27 Ways To Increase Gym Revenue & Profitability Quickly

Knowing how to increase gym revenue and profitability is key to success in the fitness industry. Even if your fitness club is already doing well, who doesn’t want to generate more income?

In this article, we outline 27 quick and effective ways to increase gym revenue and fitness club profitability (based on what’s worked for our clients).

We’re a specialist fitness marketing agency with 15+ years of industry experience, so we know first-hand what works (and what doesn’t!). We’ve helped gyms, fitness studios, and personal trainers to successfully promote their businesses, so our strategies are tried and tested.

How To Increase Gym Revenue & Profits

Generating strong revenue is essential for a gym’s success. It’s the fuel of your business so if there isn’t enough then it’ll soon start to struggle. It provides the cash flow that keeps things operating.

But profitability is equally (if not more) important. What’s the point in generating lots of revenue if you aren’t making any money on top? It’s this profit margin that differentiates a business from a charitable non-profit.

At a strategic level, there are five fundamental approaches to increasing a gym’s revenue and profitability. You can sign up more members, raise pricing, sell more add-ons (like personal training sessions and nutritional supplements), improve member retention, and decrease operational costs.

The next question is HOW do we do this? What are the practical steps to getting more members, selling more add-ons, etc?

Well, here’s an overview of the 27 most effective ways to increase your gym’s revenue and profits quickly…

1. Review your sales funnel
2. Refresh sales training
3. Restructure your pricing
4. Review your sales copy
5. Follow up immediately and repeatedly
6. Re-engage your email list
7. Invest in online ads
8. Run a limited-time promotion
9. Spruce up changing areas
10. Target local businesses
11. Offer decent referral incentives
12. Run upsell campaigns
13. Sort your website’s SEO
14. Re-think free trials
15. Analyze your competition
16. Add a concession space
17. Speak with hair salons
18. Niche down
19. Try direct mail
20. Offer workplace lunch-time sessions
21. Identify ideal customer hangouts
22. Think community outreach events
23. Offer exclusive products
24. Do a media event
25. Run multi-site competitions
26. Partner with complementary businesses
27. Join the Easy Fitness Marketing Club

Let’s look at these ideas and how they can improve your sales revenue in detail…

Review Your Sales Funnel

Whenever we take on a new marketing client, the first thing we do is review their sales funnel. It’s a simple but effective way to identify opportunities for increasing revenue.

If you run a gym, fitness club, or boutique studio, look at your marketing activities first. What are you doing to generate leads and which strategies are proving most effective already? Are those leads converting into sales or is there an issue somewhere in the funnel?

We recently helped a yoga business quadruple its sales with this approach. They were running three different Google ads to generate leads but when we reviewed their funnel, we identified one ad that was converting at 4x the rate of the others. So by focusing their budget on this specific ad and stopping the others, they’ll 4x their leads and sales without spending more money!

Review your own sales funnel to find opportunities for improvement. Where are the holes or blockages? Are there any stages where you’re failing to convert prospective members? Increasing conversions allows you to boost gym revenue with the leads you already have.

Refresh Sales Training

Do a sales training refresher workshop with your memberships team. Make sure they’re armed with the skills, knowledge, and tools they need to sell memberships effectively.

Provide them with a process for introductions and club tours. Give them model answers for addressing common objections like price. Create a list of ‘tradeables’ that they are permitted to use during sales negotiations.

For example, you can empower them to offer potential members a place at a nutrition workshop worth $80, instead of reducing the joining fee. Then run this course once per month so that all new starters can benefit while keeping the course costs down.

Make sure you’ve refreshed your sales team’s skills before you invest in more marketing. If you spend money generating leads but they don’t convert into membership sign-ups, then it’s a waste. Fix the leaky bucket before you put more water in…

Restructure Your Pricing

There are several ways that you can restructure your current pricing to increase gym revenue. One of the most effective strategies is to adopt a 3-tier pricing structure. Research shows that the majority of people will choose the middle option, regardless of what the price is.

So, if you currently have a flat-fee membership price, then consider making that your bottom tier and creating higher-level options above it. This video explains this concept of anchor pricing in more detail…

Review Your Sales Copy

Could your sales copy be more persuasive? Does your website do a good job of encouraging people to join your gym and answering their questions?

Review your product descriptions, sales pages, and brochure content to determine whether it can be improved. Even small changes in wording can lead to big increases in inquiries and sign-ups. If you’re unsure how to do this, then check out our how-to guide on writing product descriptions.

Follow-up Immediately & Repeatedly

The likelihood of a prospect joining reduces by 25% every day that goes by. So by day three, they’re 75% less likely to join! This is why it’s so important to follow up quickly but without being pushy.

