ETS Performance -- Customer Journey Framework
Understanding Who We Are Talking To
Overview
Each hero carries a different version of the same frustration: the youth sports industry was not built for them. Their problems are different. Their proof of trust is different. But the structural answer is the same.
The Covenant Keeper
A values-driven father of three searching for a training environment that reinforces the character formation he leads at home. He has tried six programs. None can describe a single mechanism for building character.
The Evidence Seeker
A physical therapist and mother who sees preventable ACL tears in her clinic every week. She has evaluated six training facilities claiming "data-driven." Zero could produce a force plate reading.
The Aspiring Operator
A CSCS-certified college S&C coach making $52K with $8,200 in savings. Every franchise he has evaluated requires $300K+ in capital and demands he stop coaching. The model was not built for him.
The Industry Observer
A PE managing director who has deployed $200M+ in franchise capital. She evaluates 40-60 concepts per year. Every youth sports franchise she has seen uses the same economic model. She cannot find the moat.
Deep Dives
The Covenant Keeper
"I don't care if my kids play in college. I care about who they become."
Age
44
Family
Married, 3 children
Income
$152K household
Location
Ankeny, Iowa
Core Motivations
External Problem
He cannot find a training facility where the culture matches his family's values. He has spent $400/month across three programs in two years and every one defaulted to "we encourage teamwork" when pressed.
Internal Problem
He secretly worries his standards are too high. That he is being too protective. That his kids will resent him for pulling them from travel ball. He needs validation that his instincts were right -- but he will never ask for it directly.
Philosophical Problem
It should not be this hard to find a training environment that builds character, not just athletes. The youth sports industry should not force parents to choose between faith alignment and athletic quality.
Word-of-Mouth from Trust Network
A dad he respects from his men's group at church says: "You should check out ETS -- they have Proverbs on the walls and the coach knows my kids by name." The referral from inside his trust network is the primary trigger.
Seasonal Decision Point
His youngest (age 10) is about to start a new sport season. He is deciding where to invest training dollars for all three kids. The decision is seasonal, not urgent -- he plans ahead.
Competitor Frustration
Driving past a D1 Training billboard that says "Train Like the Pros" and feeling the familiar frustration that nobody in youth sports shares his priorities.
Objection #1
"Is the faith-based stuff real, or is it just marketing?"
Response Strategy
He needs to walk in and see the Proverbs on the wall, see the phone-free policy in action, and watch older athletes mentoring younger ones unprompted. The answer is experiential, not verbal. The free evaluation is the mechanism: he sees the culture before he pays a dollar.
Objection #2
"$219/month times three kids is over $650/month. Am I getting character AND athletics?"
Response Strategy
He will pay premium if the value is character plus athletics. The six-week re-test cycle proves the athletic side with data. The culture -- phones in the bucket, Proverbs, cross-age mentorship -- proves the character side. Both must be visible from day one.
Objection #3
"What happens if the coach my kids bond with leaves?"
Response Strategy
Explain the director-coach model: the person coaching his kids IS the owner, compensated through revenue share, trained for three months. They are not going anywhere because their livelihood depends on the families they serve. "The same person, every season" resolves his deepest structural concern.
What He Says
"I just want to make sure the culture is right for my family."
"We pulled our older son out of travel ball. It wasn't the right fit."
"I need to know the coaches are going to stick around."
"$219 a month is a lot. I need to see the value."
What He Means
"I have been burned by six programs that claimed values and delivered nothing. I am terrified of being fooled again -- and of my kids watching me get fooled."
"My son came home hating the sport he used to love. My wife cried. I made the right call. But I need someone to confirm I am not just being overprotective."
"My daughter finally found a coach she trusted, and he left after three months. Turnover is not an inconvenience -- it is evidence that the organization does not value what I value."
"I will spend $650/month for three kids without hesitation if I can tell my men's group about this place with confidence. The real cost is my reputation in my community."
"The person coaching your child is the person who built the facility. The same person, every season."
"Phones go in the bucket. Proverbs are on the wall. Older athletes mentor younger ones without being asked."
"You've been told 'character development' by six programs that can't describe a single mechanism for building character. You're not too picky."
"We're not selling exposure. We're building athletes. Development over visibility, every time."
The Evidence Seeker
"I ask them to show me the data and they don't know what I'm talking about."
