Several affiliates are utilizing what I call the “No Entry” system – new clients can jump right into an ongoing class and there is no official entry point to introduce them to your program or the CrossFit movements.
In my opinion the “No Entry” system is flawed in a number of ways and if you currently have a no entry point gym I encourage you to reconsider! We used the no entry point system for 2 years…and our growth and the progress of our clients suffered because of it.
Here are the main problems that I see:
• No incrementalism for new clients – new folks thrown into the deep end tend to not convert as quickly or as often as those who feel like they are being taken care of. Remember the CF mantra: mechanics, consistency, then intensity. Having a newbie jump right into the intensity without first establishing mechanics and consistency is doing them and ultimately your business a disservice.
• Rhabdo and other issues – no time to generate rapport with the individual no sense of their capacity and/or any special considerations they may have. In my opinion, taking a person off the street and allowing them to jump into your heavy hitting group classes puts you at a huge liability risk. (Immediately after we put in place entry point requirements we had a client who brought a friend to “try us out.” I explained that he would need to do some private training sessions prior to joining our group classes, but that he was welcome to watch. He was a big huffy about it and sat down in a chair. Later in the session it came out that he was Type 1 diabetic with an insulin pump. Had we still had a no entry policy he would have taken the class and we could have potentially sent him into a diabetic coma!
• Staffing issue – if you are a single coach with a group of 12 clients and one of them brings a friend with no movement background you will be juggling the need to meet the needs of your current clients and keep them progressing while simultaneously trying to teach basic mechanics to the newbie. This brings down the continuity of your existing classes and in my opinion brings quality of instruction down. Don’t get me wrong, a good coach can handle this situation, but it is not ideal from the perspective of giving your clients the best experience possible in each class you teach.
• Missed revenue opportunity – you have a significant revenue opportunity by requiring either private training or a beginner workshop. Be sure to value your time and your expertise. If you don’t, potential clients won’t either.
We moved from the “No Entry” system by default. It didn’t seem fair to our other clients to have to spend so much time reviewing the basics with the newbie when the others were ready to go. Now we have three one on one sessions with new clients, going over the 9 basic movements in detail plus kipping pull ups, kettle bell swings, box jumps, burpees. (GHD comes later, with more experience.) We have found that these sessions help the confidence of the newbie and builds their excitement to be able to “join” the class. The first month fee is higher to cover the cost of the one on ones as well.
Just wanted to second this post; our membership – and our revenue – here at CFNYC first really started to take off when we added our Elements ramp-up program.
We’ve found that free beginners classes (at regular times throughout the week), which funnel into Elements workshops (currently, 6 sessions over two weeks), which in turn funnel into general WOD class membership, has been the most effective approach for us.
Nicki,
This blog is fantastic! The information you provide is so valuable as we research and prepare to one day start our own affiliate. I have been thinking about this very topic and agree with you completely. Thank you for all that you and Robb contribute. I am excited to attend his Nutrition cert this weekend!
David
We are on the verge of moving into the “No Entry” stage and are excited for our current clients to not have to go through the foundational movements every time they come up in a WOD and for us to have a smoother run session. The problem so far is choosing a time to make the “Fundamentals” class without getting rid of current classes. We currently only have 650 sqft to work with. Any ideas?
Hey Nick!
Try holding your “Fundamentals” class after your regular evening class. We’ve found 7pm to be a hot time slot for our On Ramp class. I’m not sure what your current schedule is, but most everyone can make a later class…after work and all. And once they’re ramped up they can head into other time slots that may ultimately be better for their schedules.
Great blog Nicki!
We have required Elements as well for our new clients and it has been very beneficial to us both in getting that basic foundational movement instruction across, building rapport with the client and making them feel more comfortable before group training. Dosing them with a couple “intro” WOD’s at the end of each Elements session helps make them either less uneasy about joining unlimited classes or it gets the agressive ones chomping at the bit to finish their Elements sessions.
The other area we have noticed is for those who stick with it they have recommended Elements to their friends and like to talk about it with the “newbies”.
Please keep up the outstanding posts! Your contributions here are SO helpful to new affiliates like us. Thank you!
Nicki,
In a future post, I would love to hear your perspective on Group vs Personal Training revenue. There are several successful boxes out there, and when you hear about their revenue (which is only a piece of the puzzle), I am curious what percentage is from group classes alone.
I remember you saying that you guys have tried this a couple different ways, and it would be great to get your insight and advice for new/young affiliates.
Thanks!
Will do!
Great dialogue here. Thanks everyone!
I quickly found I had to do a Fundamentals class after I had 3 newbies quit in the same week because it was ‘too hard’. OUCH! I never had that happen as a trainer for years doing just one-on-ones. I feel terrible about those three people still!
So now I require every new person to go through the F class but I’ve made it a self paced program. So it is 12 sessions long but if you are experienced enough or a quick study you can move in to the regular class as soon as you can demonstrate good mechanics in the 9 fundamental moves and complete a scaled version of ‘mini cindy’. (see foundations ladder in the journal).
I did have one prospect leave yesterday that was really intrigued until she was told of the beginner requirement. But I guess it is better to weed out those who don’t want to learn right up front rather than leave dissatisfied after two weeks???
Thank you Nicki. We will be implementing a 7 pm class in the very near future. I appreciate your insight and time,
Hi Nicki,
We’ve been running an optional “On Ramp” program for 3 months now and the feedback and evaluations of the program have been super positive so far.