You could call them first, then SMS on day two, and email on day three. Whatever method you choose, the key is to have a follow-up process in place that all of your sales staff follow.

Re-Engage Your Email List

Most gyms have an email list that they aren’t using to its full potential. It’s a treasure trove of ex-members who already know and like you, so could be easily convinced to sign up again. Plus existing members who you can promote upsells to (like personal training and supplements).

Knowing how to re-engage old email subscribers can be a powerful way to increase gym revenue. It allows you to tap into an audience who has already expressed an interest in your offering. By sending a few carefully worded emails, you can boost membership sign-ups and secondary spend too. This article explains how.

Invest In Online Ads

Investing in online adverts is an instant way to generate leads and increase your gym’s revenue. Google ads in particular allow you to target people who are actively searching for your gym’s services.

You can set up your ads to appear when people search for phrases like ‘gym with pool’ or ‘yoga studio Bristol’. These people are clearly interested in what you have to offer so they’re pretty warm leads. You can set up Google ads and start generating leads the same day, so it’s a super-quick revenue-boosting option.

Run a Limited-Time Promotion

Running a limited-time promotion is an effective way to increase revenue quickly. Having a deadline gives a sense of urgency and encourages people to take action immediately.

We don’t generally recommend offering discounts as they eat into your gym’s profits and can devalue your brand. It’s fine to use them sparingly such as once a year on Black Friday but not every month.

Instead, we suggest running gym promos that offer something extra for a short time. For example, ‘join the club today and get access to our online fat loss challenge (usually $69) for free’.

Ideally this ‘something extra’ should be something scalable that won’t cost you much money to fulfill. In this example, it costs the same amount to run an online challenge whether one person joins or 20 do. But if you’d offered a free personal training session, then it’d be much more costly to fulfill.

Spruce Up Changing Areas

Changing areas can make or break a sale. Sparkling showers and luxurious changing areas will create a spa-like environment. They can transform the idea of going to your gym from a chore to an indulgence.

This doesn’t have to be expensive either. Giving the spaces a deep clean, repainting, adding more mirrors, changing out taps or lighting, adding luxury shower gels, or providing hair straighteners will all help.

Approach Local Businesses About Corporate Memberships

Selling corporate memberships to nearby businesses is a brilliant way to boost gym revenue quickly. Make a list of large businesses within a 10-minute drive of your facility and start by approaching those.

Many companies are looking for ways to support employee wellbeing and your gym could be the solution. You could offer corporate pricing in the form of individual discounts or bulk-purchase packages (e.g. buy ten memberships, get one free).

If they don’t go for corporate memberships, then at least you’ll have expanded your local network. There may be opportunities to partner in the future and cross-promote your gym to their customers.

Incentivize Referrals

There’s nothing more persuasive than a recommendation from a friend. It’s more powerful than advertising, email, or social media. So tap into this by incentivizing member referrals…

But don’t just offer something average like 10% off personal training sessions. That’s not going to drive people to put real effort into proactively recommending your gym.

Instead, offer really good incentives in a competition format. For example, whoever generates the most referrals in one month gets a weekend away in a 5* spa hotel. This may cost $500 but if you get 10 new members out of it then it’s money well spent!

Run Upsell Campaigns

If you need to boost gym revenue quickly, then running an upsell promotions is another great option. This is where you promote secondary spend on things like personal training sessions, spa packages, and protein supplement bundles. It’s a way of generating more revenue from your existing membership base.

As with membership promotions, you don’t want to do this too often. If you can avoid discounts and offer additional value instead (e.g. something extra if they buy this week), that’s the ideal approach.

Sort Your Website’s SEO

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is often a long game but it doesn’t have to be. Yes, it might take months to get free traffic from Google, especially for brand-new websites. But that’s not always the case…

If your gym website has been around for a while, then you might feel the benefits of SEO much quicker. Adding some fitness-specific blog articles and more gym-related keywords can provide an instant boost. And that increase in website visitors will immediately result in more leads and member sign-ups.

Re-Think Free Trials

Firstly, anything that’s free has no value, so never position your club trials in this way. Instead, refer to them as ‘7-day memberships worth $50’ as this will reframe how potential customers view them subconsciously.

But an even more effective approach is providing potential members with a guided experience. Don’t just give them access and let them run loose doing their own thing. Most people won’t know where to start so won’t get much value from it (beyond using the equipment).

Go a step further and offer a ‘7-day kick-start program’ that guides potential members through the induction process. Help them build a habit of going to the gym for one week so that it becomes part of their routine. Use automated emails to educate and support them in making progress toward their fitness goals (even if it’s just a small step). They’ll be much more likely to sign up at the end of this type of trial than a standard day pass.

