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Sports Scheduling Has Never Been Easier: eSoft Planner offers Low Price and High Power

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Introduction

When it comes to sports scheduling, there are many problems and few solutions. If you’re in charge of scheduling everything from tournaments to practices and games, then you know about the headaches that come with managing all those moving parts. You also probably know that finding a system that offers affordable pricing, ease of use and powerful features is next to impossible.

Enter eSoft Planner: your low price solution for your sports scheduling needs! eSoft offers adaptable pricing based on how much power you need—so if you have just one league or sport we can help with some of the lowest rates and best user experiences in the sports scheduling industry. Even better, we don’t force anyone into signing unreasonably long contracts, because we know the eSoft difference is something truly special! And don’t worry about customer service either since we are consistently ranked #1 in this area among all sports software providers in the country. We’ve been helping organizations across America schedule their programs since 2007, and there’s no problem we won’t be willing to assist you with. 

eSoft Planner offers affordability and adaptability. – and a la carte pricing means you aren’t forced into high rates; pay for what you need and want.

eSoft Planner offers affordability and adaptability. – and a la carte pricing means you aren’t forced into high rates; pay for what you need and want.

You can choose the features that work best for you and get the most bang for your buck. With multiple modules to choose from, you can tailor the software to your business no matter the sport, hobby or layout of your space.

– The software is easy to use and can be customized to fit the needs of any facility or sport. It’s designed around your business and not the other way around. This means you don’t have to pay for features you won’t use or train staff on features they won’t need.

eSoft Planner is a favorite sports scheduler among trainers, coaches, organizations, and academies across the country.

eSoft Planner is a favorite sports scheduler among trainers, coaches, organizations and academies across the country. After 15 years leading the industry, eSoft boasts a growing list of satisfied clients. As the ultimate sport scheduler software, it helps optimize, streamline and grow sports / training businesses across the country. There are eSoft Sports Software clients in every state in the country (and many more countries around the globe), and the number is growing every day!

The eSoft Sports Software is a powerful and easy-to-use tool that allows you to manage your entire sports business. It’s the only software in the market that offers both unlimited, consultative customer service from dedicated U.S.-based experts, as well as no pricing increase for growth or expansion. – which means we’re here for you every step of the way. 

There are a number of benefits to using eSoft as your sports software. One of the most important is that it helps you save time, money and resources by streamlining your business processes and reducing admin time and report creation. The eSoft Sports Software also allows you to create custom reports that can be exported in any format (PDF, Excel, Word etc.) for easy sharing with your clients or other stakeholders. – just another key example of the power and convenience of eSoft Planner.

availability sports planner with eSoft Planner

The system is flexible, powerful and so affordable you don’t have to think twice before buying. – Whether it’s swimming pools, courts, fields, or something totally unique.

eSoft Planner is flexible, powerful and so affordable you don’t have to think twice before buying. – Whether it’s swimming pools, courts, fields or something totally unique.

Whatever your needs are eSoft Planner can help with scheduling leagues, tournaments and practices. Further it can track inventory sales revenue etc…

– Whether you are looking for a way to track your players and their progress or just need a simple way to schedule games and practices eSoft Planner has the tools you need.

Clients love the service they receive from their account managers and other support staff at eSoft. – eSoft Planner is consistently ranked #1 in customer service.

eSoft Planner has been trusted by thousands of sports organizations. Clients love the service they receive from their account managers and other support staff. – In fact, eSoft Planner is consistently ranked #1 in customer service across the entire industry.

The executive team and employees at eSoft have a personal interest in the success of their clients, making relationships stronger and more meaningful than any other business in the sports planning space. Further, eSoft’s staff is comprised former trainers, athletes, and facility owners, giving us unique insights into the industry and what it takes to help our clients succeed.

