Summary: In this article I explore why traditional sales and discount-driven marketing make fitness business owners feel uncomfortable, and how shifting to an experience-focused approach can create trust, authenticity, and lasting client relationships.
5 things you’ll learn in this article
- Why the ‘sales and offers’ model feels inauthentic and unsustainable for fitness professionals.
- How the most trusted brands win by creating experiences, not chasing sales.
- What an ‘experience-focused approach’ looks like in a fitness business, from first enquiry to ongoing service.
- How to design remarkable client touch points that make people feel valued, not sold to.
- Why genuine connection, care, and hospitality outperform every script or discount.
Gym marketing these days seems to be all about offers and sales. And for me, this all just feels kind of gross and dirty.
I didn’t sign up to be a car salesperson, and while a lot of people will tell you that’s just one of the hats you have to wear as a business owner, I strongly disagree.
On the topic of cars, there’s an example from the car industry that demonstrates what I think is currently wrong with the fitness industry. And I think this story has some valuable lessons for those fitness professionals whose salesy approach is leaving them feeling a bit dirty.
In the late 1980s, Toyota was preparing to launch its first luxury brand, Lexus. On paper, they had no right to compete. Mercedes and BMW owned the luxury market, and Toyota was known for practical cars, not prestige.
At first, the Lexus team took the same approach most businesses take when they’re trying to break into a crowded market. They focussed on offers. Price matching. Feature stacking. Marketing gimmicks. They figured the only way to win was to offer more for less.
This also seems to be the advice offered up by a lot of Instagram business expert.
Maybe this approach isn’t working for you, and it didn’t work for Lexus. Test drives weren’t converting, and the early feedback was brutal. Customers said it felt like ‘Toyota in a tuxedo.’ The cars were good, but the experience felt cheap.
Before I tell you about what Toyota did to turn their fortunes around, top Customer Satisfaction Indexes for ten years in a row, and outsell Mercedes and BMW, let’s come back to a bit closer to home and let me tell you about the state of the fitness industry as I see it at the moment, then we can continue Toyota’s story and I’ll tell you what I think you need to be doing in your fitness business.
To clarify, this is what I’m seeing at the moment – this is the approach I don’t agree with.
Step one:
Cast the net as wide as possible to generate leads at all costs – usually through high cost paid advertising campaigns with Meta or Google. It doesn’t matter if these leads aren’t the sort of people who will fit your business, the logic here is that we’re just looking for pure volume – a huge list of potential customers that you can contact.
Step two:
Call each of these leads, and keep calling them until they answer. Be prepared for 40% of these people to claim they’ve never heard of you and demand you stop bothering them, and another 40% of them to tell you they’re not interested. I know personally, unless it’s my family, I get annoyed every time my phone rings. Annoying potential clients probably isn’t the first thing you should be trying to do.
Step three:
For the remaining 20% of your leads, use a sales script to give them an irresistible front end offer. This will be something like F45’s eight week challenge, or some other form of low-barrier front-end offer like 6 Weeks for $99 or 21 days for $21. Use psychological tricks to exploit peoples insecurities to get them in the door. Again, a reminder, this is what I see as the current state of the industry. This is not, I repeat, NOT, what I recommend.
Step four:
Meet with them at the end of their trial and once again go through some sort of sales script to convince them to continue with you. This will either be a core offer or some sort of upsell offer.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but this just doesn’t feel genuine. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t, but I just feel sort of ‘icky’ even considering this approach. We’re here to help people, not manipulate people.
To summarise, get as many leads as possible, spend hours every week on scripted sales calls that revolve around a front end offer, then sell to them again once they’ve completed this front end offer.
I call this approach a ‘sales focussed approach’. And in case you can’t tell, I really don’t like it. It’s just not how I want to treat people, it doesn’t fit the culture of my businesses and ultimately, it’s got no conscience.
So what’s the alternative?
Let’s return to the story of Toyota and Lexus.