Age
39
Family
Married, 1 daughter (12)
Income
$142K household
Location
Woodbury, MN
Core Motivations
External Problem
No training facility she has evaluated can produce objective data -- force plate readings, bilateral asymmetry scores, re-test comparisons. 52% of competitors claim "data-driven." Approximately 5% deliver data.
Internal Problem
She is exhausted by being the skeptic. She wishes she could trust a program and stop researching. She has evaluated six facilities and committed to none. She wonders if she is overcomplicating it.
Philosophical Problem
A 12-year-old girl should not be doing depth jumps off 24-inch boxes without a landing mechanics assessment. Programs that charge $250/month should be able to explain the biomechanical rationale for what they are doing.
Clinical Referral Pathway
A colleague in her sports PT network sends a patient to ETS and receives a VALD force plate report back showing bilateral asymmetry data, rate of force development, and deceleration metrics in clinical terms she recognizes.
Developmental Window Urgency
Maya's transition into the pubescent development window (age 12-13) when ACL injury risk spikes in female athletes. The clock is ticking on a decision she has been deferring.
Another ACL in the Clinic
She sees her third ACL tear this month in a teenage girl and thinks: "This could be Maya." The clinical reality makes the personal decision urgent.
Objection #1
"Is the technology a prop or a tool? Can the director actually explain a VALD force plate reading in clinical terms?"
Response Strategy
The director must treat her as a peer, not a customer. During the free evaluation, the director walks through the VALD data in clinical language -- bilateral asymmetry percentages, rate of force development, deceleration metrics. If the director cannot do this, she is gone.
Objection #2
"Where is the published data? Show me a force plate comparison, an asymmetry trend, a before/after."
Response Strategy
She will not take "data-driven" as a claim. ETS must lead with sample VALD reports, force plate comparison data, and real re-test results on the website and in marketing materials. The transitional CTA -- "See What the Force Plate Shows" -- is designed specifically for her.
Objection #3
"Does the programming account for the pubescent development window, or is my daughter going into a generic 'ages 12+' bucket?"
Response Strategy
The director must demonstrate age-stage-specific programming that accounts for growth plate vulnerability, ACL risk in female athletes, and neuromuscular adaptation windows. Generic age brackets are a dealbreaker. The conversation must be clinical, not generic.
What She Says
"Do you use force plates? What brand?"
"I'd like to see the data from the evaluation before I commit."
"My daughter is twelve. She's at a critical developmental stage."
"I've looked at a few other places."
What She Means
"I am testing you right now. If you do not know what VALD ForceDecks are, or you say 'I think we have something like that,' I am leaving and I am telling every PT in my network."
"I am exhausted from being the only parent who asks questions. I am desperate to find someone who can answer them so I can finally stop researching and start trusting."
"I see three ACL tears a month in girls her age at my clinic. I know the biomechanics. If your programming is not growth-plate-aware, you are part of the problem I treat every Tuesday."
"I have evaluated six facilities, rejected all of them, and I am running out of options before giving up and coaching her myself. You are likely my last stop."
"The data says so." Not a tagline -- a receipt. VALD force plate readings your daughter can stand on and you can verify.
"You're not overcomplicating it. A facility that charges $250/month should be able to show you the data. That's not a high bar. It's the minimum."
"Bilateral asymmetry down from 23% to 14% in six weeks. Deceleration metrics trending in the right direction." Clinical language, not marketing language.
"VALD + Hawkin Dynamics + Catapult deployed at youth level across 50+ locations. Only EXOS and IMG Academy come close. Neither at network scale."
The Aspiring Operator
"I didn't get into this to manage a P&L. I got into this to coach."
Age
31
Family
Single, no children
Income
$52K salary
Location
Springfield, MO
Core Motivations
External Problem
He has $8,200 in savings. The franchise model requires $300K-$600K in capital. Every model separates owning from coaching -- the investor manages, the coaches are employees. The math does not work and the identity does not fit.
Internal Problem
He is ashamed of his bank account. His college roommate who sells medical devices just bought a house. Marcus chose purpose over money, and the economics are punishing him for it. He loves coaching -- that is the problem.
Philosophical Problem
The people most qualified to develop young athletes should not be systematically locked out of the industry designed to do it. A CSCS and a master's degree should be worth more than $52,000 and a visible ceiling.
Contract Renewal
Off-season. His contract is renewed at $54,000 -- a $2,000 raise after a year of 70-hour weeks. That night, he opens the franchise comparison spreadsheet and adds a new row.
