Welcome to Sports Facility Expert – your one-stop shop for building, running and growing your sports facility
How to Increase Sports Facility Revenue with Birthday Parties
Just like recreational sports programming, birthday parties and team parties are a great programming option for your sports facility. They generate new business by increasing awareness of your business in the community and are a reliable source of revenue. The birthday parties we host at DNA Sports Center generate more referrals than almost any other […]
Programming Idea for Sports Facilities: Dodgeball Leagues
As you develop your sports facility’s 12-month marketing calendar, you may be looking for more programming options to fill the slow times in your sports facility. If you have an open turf area, consider starting a recreational dodgeball league. Recreational sports such as dodgeball have distinct benefits that traditional competitive sports can’t offer your sports […]
Sports Facility Operations Tip – Accident Reports
When you run a sports facility, sports injuries are bound to happen on your premises. If you don’t have an official accident report form that all employees know how to access and use, you are inviting legal troubles and missing out on an easy opportunity to improve client relations. Formal accident reports show clients that […]
How to Add Sports Performance Programming to Your Sports Facility
As I’ve mentioned before, classes are often the most profitable programming option for sports facility space. Whenever possible, group instruction should be given priority over rentals or private instruction at your facility. If you’re considering expanding your class offerings, sports performance programs are a great option for both athletes and facilities, and are a […]
Marketing Ideas for Batting Cage Facilities: Retain Customers Through Spring
Batting cages are a central feature in my own sports facility and in many of my clients’ facilities, so I know how just how tough it is to keep profits up when the spring hits. Having a 12-month marketing plan for your sports facility can help prevent the slow season‘s revenue dip, but it’s not enough to just have a plan; […]
Creating a 12-Month Marketing Plan for Your Sports Facility
When you’re considering how to best market your sports facility to your community, the most important thing to do is to plan ahead, whether your business is brand new or has been around for decades. Sure, things can change at a moment’s notice, and owning a business requires a good deal of flexibility. You don’t […]
Featured Sports Facility: World Baseball Outreach
I recently met Jerry Jacobson. His organization, World Baseball Outreach, just started using eSoft Planner scheduling and management software, the program my company developed for sports facilities. Upon discussing the scheduling needs of his nonprofit baseball facility, I was impressed with his vision and with how focused he is on helping others. I’ve talked before […]
Sports Facility Operations: Automated and Streamlined
As I train sports facility owners and managers on how to set up their businesses with eSoft Planner online scheduling software, they often tell me specifically how their facility operates. They expect the system to conform to their operations exactly. In reality, you’re not likely to find a system that can replicate your operations in […]
Scheduling Instructors: Simplify Operations by Giving Instructors Regular Time Slots
Ever since my company created a web-based scheduling software, I’ve been talking to sports facility owners and managers across the country to get their feedback. In fact, I still personally train many of our clients on how to use the software. I come across one complaint fairly often. Managers don’t like the fact that the […]
Sell Sports Facility Memberships Through Evaluations
Last week, I explained how important fitness / skills assessments are to keeping your sports facility customers happy and your employees accountable. Now I will explain why you should charge for these assessments, and how they can be an “ace in the hole” when you sell sports facility memberships. Many sports facility owners and managers shy […]
Skills Assessments Help Customer Retention, Increase Revenue
It’s important to make sure your clients are getting what they’re paying for at your sports facility. In general, the best way make sure that happens in sports or fitness facilities is through regular fitness / skills assessments. Customer Goal Setting I’ve mentioned before how custom packages at your sports facility should be tailored. As […]
How to use Client Management Software to Gauge Customer Interests
As a sports facility owner or manager, there’s no excuse to not make an attempt to track your clients’ interests. Your customers are more likely to engage with marketing efforts that directly appeal to them. An analysis of their interests also provides extremely valuable information to you as a business owner. Here are four simple […]
The Problems with Scheduling Semi-Private Lessons
My clients sometimes ask why eSoft Planner, the scheduling software my company produces for sports facilities, doesn’t allow users to set aside time for multiple group lessons as easily as they can set up multiple one-on-one private lessons. As experienced sports facility owners and managers already know, these group lessons, or “semi-private” lessons with 2-4 […]
Never Just a Kids’ Sports Facility
I’ve posted previously about making the best use of the space at your sports facility, and how to make sure that each area in your facility can potentially make money for your business at any given time of day or year. If you truly plan for this, you’ll quickly realize that you need to attract […]
Selling Sports Training at Your Sports Facility
Any sports professional will tell you that training is not a quick process. Learning the skills required for any sport requires hours of effort. To excel at any sport requires many more. Although some athletes learn more quickly than others, there’s almost always a substantial learning curve to understanding proper technique. With that in mind, […]
Rent Costs Can Kill Your Business
All new businesses need to keep overhead costs low to survive, and sports facility-based businesses are no exception. The most significant overhead cost that sports facilities typically have is their monthly rent expenses. Obviously, your property is a huge investment. It has to be big enough for sports teams to practice, which often requires thousands […]
Sports Facility Management Tip: Make the Most of Your Space
Scheduling is a big part of sports facility management. However, the physical layout of the building (how the space is divided up and what it is designated for) usually limits scheduling. That’s why you should carefully consider scheduling plans from the moment you begin seriously planning the build-out and structure of your sports facility. It’s […]
The Golden Rule of Vendor Relationships
As a business owner, it’s easy to focus your energy on your relationships with customers. You prioritize customers. Treat them well and make sure that they have the things they need and expect from your facility. Your vendors deserve the same respect.
Sports Facility Staff Training Should Include Telephone Etiquette
The way your staff answers the phone at your sports facility tells your prospective clients a lot about your business. As a sports facility owner, you may not know what impression prospective clients are getting of your facility when they call – after all, you’re not likely to call and inquire about your own services. […]
Baseball Facility Scheduling Generates Passive Income
One of my clients just had his highest grossing September of all of the seven years he has been in business. Interestingly, it was more than double his previous revenue record for September. And the best part: He and his staff didn’t even do any extra work to hit that record. In fact, he’s attributing […]
Sports Facility Marketing: Reaching 6-8 Customer Touch Points
Trying new marketing methods can get discouraging when they don’t seem to yield immediate results. However, as I always remind my staff, it takes an average of 6-8 contacts before a client actually buys. Here are a few cross promotion strategies that I have put into practice at my own facility.