Ep.101 - Eric Levine: How to master branding at home and abroad

A pioneer of fitness in Asia, Eric Levine has a passion that's driven him to truly understand members, customers and clients. His career over four decades has taken him from positions where he would have worked for free because he loves fitness and knows how to get results through genuine care, to growing hundreds of clubs in multiple countries around the world. This episode is a lesson in adding value in every aspect of your business. Through branding, marketing, empathy and impressive results, you'll hear how to motivate different cultures and communities for universal fitness success.   Watch the full episode on YouTube     Growing up in Montreal, Eric's father was a businessman and an athlete – a national water polo and volleyball player. His family was all about health. Eric was even bought a weights set when he was just 12 years old. At 16, Eric's first job in fitness was in a chain of spas as a non-certified trainer. He fell in love with the industry. From such an early age, Eric appreciated that business and success was all about the needs of the member and not purely based on what the club had. He went from making $6000 to $60 a month for the experience of travel and training in the Caribbean and around the world. It's here he started truly learning the trade, branding, methods of customer retention and other secrets that would lead him on to future successes in every sense.   Eric Levine has been described as the "best of the best" by fitness industry icon, Mark Mastrov. He has over four decades of experience in 24 Hour Fitness, Gold's Gym, California Fitness, Crunch, UFC GYM and other iconic brands around the world. This episode is a deep dive into every element of fitness, from finding the right location and efficient branding, to sales secrets and personal training strategies. Eric was one of the early pioneers of the Asian fitness industry, launching successful clubs in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Australia. Hear about the early days of famous brands and the challenges of culture, new territories, finding the right location and silencing the doubters. Today Eric is consulting for companies, lending his insight on picking locations, branding, sales, retention, personal training and ancillary revenue streams around the world. Find more details on http://ericlevineglobal.com   Episode highlights:  The importance of support within both professional teams and family environments to achieve success beyond monetary value. How you can discover what's a priority in any culture to understand what motivates them and what they need from your business proposition. Inspiring confidence in new territories that may not be familiar with equipment, machines or programming approaches. Hear about the early days of California Fitness and why visualisation is key to finding success in any environment, even when nobody else believes that your venture will work. The difference in traditional American clubs and the cultural approach in the east. How the international change provided the opportunity to do something totally different. Why branding is everything, and why if a club goes off brand then customer and member retention will suffer for it. How countries such as China don't have social media like we're used to, so the fitness industry needs to rely on traditional techniques to grow business. Why social media is not just about taking a picture for yourself, but about creating followers that want to tell their friends and invite them to join in the experience of a fitness location. Ways that you can prepare yourself mentally, physically, spiritually for the challenges that come from pursuing success and dedicating your life to achieving your goals. How to deal with unexpected legal issues in the fitness and gym membership environment, and how to support your staff if things go wrong. Why meditation, like the power of yoga, will be the next big growth market that takes off to benefit members and change lives.   Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Eric Levine…