How to Use Pacing to Improve Your Sales with Ben and Special Guest, Elias Scarr

Speaker: [00:00:00] 1, 2, 3, 4. Welcome to The Business for Unicorns podcast, where we help gym and studio owners create a business and a life they love. I’m your host, Michael Keeler. Join me and the business unicorns team each week for actionable advice, expert insights, and the inside scoop on what it really takes to level up your gym.

Get ready to unlock your potential and become a real unicorn in the fitness industry.[00:00:30]

Yeah. Hello my friend. Before we jump into today’s episode, I just wanna give a quick shout out to our Instagram account. It’s at Business Unicorns. If you’re on Instagram, it’s a great way to get a bunch of exclusive content that may not be available on any of our platforms. All you need to do is click down below on the show notes or head over to instagram.com/at business unicorns and hit that follow button.

You’ll be glad you did. See you over [00:01:00] there.

Speaker 2: Hi friends. Ben here with BFU and I’ve commandeered the podcast from Mr. Michael Keeler for a very special episode. I am really excited to introduce you to Mr. Elias Scar. Elias, how you doing?

Speaker 3: I’m doing great, man. I’m always excited to talk to you.

Speaker 2: Thank you. Yeah, same to you.

So Elias is a sales and communications coach who works with gym owners that effectively want to get better at selling without feeling that they have to sell their soul to. And I’ve been working with Elias, myself for the past few months. [00:01:30] And I’ve really appreciated the approach of, we’re approaching it with kindness and we’re approaching things in a way that we want to help people, and we’re approaching it in a way where we’re ultimately doing what’s best for the prospect, even if that means that they’re not actually going to join your gym.

But at the same time, it’s helping me build better communication with sales, more confidence, being willing to actually push a little bit harder, which I’ve actually been surprised about when it comes to closing a deal, so to speak. And Alliance works with a lot of gym owners [00:02:00] all around North America. The world is that accurately?

Uh,

Speaker 3: yeah, that’s accurate. Parts of the world. Not quite entirely around, but yeah. Other parts of the world. Yeah.

Speaker 2: Yeah. To work with gym owners all over the place. There we go. Um, I think this is a really, I’m excited for this episode because. Most of the gym owners are people like me who opened a gym because they’re impact driven, and then really quickly learned.

They needed to figure out the income and freedom, and my experience working with you is that you’re hoping impact driven people get more income so [00:02:30] they can have more freedom.

Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely. I think that’s, you bring in such a powerful thing in talking about opening your gym as a gym owner and wanting to be impact focused and really being in, in fitness and in the industry and spending so much time with so many good coaches.

The first thing I started to notice was you had great coaches opening up great gyms, and we disconnected the skillset between coaching and sales. What I like to do is reconnect that good. Coaching is good [00:03:00] sales and good sales is good coaching. So the skillset exists and most of you already have it. We just gotta put those pieces back together and go, wait a minute.

This means that and that means this. Great. So much easier.

Speaker 2: Yes, I couldn’t agree more. I good coaching, good sales, even good customer service. They’re all absolutely skillset of helping get clear on what people want and helping them find a good solution to that.

Speaker 3: I like the way you said it better. Yeah,

Speaker 2: do that.[00:03:30]

Speaker 3: That’s good.

Speaker 2: You had a couple things that you wanted to share based on your experience working with gym owners, and maybe let’s just kick it off there. Like you had mentioned, one of the things that’s an underrated skillset that you see gym owners getting wrong and has a huge. Opportunity to improve is pacing.

Mm-hmm. So you tell us a little bit more about that.

Speaker 3: Yeah. I think the pacing is such an integral part of communication in general, right? When you’re talking to somebody, when you ever talk to somebody that you’re super excited about something, talking about a [00:04:00] fandom or something that you really love, and you notice that the energy is high, the words are fast, the tone is high, and the pace moves quick.

That gives you energy and enthusiasm. And other times when you’re that, that time where you have to have a heart to heart with somebody really important, everything slows down, everything gets a little bit more quiet, everything gets a little bit more measured, and that pacing really dictates how people feel, and it’s such a completely underrated skillset.

