This article is geared more towards owners, managers, and personal trainers at gyms or fitness centers; however, many of the same tactics I talk about apply across numerous business models – so, if you’re an owner or manager at any business, you can certainly learn some new concepts from reading this post.

Essentially, every businesses needs an automated sales system – and gyms and fitness centers are no different.

Think about how much competition a gym has … I mean, take a look at the 10 mile radius around my apartment –

Map of Gyms

There are so many to choose from!

So, what’s to convince someone to join one gym over another?

And, once that person joins a gym, what’s to keep that person coming back again and again for things like classes and personal training sessions, or even to make snack bar purchases and buy supplements … not to mention keeping their membership active…?

A relationship.

And what helps form and maintain relationships? (hint: it’s an automated sales system)

To Collect Lead Contact Information

The first reason your fitness center needs an automated sales system is to collect contact information from potential leads.

Once you have that contact information, you’ll be able to start a conversation with that individual – building trust and, ultimately, having that person join your gym.

Let’s start from the beginning – why in the world is someone on your gym’s website?

There are two main reasons:

  1. They want to join a gym, but aren’t sure which one fits their personality
  2. They want to join a gym, but aren’t sure if it offers what they need

Notice what’s similar between the two?

The person wants to join a gym!

That’s pretty much the only reason someone will be on your gym’s website – unless they’re already a member and checking hours or the class schedule, or maybe you have a killer blog they’re reading (we’ll save those folks for another article).

OK, so the main reason someone’s on your site is that they want to join a gym – the keyword here is “a” gym – not necessarily your gym.

It’s time to do some convincing.

Segmentation 101

One group of people is checking to see if your gym fits their personality. Of course, not all gyms are the same. Some are more for athletes, others for bodybuilders, others for elderly, and others that are more kid friendly.

The other group of people is seeing what your gym offers. Their looking at everything from equipment, to classes, to activities, to personal training, to the snack bar, and even if your locker room has free towels.

How To Segment The Visitors

Let’s go ahead and segment these folks so they can get the information they desire.

This segmentation can be easily accomplished by … get this … asking them!

Divide your landing page in half – one half is for people who want to see if your gym fits their personality while the other half shows everything your gym has to offer.

With this segmentation, you’ll know why the individual is on your site and you’ll be able to give them tailored content in order to get them to give you their contact information.

Lead Magnet

Here’s the deal, no matter which segment the individual is in, they’re both going to be offered the same lead magnet.

Hands down, the best lead magnet for a gym is a free trial.

This gets the person in the door and they’ll be able to see for themselves if your gym is a fit.

If you do not offer a free trial, I guarantee you are missing out on members. I personally only join a gym after participating in a trial membership – I always try before I buy – and several of my friends are the same way.

Tying The Lead Magnet To The Segment

As previously discussed, we have our two segments of people (personality, features) and our lead magnet (free trial) – now, how do we connect the two?

Leave Them Wanting More

Based on whatever segment they select, it’s your job to give them some of the answers they’re looking for; however, leave them wanting more.

For example; if someone is trying to see what features your gym offers – tell them about your features, but add in some mystery and excitement!

The best way to do this is by following the tried-and-true “clickbait” format – vague ambiguous hyperbole.

For example; “You won’t believe what color we painted our locker room!” – huh? What?! I want to see!

Or, “On your 10th visit you won’t believe what you’re rewarded with!” – Oo! I like rewards, and only 10 visits?! I need to check this out!

Or, “Our snack bar offers this one shake that’s so protein packed, most people can’t handle it!” – pff, I bet I can handle it!

Hopefully, that makes some sense.

The point is this – you want the visitor to have the burning desire to give you their contact information so they can get the free trial and see what’s really going on with your gym.

Rapport Building

Since you've done such a great job with segmenting and hyping up the lead magnet – the person has given you their contact information. It’s now time to build up the relationship in order to get them to use their free trial and, eventually, convert into a paying member.

Of course, the best way to start the relationship is to deliver what you said you would – the free trial.

  • First email: Lead magnet (free trial)
  • Time frame: Immediately after signup

Now, based on the particular segment (personality, features) – you’ll want to send tailored content.

Personality

Send information about your demographics, videos of people exercising in your gym, their stories, why they joined your gym, what they love about your gym, etc.

Features

Send information about what your gym has to offer. Give a video tour, talk about your classes, share videos of classes, talk about how your equipment is top notch or how you have unique equipment for their needs, etc.

Other

Besides sending tailored content displaying either the personality or features of your gym, you can include things like a free consultation with a certified personal trainer, a free shake at the snack bar, and other events your gym hosts.

You need to give the individual everything they need in order to feel comfortable in their decision to join your gym.

Paying Members (Sales Pipelines)

If you've followed the previous sections – you should have more paid members than you know what to do with!

So, now it’s time to start maximizing their lifetime value through the use of sales pipelines.

Once the individual is a paying member, you can ask them what their goals are and have them enter a sales pipeline based on those goals.

While in that particular pipeline – they’ll receive emails helping them achieve their goals, all while keeping the relationship alive and well.

For example; if the individual wants to lose weight, you can send emails about …

  • How to eat properly
  • Your in-house nutritionist and how they can help the person achieve their weight loss goals
  • Classes that target fat loss
  • Personal trainers who have helped other clients lose weight and reach their goals
    • Share testimonials
  • Supplements that help burn fat

Or, for example; if the individual wants to run a marathon, you can send emails about …

  • How to create a training plan
    • In particular – how your in-house personal trainers know exactly how to create awesome marathon plans
  • Which running shoes to wear
  • Nutrition and supplements for long races
  • The running club your gym has

There are a large number of sales pipelines that you can setup to send tailored content to your members – keeping the relationship alive all while maximizing revenue.

Conclusion

Gyms and fitness centers are prime candidates for automated sales systems.

They help convert visitors into paying customers and then maximize the lifetime value of those customers – automatically.

It’s really a no-brainer, and if your gym is lacking – contact us!