“Referrals don’t work for us…”

If you’ve ever said that – or thought it – you might be running the wrong kind of referral campaign.

In this episode, Tim and Randy share a simple but powerful grassroots strategy called the Golden Ticket – a referral system designed to generate new gym memberships without paid ads or cold traffic.

Here’s the play: you give current clients shiny, high-value golden tickets to gift to friends. Each ticket grants 30 days of unlimited training. When someone redeems it and becomes a member, the original client is entered to win something big – like a free year-long membership.

This isn’t about throwing out a “bring a friend” pass and hoping for the best. It’s about building a campaign into your systems and incentivizing the right behavior at the right time.

And the best part? When done right, the cost per acquisition is lower than what you'd pay running Facebook ads.

This is one of the best referral plays we’ve seen in years – and it might be the most profitable move you make all quarter.

Tune in to hear why the Golden Ticket strategy works, how to roll it out inside your gym, and what numbers to track to make sure it performs.

Let’s dive in!

Key Takeaways: 

• Intro (00:00)
• Golden Ticket campaign offers a 30-day unlimited trial (03:02)
• High-value giveaways boost engagement (04:10)
• Campaign works best when integrated into systems (06:23)
• Referral campaigns must follow real client value delivery (09:02)
• Golden Ticket strategy reduces cost per acquisition effectively (11:19)
• Referrals outperform cold leads in value and conversion (12:25)
• Walk the gym floor to launch the campaign directly with clients (14:10)

Additional Resources:

- Schedule your SpringBoard call

- Apply to join The Iron Circle

- Check out our Switch to Semi-Private course

- Get 30 days of Semi-Private Pro on us!

- A tool for deciding on new gym services – 5-Question Matrix

- Tim's new book – Built to Win by Tim Lyons 

- ProFit Accelerator: Helping Training Gyms Grow to 30K/month and Beyond Facebook group 

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