Willie McLendon of CrossFit 3040 talks about customer retention and what works for his box.

Willie McLendon of CrossFit 3040 in Lewisville, TX gives us a look into his facility, talks customer retention, and what has worked for him with keeping members since the start.

What is your name? Willie McLendon

How would you describe your title? Owner/Head Coach

Where should we send visitors? www.crossfit3040.com or Instagram @cf3040

What is the name of your box? CrossFit 3040

Are you a CrossFit Affiliate? If so, how many years have you been affiliated? In November it will be 4 years as a CrossFit Affiliate

How many years have you been in business? Just over 5 years

How many members do you have? 90

What sort of training do you offer? CrossFit classes and Weightlifting

How would you describe your community? We have a good mix of members at our gym, with a large percentage being in their 30's.  Most people that have come to us had no previous experience with CrossFit, and many of those with no formal fitness training in the past.  This has grown into a good mix of competitive athletes alongside those who are just looking to get into shape.

How would you describe your training style or philosophy? Start with the basics and build up from there.  Day 1 for everyone begins with a squat assessment to see how they move and identify some up front strength and weaknesses.  We don't run a separate fundamentals or on-ramp class for new members, but focus on them a lot to get the movement foundations down before adding a load.

Tell us about your box. It started out as a garage gym named North Texas Strength & Endurance back in 2011, and began purchasing equipment from FringeSport on Black Friday that same year.  A lot has happened over the last 5 and a half years to get me where I am now.  Our gym has a great community and I still have members here that started with me back when I was still training out of the garage. Through the years I feel like we have built a very good reputation for teaching the Weightlifting side of CrossFit, and a lot of that comes from the time I have been able to spend and learn from Chad Vaughn and Richard Flemming.  We have about 10 members at our gym that have a Weightlifting focus, and among them we hold 11 official state records.

Tell us about your fitness journey. I was not very athletic growing up, but was active outdoors.  In college I was tall and skinny (6'3 175#) and did not start working out until I was 23.  At the age of 30 I was introduced to CrossFit and spent a year following the Main Site workouts, while trying to learn what i could by the limited online resources available back then.  I couldn't perform a proper Overhead Squat with an empty bar and could not do a normal Thruster as I could not support the front rack position.  In 2010, I actually joined a box and really got into it and started working mobility do fix my squat.  In 2011, I got my CrossFit Level 1 Certificate as well as the CrossFit Endurance and CrossFit Weightlifting certificates and began training friends and family out of my garage.  Since then I developed myself as an athlete and a coach, and now compete as a Masters Weightlifter in the 105kg weight class under Spoon Barbell with the infamous Richard Flemming as my coach. 

Describe your best source for getting new members. Word of mouth has been our best resource for bringing in new members.

Is there anything that you found for member retention? My best retention tool has been to become personally invested with my members.  I run a vast majority of the classes at my gym and know what each person has done and what they are capable of.  They are often surprised that I can remember what their numbers are without having to look it up.  I run a pretty relaxed policy here for those that want to leave, as in understand life happens.  We do not require contracts or any minimum commitments and want to make their dealings with us hassle free.  I feel that people appreciate this and the personal care and attention that is in our day to day activities.

Is there anything you'd like to add? Almost all of the equipment we use at CrossFit 3040 has come from FringeSport. It has been a pleasure working with them over the last 5 years and to have seen the evolution of their company and the quality of equipment they bring to the market. 

CrossFit 3040