The Secret to Growing Your Gym Isn’t Marketing — It’s Hiring Better People

Gym owners are constantly looking for the next strategy that will grow their business.

More leads.

Better marketing.

New software.

A different membership model.

More automation.

And while all of those things can help, I believe one of the biggest growth opportunities in the gym business is much simpler:

Recruit the best people you can find, train them properly, hold them accountable, and continually develop them.

That is the secret.

Because at some point, the growth of your gym is going to be limited by the quality of the people operating it.

You can have great equipment, a beautiful facility, strong marketing and hundreds of leads coming through the door.

But if the people answering the phone, giving tours, training members, handling cancellations and managing the facility aren’t performing at a high level, you’re going to leave money on the table.

Your Gym Can Only Grow as Fast as Your People Grow

One of the biggest mistakes I see gym owners make is focusing almost entirely on systems while ignoring the people responsible for executing those systems.

A system doesn’t sell a membership.

A person does.

A CRM doesn’t build a relationship with a prospect.

A salesperson does.

A retention program doesn’t personally notice that a member hasn’t visited in three weeks.

An engaged employee does.

The systems matter, but the people operating those systems matter more.

As the owner, your job eventually has to shift from doing everything yourself to building a team that can execute your vision without you standing over them every minute of the day.

That starts with recruiting.

Stop Hiring Whoever Happens to Apply

Too many gym owners hire reactively.

Someone quits on Friday.

By Monday, the owner is desperate to fill the position.

So they hire the first reasonably qualified person who walks through the door.

That’s usually where the problem starts.

If you’re serious about growing your gym, recruiting needs to become an ongoing process.

You should always be looking for talented people.

Some of your best future employees may not even be actively searching for a job.

They could be:

• A great salesperson working in another industry.
• An energetic member who naturally connects with people.
• A personal trainer frustrated with their current opportunity.
• A hospitality employee who understands customer service.
• A young employee with tremendous energy and coachability.

When I look at successful gym businesses, they usually aren’t waiting until they’re short-staffed to start recruiting.

They are constantly building their bench.

Hire for Attitude, Energy and Coachability

Experience can certainly help, but experience by itself doesn’t guarantee someone will become a great employee.

I’ve seen experienced people who were extremely difficult to coach.

And I’ve seen inexperienced people become tremendous performers because they were hungry, enthusiastic and willing to learn.

When you’re hiring, ask yourself:

Does this person have the personality, work ethic and attitude that fits our organization?

Skills can often be taught.

Attitude is much harder to change.

You want employees who show up with energy.

Employees who want to improve.

Employees who aren’t afraid to talk to prospects.

Employees who take ownership.

Employees who care about the success of the business.

Those are the people you can build around.

Training Cannot Be a One-Time Event

Another mistake I see constantly is gym owners hiring someone, giving them a quick orientation and then assuming they should know what to do.

That’s not training.

Real training is ongoing.

Your salespeople should continually practice:

• Telephone skills.
• Facility tours.
• Needs analysis.
• Presenting membership options.
• Handling objections.
• Asking for the sale.
• Following up with prospects.

Your front-desk staff should be trained on:

• Customer service.
• Lead capture.
• Member engagement.
• Referrals.
• Handling complaints.
• Identifying membership opportunities.

Your managers should be trained on:

• Leadership.
• Coaching.
• Recruiting.
• Sales management.
• Employee accountability.
• KPI management.

Professional athletes don’t stop practicing after they make the team.

Why would we expect employees to stop practicing once they’re hired?

Accountability Is Not Micromanagement

Some gym owners are uncomfortable holding employees accountable because they don’t want to be viewed as too demanding.

But accountability isn’t punishment.

Accountability means everyone understands what is expected.

Employees should know their numbers.

How many leads were contacted?

How many appointments were booked?

How many prospects showed?

How many memberships were sold?

How many members cancelled?

How many former members were contacted?

How many referrals were generated?

Without measurement, everything becomes opinion.

One employee says they’re doing great.

Another says business is slow.

The manager says the leads are bad.

Marketing says sales aren’t following up.

Numbers eliminate a lot of those arguments.

Define expectations.

