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Most gym events are big rooms, vendor pitches, and hype that fades by Monday. This Nashville summit is 100 serious owners in one room, building a real 2027 plan they can actually run when they get home.
Episode Summary
Sherman breaks down why he and the Lasso team built a totally different kind of gym summit in Nashville. No expo hall, no endless pitches, just 100 high-level gym owners in one room getting real about their numbers and putting an honest plan on paper.
He talks through how much harder the micro gym game has become, why guessing doesn’t work anymore, and what happens when you start treating marketing, sales, and hiring like real systems instead of random tactics. If you’re doing at least 15–20k a month and you’re tired of sitting at the same revenue year after year, this is about getting unstuck and building a 2027 roadmap you can actually execute.
You'll Learn
Episode Chapters
00:00 Why most gym conferences miss the mark
01:45 Nashville summit overview: dates, seats, and purpose
04:10 Who this is really for (15–20k/month gyms, growth-minded owners)
07:30 How the micro gym landscape has changed and why paid ads matter
11:20 Pre-opening launches, ad spend, and reverse-engineering revenue
15:05 What makes this event different: one room, no vendor pitches
18:40 Real talk: no magic bullets and why long-term growth takes work
21:10 What you’ll walk away with: 2027 plan, 90-day actions, and honest numbers
24:00 Event details, hotel setup, and invite to Nashville
Memorable Quotes
“We’re not bringing you all the way to Nashville for notes. We’re bringing you here so you can have a plan.”
“This is not for you if you are shopping for a magic bullet.”
“What you’re doing isn’t working. Your revenue’s flat. That’s why you’re on the call with us.”
“A huge testimonial for us is the gym that doubles revenue in 12 to 18 months.”
“If you’re just looking for a swag bag and a t-shirt, skip this.”
Resources Mentioned
Lasso Framework / Book a free call: https://www.lassoframework.com/
Nashville Gym Summit: https://lassoframework.com/summit/
Book – “The Full Gym” by Blake and Sherman: https://a.co/d/07qCc27k
About the Podcast
Gym Marketing Made Simple cuts through the noise around gym growth. Each episode focuses on practical marketing, sales, and leadership systems designed for boutique fitness gyms. The goal: clear messaging, better leads, and cleaner sales processes so owners can grow without guessing, chasing, or burning out their teams.
Listen & Subscribe
👉 Book a free strategy call: https://www.lassoframework.com/
The Full Gym by Sherman and Blake: https://a.co/d/07qCc27k
Event Website: https://lassoframework.com/summit/
What if your gym pays you well but still isn’t something a serious buyer wants to own? And what would have to change for your business to give your family real options—whether you keep it, scale it, or sell it?
Episode Chapters
Blake and Sherman sit down with Jeff Smith, founder of Tactical Empire, to unpack what it really looks like to build something beyond a decent-paying owner job. Jeff walks through his path from college sports and enlisting after 9/11 to serving in special operations, returning to a Fortune 50 company, owning a gym for 12 years, and buying and selling around $25 million in real estate while raising four kids. That mix of experience shapes how he thinks about risk, time, and why sitting in “planning mode” for a decade is so costly.
The three of them talk through leaving a mentoring organization, feeling like you’re on an island, and the moment a serious buyer asked how often the owner needed to be at the gym—exposing that the business wasn’t truly an asset. They also get into faith, mortality, homeschooling, full-time RV life, and the tension many gym owners feel between wanting to serve and wanting to earn at a high level. It’s aimed at owners who care about their families and clients and also want a business that gives them choices: keep it, scale it, or walk away on their terms.
You’ll Learn
Episode Chapters
01:05 Leaving the mentoring group and Jeff’s support
04:45 Why Tactical Empire exists and who it serves
07:10 Gym owners, service businesses, and the mastermind
10:15 Jeff’s path: sports, 9/11 enlistment, special ops
12:20 Corporate career, Six Sigma, and owning a gym
15:00 Real estate deals and building multiple income streams
18:30 Mortality, urgency, and not wasting a decade
21:10 Homeschool dads, RV life, and family decisions
24:20 From gym paycheck to “is this actually an asset?”
