Close More Gym Sales in 5 Steps

Fill out the State of the Industry survey and get a free report card showing how your gym stacks up.

Most gym owners either avoid the sales conversation altogether or waste an hour giving a tour without ever asking for the sale.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper break down the No Sweat Intro: Two-Brain’s proven consultative sales framework.

They walk through it step by step using the COACH method: connect, open, amplify, confirm and help.

Chris shares what makes a good (and a genuinely bad) sales environment, and the pair role-play a full No Sweat Intro from start to finish.

They show exactly how to uncover a prospect’s real goals, ask the right follow-up questions, and prescribe a solution with confidence.

Tune in to see the entire consultative sales process in action, from the first hello to presenting the price.

Use the link below to access the full Gym Sales Toolkit, including the No Sweat Intro script (word-for-word questions and phrasing for every step of the sales consultation).

Links

State of the Industry Survey

Gym Sales Toolkit

Gym Owners United

Book a Call

0:00 - Why gym owners avoid asking for the sale

3:28 - The framework behind every high-converting gym consultation

4:16 - Set up your consultation area so prospects feel at ease

6:56 - The worst sales office mistakes we've seen at 3,500 gyms

7:46 - How to greet a prospect in the first 30 seconds

8:50 - The question that reveals why a prospect really walked in

11:08 - Why now matters more than what they want

14:07 - Confirm what you heard before you talk price

15:02 - Prescribe the plan and reveal the price

17:42 - What happens when they say no

Transcript

John 0:02

Many gym owners think they need more followers. They don't. They need to have more conversations. We spend hours creating posts, filming reels, chasing likes, hoping that someone's gonna walk through the door and buy from us. But the truth is, most gym owners spend most of their time creating content and only a small fraction actually talking to the people that are paying attention. The gyms that consistently turn their followers into paying members do the opposite. The content is just a vehicle to start conversations, then they use simple, genuine DMs to build relationships that naturally lead to sales. And today we're gonna show you how to do that with word-for-word scripts. I'm John Franklin, the CEO of TwoBrain Business, the world's largest gym mentorship company, working with over 3,000 gym owners to help them hit six figures in profit. And joining me today is TwoBrain's founder Chris Cooper. In this episode, we're gonna show you how to use Instagram DMs to turn followers, commenters, story replies, and even former members into paying clients without sounding pushy or salesy. So, Chris, today we're gonna talk all about the no sweat intro, which is TwoBrain's version of the consultative sales process. Uh, why did you invent the no sweat intro in the first place? What was the need you were solving?

Chris 1:13

Well, the first thing that I wanted to do as a personal trainer back in the day was talk about the client's goals and show them the path to get to those goals. Instead of letting them come in and try something with no context, knowing that they are not a fitness expert and I am, they might make the wrong decision or get the wrong first impression after a free trial. And so it's really important for me to explain to them like, here's how I'm actually going to solve your problem because they don't know.

John 1:37

And what was happening at the time? Like, what were gym owners doing rather than doing consultative selling?

Chris 1:42

Well, what I was doing in my personal training studio was consultative selling. But in my CrossFit gym across town, I was running these free trial classes. And I guess I would just hope that people would try at one time, throw up and say, This is for me, take my money. And that was never happening. I can even remember a specific example. This woman named Melanie comes in. She had even done CrossFit before. And the first thing I said to her was, I'm not a salesperson. So immediately she's like, What are you? And she's on her guard. Like, this is going to be a sales pitch. So I gave her the tour and I talked about our schedule. And an hour later, I still hadn't actually invited her to join the gym. And I realized, like, if I had a structure to follow, that would keep me in line and it would help me stop avoiding the only thing that matters, which is me saying, Are you ready to start now?

John 2:31

So you're saying the problem that most people run into is they either don't do consultative selling because they don't want to come off as sales-y, or they just avoid they do a consultative sale, but they don't talk about anything that's relevant to the prospect and don't ask for the actual sale.

Chris 2:44

Yeah. I mean, you got to think about this prospect has decided they don't like something about themselves. They've made time in their schedule, they've driven across town, they've opened your front door, which is the heaviest weight in your gym, and here they are, and you're going to waste their time giving them a tour. And really, the only reason that the gym owner does this is to avoid the hard part for themselves, which is risking a no and saying, Do you want to join my gym right now? And so we we just dance around it and we waste everybody's time when really it's it's our opportunity, but also our responsibility to make a clear offer right now, to start coaching them.

