It was an honor to be a guest on Lyndsay Phillip’s Sailing to Success Podcast earlier this month. Lyndsay Phillips is the CEO and Captain of Smooth Sailing Business Growth – a content marketing company for life & business coaches, accountants, authors and other online entrepreneurs across North America.

 

This is the second time I have been invited to Lyndsay’s Podcast. The first time we discussed “The Seven Systems of a Growing Membership Business,” and it was so well received, she asked us to come back! If you want to hear that episode, click here.

 

In this special episode you will learn why people will quit your membership program and what you can do to keep them. Listen in here:

 

http://www.smoothbusinessgrowth.com/podcastscottwhitaker002/

 

 

Main Questions Asked:

What are some of the reasons people cancel?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Membership Retention

-The major reasons people cancel a membership include:

• The cost being too much, many people impulse purchase a membership without understanding the value it provides.
• They’re too busy. Your members will never really tell you the real reason they’re quitting. Being “busy” is a socially acceptable way for them to opt out.
• “I’m not getting anything out of it.” You are not responsible to make sure your members make use of their membership, you have to show them how to use it properly.
• “I’m getting too much.” Membership overwhelm is a real thing, some people get intimidated by too much information too fast.
• “I found something else.” Never put your competitors down. How can you add value to what you are currently giving your customer. Make them an offer to keep them and make them feel like you value them.

-Many membership business owners don’t know why their members quit.

-If you really believe in your membership, you are doing your customer a disservice by not trying to keep and help them.

-Get rid of the button that makes it easy to cancel a customer’s account. Make it clear, but make sure they need to speak to someone first.

 

Rescuing A Quitter

-Never process a cancellation without a conversation.

-Recognize that every member matters. A member that wants to quit deserves your attention.

-Always have a pre call plan and script. Know their name, business, location, how long they’ve been a member, their lifetime value, and why they matter to you. Have a conversation about their engagement and avoid putting them on the defensive.

-Never have a conversation without an offer. Always have a good/better/best offer that you can make to keep them. If people don’t know their options, they have no reason not to cancel. Always include a deadline.

-Get to the heart of the matter. Try to discover the true reason someone is quitting. –People join a membership with their heart and the quit with their head. Use the three words: feel/felt/found and help the person solve whatever their issue is. It’s difficult to say no to someone who is honestly trying to help you.

-Always follow up. Send them an email and recap the conversation. If they didn’t take your offer, tell them what they will no longer have access to.

-Build a reactivation campaign. Your former member’s circumstances will change. —Check in with them and make the offer again. Use different forms of media to start the conversation again.

-Leave an open door. Your members should always feel welcome to come back.

-Implement systems that keep people from quitting. A system is anything that saves you stress, time, energy, and money.

-Constantly grow yourself and stretch your abilities. Growing businesses are lead by growing leaders.