27:05 Asset sale vs. business sale for gym owners
30:00 Exit timelines, burnout, and planning 2–3 years out
33:20 Debt, equity, and rethinking a paid-off house
About the Guest
Jeff Smith is the founder of Tactical Empire, where he works with male, service-based entrepreneurs through a men’s mastermind and one-on-one consulting. His background includes college athletics, military service in special operations after 9/11, 18 years with a Fortune 50 company, long-term gym ownership, and extensive real estate investing.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeff.smith.896413
Instagram: @realjeffsmith
About the Podcast
Gym Marketing Made Simple cuts through the noise around gym growth. Each episode focuses on practical marketing, sales, and leadership systems designed for boutique fitness gyms. The goal: clear messaging, better leads, and cleaner sales processes so owners can grow without guessing, chasing, or burning out their teams.
Listen & Subscribe
👉 Book a free strategy call: https://www.lassoframework.com/
A small-town strength gym outside Austin went from being stuck in the high 20s/low 30s to consistently $40–50k months without ever listing prices on their site.
Episode Summary
Hill Country Movement spent years hovering around $28–30k a month, even with solid coaching and a loyal community. They weren’t broken—just capped. This conversation walks through the real changes that finally moved them past that ceiling: tightening their no-sweat intro, packaging a real 12-week kickstart, and getting serious about high-ticket personal training and hybrid offers.
You’ll hear how they use “no prices on the website” to avoid price shoppers, why in-person consults matter so much, and what shifted once Lasso took over their marketing and follow-up. If you’re in a smaller market, charge more than your competition, or feel tapped out as the main coach and seller, this is a clear, real-world look at what it actually took to hit $50k months and hire full-time career coaches.
Key Takeaways
You’ll learn:
Episode Chapters
01:02 Who Hill Country Movement serves
02:31 PT, small groups, and hybrid offers
10:34 Selling high-ticket packages in a small town
12:08 No-sweat intros and uncovering the real “why”
13:23 A la carte plans and “just tell me the price”
16:34 Starting with Lasso & baseline revenue
18:12 Hitting $50k months and ROI on Lasso
19:31 Breaking the long-time $28–30k plateau
25:05 Hiring full-time career coaches
26:16 Systems, automation, and smoother scaling
30:33 Million-dollar goal and future facility plans
About the Guest
Bane and Gina are the co-owners of Hill Country Movement, a boutique strength and conditioning gym in the suburbs of Austin, Texas. They focus on personal training, capped small-group training, and habit-based nutrition coaching for “everyday athletes”—busy, middle-aged adults who want to stay strong and capable for real life. With a team of degreed, full-time coaches and a coaching-first environment, they built a premium, service-heavy model that supports higher pricing and deeper results. After years stuck around $28–30k a month, they reworked their offers, sales conversations, and marketing with Lasso’s help and are now consistently in the $40–50k range while spending less time on the floor and more time on family and growth.
About the Podcast
Gym Marketing Made Simple cuts through the noise around gym growth. Each episode focuses on practical marketing, sales, and leadership systems designed for boutique fitness gyms. The goal: clear messaging, better leads, and cleaner sales processes so owners can grow without guessing, chasing, or burning out their teams.
Listen & Subscribe
👉 Book a free strategy call: https://www.lassoframework.com/
Most gym teams role play just enough to feel busy, not better. This conversation lays out a simple way to turn Monday sales meetings into real practice that fixes weak spots and builds confident closers.
Episode Summary
Gym Marketing Made Simple is built for owners who want sales to feel repeatable, not random. This episode walks through how to stop “sink or swim” sales training and replace it with a clear, documented process plus weekly role play that actually resembles real consults.
Jeff Burlingame breaks down how to structure a Monday sales meeting, what numbers to review, and how to turn that data into focused reps on the hardest parts of your no-sweat intros and trials. You’ll hear how to use a three-person role play setup—with a designated disruptor—to sharpen objection handling, transitions, and closes. If the goal is better close rates without relying on a unicorn salesperson, this is the kind of simple, repeatable system Gym Marketing Made Simple is about.