If you’re a coach or owner of a sports organization, you’ll find that eSoft Planner is the perfect solution for your needs. We offer flexible options to fit any size business and budget. Our software is extremely easy-to-use, yet powerful enough to meet the demands of any coach or business owner-eSoft Planner is the industry standard for sports organizations and has been trusted by thousands of clients over the last decade. Clients love the service they receive from their account managers and other support staff, which is why eSoft is consistently ranked #1 in customer service across the entire industry. The executive team and employees at eSoft have a personal interest in the success of their clients, making relationships stronger and more meaningful than any other business in.

The Problem With Sports Scheduling and Our Solution.

Sports scheduling and management requires a lot of time and attention to detail. The problem with sports scheduling is that it can be hard to find an affordable solution that works for everyone. Our solution solves this problem by providing an affordable, flexible and powerful software program that has been trusted by thousands of sports organizations nationwide that also aligns with the varied, diverse landscape of needs that confronts so many coaches, owners, and trainers.

With eSoft Planner you can easily manage clients, classes, courts, guest passes, inventory, merch, and customers without spending hours on the phone or at a computer. This means you’ll have more time for coaching, hiring, marketing, and growing your business!

You can even utilize the software’s marketing capabilities to send email updates, point to blogs and social media, and promote client achievements. 

esoft mobile

Affordable, Flexible and Powerful

Sports scheduling has never been easier. eSoft Planner offers a low price, high power system that is customizable, user friendly and easy to use. It works with any sport or activity and can be used by organizations of any size – from a single team up through the biggest leagues in professional sports. If you need an affordable solution for your sports scheduling needs then look no further than eSoft Planner!

eSoft Planner is the simplest, easiest way for sports teams and organizations to schedule their games. It’s loaded with powerful features that let you easily manage your team schedules, player availability, game results, and more. Check out some of the capabilities below: 

  • Lessons

  • Rentals

  • Camps/Clinics

  • Packages

  • Memberships

  • Retail/POS/Web Store

  • Barcode Tracking & Integration

  • Teams

  • Upsells & Value-Adds

  • Leagues

  • Swim Club

    Another key aspect to consider is that as your program grows, your subscription rates will stay the same. – and perhaps even better, our software is so robust, that we can actually personally tailor it to your exact needs. One sport, multiple sports, inventory management, marketing capabilities, and more… the sky is the limit, as we’ll never engage in practices that hinder your bottom line and/or your ability to grow.

Conclusion

Countless reviewers, clients, and coaches have found that eSoft Planner is the best option for sports scheduling. Given the unique variety of needs in the sports and training industry,  we find that clients’ reasons for choosing the software are as robust and wide-reaching as the software itself. Whether it’s the ease of adding new trainers or clients, the powerful field/court reservation mapping options, seamless barcode-integrated guest passes, or one of the many other proprietary capabilities that has made eSoft the authority in the industry, there is almost a certainty that eSoft Planner will help you take your team, league, group, or academy to the next level. For more information, feel free to request a demo or give us a call and speak with a dedicated expert today. 

As the sports scheduling market grows, you’ll want to lean into software that is built with you in mind, operated by companies that prioritize you. Time and time again, eSoft earns clients from under-committed competitors for this very reason. Now is the time to experience the most robust, client-focused, sports scheduling and planning software in the country.

Other Helpful Resources: Sports Facility Expert
  • Best Practices in Sports Scheduling

Best Practices in Sports Scheduling Software: How to Grow Your Business Effectively

esoft planner : #1 in sports planning and athletic businesses

Best Practices in Sports Scheduling Software: How to Grow Your Business Effectively

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Introduction

Sports agencies, teams and other organizations use sports scheduling software to manage their business. It helps them automate tasks like scheduling games on fields, sending text alerts and emails, tracking player statistics and much more.

To grow your business effectively, use esoft planner to automate sports scheduling, streamline business processes, eliminate admin work, create reports automatically, organize maps and reservation programs, and send marketing emails for increased player retention

To grow your business effectively, use eSoft Planner to automate sports scheduling, streamline business processes, eliminate admin work, create reports automatically, organize maps and reservation programs, and send marketing emails for increased player retention.

