The Value of Assessing Movement and Using the Functional Movement Screen

In Part two of a four-part series revolving around sales, we are going to talk about client assessment. We’re essentially going to quantify movement.

Our promise to customers is looking good - that's usually weight loss. The second one's feeling great. Now, feeling great, a lot of time, has to do with movement quality. We're going to talk about what we call the functional movement screen (FMS).

Now, in case you’re not familiar with the FMS, it's pretty technical. It came out of professional athletics. There's a lot of really good data to back up its validity.

The FMS is built by a couple of high-level physical therapists that are sports performance oriented, and is used in the special forces. So you’ve got to try to dumb all that down to fit the general fitness population.

Nonetheless, when you look at predictability of injuries based on certain scores around the screen, they're repeatable and reliable. And they've used them with the fire department or even with big energy companies for light pole workers. If people can get their scores to 14 or better, their chances of getting injured are exponentially higher.

We're trying to set ourselves apart from other facilities, certainly other training studios, which offer a good workout, like meaning you're going to get sweaty. But there's a lot of smoke and mirrors around it. It's fancy, there's good music, there's a lot of screaming, there's a headset.

But are the exercises being applied correctly? And when we get someone in who, in our peeling the onion, says that they have an injury or a concern, this is your chance to show them that there's a process to what we do.

Have a component in your sales process that shows people that you know what you're talking about, that you're an expert in what you do and makes them comfortable, and it shows that you care and that you're different from the place down the street. And for the person that learns by seeing, this is a very good visual tool. You make things stickier for this individual.

In today's age, to sell something, you have to be an expert and people are not uninformed. Like no one suffers from a lack of information these days. If anything, we've got too much information. But if you don't somehow align yourself as an expert in their eyes, and what better time to do it than when you were about to ask them for money, you're crazy.

Key Points of Discussion:

• Promise to clients: Looking good (usually weight loss), and feeling great (2:45)
• Feeling great, a lot of time, has to do with movement quality (2:56)
• One in the 45-50 age bracket will likely be having chinks in their armor (3:00)
• Putting a tangible score to people's movements (4:04)
• We're going to use what we call the functional movement screen (FMS) (4:13)
• It is important to show them a real process (5:40)
• The movement quality measurement shows them that it's all about them (5:57)
• Get them to understand you know how to apply the workout and template (6:04)
• In a group setting, let them know: “Don’t worry, all this is being recorded.” (6:20)
• We know exactly what to do with you and so we love the FMS (6:29)
• The original FMS test was so hard that it would make people often fail (6:49)
• You don’t want to give them a test so tough they can't pass it the first time (7:08)
• You have a dowel and a board. You do tests, and they ask questions… (10:20)
• Taking out all hard things and replacing them with things that are doable (10:40)
• We worked alongside FMS creators to come up with the modified screen (11:34)
• People are going to fall into four quadrants (13:21)
• The first: They move well, so functional and they have no pain (13:28)
• The next bracket: We see this a lot: Moves well, has pain (14:03)
• When the screen does serve to make you look really smart (15:30)
• It makes us look more scientific (16:13)
• The goal is to let them know they're in good hands (16:24)
• And remember, you're actually collecting relevant data (17:46)
• In a lot of ways, you're protecting them from themselves (17:59)
• There's another quadrant, that doesn't move well, but has no pain (18:47)
• There are a lot of people that fit into the “doesn’t move" category (18:53)
• As part of our franchise, get an FMS certification to go along with it… (20:47)
• Taking the data and applying it correctly… (21:18)

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