DULUTH FIT BODY BOOT CAMP CASE STUDY
BUSINESS PROFILE
Bob Patrick is no stranger to struggle. Coming from a background of poverty and addiction, he experienced his fair share of challenges early in life. Along the way he discovered fitness and its powerful ability to transform lives. Once that happened, he felt called to give back by sharing the power of fitness with others.
In the fall of 2015, he opened the Duluth Fit Body Boot Camp, a gym that offers a comprehensive fitness and fat loss workout program. It’s already wildly successful and helping hundreds of people live happier, healthier lives each day.
CHALLENGE
When Bob opened his gym, getting members was his top priority. He had a list of leads, but to bring people in he needed to contact and nurture them. Bob didn’t have member management software, so he did everything manually. He kept lists, sent emails and made calls. This process took a lot of time and wasn’t easy to keep organized.
“In the beginning, I spent a lot of time making calls and emailing my leads. I literally went down a list of names to try and get people in the door. There were a lot of other things I needed to do, but working leads took up all my time,” Bob said. “I used spreadsheets and made note after note trying to keep it all straight, but it was still confusing. Had I talked to this person? Had they come in to see the gym? Managing leads took all my time.”
Once a lead did come into the gym, everything else had to be done manually too. From billing and collecting payments to tracking memberships, Bob struggled to keep it straight. “I wasted so much time on routine tasks,” he said. “But the worst was when I had to shift through single reports and spreadsheets trying to figure out how my business was doing. I knew I wouldn’t be successful if I kept going that way,” Bob told us.
SOLUTION
Since other Fit Body Boot Camps across the country use Zen Planner, Bob decided to try the software too. Once he did, he was in awe. “Tasks that used to take hours each day were able to be done in minutes,” he said.
To start, Bob automated his lead follow-up and management, so each lead is nurtured, and no one gets lost. “I like knowing that a lead can fill out a form on my website, and from there, they are emailed and invited to a free workout. If they don’t come in right away, the system automatically nurtures them until the time is right,” Bob explained.
Bob also jumped into Zen Planner’s robust reporting capabilities and in-software metric dashboard. “I’m a firm believer that you can’t manage what you can’t measure. Before using Zen Planner, I had no idea how many leads, members or incoming payments I had. Now I can run a single report and get real time numbers that tell me exactly how my business is doing,” he said. “I can see accurate numbers for yesterday, last week, last month and last year. It’s incredible.”
“With the time Zen Planner saves me, I’m working on opening our second location. My team has more time too. They don’t have to make endless calls, so they spend the extra time with our members,” he said. “And I know the automations keep my business running more efficiently than when I did it all manually,” Bob said.
Duluth Fit Body Boot Camp started with Zen Planner nine months ago, with only 26 members. Now they have over 225 members who call their gym home. “Zen Planner helped me grow my business, and I recommend them to all gym owners I know. Their automations shortened my lead cycle, so prospects join sooner than they did when I managed everything manually,” Bob said. “I wouldn’t be successful enough to expand my business to a second location without them.”
BENEFITS
- Saves (up to) 20 hours a week by automating admin tasks
- Grew membership 756% (From 26 to 225 members)
- Reduces admin costs by over $3500 annually
- Shortens lead cycle so prospects become members sooner
- Provides accurate and comprehensive reports that help Bob run his business
- Allowed Bob to open second location