The benefits of using a sports scheduling software are numerous. For example:

  • Sports Scheduling Software Automates Sports Scheduling

  • Business Processes Streamlined Automatically

  • Admin Work Eliminated

  • Reports Created Automatically Sports Scheduling Software Can Help You Manage All Your Games And Practices Easily!

1. Automate your scheduling process with eSoft Planner

eSoft Planner is the best online sports management software of 2023, and it’s easy to see why: it’s the most advanced, easy-to-use and affordable sports scheduling software on the market. eSoft Planner is also an app for sports and facility management that allows you to allocate resources effectively while saving time in the process!

2. Avoid scheduling conflicts, double-bookings and overbooking

eSoft Planner helps you avoid scheduling conflicts by allowing you to set a maximum number of teams that can be hosted at any given time. For example, if your facility has 20 ice sheets available for use and it’s already booked up with 17 teams on different days (and no cancellations), then eSoft Planner won’t allow another team to schedule a game until one of those other 17 teams cancels their game or gets moved due to weather conditions. This feature prevents double-bookings and ensures everyone gets enough ice time at your facility! Additionally, eSoft Planner allows users to set preferences based on specific criteria such as age level (youth vs adult), gender (male vs female) or skill level (beginner vs advanced). This helps ensure that leagues are matched appropriately so they don’t end up playing against each other when one team may not be ready for competition yet while another might have been waiting months just for an opportunity like this one!

3. Streamline paperwork and avoid errors with standardized reporting.

Sports scheduling software can help you to organize your team’s games, track attendance, and even generate revenue. However, if you’re not using a robust system for reporting on these activities, it’s possible that you may be missing out on important opportunities for growth.

The best sports scheduling software will allow you to create reports that provide insights into how many people attended each event or game during a given period of time (e.g., season). This type of data helps managers better understand what works–and what doesn’t–when it comes to marketing their organization’s events online or offline as well as determining whether there are any discrepancies between actual attendance figures versus those projected by the team owners/executives beforehand based off previous years’ experiences at similar venues/venues nearby without taking into account current conditions like weather patterns affecting travel times etcetera…

4. Optimize sports facility usage with text and email alerts.

Text and email alerts can be a great way to stay on top of your sports scheduling. When you set up text and email alerts, you’ll receive notifications when games are scheduled and when you have to make changes. You can also use these tools to remind yourself of upcoming events, registration deadlines, payments due–or anything else that’s important for your business!

5. Increase player retention and loyalty with marketing emails.

Marketing emails are a great way to keep players coming back to your facility. You can use eSoft planner to send marketing emails automatically, and also send text notifications to players who have signed up for text alerts.

6. Eliminate admin work with the best online sports management software of 2023

Sports scheduling software is a powerful tool that can help you save time and money by eliminating the need for manual tasks like entering scores, tracking players, and creating schedules. However, not all solutions are created equal; some are better than others at helping you accomplish your goals as an organizer or manager. With these six tips in mind, you’ll be able to find a program that fits your needs perfectly!

Stay organized by setting up different schedules for each season, league or time of year (e.g., high school football in the fall).

To stay organized and avoid confusion, it’s important to set up different schedules for each season, league or time of year (e.g., high school football in the fall). eSoft Planner allows you to do this by creating multiple schedules at once. You can also use eSoft Planner by multiple teams and leagues at once if they have similar scheduling needs such as baseball teams playing against each other during spring training.

Use eSoft Planner’s unique mapping feature to show where teams are located and reserve times with automatic notifications sent to administrators.

eSoft Planner’s mapping feature is an innovative, time-saving feature that allows you to show where teams are located and reserve times with automatic notifications sent to administrators.

  • View all schedules on one map

  • Easily reserve times from anywhere on the schedule by dragging and dropping your mouse over the desired location on a map. You can also click on any location in order to see associated schedules or view details about that team’s schedule.

