Can Community Really Do This For Your Bootcamp?

Yesterday I was telling you about what happened on my first bootcamp and how I lost 50% of my profits without getting people to pay up front!

Ouch, I was annoyed and angry with myself for making that mistake!

However there was one aspect I did get right from day 1 of my bootcamp and that was my focus on community!

…and for once I am not talking about those online communities like Facebook, Twitter, or your NING sites (however all of these can, and do, play a part in this)

Do you think this was a powerful interaction?

As much as I embrace technology for many things in my business, I recognise that real human face to face interaction is 100 times more powerful, and something to truely nurture and embrace at all possible occasions.

I have been to fitness classes in commercial gyms where no one talked to each other, the changing rooms are deathly quiet before and after the workouts. No body exchanging telephone numbers, email addresses or even comments about what they thought about the music the instructor played!

What a shame!!

So when I started the ForestFit bootcamp I was adamant this would never be the situation in any session EVER.

You can easily implement exercises that require interaction between participants, getting them up close and personal with each other, sharing the experience. This can happen in the warm up, the actual workout and in the stretches at the end.

I have found simple tricks for everyone to learn everybody elses name within 2 sessions. It really doesn’t take too much imagination to implement this in to your programs.

The key now is in the experienced members of the group knowing exactly how this works. They now introduce themselves and actively find people they don’t know at the first workout of the month.

This support role, as a community, is what creates retention in my bootcamps at extra ordinarily high levels.

Team spirit on the worst day of the year!

The community is strengthened yet further with joint sporting goals, doing a 5km run together, creating a touch rugby team for a local charity event, organising social occasions and celebrating group members birthdays.

Once you have created a bond between your clients they never want to miss a session, they never want to be left out the teams, and the socials are something really special.

If someone was to ask me why my bootcamp has been so successful, I would say just one word…

Community!

Tim

PS. On Monday you’ll hear more about community and why it can boost your bootcamp retention and referrals. Keep an eye on your email over the next few days for the big announcement. This is no 35 buck e-book, it is full blueprint to success with setting up and running a group training program.