Peer Success Signal
He finds a LinkedIn post from a former college S&C colleague who became an ETS director: "Revenue share, not franchise fees. I coach every day and earned $147K my first year." He screenshots it.
NSCA Conference Conversation
At the hotel bar, another coach says: "I'm thinking about leaving." The mutual recognition that the economics are broken opens the door to researching alternatives together.
Objection #1
"Does 'director' actually mean 'coach' or does it mean 'business manager who occasionally coaches'?"
Response Strategy
The 15-20+ hours/week coaching floor time must be documented and real. Let him talk to current directors who came from college S&C. Not recruiters -- coaches who made the jump and can describe a typical Tuesday. The "day in the life" content is what converts him.
Objection #2
"I've never run a business. I don't know how to read a P&L. What if I fail at the business side?"
Response Strategy
The three-month boot camp must credibly address business competence, not just coaching methodology. He needs to hear from directors who had the same fear and how the boot camp prepared them. The structured system -- the playbook, not a license -- is what he needs to feel safe.
Objection #3
"Is the revenue share real, or is it a different way of saying 'commission-based with a floor of zero'?"
Response Strategy
He needs to talk to actual ETS directors -- not recruiters, but coaches who made the jump from college S&C and can verify the numbers in plain language. Give him the list. Let him call any director in the network.
What He Says
"I'm exploring some options in the private sector."
"I want to make sure I'd still be coaching every day."
"What does the revenue share structure look like?"
"I don't have a business background."
What He Means
"I open franchise disclosure documents at midnight in my one-bedroom apartment. I have $8,200. The numbers never work. I am running out of hope that there is a path that does not require me to stop being who I am."
"Every franchise I have researched says 'build your dream gym' and means 'hire coaches and manage a P&L.' I am terrified of being sold an identity and delivered a desk job."
"I have been burned by compensation claims before. I need someone who was in my exact position -- college S&C, $50K salary, no savings -- to tell me the real numbers. Not a recruiter. A coach."
"I am afraid of failing. My training is in exercise science, not finance. The franchise documents are 200 pages of legal language I do not understand. I need a system, not a license."
"You already did the math. $49,750 franchise fee. $400K total. $8,200 in savings. The model was not built for you. It was built for investors."
"Coach and own. Both. Every day. Revenue share, not franchise fees. Three months of training, not three days."
"Talk to a director. Not a recruiter. A coach who made the same jump you are considering. We'll give you the list."
"$100K-$200K through revenue share. Still on the floor 15-20 hours a week. Your CSCS and your master's degree finally paying what they are worth."
The Industry Observer
"The models that actually are different look different on the P&L, not just on the pitch deck."
Age
47
Family
Married, 2 children (college)
Income
$450K+ (base + carry)
Location
Chicago, IL
Core Motivations
External Problem
She cannot find a franchise with structural differentiation. Every youth sports concept has the same unit economics within 10%. Coaching turnover is the embedded cost in every portfolio company's retention data. Growth without moat is not investable.
Internal Problem
She is mildly concerned her firm has concentrated too heavily in traditional franchise models and may be missing structural innovation at the margins. The ETS model challenges assumptions she has operated on for 15 years.
Philosophical Problem
Operator quality is the single biggest predictor of unit-level performance. No franchise should recruit operators based on capital alone. The system should select for the people who will stay, not the people who can pay.
Anomalous Data Signal
She reads the Inc. 5000 list and sees ETS Performance. 50+ locations in 3.5 years with no franchise fee. That data point breaks her mental model -- franchise growth without franchise fees is structurally anomalous.
Peer Intelligence
A colleague at IFA mentions that a youth sports franchise CEO gave a presentation that "made the room uncomfortable" by naming coaching turnover as a structural flaw. She asks for the recording.
Portfolio Gap Recognition
Youth sports performance grows at 9-12% annually while her firm has no position in the category. She needs to find the structural differentiator or continue passing on the fastest-growing franchise segment.
Objection #1
"How does this scale without franchise fee revenue? What's funding the infrastructure?"
Response Strategy
Walk her through the inverted capital structure. ETS invests in directors rather than extracting from them. Growth is funded by the retention and referral engine that coaching continuity creates. Provide unit economics, same-store revenue growth, and capital allocation data.
Objection #2
"CEO-led hiring does not scale. What happens at 200 locations?"
Response Strategy
Acknowledge the bottleneck directly. Present the delegation plan for the next growth phase. Show that CEO involvement is a quality gate at the current stage, not a permanent structural requirement. She respects honesty about scaling challenges more than denial.