  • Get automatic notifications when someone else attempts reservations at your favorite sports field or gymnasium.

Conclusion

eSoft Planner is the best online sports management software that helps you grow your business effectively. It’s packed full of features like automated scheduling, streamlining business processes, eliminating admin work and creating reports automatically. If you want to get started with eSoft Planner today then check out our free trial here!

Spring Break Camps

Spring Break Camps

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Benefits of Spring Break Camps

Sports facility owners, did you know hosting spring break camps can make you a hero?  With spring break right around the corner, hundreds of kids will be home from school for a week and looking to have some fun!  Many parents, though, still have to work and are in need of a solution. 

This is where your sports facility can save the day!  Spring break camps are extremely popular for families with school-aged children.  Your facility provides kid-friendly entertainment during the day and you an opportunity to generate additional revenue. 

To maximize revenue potential, keep your camps generic and centered around fun rather than limiting yourself to a specific type of athlete.   Offering a generic “multi-sport” camp for younger ages allows you to appeal to a broader audience. 

Start here, then expand your camp options to target more specific audiences if you’d like.  For example, some facilities create a sports-specific camp, but limit this to an older, more mature age group.  These are great for athletes preparing for tryouts, wanting to stay sharp in the off-season, or getting some extra practice during the break.

Consider Your Space and Instructor Availability  

As a general rule, 15 campers to every 1 instructor is the maximum ratio, but this can vary depending on the type of camp.  For “generic” camps, a higher kid-to-instructor ratio may work better to allow games and activities to be more engaging.   

For “sport-specific” camps, both clients and instructors may prefer smaller ratios so attention to form and skills can be a top priority.  The amount of student-to-instructor training in these camps can have a significant impact on its appeal. 

Camp Duration

Keep in mind the duration of each camp when choosing your enrollment numbers.  Depending on your space and instructor availability, you may choose to offer camps for a full week, every other day, or offer morning and afternoon sessions.  Some eSoft Planner clients even allow campers to decide how many days to attend during the week.  

Price

All of these variables — limiting enrollment, space and instructor availability, duration — impact pricing for your camp.  In addition to the cost of space, instructor pay, etc., consider any “behind the scenes” costs.  Items like t-shirts, water bottles, and bags are great for marketing, but also add to your cost. 

And because you’re planning in advance, you can offer an “early-bird” discount to draw attention and increase appeal.  Also, don’t forget to create a sense of urgency — “early bird pricing ends soon!”.  Planning in advance makes scheduling easier and gives you much-needed flexibility.

Now is the time to reach parents; so build a plan and promote, promote, promote!

Learn More About eSOFT PLANNER
eSOFT PLANNER is flexible, affordable, simple, and perfect for small business owners.  Request your free demo today to see how we can help you consolidate effort, save time, increase revenue, and grow your business.
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Fitness-Skills-Evaluation-Memberships

Use Fitness and Skills Evaluations to Sell Memberships

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You may be asking, won’t an upfront fee scare away new business? The answer – it won’t if you provide something of value in return. If you properly utilize the assessment in your sales pitch, potential clients will understand that the assessment is essential to their success and will pay for it, for the same reason they choose to pay for the classes and training. Some other things you can include with onboarding new members would be facility branded T-shirts, a bag to carry fitness gear, a printed manual going over the programs offered at your facility, and more. The potential member is happy with the free gear, and you just sent out marketing materials to be seen by friends, classmates, and teammates.

Pricing for this upfront fee can vary based on your membership pricing, how much you pay your staff, and more. In my past experience owning DNA Sports Center, I charged $69 (not including tax) for the enrollment fee. This cost allowed me to pay for the staff’s pay for the assessment, the onboarding member materials, the equipment used for the evaluation, and even the commission for the staff member that sold the membership.

Once laid out in front of them, clients will understand that for a small fee to get started, they will walk away with a private assessment that uses industry-leading evaluation technology, plenty of merchandise, and a written in-depth report to guide them through their membership program.