If you’re just aware that’s what’s happening. And that’s what the goal of what I [00:04:30] wanted to share with everybody today is to give you that set of eyes and that set of ears. That help you recognize that? ’cause I have no doubt any coach you or any coach worth their assault, could watch somebody walk down the street and go, there’s an imbalance here.

There’s a movement problem there. There’s an imbalance here. There’s an imbalance there because you have those eyes, right? You’ve trained those eyes to see that. It’s probably like watching somebody work out in a movie or work out on TV and you’re like, dear God. This is troubling.

Speaker 2: Push up to the person that movies.

Speaker 3: Exactly. Exactly. So in, in that [00:05:00] sense, the skillset’s all there, we’re just gotta give you the eyes and the ears to listen for it. And then we can act with intent. We can use pacing with intent, we can use tone with intent. And it’s, it’s easy to do and it’s highly underrated. The simple thing would be to start with conversation you and I had the other day about.

Working with hiring people to do things, whether it’s hiring somebody to come and do something at your house or hiring somebody to come and do something. I think your story was about replacing lights at the gym, which is a great story. Right, and the reason it’s a great story is because the job was dictated by pace.

And the [00:05:30] pace was so slow. Slow to respond, slow to answer, slow to get a rep, slow, to get a slow to everything that I remember you telling me, you’re just like, screw it. I guess I’m learning how to replace lights today so that nobody gets the job. Pacing was off, and so sharing a little bit of that and the power and the effect of pacing, I think it was worth our time.

Speaker 2: So if I’m a gym owner, that, aside from what you told me about pacing, I know nothing else about, and I’ve never once considered, am I using appropriate pacing in my sales [00:06:00] calls or consultations with. Perspective gym members, like where do I start?

Speaker 3: I responsiveness is gonna be the number one thing, and I always like to have people start with responsiveness because it’s hard.

It’s a problem that you have to solve, and if we can solve responsiveness, then pacing gets easier throughout. So what I mean by responsiveness is how quickly can I respond when I receive a lead? How quickly can I get back to that person, communicate with that person, and keep that motivation up? Because motivation happens on a, it’s like a leaky bucket, right?

[00:06:30] Motivation is high enough for me to pick up the phone and call somebody and say, I feel like crap. I’m not where I wanna be. I don’t look how I want to be. I don’t feel how I want to be, and I need somebody’s help to do that. Motivation is at the top, and then the further we go, that bucket, just leaks and leaks, and leaks.

And leaks. So speed to lead is the traditional, traditional language we use in sales. But what it, what we really have to do for most gym owners is solve that problem. ’cause gym owners wear so many hats. So I’m coaching, I’m selling, I’m cleaning, I’m teaching other coaches, I’m solving problems, I’m [00:07:00] doing bills.

All that stuff is a pain in the butt. So the minute we can solve responsiveness is in very quickly. I can get back to that person and there’s an action step. So here’s step number one, people think you can have absolutely an autoresponder text, which is better than nothing. Literally anything is better than nothing.

Autoresponder text, autoresponder, email, anything that says, Hey, we got your message right? It’s like a server. You’re more inclined to, to give a little grace when the food is taking time. If the server stops [00:07:30] by and says, Hey, I put in your food order. We’re running a little bit behind in that kitchen, but I want you to know that I’m on it.

We just, we feel better because we have an understanding of how long things are going to take. So that first team,

Speaker 2: that server did a great job managing expectations rather than being like, did my order get lost in the chaos of the kitchen? A

Speaker 3: hundred percent. A hundred percent. And managing expectations and feeling like you have somebody in your corner as quickly as possible is that powerful tool.

Really powerful tool. Somebody’s on my side, [00:08:00] somebody’s advocating for me, and they don’t know that if we don’t respond. So I’m gonna give you a quick little tip for your autoresponder, you communication. It should be. We got your message and usually it’s got your message and a deadline. We’ll get back to you in the next, today, we’ll get back to you in the next 24 hours.

Here’s when we’ll respond even better is we got your message and here’s your action step. Click the link below to get on my schedule and you can talk to a coach. Something that says, gives them something to do so they’re not [00:08:30] sitting there twiddling their thumbs and waiting. What we don’t want is someone to feel like they’re waiting.