I’m curious do you include/required adherence of your On Rampers to a nutritional plan? If so, how do you implement that?
Also, if would be inclined to share, what is your conversion rate from On Ramp to being a member? Ours is currently 85%. Thanks!
Hey Xi Xia!
On Day 1 of the On Ramp we email the folks a copy of Robb’s shopping and food guide as well as a 30 day food log. We discuss what we’re looking for folks to do: Eat whole foods, focusing on lean meats, veggies, fruits and nuts and seeds and eliminating all the starchy shit. We don’t require that they do anything…we just tell them that they will get the most out of the program if they alter their eating. On subsequent days we discuss food during the time they’re stretching/cooling down.
That’s an awesome conversion rate! Ours is currently at 75%…we did a little experiment in January and significantly discounted our On Ramp class in celebration of our 5th year in business (normally $199…we offered it at $80). We had 50 folks sign up! But the conversion rate was much lower (45%). We were expecting this…as the folks who tend to not convert do so because of price, not because they don’t like it. Students, for example, tend to not convert as well for us.
We require our athletes to take 4 Foundation classes before they can join the classes. Some people have resented this at first b/c they thought they knew what they were doing. After the 1st Foundation class they were glad they did it.
We currently have one class for all levels (post foundation, of course). Do you recommend having different classes for different level athletes? What are some pros and cons from anybody that has given this a shot?
Thanks.
Hi Trey,
I will touch on this in my next post!
The danger with beginner classes that do different things from everyone else is losing what makes CrossFit different from Globos – the personal attention and fun. Fun of learning new things and fun of camaraderie with everyone else.
If I walk into a CF box for the first few times and I feel like I got sent to the corner to do Cindy, that’s none of those things. Hell, I could do that at home.
My real question, though, is about odd schedules – have you experimented with having classes at strange times, like 11pm, 2am, etc?
I realize this is going to be pretty specific to each gym’s clientele, but I have to wonder how many people get up early, commute to work, commute home, and by then it’s too late to make any CF classes at the local box? I know for me, 7pm is about the earliest I could make it to a class, based on the additional time it would take at rush hour to travel TO the box. Similarly, to work out before work and still make it, it would have to be a 4am class.
It’s hard to tell what the interest in this is by asking your clients, because the people that your schedule doesn’t work for aren’t your clients in the first place.
I’m just curious if you’ve tried that.
Hi Carl,
The beginner class is (if executed properly) fun, has comaraderie, and you get alot of personal attention while learning new movements. That’s the point. And you are being prepared to safely enter an existing class (to have even more fun!) Being sent over to the corner to do Cindy is not a “beginner class”. New folks need to learn the fundamentals and be introduced to intensity in a safe incremental way. It’s amazing how many “strong” guys struggle to get down in a proper deadlift position…they need coaching and practice (repeated exposures) to get dialed in. That doesn’t mean it can’t be incredibly fun! I guess it all depends on the affiliate and how it is structured.
We by no means have all the answers…that said, we’ve run our classes “come one, come all” with limited success, primarily due to the fact that nobody walks in off the street with exposure to all of the CF movements and with perfect technique. Adding them straight into the class is intimidating for the beginners and annoying for the people who have been there for a long time.
After adding our On Ramp class we attract more newbies and keep them longer…folks are challenged appropriately and are excited to progress. For most average folks CF is seriously intimidating…our beginner class is FUN and SAFE and demonstrates that everything can be SCALED. Folks get that the purpose of the class is to ramp them up and TAKE CARE OF THEM not send them to the corner to do a calisthenic workout.
As for the off hour time slots…Our 7pm classes are very popular. We haven’t tried a 2am or 11pm class….and likely won’t unless we get multiple requests to give it a shot. (I won’t be coaching at those times:) Perhaps another affiliate has tried super late/early times and would like to chime in here?
we were only open for about 90 days and about our fifth client or so before we switched to a ‘fundamentals’ class.
Now we’ve been open for almost 9 months, it’s time to insist people actually pass, otherwise you are going privates.
When we start to exceed 30-40 members and perhaps hire our first trainer we will definitely have a beginner’s and advanced class.
I never like avoiding workouts with movements I think are crucial but that only a small percentage of my flock can currently do.
Nicki,
Thank you for this blog and for the article you had in the May 2009 Performance Menu journal.
A couple of questions:
1. Are you planning on posting a course outline for what you do for your 12 session On Ramp class? I’d be interested to see it. I have been doing a 6 session On Ramp but have decided that 6 sessions is just not enough time. I’ve tried different syllabi but I always feel rushed – and then each new athlete only gets to see each movement once, so it’s hard to retain the information. I’m going to convert to 12 sessions, but am hoping to minimize my trial-and-error this time around, in terms of what I teach and when.
2. When do you introduce weighted exercises?
3. Do you get to advanced movements, such as a muscle-up, in your On Ramp class?
We’re doing our 3rd On Ramp class, and this one is completely sold out! What a great addition to our program! Thank you!!!
Hi Jenna!
Yep, the curriculum will come out in next months issue of the PM! You will see that we intro the DL, the press and the back squat during those 12 sessions. As for muscle-ups…most folks in our on ramp are just getting their first pullups and full-depth pushups…muscle-ups are far down the road:)