Key Takeaways
You’ll learn how to:
Episode Chapters
00:00 Why goofy role play kills real improvement
00:23 Gym Marketing Made Simple and Lasso intro
00:51 Jeff sets the focus on sales and role play
01:40 Why sales is a learned skill, not talent
02:15 Documenting the full sales process step by step
03:30 Monday sales meetings and who must be there
04:34 Reading the numbers: leads, booked, showed, closed
05:20 Turning data into a weekly action plan
06:10 Narrowing role play to one specific skill each week
08:17 Setting up three-person role play and the disruptor
09:40 How and when to call timeouts mid-conversation
12:07 Making objections realistic but winnable
13:10 Sales practice as reps, not one-off live attempts
14:21 Final push to own and run your sales training
Memorable Quotes
“Nobody is a born salesperson. Everybody acquires that skill set through practice and experience.” [00:00:51]
“It can’t live rent free in your brain. It has to be in everybody’s brain, and the only way to do that is to document it.” [approx. 00:02:00]
“The hands-down best way to conduct role play is with three people… client, salesperson, and then the overseer.” [00:08:17]
“You’re an interrupter, a disruptor. Time out, say this instead, time in.” [approx. 00:08:17–00:11:00]
“If you want your team to get better, you have to make the time for them to get better, and you have to put them through the ringer.” [approx. 00:13:40–00:14:10]
About the Podcast
Gym Marketing Made Simple cuts through the noise around gym growth. Each episode focuses on practical marketing, sales, and leadership systems designed for boutique fitness gyms. The goal: clear messaging, better leads, and cleaner sales processes so owners can grow without guessing, chasing, or burning out their teams.
Listen & Subscribe
👉 Book a free strategy call: https://www.lassoframework.com/
Your prospects are checking you out long before they hit “book now.” What they see in those first few seconds can be the difference between a no-show and someone who walks in already convinced you’re the right fit.
Episode Summary
In today’s episode, you’re pushed to look at your gym the way a stranger would: quick glance at the homepage, a few seconds on social, maybe a review or two, and that’s it. The questions on their mind are simple but brutal: who are you, what do you offer, why should anyone care, and why pick you over the other options in a 5–10 mile radius or the app on their phone?
You’ll see how to make those answers obvious in your client-facing assets and then stack on pre-selling tools like simple guides, PDFs, and pre-appointment touchpoints that actually educate people before they ever sit down with you. The aim is a consult built on momentum of agreement, where your time is spent unpacking goals, desire, and urgency instead of burning minutes just explaining what your gym does.
Key Takeaways
You’ll learn:
Episode Chapters
00:00 The questions in your prospect’s head
00:45 What pre-selling is and how it changes your sales process
01:45 Zooming out to 30,000 feet: systems, people, automations, and client touchpoints
04:37 Auditing your website and social: who are you and what do you offer?
08:35 Why you vs competitors, local and virtual, and basic SWOT thinking
12:27 Pre-selling assets, PDF guides, and using AI tools like Gamma
14:30 Designing a “red carpet” consultation and 12/10 in-gym experience
Resources Mentioned
Gamma – App used to create PDF guides and visual resources (Gamma.app)
Ladder app – Example of a virtual coaching competitor for gyms
Lasso Framework – Marketing and sales system for gyms: https://www.lassoframework.com/
About the Podcast
Welcome to Gym Marketing Made Simple, the show focused on cutting through the noise around gym growth. Each episode centers on practical marketing, sales, and leadership systems that help boutique gyms build steady momentum without guesswork or constant outreach.
Listen & Subscribe
👉 Book a free strategy call: https://www.lassoframework.com/
SEO tags
pre-selling gym leads, gym sales process, boutique gym marketing, gym website optimization, fitness lead generation, no sweat intro sales, consultative gym selling, gym member acquisition, pre-sold prospects, fitness marketing strategies, gym competitor analysis, SWOT for gyms, gym social media strategy, gym customer journey, speed to lead for gyms, AI in gym marketing, gym PDF guides, fitness nurture sequences, Lasso Framework, Gym Marketing Made Simple podcast, increase gym revenue, gym front-end funnel, gym positioning, gym differentiation
Sales conversations fall apart when you make it about your gym instead of the person in front of you. Focus on their story, their problems, and a clear plan, so the close feels natural instead of forced.