A problem with that is, is that our ability to wait. Has just shrunk and shrunk as human beings as Amazon does. Same day delivery. Next day delivery. We’ll have it to you in two hours. Pizza huts like, Hey, we’re gonna have your pizza in 10 minutes. Like the faster the world moves, the less likely people are to wait.

We have to adapt to that because we can’t change that. So we have to adapt to that. [00:09:00]

Speaker 2: Okay, so speed, delete. You answered the question I was gonna ask. That was perfect. ’cause we know that gym owners don’t wear so many hats. Even if they did do get down to coaching like sub 15 hours a week, they’re still.

They’re doing finances, they’re writing marketing copy. They’re meeting with their staff, they’re meeting with members, they’re improving systems. They’re working on projects. Like calling somebody back next minute isn’t always viable. And I’d say that, you know, I’d encourage people, gym owners to imagine what would your business look like if you hired someone who worked 24 7 round the clock, and all they did was call people back [00:09:30] within five minutes.

Like we would all have bigger businesses. And I love your suggestion of here’s how you can make the automations that you’re always using better. It’s. We got your message and with some sort of action step, either we’ll get back to you or Gold Standard would be, here’s the next step for you. And even if they don’t book, you’re still gonna get back to them within the next day at the latest.

I would hope

Speaker 3: you, you’re right in that I love what you said. What would our business look like if we hired somebody? And if you think about. A good CRM is somebody you hire. You are hiring software to do work for you. [00:10:00] You are hiring AI to do work for you. You’re hiring a human. My preferred method as always, you’re hiring a human to do work for you.

And I’ve never met an entrepreneur more hesitant to spend money than a gym owner. They’re like the tip of the top.

Speaker 2: I, I say this with love because I’m in the exact same boat, but our gyms are fucking bootstrapped.

Speaker 3: Oh yeah.

Speaker 2: Like other people, I’m being stereotypical here, but like you open a tech company or something and you get some sort of seed funding or you get venture capital and you can [00:10:30] bring on a team of seven people before, before you even have a dollar.

When it comes to gym owners, we’re always trying to balance, and again, I’m in the same boat. I wasn’t in the same boat. There needs to always be a margin. Otherwise I can’t pay my mortgage or my rent or feed my family and I need to have the dollars in before I can hire for the thing. And there is an element of like.

Sometimes making calculated reasonable risks can be an acceptable move, such as maybe hiring like a decent VA who can, mm-hmm. You don’t need them four, seven around the clock. You could just someone check your messages, 9:00 AM noon and [00:11:00] 6:00 PM and in an hour of work at each of those things, you’re getting a lot of benefit.

Speaker 3: That’s a great answer. That’s a really good answer. And keeping the budget low, but having that response time where it’s scheduled, it’s structured, you have that surprise, Ben shows us the system. You have a system in place that says, here’s the times when this person does these callbacks. And you can count on that.

You can track the success of that, and you can market and communicate around that. You can say, we’ll get back to you at six so you can really start to count on those things. I, there, there really is power in, in really understanding what a phone [00:11:30] call is worth, and I think that’s one of the things that gets lost if you charge.

If we’re doing some quick dirty math here, if you’re charging, let’s say $300 a month, right? You’re charging $300 a month?

Speaker 2: Hopefully, yes.

Speaker 3: Yeah. Hopefully. Let’s go. We’ve got high quality coaches here, so we’ll bump it up to 400 a month. Let’s say you’re charging 400 a month, and the average person on the low end stays with you 18 months, right?

So if you’re looking at what, a 400 times 18, you’re looking at $7,200, right? That is a [00:12:00] $7,200 phone call. Should we pay an autoresponder to do that? Should we pay a person to do that through Ben’s system at two times a day where they check messages? Absolutely. It’s totally worth it. If you miss three $7,200 phone calls a month, you’re dropping out on nearly $2,200 or $22,000.

Just from missed phone calls and not responding fast enough. Speed is the killer. Speed is the one. If you can be first, that’s the way to go.

Speaker 2: Yeah, and it’s, I [00:12:30] wanna be clear, we’re not shaming you if you don’t have the cash or don’t have the ability to hire and bring somebody on, but there is an element of, if you’re saying, I’m not able to do that right now, that is totally okay.