Make it a Sales Tool

Additionally, the assessment can be a great incentivized sales tool when a client is stuck on the overall cost of the membership. It can be waived or discounted as a strategy to confirm the sale. Another way I allowed the staff at DNA Sports Center to utilize this tactic is that they could waive the enrollment fee with the purchase of a longer membership package. Waiving this small, but often intimidating, fee is typically more cost-effective than discounting other services that come with the membership.

Learn More About eSOFT PLANNER

eSOFT PLANNER is flexible, affordable, simple, and perfect for small business owners.  Request your free demo today to see how we can help you consolidate effort, save time, increase revenue, and grow your business.

Sports Facilities Seek Client Retention

Client Retention when Instructors Leave a Sports Facility

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How to Keep Clients When Instructors Go

Trainers and instructors are close with clients, helping them with personal goals during one-on-one time. School-aged clients, in particular, look up to their instructors and can get very attached. So, it is essential to think about how to keep client retention.

Unfortunately, most instructors will eventually leave your academy at some point, and it’s common for departing instructors to try to take regular clients with them when they go. That can have a devastating effect on your business, particularly if they’re taking clients that you’ve spent time and money to attract.

Owners and managers of sports facilities must be prepared. It’s essential to take the following steps to protect your business from the threat of departing instructors.

An Employee Agreement

The most obvious way to prevent employees from taking clients with them is to make them agree not to do so in writing. Require new employees, especially instructors, to sign a non-compete agreement or include language in a signed staff handbook or work agreement.

Non-compete laws vary across the country. Some states don’t allow them at all! You’ll need to consult a local lawyer to find the best way to protect your business. The agreement’s language must be reasonable to your staff if it is to be upheld in court.

Thorough Hiring

Vet candidates during the hiring process to determine if they’ve burned any past employers. Check records by verifying as many references as possible and look at employment length on the resume.

Some former employers, however, may only answer “yes or no” questions regarding their former employees due to legal concerns about defamation. Many will limit answers to whether someone is eligible for rehire and confirming dates of employment.

You may not get much information if you only do a reference check. Use your local sports community’s network to get a good sense of a trainer’s background.

Better Retention

Turnover is a common problem for sports facilities because young, inexperienced people are attracted to these types of jobs. eSoft Planner’s team of industry experts has worked with facilities just like yours and learned the best practices for how to keep instructors longer. Gain information from each departure to make your facility better. Conduct exit interviews with discussions about reasons for leaving and follow-ups.

We’ve also learned that your best employees are less likely to look for opportunities elsewhere if they have great incentives to stay. Offer a combination of competitive pay and benefits as well as less tangible perks. Create a fun working environment with flexibility and a clear path for advancement.

Spend time trying to improve this issue. It directly impacts your available resources and financial bottom line.

Control of Scheduling

Some academies let their instructors handle their own scheduling for lessons and clinics. This is a mistake! It cuts you out of the communications loop and makes it even easier for instructors to take clients with them when they leave. It can also put your facility at risk for liability issues.

You should always have a record of who was on your property for insurance purposes and what they were doing at any given time. Make sure that anyone who practices in your facility has a signed waiver as well as updated emergency contacts on file. eSoft Planner’s centralized scheduling program can help you stay on top of all these moving pieces.

Scheduling also means that you keep valuable marketing data for each of your clients. You collect contact information as well as information about their activities, interests, and abilities. Use that data to tailor your marketing campaigns later. You’ll have a chance to draw clients back to your facility — even if they’ve followed an instructor elsewhere.

A Secure Client Database

Your client list is more valuable than any single physical thing your business owns. It could seriously undermine your business if it falls into the wrong hands.

