About the Author

After working in his family’s corner drugstore (established in 1836) while growing up in the Midwest, George Thompson got his start in the club business in 1977 while attending the University of Colorado in Boulder. Working part time as a fitness instructor and membership sales coordinator throughout his four and half years there. By his Senior year, the owner of the club promoted him to General Manager. Being young and inexperienced, he learned a lot the hard way but found himself extremely successful selling memberships. He was a natural the owner told him!

Throughout the 1980’s, George managed and sold memberships for the finest athletic clubs in Colorado and started making a national name for himself. In 1989, he became one of the country’s youngest Vice Presidents overseeing all sales and marketing efforts for an Atlanta-based company with five clubs located in three states. He learned which membership programs and strategies worked for each club and for each market. Trial by fire while constantly implementing new ideas and techniques became his mantra. Some worked, some didn’t, but George tracked his sales results religiously. He quickly knew what membership programs to continue, modify or get rid of.

Throughout the 1990’s, George worked primarily for one company that owned and managed one country club, two city clubs and an alliance of over 20 clubs in the Atlanta area. This was new territory and he welcomed the challenge! Selling memberships daily at these types of private clubs was definitely different than the high-end athletic and tennis clubs of his past. He applied the same general philosophies and sales techniques that worked for him previously. He set sales record after sales record – many of which still stand today.

In 1998, George started a membership marketing consulting company and quickly had country clubs, tennis clubs and city clubs in several states as clients. He focused on developing detailed marketing plans & strategies tailored to each club while training each Membership Director in the sales philosophies and techniques that had made him so successful since 1977.

The hectic national travel schedule and lack of family time forced George to cut back on his consulting efforts although he very much enjoyed the work. Since 2001, he has been the Vice-President of Marketing for an Atlanta-based club ownership and management company selling memberships at a variety of clubs on a regular basis. Always picking up new ideas and developing lead generating programs. Interviewing, hiring and training Membership Directors. Fine tuning marketing plans and tracking sheets. George’s clubs are considered, by many, to be some of the most successful and profitable clubs in the country.

George Thompson

4060 Peachtree Road
Suite D-263
Atlanta, GA 30319

404-428-0453

gethompson@mindspring.com

Join me on

Home