Just be aware that you’re leaving some growth on the table. If you’re really looking to optimize for growth, just be aware that’s like. A point in the column against you kind of thing. ’cause we’re not always gonna be able to do all the things. We’re never all running all the perfect marketing initiatives all the time because we are pulled in so many directions.

But just be aware that by saying no to yes to one thing, you’re actually saying [00:13:00] yes to something else and vice versa. And then don’t beat yourself up about the decisions you made. ’cause you can always change your mind.

Speaker 3: That’s such a, that’s such a great point. And I think you’re right in that there’s always so much pressure and so many people screaming at you, do this thing, do that thing.

I think what we’re saying is this is a high priority. So if you’ve got things that are in a list of priority that move this one pretty close to the top as far as you being in, in a position where you can grow. Yeah. And it’s one that doesn’t require a skillset.

Speaker 2: No,

Speaker 3: you don’t have to practice that at [00:13:30] all.

Speaker 2: Yeah. I had a, I told you this already. It was a good example. I had a flat tire. I ran over some nails, which is frustrating.

Speaker 3: You’re the only person I’ve ever talked to that has ran over some nails. I heard like I got a nail in my tire.

Speaker 2: This fucking two, it was unbelievable. And they’re new tires too, so nothing,

Speaker 3: oh, the worst.

Speaker 2: I’m sitting there on a Sunday morning with two nails in my tire. Mad that I have to buy a thing that I already just bought and being like, I got shit to do today. So I’m Googling [00:14:00] Mobile, mobile tire repair, which I realized is a service that exists now. Didn’t know that was the case where they show up and just plug it for you, and I just went down the list of all the ones in reasonable geographic area until somebody actually picked up the phone and that was the person.

I don’t even think I asked the price. I was just like, I’ll be at this address all day. When can you show up? I’ll be there at 11. I’m like, great. Text me when you get close. That was the entire conversation. I didn’t know the price until he was actually done. I was like, literally, what do [00:14:30] I owe you? Because it was a problem that needed solved love.

And two days later, another mobile retire repair person called me back and I’m like, if I have a, if my furnace breaks or my tire has a flat, there’s some problems that are just like time sensitive. Two days later, I was like, I’m, I’ve already made the decision and I’ve had people at my gym. There was a time when I was very slow getting back to leads and I distinctly remember this.

I was driving home because I remember the turn I was making. I was having this conversation and the lead was actually, if I were, I’ve already signed up another gym. You called me back [00:15:00] too slow. I remember being like, fair enough. I did

Speaker 3: my bad.

Speaker 2: But how many people are signing up at a competitor’s gym? But don’t have the courage to say that on the phone to you.

The fact that he picked up was even remarkable. He doesn’t need me anymore. That must be happening all the time because we’re just slower than we think we are.

Speaker 3: It’s true. It’s very true and you are, one of the important parts about being first is that you don’t have an understanding of that person’s timeline.

You don’t have an understanding of their, in their mind, how great [00:15:30] is this need? And you talked about you not asking for that price. So that means speed. Speed is more important than price at this point. And a lot of times we just get stuck on is it the right price for the right value? And do I have enough sessions to charge this much money per month?

And we get stuck on that thing that if you just called somebody back quickly, the price becomes so much more relevant because we’re showing that you’re so important to me. I’m going to call you right now. I’m gonna talk to you right now.

Speaker 2: I actually bet if I couldn’t have got ahold of anyone and three or four days had passed, then I [00:16:00] would be starting to shop on price because I’m like, the problem didn’t get fixed in the timeframe I want anyway, so I’m damn well gonna get a fucking deal on it.

Yeah. I’m not saying that’s logical.

Speaker 3: Yeah.

Speaker 2: But in the moment, I don’t know if he, this dude charged more or less than the other tire of people. But in the moment, I didn’t care.

Speaker 3: That’s so funny. It’s slow enough that everybody loses, everybody fails and now I’m just looking for cheap so nobody gets the job.