Your clients trust you to keep their information safe and private. Our recommended practice to keep your client database close, not providing it to everyone at your facility, and track every time it is downloaded it.

eSoft Planner’s complete sports facility solution does the heavy lifting for you with capabilities to set different access/permissions for each employee. For example, you may want instructors to see only specific pages such as scheduling, but your membership managers may need to see different pages to update memberships, etc. Your staff should always be able to access the client information they need easily and without the need to download the entire database.

A Consistent Exit Procedure

Use a standardized checklist every time a staff member quits or is terminated. Checklists should include the following tasks:

  • Removing the departing employee’s access to scheduling software
  • Changing their passwords to social media and other company accounts
  • Collecting keys and equipment, such as a company cell phone or computer

For More Information

When an instructor leaves your facility, always take the high road. You’ve got a business to run — don’t take it personally. The best owners learn from their experiences and keep moving forward.

Contact eSoft Planner for a free demo to see how you can balance client retention and employee engagement with streamlined processes and customized workflows.

Training Program for Sports Facilities

Benefits of a Sports Performance Training Program

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Benefits of a Sports Performance Training Program

If your sports facility hosts its own teams, consider developing a training program designed for those teams and their sports.  Too often, practice only focuses on team strategy, preparation for the upcoming game, or other specific drills.  Pure physical conditioning is not stressed enough.  Instead it is treated as a checkmark on the “to-do” list and only briefly addressed at the beginning or end of practice.

Your team should focus on both specific training and game-like drills.  Below are key benefits to creating a specific sports performance training program.

  • Improved athletic performance. Specific skills such as throwing, passing or shooting improve as players become stronger and more agile.
  • Injury prevention. Repetitive movements can cause strain and lead to injury. Increasing general strength and learning proper technique helps prevent burnout and poor mechanics, which helps avoid injury.
  • Improved mental performance. Players struggling with certain skills may excel in your performance training program.  You can track improvements over time, which builds confidence and improves gameplay.

Your players are at greater risk for injury and burnout as competitive seasons become longer and longer.  To combat this risk, your training should focus on improved strength, speed, agility, and confidence.  These fundamental fitness techniques help keep players healthy.

In addition to helping improve performance, sports training programs are a great marketing tool for your business.  Offering specific programs helps you bring in revenue throughout the year and cross-promote other offers.  These can be offered to the players on your teams as well as the general public.  To incentivize more teams to train at your facility, provide them special access and discounted rates.

Learn More About eSOFT PLANNER

eSOFT PLANNER is flexible, affordable, simple, and perfect for small business owners.  Request your free demo today to see how we can help you consolidate effort, save time, increase revenue, and grow your business.

Social Media for Sports Facilities

Does Your Sports Facility Need Social Media?

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How Can Your Sports Facility Utilize Social Media?

Social media should play a big role in your sports facility’s marketing plan. Is it worth a smaller facility owner’s time and resources to stay up to date on social media?

The answer is yes! Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are excellent resources to instantly notify customers of happenings at your facility — in real time. And Instagram and TikTok are opportunities to explore and engage with customers through photos and videos.

What are some ways you can benefit from utilizing social media to promote your sports facility?

The More You Give, the More You Get Back

Most computer savvy consumers expect business-to-consumer businesses to have social media pages. Well-maintained social media spreads your message and adds legitimacy to your brand — even if you don’t have thousands of fans.

In fact, many sports facilities rely on their Facebook pages even more than websites to reach customers online. Facebook’s user-friendly pages are guaranteed to be updated and accessible, they’re easy to find in an online search, and they’re free to create.

The more effort you put into your social media marketing, the more you’ll get out of it. Spend 20 minutes every few days updating your Facebook and Twitter pages. Take photos of your employees enjoying their workday and videos of customers having fun — it humanizes your company. You can use TikTok to add unique effects and music to spice up a video. Even a little effort can significantly increase your chances of making a sale.

Don’t hesitate! Get started so you’ll adjust to the routine of posting content. You can try more sophisticated strategies once you’re more comfortable.

