1. Be Welcoming & Attentive
First impressions matter for gyms and fitness studios. There are two things that go a long way in making a great first impression—and sales script—before a word is even spoken: punctuality & attentiveness.
Follow up with potential new members right away after getting info from lead generation tools like forms, email & social media. If you made an appointment to speak with a customer through your lead-gen efforts, be ready for them at that time to show you’re serious about doing business with them.
If an interested customer walks through your front door, never keep them waiting. If you are busy, make sure a salesperson lets walk-ins know that that they see them and will be with them very soon.
Potential customers need to feel acknowledged, as this sets the stage for what their experience will be like with you & your business.
2. Get to Know Your Client
Different people have different motivations for joining a gym, whether to improve heart health, lose weight, build muscle, or prepare for a fitness challenge. People expect a personalized fitness experience. Your membership sales script, therefore, should be frontloaded with questions about their needs, pain points, goals, and fitness levels.
Listening goes much farther than selling, here. Find out the following:
- Why they want to join a gym, and why now.
- If they’ve tried a fitness program or joined a gym in the past. If it wasn’t successful, learn why.
- What they’re looking for in a gym. Is it weight training? Classes & group connection?
- What their current fitness level is, and how often they exercise.
- If they work out at home or outside of the gym, and if they’re interested in hybrid (virtual & in-person) fitness.
- What their schedule looks like & how much time they can realistically commit.
- How far away your gym is from where they live & work.
- Where they see fitness fitting in with work, family & other responsibilities.
3. Create Rapport
By this point in your script, you’ve already learned why your potential client wants to join a gym. Now, it’s time to go beyond surface goals. Learn what is driving them to achieve this goal in the first place and find common ground with them along the way:
“Why do you want to lose weight? To fit better in a tux/dress and swimsuit? Is there a wedding or honeymoon on the horizon? I did the same thing before I married my husband/wife/partner—weddings come up fast! How long have you known each other?…”
This part of the script is about building a human connection with your client. Find shared interests. Be emotive and show that you understand what they need. Show that your goal is to help them and not sell to them.
This step is especially important if you are a personal trainer or offer personal training services, because, while results are important, it’s the trainer and the experience they provide that you’re really selling in this case.
Once you feel this level of comfort growing, there may even be room in your script to subtly upsell something. You could, for example, throw in the following:
“Would your fiancé be interested in joining you on your fitness journey? We’re running a couple’s special and offer personal training sessions for two if that’s something you’re interested in…”
4. Focus on Value over Price
The subject of price will eventually come up in your script, but we’re not there yet. You must first establish value before you put a price on it.
People expect a lot from gyms, including that you genuinely care for and want to help them.
This part is a balancing act. You want to mention all the wonderful things you offer, but they should be valuable to this person specifically.
If a potential customer senses that you’re invested in them, they will be more open to investing not only in a membership, but add-on services and resources that enhance it.
How will you help them stay true to their goals? How will the experience you offer be different from the ones they’re used to? You know what has the most value because you’ve gotten to know this client on an individualistic level by this point.
Now might be the time to mention your client app programmed with customized workouts and a check-in tool. Or maybe steer the script to your rewards programs and gym-wide competitions that offer prizes for coming to a certain number of classes.
If being part of a group is important, why not mention your dynamic lineup of HIIT classes and the energetic instructors who always get the most out of everyone?
5. Show Social Credit
Social proof highlights the experiences of current gym members. It is a highly effective tool for illustrating value, building trust & credibility and handling objections that may arise when selling memberships.
In addition to your sales script, you should already be using social credit as part of your gym’s marketing strategy. Examples include:
- Testimonials from satisfied clients
- Before-and-after photos of members who have achieved their fitness goals.
- Social media posts from members who are excited about their progress.
You’ll want this proof featured strategically around your gym, perhaps at the front desk, in your office, near a seating area and even visible on the gym floor. You should be able to point out an earlier client you helped whose goals were the same or similar to those of the person sitting across from you.
6. Give a Tour of Your Gym
At this point, you’ve collected a lot of information about your lead, including what their goals and motivations are. You’ve talked a big game about all the value they’re going to get, now it’s time to show them with a personalized, guided tour of your gym, studio or fitness facility.
Think back to the value portion of your script. The areas, equipment or classes you show a potential customer should be specific to their goals and interests. Those brand-new, Olympic-calibrated free weights might be impressive to many, but perhaps not to a person who prefers machines and yoga.