Speaker 2: Yeah, and it’s mostly ’cause I was angry with myself. I bet you a lot of people looking for a gym also have some, they’re reaching out ’cause they’re not [00:16:30] completely satisfied with their physical, mental, emotional health.

Speaker 3: If you, if every single person has had the feeling, any in fitness has had the feeling, I don’t wanna work out today.

Everyone has had the feeling. I don’t feel like working out today. You need to understand that your prospects feel like that every single day. Every day is, I don’t want to work out today. So when they land on the one day where they’re like, I want to work out today. You better answer the damn phone.

Speaker 2: Yeah, can agree more.

You had started this [00:17:00] conversation. We can shift gears a little bit to like ing when you’re talking to people. So let’s say we got back to the leads quickly. It’s not really unpacking a funnel today, but we’ve got back to leads quickly, and now we’re either on a phone call or a sales con conversation with them.

Can you give the pro tips for gym owners who haven’t thought about the pacing of their voice when it comes to having conversations to make sales?

Speaker 3: Yeah, it, this is one of those fun things that the minute you pointed out, you see it, the minute it, you become, oh wait, that’s a, that’s an actual thing. So here’s the general rule of thumb [00:17:30] and how this works in conversation and the best way you can use it.

So. High, fast and loud creates energy. We talked about that a little bit in the beginning, and low, slow, and moderate creates importance and gravitas. I’ll give you a good example listening to Gilbert Godfrey speak rest. Rest is me, his, so red. May he rest in peace. Gilbert Godfrey loud, the parrot from Aladdin, loud, high, fast, insane, constantly infusing.

It’s fun for a little bit and it’s fun in pieces, but if we keep going all [00:18:00] there all the time, you’re like, please, dear God, somebody shut that off because it’s blasting you the entire time. Sometimes we need to be blasting folks in that sense Now. If you think about the way Morgan Freeman talks, slow, measured, low and paced, right?

Every single thing he says just carries weight and gravitas, and it’s a skillset that’s easy to monitor, and it’s important for us to go back and forth. I’ll give you a couple of great examples to use it in a sales call when we’re repeating back what somebody’s goals are, [00:18:30] what they want to accomplish, and what they’re excited about.

Loud, fast. High energy and when we want to communicate. So if I’m talking to Ben, I’m like, dude, you wanna be an absolute unit as you get older and just in your fifties and sixties, crushing dudes in their thirties in the gym. ’cause you just want to be ripped. Dude, I’m so stoked about that. I’m excited about that.

Let’s get it. I’m gonna do it too. That keeps me motivation and energy high and its the right place to infuse energy into that conversation. When we get to the point where we talk [00:19:00] about the things you might struggle with, the things that you’re having a hard time with, whether it’s making decision on the right gym or finding the right time, or not being motivated all the time, then we can slow down and then we can talk about what’s really important to you.

If you’re gonna tell me about. Injuries you might have that you’re worried about. We’re gonna slow down and take our time and make that feel important and understood. And even just listening to this conversation now and listening to us talk and understanding the, one of the easiest ways to practice things is to listen for it and other people first.

So when you’re [00:19:30] listening to people that are, take their cues, if they’re high, fast and loud and highly energetic, that’s the time for energy. If they slow down. They’re taking it slow and they’re low and they’re moderate in their tone and in their pace. Now they, whatever they’re talking about is extremely important to them, so pay attention to watching other people do it.

That will give you cues of where we should match in tone and in pace in conversation, in sales calls, in critical conversations on the floor. When you’re talking to coaches or when you’re talking to a client, you’ll [00:20:00] know, you’ll recognize it. You probably do it organically. Now we’re just pulling it to the surface, so we do it with intent.

Speaker 2: That’s a, yeah, that’s a great way to frame. It’s you’re mirroring the prospect’s energy and pacing for a lot of the time, but there’s also places where you can intentionally speed it up or bring it down. Actually, just thinking, there’s people out there like me who don’t get really that high or really that low, regardless of what’s going on.

I’m pretty conf. I’m pretty comfortably like a six, and when I’m stoked, I’m like a seven and a half. When I’m sad. I’m like a four and a half. Don’t get me wrong, there are super peaks and [00:20:30] valleys. Sure. But if your only cue was mirroring my energy level, you would probably not actually get that excited. But having somebody get something, well, my son’s pumped about something that get, that brings me up to his level when it’s the right time at the same time, right?

