The manager of the fitness club is a person who, within the framework of his area of responsibility, manages the work of a specific branch or department. Depending on the internal hierarchy and structure of a club or a chain of clubs, there may not be a manager position at all, or there may be several managers at once, each of them having a different area of responsibility and dealing with completely different tasks. Thus, the manager can deal with sales, procurement, advertising, business development, hiring staff, working with clients, and so on. Our task today is to figure out what knowledge this specialist should have, what requirements are imposed on him, and not only.
The manager of the fitness club
The word manager itself literally means – a person that is responsible for the specific activity. Thus, any employee who is in the position of a manager is engaged in executing the type of activity for which he was hired. As we have already found out, the concept of a manager’s position can imply a fairly wide range of professions, therefore, in order to understand who he is and what he does, we will need to consider each position separately. In the framework of this article, we will do this briefly, for a general understanding of the topic. However, this article will be only the first in a series of articles about the profession of the manager of the fitness club, and each individual position will be described within a separate material, which will detail his job description, depending on the type of activity that he is engaged in at his particular position.
Who is a sales manager
The position of a sales manager implies working with customers aimed at their purchase of goods or services. In this position, the manager of the fitness club mainly deals with outgoing calls on basis of a cold (lack of interest), warm (slight interest), or even hot (high interest) customer base. As a rule, he or she doesn’t work with incoming calls, because reception administrators are engaged in their processing. The following requirements are presented to the sales manager: a neat appearance, competent speech, and work experience in a similar position. Duties most often include communication with clients, counseling, identifying needs, conducting presentations, and closing deals.
Who is a procurement manager
The position of the procurement manager involves the systematic work on monitoring the condition of equipment, facilities, and stocks, finding suppliers, and purchasing the required products. In this position, the manager of the fitness club is engaged in assessing the condition of the simulators, filling the grocery warehouse of the fitness bar, purchasing air conditioners, mirrors, computers, stationery, and more. The following requirements are imposed on the procurement manager: higher economic education, knowledge of the fundamentals of the economic activity of the enterprise, experience in a similar position. His responsibilities include assessing the current state of the material base, making decisions on the feasibility of replenishing it, finding suppliers, and closing deals.
Who is an advertising manager
The position of an advertising manager implies the development and conducting of marketing activities related to brand recognition, customer acquisition, the formation of value propositions, and more. In this position, the manager of the fitness club conducts market research, studies the market of fitness services, analyzes competitors, advertises in transport, on billboards, in supermarkets, including, and often first of all, on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube). The following requirements are presented to the advertising manager: economic education, analytical mindset, creativity. In addition to developing a marketing mix, his responsibilities include analyzing its effectiveness.
Who is a development manager
The position of a development manager implies, as a rule, working on scaling the business. In this position, the manager of the fitness club is engaged in researching the market for fitness services, assessing its volume and density, evaluating the possibility of entering a new market, expanding the network to other regions, opening new areas of activity, and more. The following requirements are presented to the development manager: higher economic or business education, business development experience, experience in a similar position for 1-3 years (sometimes 3-5 years). His/her responsibilities include: searching for opportunities to expand the business (within the region, within the country, or outside its borders), forming a team of specialists, searching for partners, planning economic indicators.
Who is a human resources manager
The position of a human resources manager implies working with the team aimed at maintaining the established mode of work, as well as developing the professional qualities of each individual employee (fitness trainer, administrator, etc.). In this position, the manager of the fitness club primarily interacts with the trainers of various departments of the club – the gym, group classes, the aqua zone, martial arts, and more. The following requirements are imposed on the HR manager: leadership qualities, managerial skills, work experience in a similar position. His responsibilities include ensuring the stable operation of all departments of the fitness club, monitoring compliance with corporate standards, as well as searching, selecting, and hiring personnel.
Who is a customer service manager
The position of a customer service manager implies working, first of all, with existing clients, and to a lesser extent with potential clients of the fitness club. In this position, the manager of the fitness club is primarily engaged in advising clients on the goods or services that they have already purchased, and also, his/her duties include working with customer complaints and resolving conflicts. The following requirements are presented to the customer service manager: positive attitude, active life position, developed communication skills. His/her responsibilities include interacting and maintaining communication with customers through social media, by phone, or in person, with the aim of forming a high level of loyalty to the company.
Conclusion
The manager of the fitness club should be flexible enough, as the duties of a specialist in a specific direction can be either narrowed or expanded as necessary. So, the HR manager, depending on his experience and the rules established within the company, can either hire only the coaching staff, or hire any employees in general, including administrators, cleaners, locksmiths, electricians, plumbers, parkers, and so on. Or for example, a development manager, depending on the requirements for him, can be engaged in either developing a specific department within a fitness club or a chain of clubs or developing the entire business as a whole. One way or another, we will discuss each of the specialists listed above in detail in the relevant articles.
Felix Palmer – author of the blog crusfit.com
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