I’ve realized I’m a pretty bad salesman.  As in, I’m really bad at it.  Good thing is I realized it and I’m working on it.  When you come into the CrossFit business side of things you’re kind of told: “It’s not about selling and marketing; it’s about training.  If you’re a good trainer people will come to you.  If you build it, they will come.”  And in a lot of respects I think that’s 100% true.  If you can’t out-train a bad diet, you certainly can’t outsell bad coaching.  But to say all you have to do is be a good coach I think is false.  I think that principle rests on the assumption that people can tell good coaching from personal training.  Truth of the matter is: they can’t.  Well not at first anyway.

I’ve been open for two months.  The people that have been with me for two months can definitely tell the difference between the good coaching my box offers and your standard personal trainer.  But it’s taken them awhile to get there.  Realizing the difference between good coaching and personal training is an acquired taste.  Just like you can’t expect someone who eats at Applebee’s 6 nights a week to understand the intricacies of fine French cuisine, you can’t expect people who have been inundated with Globo Gym training to instantly convert to CrossFit.  If/When they try it they’ll realize it’s different, they’ll be intrigued most likely, but they won’t cut you a check right then and there.  What you need to do is build a bridge between what they think they know (Globo Gym training) and what they need to know (CrossFit training).  And that bridge is built through selling.

I think the reason Glassman talks down the idea of “selling” your clients is because the guy is natural born salesman.  I don’t think he could describe the way he sells if he tried.  

I believe everything the guy says.  You know why?  Because he sold me on it.  He didn’t pressure me, cold call me, or advertise to my demographic; but he sure as hell sold me on it.  

As I’m starting out Free Classes are my #1 avenue to new athletes.  Therefore selling to these people is vital to getting them to take the next step and sign up.  What I realized is that I’m underselling myself.  Again, selling doesn’t mean pressuring or lying or anything like that.  But I don’t think I’m getting across quite how awesome CrossFit really is.  If you’re not selling it as a life-changing event; you’re doing it wrong! Because CrossFit is a life changing event!  How do I know?  It changed my life.  If it hasn’t changed yours, don’t bother trying to teach it to others.  

I used to try and sell them on the sheer science of it.  Because “work capacity across broad time and modal domains” and “constantly varied, functional movements performed at high intensity” is undeniable.  Problem is: the science a safety blanket. “Ha!  Trying arguing with that!!” is basically what you’re telling people.   Problem is people don’t care and you can’t win an argument people don’t care to argue.  Maybe they will care later.  But they certainly don’t now.  

I’ve very much changed my tactics now.  I simply give them the truth.  There’s a reason why elite athletes and special forces do this stuff.  It’s HARD.  I mean REALLY REALLY HARD!  It doesn’t get easier.  It’s not a magic pill.  But I know that if you give me one month of dedication I can change your life.  Not one month of trying it out, one month of DEDICATION.  I can change everything you thought you could do.  I can change how you feel, how you move, and how you think.  No asterisk, no fine print.  It’s not for everyone, but everyone can do it.  You make the choice.  And if you choose CrossFit, you will never look back.  

All I’m doing is telling the truth.  But I’m definitely selling.  

Anytime I can liken business to CrossFit I’m going to try.  So the other day while I was cleaning the floors (which is thing #345642 that will frustrate you to no end) I was thinking about why people should come to my box instead of others.  What makes the other boxes in DC better/worse than mine.  I came up with what I’m terming the “10 General CrossFit Box Skills:”

Price: How much do you cost?
Location: Where are you’re located (aka convenience)?
Programming: Do you have good workouts or do you do what Dutch calls “Any Asshole” programming?
Coaching: How good you are at recognizing good movement from bad and fixing problems?
Service: This is a poor choice of words but how much do you care about what you’re doing and how far are you willing to go for your athletes?
Equipment: What’s your equipment like?  Will you fix the broken end on that bar or just use the catch-all “unknown unknowable” phrase and tell people to deal with it.  This goes for toilets, windows, and a whole host of other shit that will break ALL THE TIME.
Community: What are your people like?  Do they have a good time and encourage others to have a good time as well?  Do they make the process of getting fit enjoyable or does coming to your box seem like a chore to your people?
Athletes:  Do you have a good mix of fire-breathers and regular CrossFitters?
Professionalism:  Do you handle things correctly and in a timely manner? 
Results: Does what you do actually work?

Whether you think it’s fair what’s on this list or not you’re missing the point.  Point is people (read: potential athletes) care.  When a potential athlete is looking for gyms and you’re located across town and there’s a box around the corner, doesn’t matter that you’re 10x better at programming or coaching, it’s going to be tougher to get him.  