He needed to be like, if I said something that I was really struggling with, but I said it monotonously, it would serve you to respond with like slow, methodical organ treatment style. So I, if nothing else, know that you know that it’s a big deal.

Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely. My, my general rule of thumb is wherever they are, [00:21:00] plus one, because I always wanna be leading the way as to where we’re going or setting the pace or setting the tone.

So if you’re at a seven, I’m gonna be at an eight. If you’re at a three, I’m gonna be at a four. So we’re constantly leading the way and helping engineer the energy and tone of that conversation.

Speaker 2: That’s beautiful. Love it. So we’ve talked speed to lead. We’ve talked pro tips for pacing in sales conversations.

Do you have anywhere else that you see gym owners? Just some low hanging fruit that they’re getting [00:21:30] wrong, that if they changed a few things, they could really just boost their confidence and ability with sales?

Speaker 3: Yes, and it ties into pacing and through conversation and lead to speed, lead and all that as well.

It’s follow up and if you haven’t heard it, 99% of your sales problems could be followed, could be solved with just diligent follow up. Diligence. Tell us more about that. Yeah, let’s get into that. I, I truly believe that diligence is the single most underrated sales skillset. [00:22:00] To just stay on top of it. Stay on top of it.

If you’re looking to bring somebody in your gym that is, that can do sales. You, someone who is diligent and 80% good at communicating with people, will do way better than someone who is a communication expert at, but has no diligence. Diligence is absolutely the key. The absolute key. So when we’re talking about that, your follow up should be quick.

If you say you’re going to do something, the return time should be quick. The response time should be quick. We should chase people [00:22:30] down multiple times. And if you’re over enthused, we talk about tone. If you’re overenthusiastic and overexcited and somebody calls you on and they’re like, man, you’re really like trying to get me to go for that membership.

My response is always, yes, I, I’m absolutely, that’s my job. I’m a coach. I want you in here training and working out with us. That kind of push, that kind of forward movement and something you and I have talked about as far as you can actually push a little bit harder than you think you can put on that coaching hat and drive forward.

It’s not about getting somebody to buy something they didn’t want and that [00:23:00] that’s the big. The big separation when it comes to push, when it comes to drive, when it comes to diligence and all that kind of stuff, we think, I don’t want to be annoying. I don’t want to be the person. You know what? If I reach out too many times and then they don’t respond to me, I can absolutely 100% tell you.

Looking in your eyes, doing sales for 30 plus years, talking too many times, or reaching out too much, has never ever been a sales problem. It is always the opposite. We’re never following up enough. We’re never checking up. We’re never stepping top of mind. It’s not about [00:23:30] convincing. It’s about I’ve got so much other crap and bullshit going on.

I’ve got Instagram screaming at me. Facebook screaming at me, CNN, and Fox News screaming at me. What am I supposed to do? I forgot all about. I wanted to join a gym, and then I get a text message that’s fun and playful and energetic from a coach, or I get a video from the person that that I reached out to asking about the gym or an audio message, whatever.

That totally changes pace and brings some top of mind. So that level of diligence where we are chasing and chasing and chasing and [00:24:00] following up, it is significantly more powerful than any communication skill you can have. Truly. Now, if we layer. Great communication on top of outstanding diligence. That’s where the sweet spot is.

Speaker 2: Yeah, a hundred percent. I was thinking about it. You made a good point. I wanna reinforce this. It’s not about getting people to do things that they don’t want to do. We’re not trying to sell snake oil here. I’m assuming if you own a gym, you’re probably pretty bought into the fact that exercise actually does change lives, and there’s evidence to support that.

Both scientific and ado [00:24:30] anecdotal. But maybe you could frame it the same way of you’ve got a client who wants to get stronger or lose weight or whatever, and they continue to not make any nutrition or lifestyle changes, or they continue to not get their home workouts in, or whatever it is you prescribe to them.

It doesn’t matter. Like you’re probably gonna be pushing pretty hard to get them to just eat that extra protein or cut their alcohol, or increase their water, or get some sleep hygiene or whatever. It’s a thing that you’re gonna stay diligent on because you know that the thing that’s gonna be beneficial for them.