John 3:20

So I don't want to stay at a 10,000-foot view. I want to get into the nitty-gritty, I want to do actual role-playing, I want to show people uh how you prescribe a solution once you've identified a problem. But let's start with the framework, right? So at a high level, the no-sweat intro is the actual consultative sales process. What happens in the no-sweat intro is what we call the coach framework. The first thing we want to do is connect and make a great first impression with the prospect. The second, we want to open up uh with some questions so we know their true goal. Like why are they there? Third, we want to amplify. So really get to understanding what the goal is. Cause a lot of times the first thing uh a prospect tells you is not the actual reason. And then we're gonna confirm we are hearing them correctly. And once we have a good understanding of the problem and why they're actually in the gym, we're gonna help them. And that's as simple as prescribing a plan and closing. So let's talk about connection, making a great first impression. Last week we talked about lead nurture and the importance of sending personalized video text messages at the point in which a prospect books and right before they show up, just to make them feel comfortable. Now, there are other things we can do to make a prospect feel comfortable when they come into a gym. The first is the environment. So let's talk about the no squid intro area. What are what are some of the best practices there?

Chris 4:46

Well, you need to have a separate area. So you're not just sitting on a box while everybody's working out around you. So you want a private area. It has to be very clean, as quiet as possible, so that the client knows that you have they have your full attention and you're not going to get distracted.

John 5:01

So I got a couple examples here. Right here we have mentor Ashley Hahn's area. You can see she has two chairs here. And the reason she has the chairs next to each other, uh, similar to how we're sitting, is not like a negotiation. It's not like uh we're on the same side of the table, literally, and it makes people feel at ease. The other thing is you notice on the shelves, she has pictures of her members. And there are other people who do social proofs, so before and afters, people holding up whiteboards, just showing the result that they're going to be selling. And it also makes it easy if I'm, you know, we're having a conversation to just be like, hey, this is Sally. She had a problem that was very similar to the problem you were having, right? It just shows that you help people that look like the person who's coming in for the consultation. Under here, we have uh two-brain mentor Stan Schofield. He does sports performance. So it's a little more uh it looks a little more like a sports performance gym. He's got these like red leather chairs in a circle. Um, and uh you can see over here there's some awards and credentials that he has in order to provide legitimacy and social proof to the stuff that he has. But you can see it's just like they're not sitting on boxes in the middle of the gym because this is a private and personal conversation. This is the third of a four-part series all about gym sales. So if you want the exact frameworks and scripts we're talking about in this episode, along with other assets to help you convert more of your prospects at your gym, I want you to scan the QR code here or click the link down below to grab it.

Chris 6:33

Probably the best thing that I have in my sales office at the gym is a collage of my members on the back wall. And quite often when people sit down, you have to give them a minute because they're scanning this collage for a face that they recognize. And you might think that they're a complete stranger, but they're probably only one or two degrees of separation away from your members. And they might know somebody in that picture. And when they spot one, they'll say, Oh, Jenny goes here.

John 6:57

So we talked about some examples of a good area and a good environment for making a sale. Over your travels in Two Brain, do you have that? Do any bad examples come to mind?

Chris 7:06

Yeah, well, keep in mind that we've worked with 3,500 gyms worldwide and we work on video calls. And so often, if we see a low close rate, the mentor will say, Show me your area. And one time a guy had a couch right behind his desk and he had two uh assault rifles on the couch. So that, you know, probably didn't help with the close rate. Another time, a guy took a mentor call and he had an NSI booked immediately after the call and he showed up, he had just completed his workout, he wasn't wearing a shirt, and he had his laundry hanging behind him in his sales office. I mean, these things are obvious to us, but what they tell the client is this person does not care about me, or even this person doesn't can't put himself in my shoes.

John 7:48

So, in a perfect world, here's what I'd do I'd be near the front door, and as soon as I saw you, I would open the door and then I'd look you in the eyes and say, Chris, thanks so much for coming. This is I do all my no-sweat intros uh with a podcast mic. Yep. And I'd say, Thanks for making it all the way out here. I'm looking forward to talking to you. Here's a little something to get you started. Um, don't give them a white monster. That's just our prop, you know, maybe like a water bottle, but something to trigger reciprocity. Hey, come on in. And then we'll go over to the consultative area. Hey, this is our wall of social proof. Take a look. And then we'll sit down um on the same side of the table like we are now, and I'll have a clipboard ready. And I'll have our handy dandy no-sweat intro sheet so I can take notes and make sure I'm actually listening to you.