These are just like the 10 General Physical Skills of Dynamax/CrossFit.  I know working on flexibility sucks, but if you actually want to be the best CrossFitter you can be you HAVE to work on it.  I know working on professionalism sucks (like responding to 100+ emails a day when all you want to do is run WODs), but if you actually want to be the best CrossFit box you can be you HAVE to work on it.  You can tell me that location doesn’t matter and that people will seek great training (and I’ll agree); but if all things being equal my box is closer than yours I’m going to get an athlete over another box.  Just like if 9 of our general physical skills are equal and my balance is better than yours I’ll probably beat you in a WOD.  All of these things matter whether you want them to or not.

Where this is helpful I think is when thinking about pricing for your box (which I’ve been doing a lot lately).  When I opened I was very unsure of myself as a coach and my programming.  A friend of mine has been coaching CrossFit for 3x longer than me and his programming is fantastic, he runs a great box.  But I bet he’ll admit (or maybe he won’t because he’s super stubborn) that my location is MUCH better than his.  

All 10 of these skills are worth something.  They should all be reflected in what you charge. Consider all of these when you’re figuring pricing.  I thought pricing should JUST reflect my coaching.  But that’s like selling out Cardiovascular Endurance for Strength.  All the skills need to be considered.  They all have value.  Don’t overestimate, but don’t sell yourself short either.  Keep an open mind, always.

Got to love Greg Glassman presentations.

How many affiliate owners do you think went out and cleaned their bathrooms after watching this?

Probably the same ones who train for Fran.

News flash: They’re missing the point!!!

Inspired by Nicki Violetti, I too have decided to post a new post.  Considering I now have internet at the box I’m going to TRY and post more often.  Emphasis on try.

Everyone has a friend that can hook up with any member of the opposite sex.  It’s almost too easy for them, they can do absolutely nothing yet somehow managed to pull the hottest person there.  (Sorry ladies but this mostly refers to guys, though I’m sure you know of a similar female.)  Call it charisma, call it game, whatever, point of the matter is it’s there.  BUT… all too often what’s the other side of that coin? When they try and start a real relationship it’s a nightmare.  They fight all the time, there’s rampant unfaithfulness and usually it doesn’t end well.  They’re golden at getting laid, probably not so hot at getting married.

Recently, another CrossFit gym in DC had a deal on LivingSocial.com.  A very cool site where they basically offer a giant coupon to 100’s of people and generally have great deals.  I STRONGLY considered doing this while I was in the process of opening.  ”God damn, that’s 200 people straight off the bat.  Talk about serious business and easy money.”  But if you think about it, all they are really doing is trying to get laid.  They are only getting together because it was the easy thing to do (it was cheap, available, didn’t have to work for it).  Now honestly, what are the odds of people sticking around because they got there the cheap and easy way?  My guess will be not that good.  Perceived value: if I got it cheap and easy, it must be cheap and easy (tell me you haven’t judged someone at a bar along those lines before).  Even if people do take advantage of it and want to stay, seems to me they would detract from other’s CrossFit experience.  As an athlete, I would be disappointed to know someone got in the easy way, and I had to work to get there.

“How’d you get into CrossFit?”  

“Uhh… replied to a spam email.”  

Upon reflection I’m very glad I didn’t go with the Groupon or LivingSocial idea.  I want to get married to the people I meet.  I want to find them through a friend who raved about me.  I want to put some serious work in to demonstrate my value and have them unable to stop thinking about me.  I’m going to be genuinely crushed when someone decides not to renew their membership with me.  I’ll most likely hound them, asking “why?”  Hell, I might just stand outside their window with a boombox overhead. 

Maybe I’m wrong (I’m no Warren Buffet afterall) but it seems to me getting married to your athletes is a better long term plan then just trying to have sex with them. Otherwise you’ll be that dude who’s 45 years old still hitting the bars (or in business terms: bankrupt).  

What you should do: Make sure you know EXACTLY how much you’re going to need (then buy a few pieces extra).

What I did: Go off the estimate that your landlord gave you and buy about 11 pieces too many.

What you should do: Drag those bastards whenever possible.  Don’t get tough and try to carry them when you don’t have to.

What I did: Got tough and tried to carry them.  I have close to a 3x BW deadlift and my back is KILLING ME.

What you should do: While dragging them arc the mats so that the edge you’re carrying makes a frowny face.  This makes it 10x easier to drag.

What I did:  Well I did this once I figured it out.  Don’t let it sag in the middle though.  It makes maneuvering them much harder.

What you should do:  Use the 90 degree angles whenever possible.  If the spot your trying to fill has a 90 degree angle place the corner of the mat in it then cut from there.  

What I did: Never try to manufacture a 90 degree angle.  You can’t do it well; I don’t care how much of an artist you think you are.  You’ll screw it up.

More to come on this because this was a HUUUUUGE pain in my ass and I don’t wish anyone through the hell that I’ve been through the past few days. 

