The longer members stay at your gym, the better your chances of changing their lives.

So how do you get clients to stick around?

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin and Two-Brain CEO Chris Cooper discuss key tactics for improving retention.

They also reveal the frivolous things that don’t actually make a difference.

The foundation for improving length of engagement is simple: Every client needs to have a clear goal, a plan and accountability.

These essential elements are built into the Prescriptive Model, which includes an initial free consultation and regularly scheduled goal review sessions every 90 days.

When clients see the progress they’re making toward their goals, they’re likely to refer friends and family—and when their friends or family members join the gym, they’re more likely to stick around even longer.

As your business grows, retention must be scaled up along with everything else. If you don’t personally notice when someone hasn’t shown up in three days, it’s time to invest in a client success manager (CSM) who can help you reach out to absent members and get them back in the gym.

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The Prescriptive Model

Gym Owners United

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1:42 - What keeps clients longer?

4:43 - Motivate your clients

11:00 - Taking steps to success

12:24 - Delegate and outsource retention

29:46 - Your coaches and retention

Picture this: You’re in a sales consultation at your gym. You’ve communicated how your service will help the prospect meet their goals, and they’ve affirmed their interest. You’re so close to getting the sale, and then they hit you with “I need to think about it.”

Sound familiar?

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin sits down with Matt Temby, owner of Vault Health and Fitness and head of sales at Two-Brain Business, who shares proven tactics for getting to “yes.”

There are five objections that typically come up somewhere during the sales process: think about it, partner, money, fear and logistics. The first two are smokescreens that hide the true objection.

John and Matt role-play through each of these objections, giving examples of exactly what to say to address the concern and close the sale.

The key is to get a decision before the prospect leaves. If you do that, you’ll help more people change their lives with fitness.

Links

Check out Chris Cooper’s book “Help First,” which inspired Matt’s sales journey

Matt Temby on front-end sales

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1:38 - What to know before the pitch

7:56 - High-tier pitching

19:03 - The spousal objection

26:27 - Digging out of the hole

38:00 - Push because you care

Do you ever wish you had a script that would tell you what to say to members and prospective clients?

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin and Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper discuss several common scenarios gym owners face, and Coop tells you exactly what to say in each one.

How do you say “no” to discounts? How do you start more conversations and get more leads? How do you sell more PT?

He also shares exactly what to say to get genuine testimonials and generate more referrals.

This episode even includes exclusive bonus scripts from Two-Brain’s private group for gym owners: how to talk to a client who smells bad and what to say when a client wants to put a membership on hold.

Tune in to hear each of these scripts word for word, then use them in the real world to build your business!

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1:13 - "Do you offer discounts?"

7:02 - Getting new clients into the gym

13:40 - The client’s kid’s sports team

20:45 - Marketing assets from clients

24:23 - Getting access to peer groups

If you multiplied your client count by an average revenue per member (ARM) of $500, what would the number be?  

What would that number do for your gym and your family?

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin talks with a fitness entrepreneur whose ARM is well over $500: George-Anthony Dulal-Whiteway of Brainstorm Fitness in San Diego, California. 

George-Anthony shares actionable strategies—both big and small—you can use to start boosting your ARM today.  

After starting mentorship with Two-Brain, George-Anthony dialed his focus down to personal and semiprivate training, and he started using group classes as a highly effective dropdown sell. 

In goal review sessions, George-Anthony ensures clients are seeing results, and he offers them add-ons, such as a personal training session, to get them to their goals faster. He also uses these goal review meetings to ask for referrals—the primary way he gets new clients. 

His main piece of advice? Offer clients something extra, whether it’s supplements, T-shirts, a kids program or something else. If you solve problems for clients and add value, you’ll drive up your ARM.

This episode is packed with tactics for raising your ARM. Tune in to hear them all, and then take action in your gym today. 

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2:30 - Goal review sessions

7:47- George-Anthony's gym and business model

11:23 - Group and PT to increase your ARM

18:09 - Keeping long-term clients

24:14 - Simple steps to increase your ARM

Many gyms are “racing to the bottom” with lower and lower prices that destroy their value.

This happens because of commoditization: When clients can’t differentiate between options, they choose the cheapest one, so many gym owners feel pressure to compete on price.

But this approach shrinks the profit margin until the gym is forced to go out of business.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin discusses how to battle commoditization with Chris Cooper, Two-Brain founder and CEO.

Chris shares how gym owners can use the Prescriptive Model with constant refinements to build more value for clients. He also supplies listeners with a strategy for finding out exactly what their clients value—and it’s usually not what you think.

You don’t have to compete on price if you aren’t trying to be the cheapest gym in town. Instead, “be a five-star steakhouse” and charge rates that reflect your value.

Links

The Prescriptive Model

Gym Owners United

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0:30 - Racing to the bottom

3:13 - First-to-market challenges

10:10 - Value and the client’s perception

17:30 - Establish value and retain value

26:59 - Client focus

This month’s Two-Brain leaderboard tracked average revenue per member per month (ARM), with the Top 10 running from $508 to $1,203 USD.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with ARM leader Yoni Levitan, owner of 3 Seasons Personal Training in Toronto, Canada, to learn the secrets behind his massive ARM.

