This article about our client Fitness Machine Technicians was featured in the January 2022 issue of Franchise Dictionary Magazine.
As an emerging brand experiencing a tremendous growth phase, Fitness Machine Technicians is the largest exercise-equipment service company in the country, with big plans to dominate the segment.
“We’re up to 50 franchises with 112 territories sold throughout the U.S. and Canada,” announced Don Powers, president and CEO. “My goal is to have us sold out within the next three years, and that’s probably another 50 to 70 territories.”
Powers, who has worked in the fitness industry his entire career, embraced exercise-equipment sales and service expertise to build long-lasting relationships with manufacturers and develop the company into the exceptional brand it is today.
And the efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. In addition to being named a FRAN-TASTIC 500 winner for the past two years, Entrepreneur just ranked Fitness Machine Technicians as No. 42 out of 150 top home-based and mobile franchise businesses for 2021.
As if that weren’t enough incentive for prospective business owners looking to grab their piece of the pie, Fitness Machine Technicians offers a scalable business model with low overhead and massive corporate support.
“The biggest perk is that you’re joining a professional team,” explained Powers. “You’re joining a team that has the relationships with the manufacturers. That’s very, very strong.”
What’s more, technical know-how isn’t required. “We have some franchisees that know nothing about turning a wrench. I wouldn’t even put a wrench in their hands!” Powers joked. “But as long as they understand the model and the business aspect of it, then it’s fine.”
Powers emphasized that the model is not only proven but easy to follow. The company utilizes a three-month grand-opening marketing program that allows a franchisee to gradually ramp up operations and adjust to residential business before embracing commercial and B2B sales.
Understanding that technicians are the single most essential component for success, Powers focuses on providing full support to enable them to get from one job to the next as quickly as possible. To that end, Fitness Machine Technicians employs a reliable service team that knows the equipment inside and out. That means that techs have someplace to turn if they can’t get in touch with a manufacturer, which leads to rapid repairs.
This speed and reliability of service translate into solid returns and bigger opportunities. “For our corporate-owned franchise, our commercial contract customers’ retention rate is 98%,” Powers noted. “That means you can really build a business model year after year.”
Plus, manufacturers are clamoring to align with Fitness Machine Technicians. “They’re jumping at us left and right. They’re giving us warranty work or referral work before anybody else,” Powers said. “And they do that for one reason: They’re going to get A-plus service.” Powers noted that this high-level service goes hand-in-hand with constant customer communications, which manufacturers genuinely appreciate.
