income of fitness professional is $32,000 in the United States. We can do better. We can do better, you know, we can do much better. So um awesome. Well, Eric, we're where where do you see yourself in two years? Let's put it, let's put this, uh let's let's write out this vision here. Where do you see yourself?

You know, I I I see my business, you know, just continuing to grow. I I I'm growing myself. And so as I'm growing, it you know, it assists me in the value that I can create for other people. Um, I see a lot more uh growth from me on social media. Um, we have our own online courses, so I see more people in the online courses, more corporate trading opportunities. Um, as successful as my business is, I feel like I'm sitting on the on the nose of a rocket ship and it's ready to just just absolutely explode. And so a lot of that has to do with me and my own transformation I'm going through, um, just my own, just showing up even more powerfully for my clients. And so, you know, I just see in a lot of ways doing the same thing that I'm doing, but just having a wider reach, um, leveraging technology and social media.

Awesome. Awesome. I'm excited to see that too. Because it I could just just the energy that you you bring across is that you are sitting on the tip of a rocket ship and it's it's pretty exciting. So um, yeah, people want to find out more about you, Eric. Where do you where do you send them now?

Yeah, main website is saleschampion.com. Um, great place is Facebook. If you want to you know get to know me on a more personal level, see my family. I I engage with people a lot on Facebook. Um I'm on Amazon.com. I've written 15 books on sales and success. So saleschampion.com, Amazon, Facebook, or other social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram. I'm there's you know, just Google me. I'm the only Eric Lawfam in the world.

Yeah, awesome. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming on. I mean, this is a high value, you know, seeing those steps of what a sales process goes through. I mean, my goal on this show is to give our listeners something that's like actionable right away. Like, how can I go and change my business, change my profession, you know, change, you know, what I do on a daily basis. And uh I think you certainly delivered the goods today. So I uh I appreciate coming on and doing that.

Fantastic. Well, for all of you listening, you know, if you got value out of this, just find me on one of those different platforms, whether it's through the main website or YouTube or Facebook. That way we can be connected and just see other ways that I may be able to help you. We're doing webinars all the time, and there's just a lot of great resources that I have to assist you. If you resonate with this message, I can definitely help you make more sales. And uh, Eric, I want to acknowledge you for all the great work that you're doing for the industry. I know you have a tremendous vision about what you want to do for the industry, and that's gonna positively impact tens of thousands of trainers, but then they're gonna impact hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, live a healthier, more fit life because of how you're showing up.

So I acknowledge you for that. Thank you. I appreciate that, Eric. Yeah, awesome. So I'm gonna leave it at that because I'm gonna take the compliment and just run with it. So um, yeah, ladies and gentlemen, Eric Loffam, thank you for coming on. Hey fitness fans, don't leave yet. It's your host, Eric Malzone, and I have a quick favor to ask. Actually, three favors. So, number one, if you're a fan of our show, I ask you to do something that takes under three minutes. Go to iTunes, please, and subscribe to our show. Please, please, please. It means so much to us. It's so important. And then give us a favorable review. We would really, really appreciate it. And uh, I can't tell you how much it means and helps us out. So I know it takes two minutes of your day, and uh it means a lot to us. So please do that. Number two, go to our YouTube channel or Fitness Marketing Alliance, and uh please subscribe to our YouTube channel there. Number three, if you like this episode or any of the episodes that we've released, share it on social. That's huge. That's a big deal for us, and when we put a lot of work into these episodes, uh trying to give you great actionable content uh for the fitness industry. So that would mean a lot. And that's it. So we have some big plans coming up for this show. I'll be talking about that in the next couple episodes. But thank you so much for listening. It means so much. And uh if you have any questions, please reach out to me. I'd love to hear from everybody. Eric, E R I C at Fitness Marketing Alliance.com.