Episode Summary:
Selling gets a lot easier when you stop hoping friends and family will support your gym and start treating every consult like a real problem-solving conversation. In today's episode, Sherman reads from his book on gym sales and walks through the mindset shift that took him from giving free workouts and “promising the world” to running a process that actually closes.
You’ll hear the story of launching a small CrossFit gym, getting humbled when nobody joined, and learning to approach sales like a surgeon: diagnose first, then prescribe. The focus is on sales psychology, follow-up, and using simple tools like body composition data and clear prescriptions so people understand exactly how you can help them reach their goals.
Key takeaways:
You’ll learn:
Episode Chapters:
00:00 Rejection and why “no” isn’t personal
00:08 Encouragement and praise for the team
00:11 Gym Marketing Made Simple podcast intro
00:38 Grand opening story and friends not joining
03:30 Surgeon’s lesson: make it about the client
05:22 Sales psychology 101 and mindset around selling
08:00 Facing fear, rejection, and building confidence
09:30 Projecting price fears and hurting the client
11:30 Follow-up, 7–10 touch points, and “not yet”
13:00 Case study: Courage Fitness Durham systems vs talent
15:00 Three layers of a prospect’s problem
16:10 Reflection questions on your own mindset
18:10 How to sell in a free consultation
19:30 Using data, prescriptions, and top-down pricing
21:23 Sample sales script for a new client
Resources Mentioned
Lasso Framework – Marketing and sales help for gyms: https://www.lassoframework.com/
InBody 270 – Body composition tool for weight, body fat, and muscle mass
Omron Fit / body fat scale – Alternative for basic weight and body fat tracking
About the Podcast
Welcome to Gym Marketing Made Simple, the show focused on cutting through the noise around gym growth. Each episode centers on practical marketing, sales, and leadership systems that help boutique gyms build steady momentum without guesswork or constant outreach.
Listen & Subscribe
👉 Book a free strategy call: https://www.lassoframework.com/
Leads are filling out your forms, your phone is ringing, and your inbox is busy, but your calendar still has open spots. The real gap is what happens between that first opt-in and the moment someone actually shows up at your door.
Welcome to Gym Marketing Made Simple, the show focused on cutting through the noise around gym growth. Each episode centers on practical marketing, sales, and leadership systems that help boutique gyms build steady momentum without guesswork or constant outreach.
Episode Highlights
In today’s episode, Jeff Burlingame breaks down a simple, aggressive lead follow up and lead nurture system built for boutique gyms. He shows how many times to call, when to text, how to sweeten the offer so people actually show up, and when to fire yourself from the setter role and hand lead follow up to someone who will pursue every lead to a clear yes or no.
Episode Outline
Episode Chapters
00:00 Lead follow up mindset and goal
01:00 Are you giving up too soon on leads
03:30 Pursue every lead to a clear yes or no
05:10 Time blocking and protecting sales time
07:30 Understanding why leads don’t answer
09:20 Daily call, call, text cadence
11:45 Adding value and sweetening the offer
14:30 Handling DND, opt outs, and automation
17:10 Firing yourself from the lead nurture role
19:40 Hiring and compensating a dedicated setter
21:40 Final push to fix your follow up and next steps
Conclusion
Consistent, structured lead follow up is the lever that turns paid leads into paying members. When you refuse to settle for “maybe” and build a daily rhythm of calls, texts, and value-driven touchpoints, your show rates rise and your front-end sales become predictable. Whether you keep follow up in-house, outsource it, or lean on automation and a setter, the gyms that win are the ones that never stop nurturing the leads they already earned.
Action Taken
Book a call with Lasso to tighten your gym’s lead follow up system, turn cold forms into real conversations, and convert more of your leads into showed appointments.
👉 Book a free strategy call: https://www.lassoframework.com/
Thank you for listening to Gym Marketing Made Simple. Keep showing up for your leads with clear follow up, real value, and a simple system, and you’ll see more people walk through your doors ready to buy. Stay consistent and keep dialing.