Edit: I’ve got 14 extra pieces of matting.  Anyone need any?  $35 a mat.

If you think something will cost you $2,000…
It will cost you $6000

 If you think something will get done in a day… 
It will take 3 days

If you think you can open in a month…
You will open in 3 months

If you think you one person can do a task…
It will take 3 people

If you think you will only need one of something…
You will need 3

Is this cliche?  Absolutely, but truer words were never spoken.  I’m learning this the hard way.

By the by…. District CrossFit will be opening May 10th.  A solid 13 months after I first started trying to open. 

I had a bit of a revelation today which I think relates to a bunch of businesses but very directly to the “Relationship Business” of CrossFit that Greg Glassman refers to in his “At the Chalkboard” series on the CrossFit Journal (which you should absolutely be watching).  

As a business owner you have to wear two hats at once: that of a customer and a provider (for lack of a better word).  It seems kind of obvious I suppose but it’s really easy to forget how different these two roles really are, especially in the “Start Up” phase.  

As a business in the “Start Up” phase I’m spending a lot of money and buying a lot of different stuff.  I’ve spent money on rent, contractors, permit expediters, equipment suppliers, website development, client tracking software, and more. When you’re buying stuff you kinda get waited on hand and foot.  People are calling me to remind me about this and that, offering me deals and checking in and being really friendly.  Of course they are, I’m giving them money, if they want my money they need to treat me nice or I’ll go elsewhere.  It’s really easy to get sucked into how easy this role is.  

Here’s the problem: it’s really easy to forget that not everyone you deal with will treat you like this aka your potential athletes (I don’t like the word client).  Your athlete’s expect this from you, not the other way around.  When you’re in the start up phase and generally doing a lot of buying it’s really easy to get trapped in the “customer” frame of mind and forget that you need to rock the “provider” hat too. 

I’ve been VERY guilty of this lately and have had to snap out of today and make amends.  A few people have emailed me asking about my business (which is REALLY RARE and awesome!) and I’ve been stupid enough to assume they’re beholden to me (very “customer” hat) and I can get back to them whenever I want.  WRONG!! I’ve already lost some business from my inability to switch hats.  

When you’re the purchaser people will constantly stay in touch with you and follow up with you (relish those opportunities because unfortunately they are rare). When you’re the provider, however, if you don’t follow up with people and make it YOUR responsibility to maintain a connection they will leave you quickly and they rightfully should.  Know which hat you need to wear and be ready to change it really quickly. 

PS… A perfect example of me not wearing two hats is how infrequently I’ve updated this blog.  Sorry to anyone who reads this.. I’ll be a better provider from here on out.

In the “Episode” posts I’ll try and recount the steps I took toward opening a Box. Considering I haven’t officially opened yet it’ll be an ongoing process.

Breaking up is no fun for anyone.  Losing “The Perfect Spot” cut deep.  It was kind of ridiculous how much it felt like a girlfriend breaking up with you.  ”We were so perfect for each other.”  ”I thought we were going to be together foreverrrrrr.”  Life can be so harsh sometimes.  

I don’t know if my situation was that similar to others in that finding a good spot was a huge pain in the ass.  From the stories I’ve heard a lot of people had a fairly easy time finding a spot, others (like me) had an impossible time.  Chalk it up to different strokes for different folks.  In other words, everyone’s experience is different.  For me, funding was fairly easy.  Finding a spot, really tough.  

I kept my eyes open to a few other spots in the area.  I loved what the neighborhood had to offer, so I tried to make friends with people who knew the area. There are various people (be they real estate agents or politicians) who are always looking to bring different businesses into their areas especially ones that are VERY community friendly.  One spot that I liked was right around the corner and had a lot more foot traffic.

Well thanks to the wonderful Google, I managed to find not only the title and lot/square number, I found a full history of the place.  It used to be the Fun Fair Video Store.  Sounds great right?  Fun!  Fair!  Well turns out it used to be a Porn Store and it went out of business because it was running a drug and prostitution ring.  Did I mention this place is in an up and coming neighborhood?  I don’t judge, so I wanted to check it out anyway.  Yeah it was a bad idea.  I had to take about 30 showers before I felt any semblance of cleanliness.

Keeping positive is one of those terribly cliche yet really important aspects.  Sometimes things come easy and sometimes things seem virtually impossible.  I think it’s important to re-iterate this: YOU WILL NEVER FEEL 100% CONFIDENT IN WHAT YOU’RE DOING!! It’s very easy to let the fact that you don’t know EXACTLY what you’re doing take over when you run into an obstacle.  The one thing I couldn’t stop thinking about was how untested I was.  How I didn’t have enough experience.  How I felt everything was way over my head.  Then I would almost literally shake it off and get back to work. In the words of Jay-Z quoting Notorious B.I.G “Stay busy, stay working.”  Does it feel overwhelming?  Absolutely.  But that’s not what it is, that’s just how it feels.  No matter how things feel, it’s not reality, it’s just your interpretation.