6 Ideas to Increase Engagement

Need ideas for what to post? Here are a few basic ideas:

  • Allow your customers to “check in” to your facility, which displays on their own pages and is visible to all their friends.
  • Announce new programs and remind your customers of their sign-up deadlines. They’re more likely to see them in real time on social media.
  • Announce special deals and discounts! Remind users when they’re about to expire.
  • Start conversations by posting success stories and mentioning your customers. Tag them using the social platform.
  • Respond quickly to customer comments — especially bad reviews. You can learn from their feedback and make the most of an unfortunate situation.
  • Post photos and videos that your clients will want to share with their friends.

Scheduling Facebook posts is an efficient way to save time if you’re worried this will eat into other responsibilities. Facebook allows you to add several posts at a time and set the dates for when those posts will go on your page. If you use a professional email marketing program, you can also update Facebook and other social media accounts automatically whenever you send an email. If you’re already on Twitter, link the two accounts so you only have to make one update.

Find a staff member who is already comfortable with social media. They can handle these updates, or you can sit down with them so they can familiarize you with how it works. Involve your whole team by encouraging them to submit content for your pages.

For More Information

Are you still unsure of how to create and use social media for your sports facility? eSoft Planner’s team of experts have a breadth and depth of knowledge and experience to help optimize your social media platforms.

The sports facility staff and client scheduling software can also streamline your processes. You’ll have more time to connect with customers and reveal your company’s true personality through your social media presence. Click here and fill out the form to request a free demo.

Customer Purchasing with Online Payments

Accepting Online Payments for Your Sports Facility

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Sports Facility Start-up Tip: Accept Online Payments

You’ve heard it many times on this blog, but we’ll say it again: Cash is king for new businesses. We’ve discussed how requiring upfront payments helps keep more cash on-hand. We’ve also talked about the importance of keeping electronic records. Any efforts you make toward improving cash flow can be essential to your sports facility start-up’s survival.

This week, we want to suggest one more cash-flow-focused idea: accepting online payments. Allowing your customers to pay online goes a long way towards streamlining your processes, saving money, and keeping as much cash on-hand as possible.

eSoft Planner was developed because software that allows clients to self-register, schedule and pay for their memberships online used to be non-existent. We saw the time-savings and convenience as a welcome benefit for staff, coaches, and parents.

However, some of eSoft Planner clients were still hesitant to give all the responsibility for payment to their customers. They didn’t trust their customers to make the payments correctly, or they thought that requiring more in-person interactions would promote a community feeling at their facility.

We always strongly advise them to reconsider, for these reasons:

Online payments reduce administrative costs

If you could cut in-store scheduling and payment in half, how much time would you save? Your front desk staff probably spends hours requesting money from clients and processing their payments. This is time that could be used for building rapport with your customers.

The reduction in administrative tasks might also save you money on payroll. Through self-service scheduling, your clients are essentially working for you.

Online payments bring cash in faster

When clients pay online, you get the payments sooner, which gives you more cash to work with. Electronic payments are deposited directly into your account, which means there’s no need to visit the bank. Additionally, the money is often deposited days or weeks before the actual service that the client paid for.

Online payments are convenient for customers

Giving clients the opportunity to pay for services outside of regular business hours provides flexibility, and that convenience makes clients more likely to pay without constant reminders from you.

Online payments make accounting easier

Online payments are tracked in real time. Depending on what payment processor you choose, this grants you the flexibility you need in your reporting and helps prevent human error.

If you decide to accept online payments, make sure that your system allows customized prepayment options or the ability to send online invoices. Additionally, eSoft Planner automates these processes with a simple and user-friendly interface. You can’t cut down on administrative costs if clients continually call in asking how to use the software!

If you want to see how eSoft Planner can help your business by accepting online payments, click here and fill out the form to request a free demo.

Employees Discuss Sports Facility Sales

How To Do Sports Facility Sales without Selling

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How to do Sports Facility Sales without Selling

Most people working in a sports facility don’t see themselves as salespeople. After all, many of them got into sports facility ownership because they were passionate about sports and seeing others achieve their athletic goals. Not to promote classes, memberships and lessons.

