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By Josh Martin, Two-Brain Mentor My wife and I just recently bought a home. Anyone who has been through this process knows that before you decide to sign on the dotted line, you go through a home inspection. Their job is to point out the problems, both potential and existing, so that you can make an educated decision on whether to buy this home. Arguably the biggest check-up is done on the foundation of the home. After all, this is the part on which the entire house sits. A poor air conditioner or other dilapidated appliances can be replaced. Even walls, flooring, and plumbing can be fixed relatively easily. A compromised foundation, on the other hand, is grounds for moving on to another property. In the fitness business, the foundation that you set with a client is of vital importance. Like a home, it forms the basis from which everything else is built. This is why all great gyms put new clients through some sort of on-ramp program – to build a solid, reliable foundation. If nutrition and mobility are fundamental in your gym, they need to be present in your on–ramp program. If nutrition is a core service that you offer, it needs to be addressed right away. The initial interactions with your service in an on–ramp setting will set the client up for success and get them to buy-in that what you are selling (coaching) will deliver the results they desire. The make-up of an on–ramp program is as varied and individual as each gym that runs one, but the great gyms have 3 goals with their on-ramp programs: Introduction to your services: In your on–ramp, the client should come away with a clear understanding of what private training, group training, and nutrition coaching are all about and the value that each service brings. At the very least, they need to be aware that you offer all of these ...

Two-Brain Business, my first book, told the story of my gym’s salvation. My second book, Two-Brain Business 2.0, was a map of the exact steps you can take with your own gym. Both contain templates and sample documents, SOPs, and all kinds of stuff–the exact ones I used at Catalyst.   When I began mentoring other gym owners in 2012, I shared my own documents and best practices. I even put my gym handbook in an envelope and mailed it out to my first clients!   And when I built the first Incubator in 2016, it was full of partnership agreements, NDAs, sample legal documents, playbooks, SOPs, rules and regulations…everything I was using at Catalyst. I even had my own staff training videos in there!   But the REAL beauty, the real miracle of TwoBrain, is that our material is constantly upgraded. Let me explain:   When one of the 500 gyms in the TwoBrain family has a great idea, their mentor shares it with the team. We ask, “Is this better than what we’re currently doing? Can we prove it?”   And if, after some testing, the new way really IS better, we upgrade! We buy the rights to the great idea and put it in our materials for everyone to use.   So now you’ll find staff handbooks from Kaleda, sample ads from Mateo, sales scripts from Blake…and far less from me. You’ll get sales binder templates based on Brian’s amazing packages. You’ll get the best from New Zealand, Ireland, Sweden…all of it. When your mentor says, “Do this, here’s a template to get you started” you’re literally copying and adapting the best in the WORLD.   Back to my gym, Catalyst.   In the massive rush to constantly upgrade TwoBrain, I was content to let Catalyst run on its systems. I didn’t need to worry about growth; we had great retention and coaching. So I literally paid ...