Run a Profitable Gym

In order for your marketing to be effective, you've got to market to the right people—you have to define your avatar. And a great way to do that is to start with data: Who's actually coming into gyms these days? Nathan Holiday, founder of Level Method, has the numbers. Here, he and Two-Brain Business founder Chris Cooper discuss who's interested in trying fitness programs like CrossFit (and who's not) and how to use that information to build the most effective marketing, onboarding, and delivery systems targeted to that audience.Links:Level MethodGym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:00 – What the data tell us about who’s coming to the gym.4:25 – What two-thirds of people coming into your gym look like.9:49 – Business implications: onboarding.12:57 – Business implications: avatars.16:23 – Business implications: marketing.19:44 – Direct marketing with Level Method.

Chris Cooper's most popular book is "Two-Brain Business," but the book that most say is his best is "Help First." That's because it solved the problem of being afraid of being a slimy salesman: It teaches gym owners how to sell by doing the thing coaches do best—helping.Here's a peek at what's inside.Links:"Help First"Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:01 – Chris Cooper: The world’s worst salesman.4:29 – Why you need to get your message out there.5:43 – Selling is coaching.6:26 – Don’t worry about price.6:55 – Remove the choice about price.8:26 – Retention—and caring enough to tell the truth.9:07 – The right way to approach staffing and staff pay.10:30 – Why you should give away knowledge—but not coaching—for free.

It's that time of year—your Facebook feed is full of athletes hoping to make the leap to elite, and once again you find yourself thinking: "The CrossFit Games are cool—but do they matter for my business?" The answer is yes—and no.Here, Coop addresses that question and provides three strategies that will help if you want to use the competitive CrossFit season to help grow your gym.Links: Intramural Open GuideGym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:50 – Who the Open is for, and how it can benefit your business.4:27 – How Regionals (or Semifinals) can get your staff fired up. 6:46 – What can the Games actually do for your clients? 9:21 – Gym business models that benefit from the CrossFit Games. 11:39 – It’s the stories that matter.13:53 – Using the Intramural Open to boost retention. 15:21 – Going to Regionals/Semifinals to maximize inspiration. 16:12 – The CrossFit Games as a networking and learning opportunity. 

Open a gym. Be a phenomenal coach. Make lots of money. If only it were that simple.You do need to be an excellent coach and provide excellent service, but that isn't enough to run a successful gym business—and we've got the data to prove it. We've also got the data that shows what DOES work. Here's Chris Cooper on the three business models of the most successful CrossFit gyms, the pros and cons of each, and what kind of gym owner they work best for. Links:How to Make $150,000 Per Year With 150 ClientsGym Owners UnitedGreg Glassman on Two-Brain RadioTimeline:1:52 – The method is not the model.7:20 – Model No. 1: Owner-operator. 9:56 – Model No. 2: How many gym owners shift from barely breaking even to $100k per year.13:31 – Model No. 3: Building diverse revenue streams and moving out of the business.17:48 – Mix and match if you want—but don’t start from a blank slate. 

We all know sleep is important, and if you're a fitness trainer, you've probably told your clients to get more of it. But beyond that, most trainers draw a blank. They might toss a sleep hygiene article at clients and tell them to get a sleep tracker. But how helpful are those things really? And how important is it to coach sleep when you've got big fish like exercise and nutrition to fry? Nick Lambe founded The Online Sleep Coach to address those questions and teach trainers what they need to know about sleep, how to teach it to their clients, and how to build systems around sleep coaching. Links:The Sleep Coach Course@theonlinesleepcoachGym Owners UnitedTimeline:3:36 – Coaching sleep: The void in the fitness industry.4:59 – Where does sleep rank in the hierarchy? 9:46 – Why coaches don’t talk about sleep enough.13:07 – The oversimplification problem.16:41 – How to implement sleep into a coaching practice. 21:46 – Getting clients to buy in.25:25 – Sleep trackers: Yea or nay? 35:29 – Helping trainers systematize sleep coaching.

You wouldn't go to the doctor and expect to have to choose your own medication and dosage, right? So why are you leaving the same decision in the hands of your fitness clients? Goal reviews are a key element of the prescriptive model of sales, but they're about more than selling. It's your responsibility as a professional coach to check in with your clients, find out what their goals are, and tell them exactly what they need to do to reach them—regardless of whether that means an upsell or not. Two-Brain gyms do goal reviews with their clients three times per year. Here's what they look like and why they're critical for success—for both your clients and your business.Links:Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:00:14 – The prescriptive model. 4:18 – A client’s first 90 days. 5:05 – The first goal review. 6:57 – It’s not about upselling; it’s about providing the solution. 8:01 – The Two-Brain goal-review process.9:23 – The power of celebrating your clients. 

If you're stuck on how to grow your gym, you may be tempted to look at the more successful gym down the street and do what they're doing. Charge what they're charging. Advertise like they're advertising. But the perspective you actually need is that of an outsider—even one as far outside the box as to be outside the fitness industry altogether. There are six key strategies you can use to grow your business, says Chris Cooper, and for each of those strategies, Coop has a recommendation for a great book packed with objective advice from an outside perspective.Links:Profit First for MicrogymsThe E-Myth RevisitedGood to GreatRich Dad, Poor DadNever Lose a Customer AgainHow to Win Friends and Influence PeopleState of the IndustryGym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:05 – CrossFit: founded with an outsider’s perspective. 4:47 – Your method isn’t your business model. 5:51 – “Profit First for Microgyms”6:29 – “The E-Myth Revisited” 7:07 – “Good to Great”7:34 – “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”8:49 – “Never Lose a Customer Again”10:05 – “How to Win Friends and Influence People”10:51 – “State of the Industry”

It's the end of the month, and you've got a little nugget left over. Awesome! You can get that air bike you've been salivating over for so long! But is that really the best use for the extra cash? In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Chris Cooper explains the difference between expenses and investments and how to spend money in ways that will actually give you a measurable return.Links:Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:52 – Expenses vs. investments. 4:47 – Drawing a clear path from money spent to ROI.

Dane McCarthy owns West Village Athletic in New York City. He signed up for mentorship with Two-Brain Business only looking for some casual tidbits and content suggestions.What he got was a mentor dedicated to helping him overhaul his business—and 80 new clients in the first 30 days.Here's how.Links:West Village AthleticsGym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:18 – Starting RampUp out of sheer anger.3:34 – Revamping the intake process.4:56 – The power of the sales binder.6:17 – What’s the deal with squads?9:51 – Seeking mentorship.11:14 – When he knew it was working.13:03 – Conquering the fear of the rate increase.15:56 – Making it in Manhattan.18:13 – Getting staff on board with changes.19:36 – Creating a staff playbook.23:37 – Looking to the future: Making more money with more services.28:14 – The cost of mentorship: Is it worth it? 

"Your business will not rise to the level of your marketing. It will fall to the level of your systems." — Chris Cooper No matter how cutting-edge your marketing funnels may be, your business will fall to the level of your systems. There are six systems that you need for your business to thrive — and here's exactly what they look like. Links:Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:2:07 – You need a self-payment system. 3:46 – You need a marketing and sales system.6:36 – Earning more per client.8:38 – Retention.11:49 – Ascending yourself.13:28 – Improving ROI.14:46 – The five audits.