Measure performance.

Review the numbers.

Coach the employee.

Then hold them accountable to improvement.

Development Is What Keeps Your Best Employees

Hiring great people is only part of the equation.

You also have to give them somewhere to go.

Your best employees usually want more responsibility, more income, more knowledge and more opportunity.

If they don’t see that opportunity inside your organization, eventually they’ll look for it somewhere else.

That’s why employee development is so important.

Let your best salesperson mentor new hires.

Teach your front-desk employee how membership sales work.

Let a talented trainer learn management.

Give future managers leadership responsibilities before they’re promoted.

Create opportunities for people to grow with the company.

I’ve always believed that strong organizations should be developing their next generation of leaders before those leadership positions even become available.

Build A-Players Instead of Accepting Average Performance

One thing I’ve seen repeatedly in the gym business is that owners sometimes tolerate average employees because replacing them feels difficult.

But one exceptional employee can often outperform several average employees.

An A-player creates energy.

They sell.

They follow up.

They take ownership.

They help other employees.

They notice problems before the owner does.

They don’t constantly need to be reminded what their job is.

That kind of employee becomes incredibly valuable.

And once you have several people like that working together, the culture of the entire business starts to change.

Instead of the owner dragging everyone forward, the team begins pushing the business forward together.

Your Managers Should Be Developing People, Not Just Managing Shifts

This is another area where gym businesses frequently get stuck.

Someone performs well, so they’re promoted to manager.

But nobody actually teaches them how to manage.

Now they’re responsible for schedules, employees, sales and customer problems without having been taught how to lead people.

A manager’s job isn’t simply making sure everyone showed up.

A great manager should be recruiting, training, coaching and developing the people underneath them.

Ask your managers:

Who on your team are you developing right now?

If the answer is nobody, that’s a problem.

Your organization should constantly be producing stronger employees.

The Owner Eventually Has to Become the Talent Developer

In the early stages of a gym business, the owner might be the salesperson, manager, trainer, marketer and problem solver.

But that model doesn’t scale very far.

Eventually, the owner’s most important job becomes finding and developing people who can take responsibility off the owner’s plate.

That’s when the business begins to change.

Instead of asking:

How can I personally sell more memberships?

You start asking:

How can I build three great salespeople?

Instead of asking:

How do I solve every member complaint?

You ask:

How do I develop a manager who can solve these problems without me?

Instead of asking:

How many hours can I personally work?

You ask:

How strong can I make my team?

That’s the transition from owning a job to building a business.

Frequently Asked Questions About Building a Strong Gym Team

What is the most important factor in growing a gym business?

There are many important factors, including marketing, sales, retention and pricing, but the quality of the people executing those strategies is critical. Recruiting, training, accountability and employee development can significantly improve every area of the business.

How often should gym employees be trained?

Training should be ongoing. Short daily or weekly sales training, role-playing and coaching sessions can often be more effective than occasional large training events.

Should gym owners hire experienced employees?

Experience can be valuable, but attitude, energy, work ethic and coachability are often equally important. A motivated employee who is willing to learn can sometimes outperform someone with more industry experience.

How should gym owners hold employees accountable?

Establish clear performance expectations and track measurable KPIs such as calls, appointments, tours, sales, referrals, cancellations and follow-up activity. Review those numbers regularly and coach employees on how to improve.

How do you keep great gym employees?

Give talented employees opportunities to learn, earn more responsibility, develop new skills and advance inside the organization. Employees are much more likely to stay when they can see a future with the company.

The Bottom Line

If you want to grow your gym, stop looking only for another marketing trick.

Look at your people.

Who are you recruiting?

Who are you training?

Who are you developing?

Who are you holding accountable?

Who could become your next manager?

Who could become your next top salesperson?

Who could eventually help run the company?

Because the gym business is ultimately a people business.

Recruit great people.

Train them.

Coach them.

Hold them accountable.

Develop them.

Then give your best people an opportunity to grow.

Do that consistently, and you’ll eventually build something far more valuable than a busy gym.

You’ll build an organization capable of growing without everything depending on you.

Need help building systems, improving your facility, or turning around your gym business? Contact Jim here.

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