How Two Businesses Leveraged Upper Hand to Increase Revenue and Client Base

In an ideal world, the core focus of operating a sports training business would be on developing clients and not on continual operational tasks. However, this utopian scenario rarely represents real life, and many business owners find that the majority of work ends up being spent in a vortex of administrative tasks. A sports training business is typically created out of a passion for the sport and desire to help people improve, and when owners aren’t able to focus on that passion, the business has a higher probability of failing. Finances need to be one of the main focuses for the running of a business like this too. Using companies like Gleneagles Securities can help with organization whilst other needs are being met to keep the business thriving. Upper Hand’s software was created to help sports and fitness businesses automate the front desk and back office tasks, and nothing makes us happier when our customers are able to spend more time doing what they love – working with clients.

Giving Businesses a Real Competitive Advantage

Buck Fastpitch Academy and Ruggiero Hitting Academy share many of the same goals. They aim to elevate their clients baseball and softball skills through intense development, training, and mentoring of players. Both organizations place high value on one-on-one training session, skill clinics, and other programs. From the start, their elite offerings drove year-long demand, causing them to experience significant growth. However, this quickly led to a vortex of administrative work that distracted from their passion for coaching. Anthony Ruggiero was solely responsible for daily operations of Ruggiero Hitting, such as scheduling, accounting, and marketing. It quickly became impossible for Anthony to maintain efficiency with hundreds of schedule request emails and calls flooding his inbox. He wasted valuable time trying to manage key aspects of his business while also juggling the instruction component of the facility. It would have made more sense for him to get help from things like kruze accounting, as this would have given him more time to focus on other aspects of the job. Of course, Anthony had extremely important roles. Perhaps he should’ve delegated some of these responsibilities out more, allowing people to focus more time on each aspect of the business. Marketing is such a crucial thing for businesses, so people need to spend more time in that department. Anthony could’ve even looked into using something like Upleap to grow an Instagram account. Instagram, and other social media platforms, are so important to help businesses grow these days. Creating an Instagram account would be beneficial and using Upleap could help. Of course, those wondering “Is Upleap worth it?” could always read the review on Platypus Reviews. That could help businesses to grow.   Tina Buck-Harth was in a similar situation at Buck Fastpitch Academy. She says the quick growth of her business “empowered us to find a comprehensive solution that could effortlessly handle back-end tasks, streamline scheduling and event management as well as oversee accounting processes.” They searched for a baseball software that would manage all of these tasks and run their facilities seamlessly. In came Upper Hand.

The Transition to Upper Hand’s Sports Software

Upper Hand’s powerful and comprehensive cloud-based solution converts a suite of business management tools into an easy-to-use platform that helped Ruggiero Hitting elevate its status in the competitive, ever-growing sports industry. After their interactions with the Upper Hand team, Anthony and Tina both decided to implement Upper Hand to manage their administrative burdens. Their transitions into the software were quick and easy, and they were up and running in no time.

Read the full story on Ruggiero Hitting’s results

After just a few weeks, Anthony and Tina had noticeable differences in their operations. Anthony was able to devote 90% of his time towards personal instruction, and Tina saved nearly 14 hours a week. With this reallocation of time commitments, they were able to devote themselves fully to teaching the sport they love. Because of their passion, Anthony and Tina have grown Ruggiero Hitting and Buck Fastpitch into terrific training facilities. Their partnership with Upper Hand granted them the ability to grow their passions.

Software That Provides Immediate Revenue Growth

Upper Hand did more than just save time for Ruggiero Hitting– they increased revenue by nearly 120%. The streamlined scheduling capabilities negated the tedious planning on Anthony’s part, as the effortless online booking system easily track availability, assigns staff members, creates custom events, and manages facilities. This allowed Ruggiero Hitting to schedule 60 extra sessions a month, and book spots for an extra 40 students. In addition to the software, Anthony appreciates the relationship he has built with the Upper Hand team. In sales and customer service, Upper Hand’s easily accessible representatives actively solicit feedback to create an open channel for communication. Team members take a personal approach to every customer to ensure success is maximized in all components of their business.

“The experience was much more personal and left me feeling relaxed,” Anthony said. “They weren’t trying to sell a service, but instead were listening to our concerns and wanted to make sure we were satisfied with the solutions they offered.” -Anthony Ruggiero

But it’s not just Anthony and his staff that have benefited from Upper Hand. David Yarmesh, a parent of one of Anthony’s young athletes did as well.

“When Ruggiero Hitting transitioned to Upper Hand, it totally streamlined everything, including both the business end and the customer end. It mitigated communication waste and created an instant, real-time schedule that allows for customers to make changes as needed. Scheduling and managing our sessions is super convenient now.” -client of Anthony’s

Tina and Buck Fastpitch enjoyed positive growth after implementing Upper Hand’s sports software, as well. They have increased revenue by 30%, and saw a growth in clientele reach nearly 2,000%. Buck Fastpitch was also able to conduct an additional 23 clinics a year. The dramatic increase in clients and attendance fueled quick and sustainable growth for Buck Fastpitch.

“Now with Upper Hand software we’re just so easily able to schedule a clinic and have people register online, and it takes us out of the whole administrative process.” -Tina Buck

The cases of Buck Fastpitch and Ruggiero Hitting tell a similar story. Both were young, successful business, but they were bogged down in monotonous administrative work that was blocking further growth. Anthony and Tina wanted a change; they wanted the ability to focus on their passion, not the business logistics. In partnering with Upper Hand and implementing their sports software, they did just that. Now that Upper Hand’s software easily manages the tedious aspects of sports businesses, Anthony and Tina are able to direct their focus to their trainees and clients. Therefore, with this increased commitment to their sport, Anthony and Tina continue to grow the passion for baseball and softball. The right software can turn any business into a well-functioning machine, implementing sports software to payroll software can bring a better system to businesses who are in need. Want to learn how Upper Hand can help your business? Click here to schedule a meeting.