Analyze Your Competition

If one of your competitors is performing extremely well, then dissect their offering. Consider every aspect including…

• Membership price
• Commitment duration
• Services included or excluded
• Special conditions (like cancellation period)

Compare it against yours and identify an area where you’re offering is superior. Then make sure everyone knows about your unique selling points – you might be surprised how often people value flexibility and service over price.

Add a Concession Space

Adding a concession space allows you to charge rent to other complementary businesses like smoothie franchises or beauty salons. You could even create a pop-up space that can be rented out on a short term basis. This is perfect for businesses that want to promote a new product or test a business idea without committing long term. But you still earn a rental income for the duration of their setup.

Speak With Hair Salons

Do you know how many people a hairdresser speaks to each day? They’re incredibly well-connected and a fantastic source of referrals. You could offer all the hairdressers in your area a 1-week free pass and then 25% off for every referral they provide. This has been proven to increase gym revenue and personal trainer clients too.

Niche Down

If you try to please too many people, you’ll end up pleasing nobody. No one likes a ‘meh’ company that’s the fitness equivalent of beige.

There are many ways to differentiate your offering but the most effective is to get really specific with your offering. This is what boutique fitness clubs like Soul Cycle or community-themed boxes like CrossFit do so well. You’ll attract passionate, die-hard fans who are also more willing to spend money on extras like master classes, gear, and supplements.

You might also like… 5 Ways To Increase Gym Membership Sales Quickly.

Try Direct Mail

Eh? Are we back in the 80s? But don’t scroll down just yet – we’re not talking about generic junk mail flyers that get chucked straight in the recycling. We’re talking about those occasional things we get in the post that really get us excited. You know that “oh my god it’s not a bill” kind of excitement…

• Handwritten notes
• Unusual shapes
• Textured envelopes
• Boxes tied with ribbon
• Cards with embedded video screens

But most importantly, make an offer so good that they’ll want to get up off the sofa and take action.

Offer Workplace Lunch-Time Sessions

How about offering workplace sessions at lunchtime? It’ll encourage people to try who might not have otherwise, in the safety of a familiar work setting and people they know.

Once you have them hooked on your relaxing Hatha sessions or stress-busting boxing, they’ll be keen to migrate to your facility for more regular sessions.

Identify Ideal Customer Hangouts

Where does your ideal customer hang out? Get in front of them at their favourite farmer’s market, vegan café, or auto-parts store! Chat to existing businesses in their space to create a mutually beneficial offer. Perhaps you can offer their customers extra value or even give them a slice of the commission.

Community Outreach Events

Think community outreach too – are there local organisations, community centres, churches or similar, that want to promote healthy living? Find ways to partner with them and get your gym in front of new audiences. Running events, workshops, and seminars is a great way to generate leads for your club.

Offer Exclusive Products

These are the kind that can’t be bought anywhere else in town. This means your target market will make a special trip to purchase.

Could your gym become the exclusive distributor for a branded supplement, fitness clothing line, or educational program? It’ll attract people to your facility from a wider area and boost your secondary spending revenue too.

Do a Media Event

This is the perfect strategy for increasing class revenue. Promote a new fitness program by running a media event for the local (or national) press.

Write to, email, or phone journalists and bloggers to offer them the chance to take part in the hottest new fitness regime in town. Then make sure your class is full to add to the buzz!

Run Multi-Site Competitions

If you have more than one gym location, then run a competition between them every 6 weeks. This not only builds team spirit but motivates club staff to outperform each other.

Partner With Complementary Businesses

Partner with complementary businesses to generate more sales leads. You could work with nutritionists, physiotherapists, or massage practitioners to share clients.

Offer members a consultation with your partner as part of their membership. In return, ask those partners to refer clients to you on a 7-day trial basis. These leads are usually good quality and will convert at a higher rate than the average drop-in.

Join The Easy Fitness Marketing Club

Join the Easy Fitness Marketing Club and get ready-made resources that make promoting your fitness business quicker, easier, and cheaper. Plus exclusive members-only articles, opportunities to vote for new resources you’d like created, and monthly fitness industry discounts.

Join for just $29 and get instant access to our library of 30+ fitness marketing templates and other resources. Upgrade to our Social Plus plan to receive 30 days of social media content every month too… Learn more here.

Increasing Gym Revenue Long-Term

So, now you know exactly how to increase your gym’s revenue quickly. These strategies will help you increase both volume sales and the value attached. You’ll sell more memberships, personal training sessions, weight loss courses, training programs, or workout supplements in no time.

Whatever method you choose, just be sure to keep the customer experience at the heart of your efforts. This will ensure you deliver a service that’s valuable enough to deserve more revenue and greater profits.