Objection #3
"Show me director tenure, unit-level retention, same-store revenue growth, and operator satisfaction vs. traditional franchise operators."
Response Strategy
She does not evaluate models on narrative -- she evaluates on data. Provide the numbers in a format she can model: director tenure benchmarked against category, 75% annual member retention, revenue share earnings distribution, and same-store growth curves.
What She Says
"Walk me through the unit economics."
"How does the revenue share model affect operator behavior?"
"What is the competitive moat?"
"I'd like to visit a facility."
What She Means
"I have seen 500+ franchise concepts. Sixty percent of pitches collapse in the first 20 minutes when I ask for numbers. If you cannot produce them immediately, you are in the same pile as everyone else."
"I have been saying for 15 years that operator quality drives unit economics. If revenue share actually produces better retention and performance, this challenges every investment thesis I have built my career on."
"Can a well-funded competitor replicate this in 24 months with $10M and a good marketing team? If yes, this is not investable. If no, show me exactly what they cannot copy."
"I need to watch a director who was making $52K in a college weight room 18 months ago run a force plate evaluation, debrief a parent in clinical detail, and then coach a session. The operator IS the product. I need to see it."
"We recruit coaches, not investors. The franchise industry recruits at franchise expos. We recruit at NSCA conferences. Different rooms. Different people. Different model."
"50+ locations in 3.5 years. Zero franchise fees. Revenue share compensation. Inc. 5000. The numbers do not fit the franchise model you know."
"The moat is not marketing. It is the talent pipeline -- college S&C coaches that no competitor has thought to target."
"Director tenure that breaks category benchmarks. 75% annual member retention. Revenue share that aligns operator incentives with family outcomes."
Diagnostic Tool
Answer three questions to identify which hero archetype you are speaking with. Use this when evaluating a lead, writing copy, or planning outreach.
The operator path leads to a single archetype. If the person is evaluating ETS as a business model (not as a personal career move), go back and select "Industry / Investor."
Industry observers evaluate the model, not the product. If the person is asking about training quality for their child, go back and select "Parent."
This Is a Covenant Keeper
This person evaluates organizations by the adults their children will be around, not by features or branding. Lead with culture, coaching continuity, and the faith-based foundation. The free evaluation lets them see it before they pay.
Key phrase: "The same person, every season."
This Is an Evidence Seeker
This person needs to see the data before they trust the claims. Lead with VALD force plate technology, the six-week re-test cycle, and clinical-grade language. Treat them as a peer, not a customer. The free evaluation with real data is the conversion event.
Key phrase: "The data says so."
This Is an Aspiring Operator
This person has already done the math and knows the franchise model was not built for them. Lead with the revenue share model, the $0 franchise fee, and the director-coach dual role. Connect them to a current director who made the same jump. Real numbers from real people.
Key phrase: "You already did the math."
This Is an Industry Observer
This person evaluates models by unit economics and structural defensibility, not by marketing. Lead with the data that breaks their mental model: 50+ locations with $0 franchise fee, director tenure benchmarks, and the inverted capital structure. Invite them to examine the unit economics on their terms.
Key phrase: "The models that actually are different look different on the P&L."
Reference
Which key messages resonate with which hero. Three strength levels: strong resonance, moderate resonance, and low/no resonance.
| Key Message |
Matt |
Rachel |
Marcus |
Victoria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The same person, every season." Director-coach continuity. | S | M | S | S |
| "The data says so." VALD force plates, measurable outcomes. | M | S | M | M |
| "Phones in the bucket." Culture of presence and discipline. | S | L | L | L |
| "Iron sharpens iron." Faith-based cultural foundation. | S | L | L | L |
| "We recruit coaches, not investors." Inverted franchise model. | L | L | S | S |
| "Coach and own. Both. Every day." Revenue share, dual role. | L | L | S | M |
| "Three months, not three days." Residential boot camp quality. | M | M | S | S |
| "Development over exposure." Anti-showcase economy. | S | M | L | L |
| "$0 franchise fee. $100K-$200K revenue share." Operator economics. | L | L | S | S |
| "Deceleration training. ACL prevention." Injury-prevention protocols. | M | S | M | L |
| "50+ locations. Inc. 5000. Zero franchise fees." Scale proof. | L | L | M | S |
| "Pro athletes invested, not endorsed." Conviction-based validation. | M | L | M | S |