An atheist, a vegan, and a CrossFitter walk into a bar...

“An atheist, a vegan, and a CrossFitter walk into a bar.  I only know this because they all told me so in less than 30 seconds…”  CrossFit is the butt of many jokes, but that is not why I write today.  I write today to reflect about what CrossFit taught me about sales.

Our world is filled with commodities from food to fuel and building materials to gyms.  People pay $9.99/month to have access to gyms like Planet Fitness.  This is a low cost gym that offers pizza, donuts, and a “Judgement Free Zone” (ironically, if you are serious about fitness… they will judge you).  Gold’s gym is a mid-priced gym with rates around $25-35/month.  Amenities are good. They have classes, child care, personal training, and smoothie bars.  There are other gyms that charge $75-100/month but they are mainly in bigger cities than Wilmington, NC and cater to a higher-end clientele. 

CrossFit gyms are all over the place.  They are beginning to near the point of Starbucks… one on every corner.  Most of the CrossFit gyms that I know and follow charge $125+/month.  And they get it!  Why?  I mean, isn’t a gym a commodity?  Aren’t there other places you could go?

CrossFit (CF for short) gives its members more focused attention through active training from knowledgeable coaches and a community of fellow athletes to cheer each other on.  These are probably the top 2 reasons for the success of CF and the success of its participants.  But that “value add” is where the money is and why people pay for it.

So, let me get down to the brass tacks.  There is a visible trend where spending more time with fewer people yields a larger sale.  I would argue that it’s not a “larger sale” but a “deeper sale”.  You move from the spot of commodity seller to the point of “trusted partner”.  You provide what no one else can or will provide to your people.  You invite them into the family that is your business and you connect them with other clients that they can have mutual benefit from.  Is this risky?  Yes.  Is it worth it?  So far, yes. 

Would you pay a premium for a product or service because you get more attention and become a part of a community?  No?  *Cough* iPhone… *Cough* Starbucks… *Cough* BMW…  These are not bad products and it is certainly not a condemnation to those who buy these products.  But, let’s face it… we do this more often than we realize.  It’s time we get honest about our lives and face the fact that, as much as we hate to admit it, we like people and interacting with them.  We want someone to care about us.  The digital world is failing people.  The next great wave of sales people are those who can leverage technology without losing themselves to it.  They are people with great soft skills who have hearts, dreams, and show emotion.  But most importantly, they are people who do what no others do and get the results that no others get.  Keep this in mind as you go off to sell your widgets. 

Catch me at the *Olympic* bar around 5pm… at CrossFit.