Chris 8:37

Yeah, the fact that you're writing something down is a huge signal, and most gym owners don't even do that. So I don't feel like they're invested or know anything about me.

John 8:44

And now, once we've developed rapport, I want to get right into it. I don't want to go off to Tulsa. I don't want to ask about the weather. I don't want to talk for 15 minutes about your grandchildren. I want to know why you're here. So, what brings you in today, Chris? I want to lose 20 pounds.

Chris 9:00

You want to lose 20 pounds? I used to weigh 20 pounds less, and I just remember that as a point in my life when I felt a lot better.

John 9:06

Oh, that's awesome because that's exactly what we help people with here.

Chris 9:10

Are you trying anything right now? I've tried many things over the years, but I've just had trouble getting kind of back into a habit recently.

John 9:17

Okay. And I just want to let you know that we're beginner-friendly. That's what we specialize in. You said you've tried a lot of things. Like, what exactly have you tried?

Chris 9:25

Oh, I was a power lifter for years. I did CrossFit, I did cycling. I've tried different things with my nutrition. I did ketogenic, I tried macros. And each of those things worked for a little while. But what I'm looking for now is something that I think I can sustain and enjoy.

John 9:38

So you just rattled off a lot of stuff. Uh, what was this what what did you enjoy about elements of those programs? What didn't you enjoy? Like, if you can give me some insight into, you know, what keeps you on track, what what makes you come off track?

Chris 9:50

Well, at first they were all really exciting. The powerlifting just got repetitive. Um, the cycling, you just kind of like, you know, it's hard to maintain that here in Sault Ste. Marie. Um, the diets, of course, you know, at first the novelty, I guess, really attracts you to it. And then after a while, you find yourself slipping and then asking yourself, what am I doing this for? Uh, I think like, you know, I'm motivated by fast results and I am really self-aware. So when I lose five pounds, I'm super jacked. But when it gets hard, maybe that's when I fall off.

John 10:20

Hey, I need a quick favor from you. Every year, TwoBrain asks gym owners for their numbers, and we published the results in a report called The State of the Industry. We've been doing this for seven years now, and it's grown into the largest industry report and one of the largest data sets in fitness. Now, this is where you come in. The more gym owners who fill this report out, the more truthful the report is. And that's why we need your numbers. It only takes three minutes to fill out the survey. And if you fill it out, we're gonna give you a report card that shows you where you stack up compared to the thousands of other gyms who are participating in the survey. So, to do this, all you gotta do is scan the QR code here or click the link down below. Thanks for helping us out. And how familiar does this sound to you? Someone comes in, they want to lose some weight, they've tried a bunch of different stuff, they like quick wins, they don't like routine, things get boring and they quit. We just want to write this down and acknowledge it and make sure that we're building a base before we move into the amplified period. So we understand that his main goal is losing 20 pounds. We just want to get a better understanding of why now is the time and why losing 20 pounds now is important to him. So, Chris, what makes now the time to try something like this?

Chris 11:25

Well, it just hit me at the beach this summer. It's the first time when taking off my shirt didn't feel like this is fine. And I just figure if I wait until January like everybody else, it's a missed opportunity and I might not do it.

John 11:38

Now, one thing to point out here is that we used what to start the question instead of why. Psychology shows that if you start the question with why, it makes people defensive. So, what makes now the right time to start instead of why start now? I love that you're self-motivated for summer. So, is there anybody else in your life that's motivating you to hit this goal? No, my wife has said, you know, she doesn't care how I look. So because he brought up his wife and not caring about how he looks, I'm immediately thinking, oh, there may be a partner objection here because his wife doesn't care that he looks well. So she may not be on board with uh Chris investing in his health. Was your wife excited that you're gonna have this conversation today?

Chris 12:20

She's happy. She's noticed that I am kind of in a rut and not feeling my best. And she does her own thing too, so she gets it.

John 12:26

Okay, so she's supportive of you uh hitting this goal? Always, yeah. Awesome. And so, how fast are you trying to get that 20 pounds off, right? Because that'll dictate how much we train. Well, I'd like to do it by Christmas.

Chris 12:37

I think that's doable.

John 12:38

By Christmas, so we got about uh five or six months to work. And so how many hours a week can you dedicate to training? Three or four.

Chris 12:45

I live a little bit outside of town, so I could make it to the gym maybe three times. But if I could if I had homework to do another two times or something, I could do it.

John 12:54

And you've also told me that you've done cycling, powerlifting, CrossFit. Some of those are individual sports, some of those are team sports. Do you have a preference for working out one-on-one with somebody, or do you prefer to have other people around?