You’ll remember test drives weren’t converting and the experience felt cheap.
This is when Lexus made a decision that changed everything. They stopped trying to out-sell Mercedes and BMW, and started trying to out-experience them.
When Lexus made the shift, they redefined what it meant to sell.
They stopped teaching their team sales scripts and closing techniques, and started teaching hospitality. Dealerships were redesigned to feel like high-end hotel lobbies. Staff stopped calling people ‘customers’ and started calling them ‘guests.’ People were greeted by name at the door. They were offered cappuccinos, not paper cups of instant coffee. When someone brought in a car for a service, it came back washed, vacuumed, and with a handwritten thank-you card on the dash.
It wasn’t about cars anymore. It was about people.
And it worked. Within a few short years, Lexus topped the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index… not once, but ten years in a row. They outsold Mercedes and BMW in the United States, not because their cars were cheaper or faster, but because their experience was better.
They didn’t win by shouting louder. They won by being remarkable in the quiet moments.
The alternative to a ‘sales focussed approach’ is what I call the ‘experience focussed approach’.
I talk about experience a lot. You can listen more in episode 69 of the podcast ‘Delivering an Experience: The Strategy of Being Different‘ or you can read the article here. And in episode 74: ‘9 unique ways to make your business stand out (to get more clients)‘ (read the article).
So what does an experience focussed approach look like in fitness? From the top, it’s less reliant on casting a really wide net. You don’t need 60 leads in 30 days for this to work because you’ll be genuinely helping a lot more of the people who enquire, therefore, a much higher percentage will become paying customers.
So where do our leads come from in the ‘experience focussed approach’? Lots of places. A great website, social media documentation and storytelling, content marketing, a micro influencer program, offline marketing to become locally famous, a referral reward program, customer reactivation and, yes, paid advertising. No matter how hard I’ve tried to find the silver bullet of lead generation, I always come back to the same conclusion. Multiple strategies done well and consistently add up to more than the sum of their parts. If you want to know exactly how these elements work together in a simple guide, check out my article and podcast ‘The one page fitness marketing checklist. Just do these things.’ It’s episode 79. Podcast | Article. You can also download a PDF of the checklist here.
Right, so once you’ve got a lead, it’s time to start providing an experience. I’ll continue saying this until people hear me. What you sell is not a service like PT or Exercise Physiology or gym memberships. It’s not an outcome like bigger muscles or stronger bones. What you sell is an experience.
And this experience begins within five minute of you receiving the lead (because lead conversion is 391% higher when you reply within five minutes).
Reply to their enquiry, and do something remarkable as part of the reply. I don’t know what that thing will be, but you need to respond in such a way that they will tell their friends about your reply. In the short term it’s hard to be unique, but in the long term, business gets much harder if you’re not unique.
The purpose of your reply is to get them in for a chat. Not a phone call, but a friendly face to face chat. Let them know it’s a way for you to get to know them, for them to get to know you, and to see whether you’re the best business to be helping them.
The day before you’ve scheduled the chat, send them a reminder message. But this isn’t the reminder message you get from your dentist. Again, you need to make this unique and remarkable. As an example, send them the photo of a ‘reserved’ sign you’ve put in the parking space right next to your front door. Not just a reserved sign, but a sign that says ‘Reserved for Jess Smith’, or whatever their name is. Let them know you’re excited to meet them, and show them the care they can expect from you.
Experience, experience, experience.
On the day of the chat, you need to be waiting for them at the front door. Under no circumstances should they open the door for themselves. You’ll be waiting at the door for them as they pull up. You’ll open the door for them, greet them by name, shake their hand and welcome them in with a big smile. If you have staff, all your staff should have been notified a potential new client is coming in for a chat, and they should also mention them by name. They should feel like they’ve just walked into the Ritz-Carlton.
Offer them a seat, pulling the chair out for them.
