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Maria Parrella-Turco

Maria Parrella-Turco

Maria Parrella-Turco is a senior partner of New Paradigm Partners, a health club industry consulting firm. She is also COO of fitRewards, the fitness industry's first reward and loyalty program. She has assisted hundreds of fitness facilities in idea conception, business plan development, finance, facility development, management and staff training, and she is also a turnaround specialist.

Article Archive

The Lure of Small-Group Training Programs

August 28, 2013

In the last few years programming has evolved, and consumers are looking beyond memberships to small-group training experiences for results and solutions. People are willing to pay top dollar for these programs. Let’s briefly examine some successful SGT programs, and then look at what the managers, directors and owners of multipurpose fitness centers can learn from them.

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Attrition: Your Business’s Biggest Expense

May 23, 2013

If you think your biggest expense is payroll, which is what I often hear when I ask fitness facility owners and managers, you’re wrong. In my experience, attrition—the number of members lost compared to the number of members overall—is the real financial sinkhole.

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Membership Sales or Program Advisement?

March 21, 2013

Traditionally, many fitness facilities employ a “membership team.” These individuals are often referred to as “membership sales advisors,” “membership sales specialists” or “membership sales representatives.”

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4 Ways to Increase Revenue

February 21, 2013

Wouldn’t it be great to gather the best practices of fitness facilities around the country and distill this knowledge into one terrific guide to success? This column explores the very best secrets for operating, managing and marketing a fitness facility. Whether you manage/operate a small studio or a large, multipurpose fitness center, these golden nuggets will help you run your business more successfully and profitably.

Four Sensible Strategies

You may not have thought of these methods for boosting your bottom line:

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Direct Mail: Now Fitter Than Ever

January 22, 2013

During my decade of experience in marketing, I’ve seen a lot of failures—and many more successes. With the Internet, the art of fitness marketing is more complex than it once was. However, many of the basic principles still apply.

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Easy Ways to Increase Revenue

November 9, 2012

Wouldn’t it be great to gather the best practices of fitness facilities around the country and distill this knowledge into a succinct series? That’s what this new column explores: the very best secrets of success for operating, managing and marketing a fitness facility.

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