Chris 13:06

I can work out by myself if I have a program to follow. Um, but I definitely push myself harder with other people. And I think maybe after I get kind of back into shape, I'd be a little bit more open to that.

John 13:19

So just to be clear, if we were starting out, you'd want to do more one-on-one based stuff and then maybe transition into working out with some other people? That's possible, yeah. Okay. And so you said you have three to four hours a week to train. Do you prefer to work out at morning, night? When do you when do you normally do your thing? Usually nine or 10 a.m. And I know in summertime there's a lot going on and uh our schedules get busy, but it sounds like this is important to you. Um, how serious are you about like tackling this now versus say like six months from now? I could start in a couple of days. And Chris, I haven't heard you mention anything about injuries. Do you have an injury history or anything I should know about there?

Chris 13:54

No, nothing.

John 13:55

Okay. So at this point, we've hit the end of the amplify phase. We're understanding Chris's problems, his injury history, how he likes to work out, when he likes to work out. We have almost all the information we need to make a prescription and also handle objections when they come after we've made that prescription. But before we do that, we have to move on to the second C, which is confirming what we heard and giving them an opportunity to bring anything else up that's important to them. So, Chris, I'm hearing you want to lose 20 pounds by Christmas. This is something that you're committed to doing now. And you want to do it for personal reasons. You want to work out sometime earlier in the morning, start one-on-one, and maybe move on to group, depending on how things are progressing. Did I get that all right, or is there anything else I should know about?

Chris 14:41

I have a lot of equipment at home, so I can do workouts at home too.

John 14:44

So you're eager. You you would even do stuff on your own on top of the three to four hours we talked about? Yeah, absolutely. So is it okay if I share what the next steps would look like? Sure. All right, and that ends the confirmation phase. We just want to ask, is there anything else I should know about? Because that gives the prospect an opportunity to let you know if you skipped any part of the process, and we're getting permission to proceed. Now we're gonna change roles, and Chris is gonna prescribe a solution to me. This is the help phase. And to do this, we're gonna use what's called a pricing binder, which is a literal binder. This is the one that Chris uses in his gym that shows your different packages and pricing. So there's a visual aid when you're explaining all these things to the prospect. So remember, Chris is now the seller, and I am who Chris was.

Chris 15:29

So, based on the goal of losing 20 pounds before Christmas, what I would recommend is that we do strength training about twice a week. We do a high-intensity training session once a week, and if you can swing it on your own, uh two lower intensity sessions that I can give you for homework to do at home. How does that sound? That's right around where I was looking to be. Okay. For now, we said that you would prefer to train one-on-one, but eventually move into a group type session. Okay. So to train with me three times a week, and I'll give you homework to do on your own. The investment monthly is this is where I would open my binder, and I would turn to the personal training session, and I would say the investment the investment to do that at Catalyst is $860 per month. I assume that we would do this for the first three months. And at that point, we're gonna have another conversation where we revisit and talk about potentially moving into a semi-private option, but we'll take that as it comes. How does that sound?

John 16:29

So, does that include the workouts on their own as well, all the other stuff we talked about?

Chris 16:35

Yeah, so you'll meet with me in person, one-on-one, three times a week, and then twice a week I'll give you some homework to do on your own. Now I am gonna be looking over your shoulder as you do this to make sure that you get it done. And if after a month or so it's not working out, then we're gonna tweak your program a little bit. Maybe we'll have you in the gym more often or less, depending on how it goes.

John 16:54

So 12 sessions a month, and we'll do that for a couple months to get going. Am I working out with you? And uh when can we work out?

Chris 17:03

Yeah, it's gonna be just you and me. Uh, I can schedule you in at 9 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and we can actually start Wednesday if you're ready.

John 17:10

And what happens if I like need to miss a session or I'm traveling for a week? How do how do we deal with that?

Chris 17:17

If you need to miss a session, you got a couple of options. Number one, we can reschedule you within the same calendar month, as long as you give me a bit of notice. Or number two, you can make it up by coming to one of our group classes if that's more convenient for you. And can we like go back to the at-home portion? How how how does that work? We're gonna make a list of the equipment that you have available to you right now, and then I'm gonna base a program on that. You ready to start?

John 17:40

Sure am. Now, I was a layup sale, but in reality, you're gonna get some type of objection there, usually like a pricing or I need to think about it. And that's why in next week's episode, we're gonna teach you how to handle the most common objections you get in your gym. Catch you next week.