There is a reason why not everyone owns their own box.  It’s friggin hard to do.  Keep that in mind.  You can either give up like about 99% of people who try, or you can resolve to be better.  It’s up to you.  It’s really pretty simple.  Either you quit or you open a box.  Those are really the only two options.  If you genuinely resolve yourself to the latter, you will without a doubt own a box.  By keeping that in mind, I managed to keep working, and find a new “Perfect Spot.”  This time I was armed with the knowledge I only could’ve learned through my experiences with failure.

In the “Epic Win” posts I’ll discuss the triumphs I have made while trying to open my box. There will be far less of these than the Epic Fail posts.

Maybe I’m completely making up this problem, but it seems to me that a lot of people don’t realize the TREMENDOUS value of the CrossFit Message Boards.  I may be projecting here, but message boards have kinda faded to bolivia (as Mike Tyson said) in the internet culture.  In the times of Reddit and Digg, message boards seem very passe.  Having said all that, the CrossFit Message Boards are still pretty awesome.  

The reason I like them is that you can get a really broad range of opinions really fast. I have friends that run boxes and I probably bother them with stupid questions more than I should.  The boards eliminate that problem because a.) the people aren’t your friends and b.) the people who respond patrol the boards and wouldn’t do such unless they loved giving their opinions.  Now, the problem with that is twofold a.)  the people aren’t your friends and b.) the people who respond patrol the boards and wouldn’t do such unless they loved giving their opinions.  

So is it a bit of a double edged sword?  Yeah kinda but that’s not to say the message boards aren’t absolutely chock full of amazing information.  My strategy for using the boards is not only really easy but I’ve found it really effective:

Step 1: USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION!!!!  Type in the key words that you need to know i.e. if you have a question on rubber matting type in rubber matting and search

Step 2: LOOK AT THE OLDEST THREADS FIRST!!!!  Not saying people that answer questions on the boards today aren’t great.  I’ve gotten some great advice and help from recent members.  But when you can ask a question and have Mark Twight, Dan John, Robb Wolf or Greg Glassman provide some advice, it’s a whole lot better

Step 3: READ MORE THAN ONE POST!!!! Don’t assume just because something kind of like your question got answered that’s good enough.  Read more, and more, and more.  It can never hurt to have more knowledge.  Who knows, you might even get a question answered you didn’t even know you wanted to ask.

In the “Episode” posts I’ll try and recount the steps I took toward opening a Box. Considering I haven’t officially opened yet it’ll be an ongoing process.

The minute you start talking a landlord you start to get a handle on how much you really don’t know.  All these questions come up that you didn’t even know you had to consider:

• How much work needs to be done to get a Use Permit?  
  Uhh.  I need the lights to work?
• What type of NCAIS use is it going to be?  
  NCIS?  Isn’t that a TV show?
• Do you need to make it ADA compliant?
  I don’t know how many people in wheelchairs will be coming to my gym
• Who is your permit expediter?
  That sounds illegal.

There are a lot more but those are the only ones I could think of funny answers too.  When faced with these problems I took the strategy that seemed to make the most sense to me… I took my time and investigated each different question. This turned out to be a double edge sword.

The good edge:  There is no way in hell I should just go with the flow and agree to things which I have no idea what they mean.  I don’t want to just agree to make things ADA compliant when it turns out that making it such could cost me tens of thousands of dollars. (ADA compliance is a waterfall of fixes where one change leads to 10 more, leads to 10 more.) I had to get take the time to figure out all of these potential questions and familiarize myself so that I knew how to proceed and which way would save me the most of my precious little money.  I was lucky enough to have done that and not wasted money.

The bad edge: This strategy takes a long time.  I intentionally slowed down the entire process so that I could educate myself.  It’s certainly one of those conundrums where you can only learn by doing.  It’s impossible to try and predict all the potential scenarios you’ll need to account for.  Taking each step one at a time opens you up for predators to come in.  This is exactly what happened to me. I was confident that no one would want a run down auto garage (which ordinarily I’d be pretty confident in).  But I was wrong.  Turns out another group, with a LOT more capital, had their sights set on it.  They were willing to offer almost double what I was.  I’m not going to even pretend to compete with that.

I don’t regret taking my time one bit.  I learned an absolutely tremendous amount about how to handle myself in different situations and how to handle different problems that arise.  I made the right choice, taking my time, it was just hard to lose the spot I had invested a lot of time and effort in.  It was the right choice in the end.  I feel this is a common occurrence in opening a business that’s location dependent.  You find the right spot and lose it.  Oh well, learn your lessons and keep working.