I love it when a client asks us to shift the needle and make our lead enquiry more specific!
Our client asked us to move away from our usual lead enquiry approach. Rather than asking about membership pricing, joining offers or general information about the club, our mystery shoppers introduced a more specific training goal and asked how the club could support them.
WOW – did this turn the apple cart upside down.
What followed revealed something much bigger than product knowledge.
Across the interactions we consistently saw one of two outcomes.
Outcome 1: Staff adapted, explored and impressed
Some staff responded brilliantly.
Rather than focusing on whether they had the exact equipment, class type or training style requested, they became curious. They asked questions, explored the prospect’s goals and looked for ways to help. They showed excitement and many were able to relate with a personal story.
These conversations covered topics such as:
- Training
- Available equipment and alternative solutions
- Recovery
- How the club’s existing offering could support the desired outcome
And questions such as:
- Have you done anything like this before, or is this a new challenge for you?
- I would love to invite you in for a tour so we can show you the equipment and discuss the best training options?
- Based on what you have told me, can I introduce you to one of our trainers who specialises in helping members achieve similar goals?
- What would make you feel confident that this is the right club for you?
What impressed us most wasn’t specialist knowledge.
It was confidence.
The ability to listen, adapt and connect the prospect’s goals to what the club could offer created a genuinely engaging experience.
Outcome 2: The script disappeared
Other conversations took a very different turn.
Instead of exploring the prospects broader goals, some focused entirely on answering the direct question and if they didn’t know the answer, the conversation often stalled.
What surprised us was not the lack of specialist knowledge.
It was what happened next.
Many staff moved away from and abandoned their normal sales process altogether.
Questions we would normally expect to hear disappeared.
The conversation became transactional instead of exploratory.
The Real Lesson? Great Conversations Go Beyond the Script – Without Abandoning It
This project became an unexpected test of sales confidence and customer discovery.
There is absolutely a place for a structured sales process and the strongest teams often follow one consistently. But what this project highlighted is that the best conversations don’t stop when a prospect asks something unexpected.
The clubs that stood out were not necessarily the ones with the perfect answer.
They were the ones who continued to ask questions.
They stayed curious about the prospect’s goals, explored motivations, uncovered needs and then connected those needs back to what their club could offer.
A great sales process shouldn’t disappear when the conversation moves off script, it should provide the confidence to guide the conversation back to understanding the prospect.
Call Lisa now for a no obligation chat about using Mystery Shopping in your Fitness Business – 0407 667 447.
Experienced and results orientated Lisa delivers exceptional customer service, reflecting her commitment to her clients’ success. She combines a warm, compassionate personality with steely determination and focus. Lisa’s early experience working in Media followed by her career in the Real Estate Industry that spans over 25 years is where she has honed her Sales, Marketing and Customer Service skills. Dedicated to her clients’ success shines through in her everyday approach and she is both passionate and proactive with a genuine knowledge and belief that Mystery Shopping can make a huge difference in your business. Lisa is an avid bibliophile and works as a writer and editor in her spare time.