Stop letting random walk-ins and DMs decide your revenue. Your gym needs a sales process, not sales heroes.
Welcome to Gym Marketing Made Simple, the show focused on cutting through the noise around gym growth. Each episode centers on practical marketing, sales, and leadership systems that help boutique gyms build steady momentum without guesswork or constant outreach.
Episode Highlights
In today’s episode, Jeff shows gym owners how to get out of “winging it” and build a simple, written sales process your whole team can follow. He walks through how prospects actually find you, what happens from first contact to no-sweat intro or trial, and where most gyms lose the sale. You’ll learn how to turn that messy path into a clear SOP, utilize weekly sales meetings and role-playing to sharpen your staff, and protect your business from relying on a single superstar closer.
Episode Outline
Introduction to Gym Marketing Made Simple Podcast
Importance of the Sales Process
Setting Up a Sales Process
Evaluating and Improving the Sales Process
Role Playing and Sales Training
Community Support and Additional Resources
Conclusion and Call to Action
Episode Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:03 Gym Marketing Made Simple show open
00:29 Jeff introduces Gym Sales Made Simple
01:20 Why “the process is the process”
03:10 Writing down your full sales process
05:10 From first contact to intro and trial
07:00 Fixing broken steps and SOP details
08:40 Weekly Monday sales meeting structure1
0:10 Role play to sharpen sales skills
12:00 Daily debriefs after intros and trials
13:20 Recap and invite to Lasso office hours
14:26 Lasso CTA and outro
Conclusion
When every coach runs the same clear process, sales stop being a mystery. Writing it down, reviewing it weekly, and role playing the hard parts is how boutique gyms create consistent revenue instead of hoping the right leads show up on the right day. That’s the difference between a gym that survives month to month and a gym that knows how to turn leads into long-term members.
CTA
Want help building or tightening your sales process? Book a free call with Lasso and plug into the done-for-you systems that are working for boutique gyms right now.
👉 Book a free strategy call: https://www.lassoframework.com/
Thank you for listening to Gym Marketing Made Simple. Continue to show up for the work of building clear, simple systems, so your gym can sell with confidence every single week.
If strangers are opting in but not showing up, you do not need new ads. You need a new system.
Welcome to Gym Marketing Made Simple, the show focused on cutting through the noise around gym growth. Each episode centers on practical marketing, sales, and leadership systems that help boutique gyms build steady momentum without guesswork or constant outreach.
Episode Highlights
In today's episode, Sherman and Tommy get blunt about why paid ads are not the magic fix gym owners hope for. They walk through the real work of turning a flood of leads into steady revenue, why relying on referrals and organic hits a hard ceiling, and how to think like an owner who wants a sellable asset, not just a busy gym job. Sherman shares his own story of running a profitable gym that was tough to exit, while Tommy breaks down the math and execution behind opening a second location in Houston at around 30k a month from day one. From there, they introduce Relay, a lead nurture system built with AI and human setters that plugs into Lasso’s paid marketing so gym owners can stop burning out their best coaches and still get people to show up ready to buy.
Episode Outline
Introduction to Gym Marketing Made Simple Podcast
Challenges in Lead Nurturing and Follow-Up
The Role of Paid Advertising in Gym Growth
Case Study: Opening a Second Location
Introduction to Relay and Its Benefits
Implementation and Results of Relay
Conclusion and Future Plans
Episode Chapters
00:00 Coaches, Sales, and the Real Burnout Problem
00:16 Gym Marketing Made Simple Intro
00:41 Why Paid Ads Are Not a Magic Fix
02:31 How Paid Ads in Fitness Have Evolved
04:45 The Ceiling of Organic and Referrals Only
07:45 Sherman’s Gym: Profitable but Hard to Sell
10:29 Deciding to Scale With Multiple Locations
13:32 Backing Into the Numbers and 30k Ad Spend
15:09 Opening With 130 Members and 30k Revenue
16:24 Introducing Relay: AI + Human Lead Nurture
19:42 Speed to Lead, AI Fatigue, and Human Handoffs
22:15 Phone Calls, Texting, and Market Differences
24:00 Who Lasso + Relay Is For (30k+ Gyms)
25:51 Onboarding Flow for Relay With Lasso
29:25 Building a Sellable Gym vs. Owning a Job
30:12 Protecting Coaches From Burnout in Sales
32:08 Final Thoughts and Episode Wrap Up
Conclusion
Leads are not your bottleneck. The gap is in how you treat every person from the minute they click on an ad until the moment they sit across from you. When you respect the math, build real systems, and stop forcing coaches to live in the follow up grind, growth feels a lot less chaotic. That is how you move from owning a busy job to owning something that can run and eventually sell on your terms.