Then, offer them a drink – their choice of still or sparkling, with lemon or without. Don’t ask ‘would you like a water’, ask ‘do you prefer still or sparkling water’. Let them know high service is an expectation, not an option. Make a show of opening the bottle of water (glass bottles only, no cheap plastic bottles here), and pouring in into a nice glass over ice. If they want lemon, use metal tongs to put a lemon wedge in their water. Place the water on a nice (not cardboard) coaster in front of them.
You see what’s happening here? You’re giving them an experience. Long before they do their first squat, they’re receiving an experience. You’re sending a signal that this is how you do things. That this is how they can expect to be treated.
Treat them like you would a guest in your home. Most people who walk through your door are nervous. Many have had bad experiences elsewhere. Your job is to help them relax and feel safe.
What I’ve given you is just an example, and you need to come up with experiences that are on brand for you.
I’m not trying to design the experience for you here, but I do want to emphasise that experience is what you’re selling.
Ok, so here’s what I’d cover in a very ‘non-salesy’ initial chat.
First, you need to understand what this chat isn’t.
It’s not a sales meeting.
It’s not a pitch.
And it’s definitely not a scripted process where you follow a flowchart of ‘if they say this, then you say that’.
This chat is about human decency. It’s about being a person talking to another person. When you approach it like that, the anxiety and awkwardness of trying to sell disappear, and the client can feel it too. Their guard drops, and the conversation becomes real.
The goal of this first meeting is simple: to progress the person to the next step in their journey with you. Nothing more, nothing less.
So, what could this chat actually look like? There are three steps:
Step 1: The Conversation
Don’t launch into a tour or start talking about prices or packages. That can all wait. Instead, just talk. Ask about their family, their work, their hobbies, where they live, what sports they play. Find points of connection, shared interests, similar experiences, anything that helps them see you as a real person who genuinely cares.
Think of it like chatting with a friend at a barbecue. That’s the energy you’re aiming for.
Step 2: The Listening
Once there’s some rapport, move into the listening phase. Sit back, relax your posture, and ask, ‘So tell me, what made you reach out? What are you hoping we can help you with?’
Then, stop talking. Listen carefully. Take notes, not for show, but because it helps you remember details and shows you care. Ask gentle follow-ups, ‘Tell me more about that shoulder injury,’ or ‘Why do you think past approaches didn’t work for you?’
Your job here is to understand their story, not just their goal. What have they tried? What went wrong? What do they want to be different this time?
And importantly, you need to work out if you’re the right fit. If what they need isn’t something you do, be honest. Tell them. Refer them to someone better suited. That honesty alone will earn you more long-term trust than any sale ever could.
Step 3: The Advising
If it is a good fit, now’s your time to guide them. Think of yourself like a mechanic. They’ve brought you the car with a strange noise, and they want your professional advice on what to do next. You’re not selling; you’re recommending.
And to continue that car analogy, here’s what I’d do next. I’d tell them that this is a big decision that will impact their health and fitness long into the future. And you want to make sure that the experience you offer is the right choice for them. Tell them it’s like buying a new car. You don’t just walk into a dealership and choose the first one you see. You test drive different models. Let them know that’s what you recommend they do next. Come in for a test drive. And just like you wouldn’t pay to test drive a car, they don’t pay for this test drive experience.
I know there are a bunch of business coaches out there who say that you shouldn’t give anything away for free because it undervalues your service. I just flat out don’t agree. We’re helping them see if this is a good fit. This is hospitality, not sales.
If you’re unique, the only way for them to understand this uniqueness is to test it. If you’re not unique, get unique before you try to get new clients.
Book them in for their test drive.
If you’re confident in the experience your business provides, this is where you outline some of the other gyms in the area that they should also have a look at. If you baulk at the idea of this, it tells me you don’t have supreme confidence in the experience you provide, and you’ve got a bigger problem that getting more leads and making more sales. Having the confidence to recommend other options sends a signal that you’re confident that you are the right fit for them.