What you show should also assuage any specific fears or issues this person has related to gyms and working out in general.
If a lack of personal space and cleanliness are major hang-ups, for example, then point out how open and clean your fitness center is.
A tour focused on what someone needs shows that you are committed to providing the kind of personalized attention they’ve come to expect. It also positions you as an expert to them, in that you know exactly what they’ll need to use to reach their goals.
7. Present Membership Pricing
Now it’s time to talk about price. This part of the script doesn’t have to be awkward—provided you take the time to get to know your potential members, connect with them on a personal level and illustrate the value that matters to them.
Once again, you don’t need to go over the price of every single membership, add-on and combination in between. Realistically, you’re going to present two or three membership options that correspond to their interests and needs.
Any upsells or add-ons you mention should have clear value for them. Think back to the example of a potential client wanting to get in shape for their wedding & honeymoon. Nutrition services make sense here if they aren’t covered in the membership options you’ve presented.
8. Address Objections
Inevitably, potential customers will express hang-ups and reasons why things won’t work out. Common objections are connected to location, time commitment, price & previous experiences, all of which you should have already gotten a sense of.
Fitness is all about being proactive and finding solutions, and you need to do both here.
Addressing someone’s objections early on in your script means they won’t affect you closing the deal later.
It also lowers the probability that they’ll cancel their memberships or become a perpetual no-show.
When addressing objections, use specific things your gym offers as natural counterpoints:
- Time: Point out your flexible class schedules, the 15–20-minute micro-workouts you offer in your gym’s client app, and how close your gym is to where this person lives.
- Past Experiences: Refer to the results you’ve gotten for other clients, and what your plan for this person will be. Also tout the positive & welcoming community in your gym.
- Cost: Revisit all the ways you offer value, as well as the flexible membership options & price points you offer.
If your potential customer isn’t being specific about why they’re unsure, follow up with more questions until you get to the heart of it. Inject a bit of idealism into the script. Paint a picture of success for your would-be client and reiterate exactly how you’ll help them obtain it.
9. Close Your Sale
You know what your would-be client is looking for and they know what you offer. You’ve put all their objections to bed. Now, you’re at the final phase of your gym membership sales script—closing the sale.
Try to create a sense of urgency by mentioning limited-time specials you’re running. Remind leads also that starting a strength-training or weight-loss plan right away is best, especially if there is a deadline attached.
You can also communicate that spaces are filling up fast. If you plan to use this strategy, you’ll want to have a stack of recently signed membership contracts, or a client list, nearby.
If you need a little something extra to get them over the finish line, maybe:
10. Offer A Trial Membership
Trial memberships are a tried-and-true way to give prospective customers a sense of what they can expect. This could be a 1–3-day gym pass, or a free or discounted month.
If you take your script in this direction, remember that the language you use is important. Emphasize the value offered—not how much money isn’t being spent. In other words, don’t advertise 3 free HIIT classes or a free 7-day membership. Instead, position them as 3 classes worth $90, or a 7-day membership worth $50.
11. Mention Your Referral Program
Referral programs are a great way to boost membership, market your gym and retain members. They get clients to refer your gym to their friends & family—with a nice incentive attached for both parties. These are usually free class passes, discounted membership fees or personalized workout plans.
Referrals can be a useful as a tool for both lead-gen and retention, even if a prospective customer doesn’t commit to a long-term membership at first.
As social creatures who crave community, people are more likely to commit to fitness long term if their friends or family join them. Long-term or not, referral programs incentivize members to recruit new leads for you.
You can also structure your program so that their reward for multiple referrals can be used to offset the cost of a long-term membership, increasing the likelihood that they’ll upgrade to one.
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Successful gyms, health clubs & fitness studios sell a variety of monthly, recurring memberships that appeal to the unique needs of potential customers. An effective sales strategy requires a personalized, value-driven gym membership sales script. It is the last hurdle to clear, so make sure that you and your staff members know all of the elements to a great script and understand the order of each.
Vagaro’s fitness business management app has a robust memberships feature, as well as a full suite of marketing tools that can help you increase gym membership sales, improve member retention rates and effectively manage all those new clients. If you’re ready to take your fitness business to the next level, sign up for a free 30-day trial and discover everything Vagaro can do for you!