First of all, Yoni’s gym focuses exclusively on high-value services, such as personal and semi-private training.

But the real key to Yoni’s success is an overwhelming commitment to clients. He invests greatly in professional development and is dedicated to getting his clients results. In fact, he is unwilling to offer things that don't deliver results—like once-a-week training.

He also focuses on small details that combine to create an elite level of service: showing up on time every time, not changing client’s schedules and having clean bathrooms.

Because of his high standards of excellence, Yoni spends $0 on marketing, getting nearly all his clients through referrals and glowing Google reviews.

Tune in to hear all Yoni’s tips so you can take steps today to increase your gym’s ARM. 

Links

Gym Owners United

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1:55 - Yoni’s ARM history

11:17 - Setting your rates

20:07 - Yoni’s Two-Brain experience

26:31 - Referrals are king

35:16 - Simple things that drive up ARM

Every month, we pull data from a thousand Two-Brain gyms around the world, and we look for the top performers in each category. Then we interview them and share their secrets with you.

This month’s leaderboard tracked average revenue per member (ARM)—how much clients pay for a gym’s services each month.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper presents the Top 10 ARM leaderboard, ranging from $508 to $1,203 USD.

The Top 10 gym owners’ tips focused on one common theme: creating value.

How do you do this? By solving clients’ problems and adding speed to the solution. Quick solutions are worth a lot to the right clients.

Simply put, the top gym owners earn more per member every month because they consistently create more and more value for their clients.

Links

Gym Owners United

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1:19 - April 2024 ARM leaderboard

5:08 - Why do people want to pay you

08:12 - High-value service for high-value clients

10:24- Building value with education

11:58 - Keeping consistent clients

Ben Bergeron gets vulnerable about his journey to becoming a better leader in this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” recorded live at the Two-Brain Summit in Chicago on June 9.

Ben, a legendary coach and gym owner, discusses the three pillars of team health—culture, vision and accountability—and explains how they were lacking in his gym, CrossFit New England.

Once Ben recognized the problems, he sat his team members down and made changes to reshape his business to give him what he was looking for: peace of mind.

Ben says culture starts with the hiring process: Emphasize your values and let the candidates who don’t share them weed themselves out.

Next, build a shared vision with your leadership team by asking, “What are we trying to create?” Once culture and vision are dialed in, decisions become much easier. 

The final pillar is accountability: You must hold people to your standards of excellence.

Ben shares detailed strategies and tactics for building each of these pillars in your gym. Tune in to hear them all, and get your tickets to the 2025 Two-Brain Summit below!

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2025 Two-Brain Summit

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1:00 - Ben's turning point

6:36 - Finding CrossFit

11:31 - "It's a facade"

16:11 - The Picnic Table Talk

20:02 - Culture

30:47 - Vision

38:01 - Accountability

The theme of the 2024 Two-Brain Summit was virtuosity: doing the common uncommonly well.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper provides a broad recap of this year’s summit, which took place June 8-9 in Chicago.

Over 1,000 gym owners and coaches were in attendance to hear from presenters such as Jason Khalipa, Jonathan Goodman, Carrie Wilkerson, Bill Parisi, Brian "Tosh" Chontosh and Ben Bergeron.

On the owners side, speakers explained how to pursue virtuosity as a gym owner in all areas of your business, from leadership to client retention.

Two-Brain mentors Kieran O’Dwyer and Nick Habich discussed strategies for improving marketing and sales, and Tinker mentor Joleen Bingham offered practical tips for creating a world-class experience.

On the coaches stage, speakers focused on building careers in the training field, and topics ranged from developing career roadmaps to creating semi-private and 50-plus programs.

Tune in to hear Coop’s full Summit debrief—and get your tickets to the 2025 Two-Brain Summit via the link below.

Links

2025 Two-Brain Summit

Brian Bott on the Four Personalities

Gym Owners United

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2:43 - The owners stage

14:16 - Franklin and Cooper on virtuosity

31:59 - The coaches stage

39:02 - Programming for semi-private training

43:25 - From ordinary to extraordinary

Raising rates can be scary—but you won’t bleed members if you follow the right plan.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Tim Rainer, owner of Fit One Five in Franklin, Tennessee, to discuss the ins and outs of raising rates at a gym.

Tim tried raising rates on his own three times, but none of the increases had a noticeable impact on his business. The he brought in an expert to get it right.

With the help of a Two-Brain mentor, Tim was able to adjust his business model, modify his offerings and increase value to justify a significant rate increase that allowed him to serve his clients better, pay his coaches more and build a sustainable business.

Tim provides all the details of his rate increases, including exact numbers and client reactions. He's also got advice for gym owners who are struggling to figure out how to ensure the long-term success of their businesses.

Links

“The Simple Six” by Chris Cooper

Gym Owners United

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1:06 - The very first rate increase

7:18 - The most recent rate increase

16:25 - Will you lose clients?

18:46 - Communicating

23:48 - Is a mentor essential?