When you run this meeting the right way, with genuine connection, curiosity, and care, people feel it. They don’t need to be sold. They’re relieved. They’ve finally found someone who listens, understands, and can actually help.
At the end of this chat, it’s time for another remarkable moment. I don’t know what this is for you, but for example, maybe you gift them a hard copy of Atomic Habits by James Clear with a personal message from you inside the front cover. Let them know it’s to help them form new habits to kick start this new chapter in their health journey. As you’re sitting across from them, ask them their favourite colour and pull out a highlighter in that colour. Highlight a few of your favourite passages or sections from the book that you think they’d really benefit from based on your chat.
Continue the six star experience, open the door for them and walk them to their car.
Then go back inside and summarise your notes into a few key points. Email them to them so they have a summary of everything you discussed and a clear outline of the path forward, including their upcoming test drive.
Before we explore the test drive, remember the communications you had with them before the chat? The remarkable photo you sent them with the ‘reserved’ sign on the parking bay? Include more things like this. More touch points. If you’ve set them up for a session with a personal trainer, CC them in on the email to their personal trainer, introducing them, and sharing detailed notes from your chat so everyone’s on the same page.
Ok, onto the test drive.
Basically, you need to design an absolutely astounding experience for them. You’re giving them a taste of what their long term journey with you could look like.
This is not a trial of your service, it’s a trial of the experience you provide.
Maybe you’re a Personal Trainer, and the test drive is going to be a one hour PT session. Maybe you run semi private coaching, and the test drive is three sessions over a week. Whatever you decide on, it should be enough to give them a taste of everything you can offer, but still leave them hungry for more.
I’m not going to cover here what that test drive should look like, because it’s so unique to your business – but it should be high care, high touch point, high hospitality.
But what I will do is share with you a video we provide to new enquiries. This is part of a series of 12 videos we created as part of the onboarding experience for our clients at Range of Motion. This video is called ‘What to expect a the start of your Range of Motion journey’, and this particular section gives a basic summary of the test drive.
The most relevant part of the video where I explain the test drive is between 0:25 and 1:18.
And again, a big focus here is on the experience. Remarkable moments. Turning the volume up to ten. They need to complete this test drive with absolute certainty that you are the best option on the planet for them – excited to work with you.
You’ll remember I used the example of taking your car to a mechanic, and asking their advice? Once they’ve finished the test drive, whatever that looks like in your business, it’s time for a conversation around what they do next. There’s no sale, because the experience has sold itself.
You might say, ‘Based on the work we’ve done with you so far, and everything you’ve told me, I’d suggest working with one of our coaches twice a week. Each session is $70, so $140 per week. That’s what I think will give you the best result.’
Simple, confident, professional. No pressure. No gimmicks.
Because remember, you’re not a salesperson, you’re a problem solver. The person reaching out to you has a problem, and your role is to show them how you can help solve it.
Ok, so let’s wrap this up. We’ve been talking about an ‘experience focussed approach’ in place of a much more common ‘sales focussed approach’. Sales suck. Offers suck. Experience rules.
Your action steps:
- Replace your sales focus with an experience focus by rethinking every client touchpoint as hospitality, not persuasion.
- Audit your enquiry and onboarding process to identify where you can add small, remarkable experiences that surprise and delight clients.
- Shift your mindset from “closing leads” to “building relationships,” treating every prospect like a guest, not a transaction.
- Train your team to prioritise listening, empathy, and personalisation over scripts and sales tactics.
- Use multiple marketing channels — content, referrals, micro-influencers, and local reputation — to attract people who already trust your approach.
If you enjoyed this, you’ll also enjoy the following, they’re some of my most popular articles and podcasts on topics similar to this one:
- Episode 79: ‘The one page fitness marketing checklist. Just do these things.’ Podcast | Article. You can also download a PDF of the checklist here.
- Episode 69: ‘Delivering an Experience: The Strategy of Being Different’. Podcast | Article.
- Episode 74: 9 unique ways to make your business stand out (to get more clients)’. Podcast | Article.
