About Jeffrey Pinkerton

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Solving the Retention Riddle
November 2023 - The more social interactions your members have in your facility, the more likely they are to stay. Most operators agree, and every bit of research confirms it. Interactions not only create a more social culture at your club, but in addition to retention, it massively affects your reputation. But, are all interactions equal? Of course not. Just like all experiences are not equal, i.e. working out on machines alone is a totally different experience than working out together in a group. And, even in a group, one experience may vary drastically from another depending on your instructor team, training protocols and delivery standards. So, how do you solve the retention riddle? Read Article...

The Best (Pound-For-Pound) Salesperson I've Ever Met
December 2024 - It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, when our doorbell rang. At the time, we lived in a neighborhood with lots of families, and it wasn't uncommon for a friend of one of our kids to ring the doorbell in search of a pickup soccer game or a Pokémon card swap. As I reached for the door handle, I saw a mom-aged woman standing off our front porch, down on the sidewalk. Opening the door, having been out of sight because of her size, stood a small young girl, bright smile, dressed in a Brownie uniform. She made direct eye contact with me and started her sales pitch with a voice that projected twice her size. Long story short, I bought ten boxes. Read Article...

The Perfect Pickleball Workout
September 2023 - Yes, I consider myself a Pickleball fanatic. I'll spare you my opinion on the playability of one ball type over the other or my indifferences on the current updates to our rating system. Instead, I want to talk about what it takes to play Pickleball, my experience getting "Pickleball Fit," where I see people's mobility and agility lacking, and how hours spent in your facility can help people spend more --and better-- hours on the court. Because, yes, your programming can prepare members to be more active in life and in sport... including, and for the purposes of this article, Pickleball. Read Article...

The Rocky Road That Got Us Here
July 2022 - In early March of 2009, when my boys were ten and thirteen, I coerced them into mountain biking. By that, I mean we bought them new bikes, helmets, gloves, and I convinced them it would be a ton of fun. I had been a road cyclist for a few years and was looking for a way to spend more time with them and less time on the busy roads of the Atlanta suburbs. All smiles on a Saturday morning, we set off with a few snacks, a few water bottles, a map of the park and a can-do attitude; we were ready and excited. Things were looking pretty good. Read Article...

The Value of Group Fitness
Data, Dollars and the Doorman Fallacy
April 2024 - Group fitness is not often seen as a profit center, but it is a huge differentiator for your facility. And, when you invest in it, it can pay huge dividends for community, for connection and for the member experience. But, since it's not a simple line item on your profit and loss statement, there is a good chance that group fitness is viewed as an amenity more than an asset. If you view it as an amenity only, you're probably looking for ways to cut costs (and ultimately, cut corners). If you view it as an asset - with the potential of growing into a million-dollar department - you should ask yourself this question: how can I build on what we have, invest more and maximize the return? Read Article...

To Beat the Boutique, Be the Boutique
June 2024 - The boutique fitness space has grown exponentially over the past decade, and it has grown at a pace that exceeds new people joining a health club for the first time. So, it's fair to say that, if you operate a full-service health club, your business has been impacted by the competitive pressure of these often single-service, often higher-priced, always socially driven, usually smaller footprint fitness facilities. What can we learn from the business model and learn from the consumer attraction? How can you create a boutique-like experience to beat the boutique at their own game? And, to be clear, the game is delivering amazing, engaging, social group fitness experiences. Read Article...

Well, What Questions Should You Be Asking About Group Fitness?
July 2021 - Most successful operators know that group fitness is an important part of their business. It improves engagement, influences retention, and when done well, can drive reputation. Most agree, inside the group fitness room, cool stuff happens, instructors do what they do, and members really enjoy it. Most admit they wouldn't run their business without it. Big picture, it's important. But, often, when diving into the details (scheduling, programs offered, key metrics, etc.), many owners don't have a solid strategy for managing that component of their business. Of course, to be a great leader, you don't need to have all the answers, but you do need to ask great questions. Read Article...

What if the Apple Store Sold Health Club Memberships?
November 2020 - From conversations with customers and potential customers, the typical sales process often goes something like this: (1) meet, greet, ask a few questions and complete a needs analysis; (2) give a tour of the facility showing various features; (3) highlight specific features, explain benefits, present price and discuss personal training; (4) ask for their business, leading with personal training. If yes, book appointment with personal trainer. If no, sign up under standard membership; and (5) give key card, welcome pack and (possibly) one free session with a personal trainer. Read Article...

You Are Where You Eat
Eating at Your Own Restaurant
March 2021 - I imagine that a lot of families have a favorite restaurant. Ours is a Mexican restaurant just around the corner. Even before the pandemic, we were regulars of the weekend dinner order for pickup. Now that our children are in college, the idea of voluntarily choosing to eat dinner adjacent to tables of screaming children and 10-year-old sports teams is... less than ideal. In January, with our college kids home for an extended holiday break and nothing on the calendar but a backyard night around the fire pit, we decided Mexican food would be the perfect addition to the night's no-plan plans. Read Article...

Your Menu of Services
A Recommendation About Recommendations
January 2021 - Great restaurants have small and selective menus. Having a well-curated and thoughtful menu ensures that guests will be able to navigate the offerings and make an informed decision. It also increases the likelihood that the staff have tried everything on the menu and can speak to their experience. On the other hand, a large menu of entrees in a restaurant, or a large menu of options in a health club, is difficult to manage, challenging to market, tough to quality control and impossible for staff to experience in full. If your team struggles to make strong recommendations to every member who walks through your door, I have a recommendation... Read Article...

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