Action Taken
Framing paid advertising as a tool that only works when paired with real systems and follow up
Positioning Lasso as the engine that delivers steady, quality leads for growth-minded gyms
Introducing Relay as a combined AI and human concierge that: - Responds quickly to new leads with personalized messaging - Warms and filters leads, then passes high intent prospects to a real person - Focuses on booking and confirming appointments that actually show
Defining the full Lasso plus Relay stack for gyms doing 30k and above each month
Offering an AI only Relay option for gyms under 30k while they fix operations and basics
Setting up a clear onboarding path where Relay connects to existing Go High Level accounts, cleans up duplicate workflows, and aligns calendars
CTA
If you are ready to see what happens when strong paid ads and real follow up work together, book a call with the Lasso team and find out how Lasso and Relay could plug into your gym.
👉 Book a free strategy call: https://www.lassoframework.com/
Thank you for listening. Keep building a gym that takes care of your members, protects your coaches, and gives you the option to step back without everything falling apart.
Objections usually aren’t a money problem or a timing problem; they’re a “you never dug deep enough into my goals” problem.
Welcome to Gym Marketing Made Simple, the show focused on cutting through the noise around gym growth. Each episode centers on practical marketing, sales, and leadership systems that help boutique gyms build steady momentum without guesswork or constant outreach.
Episode Highlights
In today’s episode, Jeff Burlingame walks through how to stop settling for “dumb” goals like “I just want to lose weight” and start uncovering real SMART goals that carry actual value for your leads. He shows you how to ask simple questions, follow the thread, and get to three clear goals so selling feels easy, never pushy, and you and your prospect are actually on the same team.
Episode Outline
Why vague goals create objections
SMART goals vs “dumb” goals
Breaking down the SMART framework
Real SMART goal examples from weight loss
Using TED to dig deeper
“Follow the thread” approach
Locking in numbers and timelines
Reality check with simple math
The three SMART goals rule
Spending time up front to save time later
Partnering with the lead as a team
Getting the whole staff aligned
Episode Chapters
00:00 Intro & Lasso Sponsor Message
00:29 Why SMART Goals Matter In Gym Sales
01:20 Dumb Goals vs SMART Goals
02:22 Breaking Down SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely)
04:05 Using The TED Framework (Tell Me, Explain To Me, Describe To Me)
05:12 Following The Thread Like A Detective
06:20 Turning “Lose Weight” Into A 30-Pound SMART Goal
08:00 Checking If Goals Are Realistic With Simple Math
09:15 Why You Need Three SMART Goals, Not One
10:28 Making Sales Easy, Never Pushy
11:30 Getting Your Whole Team Aligned On SMART Goals
12:25 Lasso Resources, Sales Course, And Office Hours
Conclusion
When you slow down, ask better questions, and stay with a lead until you uncover three real SMART goals, selling stops feeling like a fight. You know what they want, they see the value in what you offer, and you both walk into the close on the same side of the table. That is where sales get easier, cleaner, and a lot more fun.
CTA
Start running every intro around clear SMART goals instead of vague “I want to lose weight” answers. Book a call with Lasso to help you refine your sales process together.
👉 Book a free strategy call: https://www.lassoframework.com/
Thank you for putting in the work to sharpen your sales game. Every time you ask one more question, follow the thread, and get clear on what someone truly wants, you give them a better shot at real change and you give your gym a better shot at steady, healthy growth.
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