Selling physical products online can be very difficult. The distractions of online ads and social media are very real. We all jump on our phones with one objective only to find ourselves down an unrelated rabbit hole- a text message that requires a response, an instagram rabbit hole, or "breaking news" that we must check out. Your clients experience the same issues once we decide to shop online.

The reason why apparel is such a foundational component of the affiliate experience is that it truly anchors members to your gym. It is one thing to say I belong to a gym. It is a different thing when you are wearing the shirt to the grocery store and it is part of your wardrobe. We find ourselves in a new environment with all gyms being forced to move online. In the past, I’ve always said I don’t like online stores because of the way most of them are set up. However, they can work if you set them up properly. Here are our steps to ensure that you maximize your online apparel sales. 

1. Lock in. The online store option is not a "set it and forget it!" tool. It is a tool that requires a herculean effort every day to generate sales. So, when you're offering an online store, your only priority should be promoting and pushing that product. Make sure your staff understand how to buy something. Make sure you've purchased an item yourself so you can get a feel for the check out process.
2. Limit the options. You do not need 3 different tanks, 5 different tee colors, and 2 different long sleeve options. We have discussed this before. You are taking a bunch of great ideas and trying to offer too much. Most folks only have a budget for one new gym item a month. As much as clients ask for different colors and styles, if you offer too much in one offering, you won't reach anyone. Offering too many options is "paralyzing" and there are plenty of examples of this phenomenon across various industries and studies. Just google choice paralysis. If you must offer some variety, I would recommend 1 tee and tank style in 2 colors. That would be 4 options for people...and even that feels like too much.
3. Promote it. A single facebook and instagram post is not promoting or marketing your preorder. Chances are your members did not see that post. Between the newsfeed and timeline algorithms and all of the other micro changes to social media platforms, it is becoming less and less common that business posts find their way organically into their clients social media lives. You need to advertise through all channels: email, text messages, whatever you have in your arsenal for contacting people, you need to utilize it. We came up with a system for doing the marketing for you. You need at least one social media post for every day you are leaving the preorder window open. You can check out those messages here:
   https://foreverfierce.com/blogs/news/let-us-sell-your-apparel
4. Set a deadline. 365/24/7 store options do not work. Those items simply find their way on a wishlist. Wishlists don’t convert. They are a placeholder for “things I’d like to buy when I have time”. Deadlines spur action. It is ok to have a 7 day preorder window. The people who are most likely to buy will cycle through your messaging within 7 days and they will be aware of the store. When setting deadlines, I know it may feel counter intuitive, but shorter deadlines are better.

Ready to start your own online store? Fill out this form and let's talk! 

In this post, we'll go over our strategies on how to put together a plan in case your business is impacted by a lockdown again. Apparel can be a super easy and stress free way to offset some of the revenue shortfalls you may see during a lockdown.

Step 1: Schedule at least two projects now. Don't wait for the official word that you need to close down to get your apparel projects lined up. Think of these ideas now.

Not sure on what to do? A basic tee/tank order and a longsleeve/raglan order works perfect for this. They are two projects with lower price point. It's an easy sell for most gyms that does not require sampling.

Step 2: Get the designs in place....now. Yes, have the designs ready to go. You don't need to share them with everyone just yet but if we learned anything in lockdown 1, it's that business owners may be busier than they were before....wait, what? Yes! Busier! We're all working overtime to take care of our clients and that requires extra special attention to detail. If you're going to be super busy with taking care of clients, take advantage of some downtime and get these designs knocked out now. We're happy to work ahead on your projects for a later date. 

Step 3: Familiarize yourself with our online store option. We offer a no added cost fulfillment service for all clients. There is no extra fee for this service. Depending on how you would like it set up, it can be 100% hands off. The only thing you need to do is promote the link and collect a check. I think you can do that :-) 

Do you have questions? Do you need more information? Reach out to us directly and let's set up a call to tailor this process to your needs.

We were included into recently recent "Two Brain Roadmap". If you're a Two Brain client keep reading.... 

Our module can be found in the "revenue diversity" section under "sell more". We created module 7 "Make $1,000 profit on retail sales or subleasing your space". 

The best way to pocket $1,000 profit from apparel sales is quite simple:

1. Hold a preorder- A preorder creates urgency. Urgency converts. Translation: More urgency=more sales. So, experiment with different preorder window lengths. I have some clients who only preorder apparel for 5 days. I have some that go as long at 10 days. I recommend and find that 7 gives everyone an opportunity to make a purchase.

2. Promote the item before and after EVERY class. I know this sounds crazy, annoying, "too salesy". I've heard it all...but we tend to over estimate just how much people listen to us. You need to repeat your message multiple times before people hear it. One facebook post on a Monday at 1:30PM isn't getting anyone's attention. Post often and remind everyone. Trust me, you're not being too pushy.

3. Switch up the designs. Your logo in white ink on a different color shirt only goes so far. If you join my e-mail list, it is a private list for gym owners only. Each month, I send out one e-mail with a design idea, theme, or garment. I do all of thinking for you. You don't need to order something every month. It is just to stimulate ideas and to remind you now is the time to order hoodies, now is the time to get your opens tee/tank figured out, etc.... Here is the link for that: http://eepurl.com/bRAVun