There are a few reasons that the word “sales” elicits this type of response. First, your staff probably have had some negative experiences with salespeople. We’re all familiar with the stereotype of the manipulative, pushy, slimy sales rep. So the word doesn’t exactly have a stellar reputation for people with no business background.

However, even if your staff has no problem with the idea of sales. They still might see it as a mysterious or innate skill that they just don’t have.

The True Meaning of Sports Facility Sales

Everyone at eSoft Planner enjoys helping athletes reach their peak potential. They are passionate about the games we play – baseball, football, softball, soccer, volleyball, basketball and other activities. But if they were asked to describe their strengths, the word “selling” would not be included in their response.

Now, here’s the funny thing about this situation. If you’re like us, you know very well that your staff can sell, because they have the most important characteristics of any sales rep:

  • they understand our clients’ needs
  • they’re passionate and knowledgeable about what they’re selling (athletic training)
  • they’re articulate about the benefits that our services provide

To remove the sense of intimidation that inevitably pops up whenever we speak of the concept of selling classes, memberships and lessons. We encourage our sports facility clients to use more easily digestible terms like branding and promotion.

If your staff is really invested in your programs and believes that they can help people live healthier lives, these efforts will be a lot more appealing to them.

Listen: Changing a few words around isn’t going to trick your staff into suddenly rushing out the door to hand out fliers on the street. Everyone wishes they could just skip the selling part of their work, because sales is difficult. It involves getting out of your comfort zone, making yourself vulnerable and risking rejection.

Yes, it would be nice if all your clients found you via word-of-mouth, but that will never be the most consistent part of your business. If you want your business to be more than just a side income, you have to be proactive about getting new paying clients.

If you’re new to the idea of thinking of yourself as a salesperson, or if you just need help getting your facility staff and volunteers to understand how they can become better at branding and promotion, we would love to talk to you. Our staff at eSoft Planner come from a wide variety of backgrounds in multiple sports industries.

Click here and fill out the form to schedule a time to talk with us.

Team Management for Volleyball Team

Improve Team Management With Player Perks

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Make the Most of Your Team Relationships: Give Players Perks

A great way for sports facilities to generate business is by building relationships with local teams through team management. But whether the teams rent your facility space or are hosted by your facility directly, giving players special perks is part of developing those quality relationships.

Giving team members special benefits at your facility can increase team retention and provide a revenue stability for your facility. Particularly if the membership benefits extend throughout slower seasons.

Case Study: DNA Sports Center

DNA Sports Center is home to the Midwest Prospects, a nonprofit, elite baseball program whose goal is to expose players to college coaches. Midwest Prospects players get exclusive access to a specially tailored speed, agility, strength and hitting membership at DNA Sports Center.

Players are encouraged to take advantage of this membership to improve their skills. It’s simple for coaches to collect the cost of the membership along with monthly team payments. And players have year-round access to the member benefits.

If your facility doesn’t directly sponsor sports teams, it’s still worth creating a membership named after each team that you offer these perks to. These package deals can be great marketing tools that advertise your special relationship with a team. It encourages other teams to develop a similar relationship with you. eSoft Planner makes it easy to set up these added perks. With flexible membership management tools to build the packages around your business.

You may also choose to keep a partnership and its details private — limiting the purchase of the membership to in-store only. This way you can ensure that only the appropriate team members purchase the membership.

Regardless, you should meet with team coaches to discuss what offerings would benefit them the most before you create the membership. If the coaches feel that the perks will truly meet their team’s needs, they will encourage their players to get involved.

With eSoft Planner, you can automatically apply discounts on lessons, camps, classes and rentals. In particular to special client groups, such as teams. If you would like to discuss how eSoft Planner works, we would love to talk with you. Click here and fill out the form to request a free demo.

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