And if [00:25:00] you’ve got, what I’m hearing you say is if you’ve got someone in front of you who does look like they could be the right fit, you’re getting them to do a thing that they want to do that is good for them, yes. They have to give you money unlike the client who already is where you’re trying to get them to eat more protein or whatever, but they, assuming you’re not picking up a phone book, if those still even exist and cold calling people like they reached out to you asking for help and you probably have enough information to know that I think I can help you.

So let’s see if I actually can and get to that next step. Not. I’m trying to [00:25:30] sell you this thing for my own personal benefit.

Speaker 3: Such a great point. The big difference between persuasion and manipulation is intent. Persuasion is I’m gonna help you find the right path. I’m gonna help you. They talk about skiers, right?

The expert, amateur skiers. Try to watch out for trees. Professional skiers, look for the path. I’m looking for the open path. I’m not looking for trees. I’m looking for the path. If you look for trees, you’re gonna find trees. That’s what we are doing, is we’re helping them. Don’t look at the tree, look at the path.

Look at the path. Look at the path. That’s our [00:26:00] goal.

Speaker 2: Just a quick aside, but I think it’s funny and it reinforces your point. When my son’s 14 and he is like, how old? Three or four and learning how to ride a bike, we took him to the park ’cause it’s grass. So he falls one, one tree in the park. Not even exaggerating, like trees around the edge.

But in the middle of the park there’s one tree. You bet your ass, you ran into that tree. Found tree because he knew all he’s doing is looking for the tree and Right to get us back on track here. Yeah. If you have po, if you have good intent. Which every gym [00:26:30] owner I’ve met does, I haven’t met anyone who got into fitness.

Same because we’re trying to see people,

Speaker 3: right?

Speaker 2: Different than I’ve never

Speaker 3: met a gym owner where I’m like, Hey, you’re an ass, you’re an asshole. Stop manipulating people like I, I just haven’t run into it

Speaker 2: a hundred percent that you can get away with more, you can get away as phrasing it weird, but you almost have an obligation to do a little bit more because you’re getting them to do a thing that both they want and will benefit them.

So when you have that positive intent, especially when you have authenticity and enthusiasm. All the things that come with that. It’s like [00:27:00] people can pick up on that. You can get away with being like, look, Elias, I can tell you’re really hesitant here, and I know you’ve tried and failed before. What’s it gonna take for you to give us a shot?

Because I know this has an potential to change your life.

Speaker: Yeah.

Speaker 2: That doesn’t come across as pushy. That comes across as giving a shit. Not, which is a lot different than Elias. If you don’t buy this car, you’re never gonna get the car you want. ’cause this is the last one I need you to sign today.

Speaker 3: Yeah,

Speaker 2: right.

Speaker 3: Yeah. Totally different. Totally different. You guys have to realize that you have the keys to the kingdom. You’re how, you’re, [00:27:30] how people, how, I’m not a coach. Never been a coach. I’m not a, I’m not a, I’m not a trainer. I’m a client. I’m a member of gyms, and what I want is I’m, I train every day because every day I train my sex life gets better.

And that’s the thing. I need you to help me stay focused on and, and pay attention. That’s the problem you’re helping me solve. And having that understanding of this, you guys have almost a moral obligation to learn how to sell it. It’s if you had the cure for cancer, would you not be screaming it from the [00:28:00] rooftops?

Would you not push as hard as you possibly can and be as persuasive as you possibly can? Exercise is the cure for so many things. It is the cure for so many things, and if you truly believe that and that you can give that to people, then you absolutely have an obligation to learn how to get people to buy it.

Speaker 2: Yeah, that’s a good point. If I had the cure for cancer and a failure member had cancer, even if they said they didn’t want it. I would still consider like sneaking it into their food. Oh, and I know that sounds, man, I’m showing up in an that’s [00:28:30] wildly evil in any other context and yeah, in any

Speaker 3: other context,

Speaker 2: oh my God, what’s wrong with you?

But yeah, you’re right. There is this piece where it’s like we truly want to help people. We do need to change lives. The first step of changing their lives is either them to sign up.

