20 Point Checklist - Re-Opening Your Gym During Covid 19

1. Understand your No. 1 Priority.

Your main concern in reopening is TRUST. You need to earn the trust of your clients and prospects every day, starting now. It’s all about trust and confidence they can return and are in good hands.

2. Show your clients and prospects everything you’re doing to provide a clean and safe environment.

Enlist the help of local healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, specialists) to “sign off” on your gyms cleanliness and readiness.

3. Start now. You don’t know how much time you’ll have.

Example: Georgia’s governor, the first to allow gyms and studios to reopen, gave only four days’ notice. Most were unable to open that quickly, even if they wanted to.

4. Keep your website up to date.

Your homepage should have all the information pertinent to your reopening - dates, times, new class registration procedures, FAQ’s, etc. As things evolve, you’ll need to make sure the website is updated regularly.

5. Send emails, post photos and videos on Facebook.

Share them on your website around what you’re doing – even if it’s just a photo of your team painting walls or a hand-sanitizing station. Seriously.

6. Shoot a short video walking through your gym or studio, starting outside.

Show any signs you have up. Show how the door is propped open, or how you installed an automatically opening door so they don’t have to touch the handle. What’s the front desk look like? How will they sign in? This is a great time to enlist healthcare experts to endorse the safety of your gym.

7. Talk to your insurance agency.

Depending on location, each business will have specific covid-specific waivers and liabilities. Make sure you talk to your insurance agency and find out what is required. Then offer both digital and paper waivers for your clients to sign before training resumes.

8. Over-communicate with your staff.

Your staff is an extension of you and most likely more like family than anything. Make sure they know every detail of whats going on, new SOP’s, client messaging, etc. Do NOT assume they know everything and don’t hesitate to feel repetitive.

9. Tell clients what’s expected of them.

Are you limiting the number of clients allowed in at one time? Will they have to have their temperature taken before entering? Will you ask them to leave if they cough or sneeze? Do they have to wear a mask?

10. Communicate anything new.

Like a room you’ve added, or new equipment.

11. Communicate what’s gone.

Did you unload half your flywheel bikes or remove some platforms? Show, tell, and explain why. They’ll see this as a positive development, not a diminishing one.

12. Be clear and consistent about your messaging.

Share it on all your channels. DO NOT ASSUME ‘EVERYONE’ ALREADY KNOWS. They don’t.

13. Call each member.

Have an actual conversation. Voice-mails don’t count. And the call is IN ADDITION to all the other communications, not instead of.

14. Call past members and unconverted leads.

Remember that many gyms may not open again and that their clients are wandering lost without a community. This is your opportunity to check in on them and let them know your doors are open and the facility is safe and welcoming.

15. For members not ready to come back.

It will be a personal decision for each individual member and some simply may not feel comfortable coming back no matter how many precautions are in place. That is totally fine and is a great opportunity to have creative solutions to keep them training and part of the community.

16. Send out a press release targeted to the right reporters and influencers in your community.

What you’re doing is highly newsworthy and visual. Reporters on TV and at newspapers (big dailies or community weeklies) want to show “positive” news and they want local angles about the coronavirus. SERVE THEM YOUR STORY.

17. Be patient, respectful, and don’t go on tangents as you communicate more with employees, clients, and prospects.

Don’t risk alienating people by ranting about politicians, people who hold different views, or “the media.” It’s just not worth it.

18. Post new testimonials.

Record and share videos of clients talking about how safe and clean the gym or studio is.

19. Have a plan in place in case someone tests positive or you’re forced to close again.

20. Talk to us.

The team at Level 5 Mentors has decades of gym ownership experience and is here to help. Book at a free consultation.

Updated on: 30/07/2020