Club Insider

About Karen Woodard-Chavez

Karen Woodard-ChavezKaren Woodard-Chavez

Karen Woodard is President of Premium Performance Training in Boulder, Colorado and Ixtapa, Mexico.

Phone: (303) 417 - 0653
Email: karen@karenwoodard.com


Previous Articles

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Inviting Difficult Conversation
February 2018 - Let's start with a moment of truth. When someone says to you, "We need to talk," what is your first response? Is it, "Absolutely, what would you like to discuss," or is it more of, "Uh-oh, what did I do wrong?" with a sinking feeling of dread? Similarly, what is your feeling when you are the person who is saying, "we need to talk?" If you're one who's inclined to avoid difficult conversations rather than invite them, I urge you to think about the trade-off. You are trading short term comfort for long term dysfunction. Instead, I encourage you to be brave enough to start a conversation that matters. If you do not, you will constantly repeat what you do not repair. Read Article...

Is Your Club Mining Gold?
March 2009 - This article is a recap of the major points from a webinar that CheckFree, now named Fiserv and I hosted for the industry in January. Fiserv and I have been offering the webinars on various topics since December and will continue to do so through December 2009 on various topics of successful club operations. In our industry, we have the very good fortune of having a steady stream of Members coming through our doors each day. Read Article...

Is Your Organization Culturally Congruent?
May 2017 - What??? Is my organization culturally congruent?? What does that even mean? It means that the stated culture and the existing culture are the same. It means we walk our talk at all levels, guaranteed, rather than just talk our talk. Read Article...

Is Your Organization's Culture Independent or Integrated?
Part I

March 2017 - In your organization, do you have an integrated culture or an independent culture? Do this simple comparison, and it will become very clear to you. Read Article...

Is Your Organization's Culture Independent or Integrated?
Part II

April 2017 - In Part I of this article, you were exposed to the elements that outline differences between organizations that operate in an independent culture and organizations that operate in a more integrated culture (included as a sidebar). You were also asked to determine which culture your organization most resembled. In Part II, we will discuss tools you can utilize to become more of an integrated culture. Read Article...

Is Your Team Committed or Compliant?
October 2016 - When you think about your staff --your entire staff-- are they committed or compliant? W-w-w-wait... before you answer that, perhaps we should be clear about the difference in definition. Committed is defined by taking personal responsibility for the completion of an initiative or task. What it looks like is your staff going above and beyond, looking for ways to do it even better with total buy in to the purpose. I know you all have some "rock stars" who are committed. I know some of you also have "rocks" that just show up. Compliant is defined by staff doing what they are told to do. They will not do things until told to do so or think on their own about how to do it better. The problem with this is that you, as the manager, always have to be there to tell them what to do. Read Article...

Keys to Effective Listening For Professional and Personal Purposes
February 2000 - Read Article...

Lead Generation Basics
Create, Don't Wait

June 2003 - Read Article...

Lead Generation Basics
Create, Don't Wait

August 2002 - Read Article...

Lessons We Can Learn From Other Industries
February 2001 - Read Article...

Looking For A Few Good Staff?
A Successful System For Finding and Hiring New Team Members

August 1998 - Read Article...

Making Price a Detail and Not the Point
April 1998 - Read Article...

Managing the Member Experience
Part II

January 2011 - In Part I, we began with the fact that, for the past ten years in our industry, much has been discussed about the best way to ensure that the member experience is one that 1) creates differentiation so that current members stay with the club and 2) creates differentiation in attracting new Members, allowing the club to have an edge over the competition. Read Article...

Managing the Member Experience
Part III

February 2011 - In Part I, we began with the fact that, for the past ten years in our industry, much has been discussed about the best way to insure that the member experience is one that 1) creates differentiation so that current members stay with the club and 2) creates differentiation in attracting new members, allowing the club to have an edge over the competition. This has always been a critical part of any business model. Read Article...

Managing the Member Experience
Part I

December 2010 - For the past ten years in our industry, much has been discussed about the best way to insure that the member experience is one that creates differentiation so that current members stay with the club, attracts new members and allows the club to have an edge over the competition. Read Article...

Mastering the Emotional Connection in the Sales Process
March 2000 - Read Article...

Mastering The Five Core Competencies for Sales Success
November 2013 - Whether you are selling or managing staff who sell, this content will be a good assessement tool for your endeavors toward excellence. There are five core competencies for any seller as outlined below, and this content will be presented for membership sales staff specifically. However, this content will apply to anyone in your organization who is selling lessons, sessions, spa treatments, etc. Read Article...

Maximize Your Follow Up Efforts!
May 2012 - The best way to maximize follow up is to increase your first time closing ratio. Yes, that is stating the obvious, but we forget the obvious sometimes. Outside of increasing your first time closing skills the best way to maximize follow up is to have your next step of action planned out and committed to before the prospect leaves the club. Read Article...

Maximize Your Training Materials
October 2000 - Read Article...

Maximizing Your Member-Guest Events
August 2017 - Does your club host a monthly Member-Guest event at the club to showcase the club to prospects as well as utilize the event as a tool to increase participation and retention with members? If so, KUDOS to you. If not, you are missing out on a simple event that should be part of your monthly marketing mix. Years ago, I wrote an article for Club Insider featuring tips to hosting a profitable party at the club. The tips in that article absolutely apply to a successful Member-Guest event. However, there are some additional points in this article that serve a different purpose than simply having a party for members and should not be missed. Read Article...

Maximizing YOUR Sales Model
February 2022 - There are several sales models in our industry, and the point of this article is not to claim that one is better than another and try to convince you to change your model. The point of this article is to maximize whichever model you utilize so that you can more effectively grow your business. The three models I most commonly see in this business are outlined as follows... Read Article...

Minimize Hiring Mistakes and Increase Success with the Criteria for Success
July 2017 - I recently was onsite with a client doing sales training for their membership team. As many of my clients, they had just hired a new team member who will likely not be successful in the position based on a few very limiting qualities. This is such a common and costly issue that this article will offer tools to minimize this experience for you. Read Article...

Moving Into Management
February 2004 - Read Article...

Needs Analysis & Qualifying Questions to Determine Why the Prospect Will or Won't Join Today
October 2001 - Read Article...

Onboarding to Improve Staff Retention and Performance
May 2022 - For many businesses, the past 25 months have been similar to a roller coaster ride... steep, arduous climbs followed by jaw-dropping plunges with turns that jerk you from side to side and make you feel like everything will go off the rails in the next moment. Sound familiar? The dramatic and unexpected changes experienced by many businesses with regards to staff have resulted in lost revenue, minimized hours of operation, staff burnout and some business closures. No doubt, the employee and employer relationship has changed. Read Article...

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Showing 51 - 75 of 105 Articles

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