“My Staff Member Made All the Sales”

A fit woman in workout wear smiles as she signs up to join a gym.

“My CSM made all the sales. If you’d like her on (the podcast), too, let me know.”

Gym owner and Two-Brain mentor Brian Foley sent this message when I asked him to come on “Run a Profitable Gym” and explain how he closed 22 sales in July at his gym, Activate, in Ireland.

As the fitness industry evolves, comments like this are much more common.

Owners of successful gyms just aren’t wearing every hat these days.

Instead, they’re hiring and training people who can do great work for them.

A head shot of writer Mike Warkentin and the column name "Pressing It Out."

Few gym owners hit the ground running with a complete staffing plan.

Most of us—including me—ripped into the owner-operator model with reckless abandon, overconfidence, and a huge supply of ambition and energy. That’s not a bad thing: In the early days it’s normal for an entrepreneur to work very hard and spend time before they have any money to invest.

The mistake is thinking this plan is sustainable.

I held on for several years, then hit total burnout. Others lasted longer. And some found the solution well before I did: hiring.

It’s just not reasonable to think you can and should do every job forever. You’re going to run out of time. You’re also being arrogant: There’s no way you’re the best at absolutely everything.

So put your ego aside and reclaim your time by hiring people. You can hire pros who come plug-and-play ready to do a better job than you can, or you can hire for personality and train.

Brian took the latter course at his gym. He hired a client success manager (CSM) who understood and embraced his vision for the business, then mentored her to perform at a level that’s now much higher than his own.

The result? He sets the tone for the business; lays out the vision; tracks key performance indicators; and provides feedback, coaching, training and mentorship.

His CSM crushes it in the sales office by getting leads to book appointments, show up for appointments, and buy the solution to their health and fitness problems.

With his CSM running the show, Brian’s funnel in July looked like this:

  • 27 people booked appointments.
  • 24 showed.
  • 22 bought.


These are great numbers. Only three appointment bookers did not show up. And only two people who showed up didn’t buy something. This funnel has very few leaks.

By the way, one of the two people who didn’t buy was referred out to another gym that could serve her needs better. Brian’s CSM solved the client’s problem by pointing her to the right gym, not by pushing her into a program that wouldn’t help her accomplish her goals.

At Activate, Brian used a greasy, airtight funnel to add 22 high-value clients in a single month, and he didn’t have to close a single sale personally. He just hired a great person and helped her acquire the skills she needed to thrive.

I know of another Two-Brain gym that generates a ton of revenue with a slightly different plan: They hired a monster of a sales manager and set the very experienced new staff member loose.

Either approach works.

The common theme between them: Owners are offloading important jobs properly so they get the results they want.

So this is your reminder:

If you are wearing every single hat in your gym, start offloading roles so you can focus on CEO-level tasks.

Where do you begin? Try cleaner, then work your way up the ladder.

Two-Brain has an exact, step-by-step plan for this—we call it “climbing the value ladder.” And all the top gym owners who come on our podcast have used this process to grow their businesses.

To hear more about it, book a free call here.

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One more thing!

Did you know gym owners can earn $100,000 a year with no more than 150 clients? We wrote a guide showing you exactly how.