"What's your price?"
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you."
That conversation will happen more this month than at any time during the rest of the year. Health club prospects all over the world will call their neighborhood clubs looking for pricing information, only to be told, "We can't tell you that."
Really? Is it a secret?
The dogma that "we don't quote prices over the phone" is seemingly as old as the health club business itself, and its age is glaring in a world in which anyone can find out anything all the time. Certainly, we understand - we don't want the answer to this easy but superficial question to define our facilities, either. We want our prospects to visit us and see our value, not just our price.
In the eyes of many consumers, it's bad enough not to include prices on your website - and we don't. Why not? Well, we have an annual membership, a month-to-month option, pool-only, weekend-only and family flavors of each of those. We also offer teen discounts, corporate discounts, insurance discounts and maybe more. With all those options, our website simply says, "Call us for prices."
We're willing to give pricing information over the phone because the phone gives us an opportunity to ask questions. Instead of responding to the superficial question, "What's your price?" we can talk to potential customers. "Sure, I'll be happy to tell you about our prices, but can I ask you some questions first to find out which of our membership options makes the most sense for you?" And then we're off and running, building rapport before the prospect has even set foot inside the club, and giving them the right information to help them make an informed choice.
If you were the consumer, wouldn't that be more satisfactory? Wouldn't you feel good about a health club that respected you enough to address your questions on the spot, in an intelligent and complete manner? Wouldn't you?
That's okay. You don't have to tell us.