Speaker 3: Oh, great. Way to put again, I like the way you said it better. Yeah.

Speaker 2: Learn.

Speaker 3: That’s good.

Speaker 2: Alright, so recap here. And this is all pacing.

I love this common thread. So one is speed, delete. If you know in a vacuum you would have [00:29:00] a army of humans who all their job is to call people back really quickly and you’d have a much bigger business there knowing that’s probably real, not realistic. ’cause most gyms aren’t sitting on a war chest.

Option one is you could hire somebody part-time, VA, to check messages and stuff at certain times. Or a more realistic approach is tweak the automations. As Elias said, give them a, we got your message and here’s your next step. Either book yourself in here, or I’ll get back to you by deadline. And then we didn’t say it, but it goes as saying, do the fucking thing you said you were gonna do.

Otherwise those not gonna,

Speaker 3: absolutely. [00:29:30]

Speaker 2: Second is pacing in conversations you want to be where they’re at, plus one. So if they’re enthusiastic and motivated and fast and loud, you want to be that as well. To get them excited about the things that are exciting to them. And when things start to get slower and more intentional and a maybe sometimes a little bit sadder and heavier, you’re gonna meet them where they’re at to really reinforce that you understand them and you can use that appropriately.

We’re, you’re made a good point. We’re probably already doing it with our clients with. They’re excited about their PR and they’re disappointed about their potato chip consumption. We’re already [00:30:00] doing that.

Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. Just do it on purpose. That’s all we’re saying. That’s all we’re asking you to do.

Speaker 2: Yeah.

And then the last piece is persistence and dedication with the follow-up. That when it’s coming with good intent, you can, for lack of a better way of saying it, you can get away with being a little bit more pushy. You can get a way with saying things a little bit more directly because like worst case scenario, they call you out on it.

Yeah, I am. I’m excited for you to be here. Mm-hmm. I’m a coach and this is what I do, and if this is a good fit, I do wanna help you reach goals X, Y, and Z that you mentioned. Like

Speaker 3: Yeah. [00:30:30]

Speaker 2: That was, that’s the whole reason I’ve been doing this. Yes.

Speaker 3: The, the truth is hilariously persuasive. Just tell the truth.

Yeah.

Speaker 2: Well, this has been awesome. Thank you for hopping on with me.

Speaker 3: My pleasure, man. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 2: Anything else that you wanna add for our listeners? Oh, maybe this, if people wanna learn more about you, how do they find you On the wild world of the internet?

Speaker 3: I’ll give you two things. One is hit me up on Instagram con.

Conveniently enough, I’m the only Elias Scar on Instagram, so I’m easy to find. I [00:31:00] answer every single DM that gets sent my way. Feel free to DM me, ask me questions. I’m here to support and here to help you out, and then something for you specific. What’s your,

Speaker 2: what’s your Instagram tag? It’s Scar

Speaker 3: with twos.

Scar, Elias. Scar. Yeah. Scar with two Rs. Yeah, and my name’s actually spelled that way. Scar with two rss. That’s right. Elias Scar.

Speaker 2: Great, and

Speaker 3: what’s the second? And the second one is you can email me directly. It is elia scar@gmail.com. Shoot me an email, I’ll put it right here on the podcast. Shoot me an email.

I can help. And I will find one of the things that, that I love [00:31:30] to do and would be my gift for all of your podcasters is if you wanna set up a call with me and have me go through your strategy session as a client, I will go through that phone call with you. I will pretend to be a client, and I’ll give you all the feedback you never get from your prospects.

Speaker 2: Friends, this is a good deal. We didn’t talk.

Speaker 3: You gotta, lemme know. You’re from the BFU podcast.

Speaker 2: Yeah. We didn’t actually tee this up in advance. I’m not trying to sell you on Elias by any stretch. You’re gonna get a lot out of a free call. Hey, follow your hearts. But if I were, you would take him up on that.

Speaker 3: I look forward to [00:32:00] hearing from all of you.

Speaker 2: Well thank you for your time. This is

Speaker 3: wonderful. You got it man. Alright, well see you for the next one.

Speaker 2: See ya.