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How to Sell Gym Memberships Without Feeling Pushy

One former member turned co-owner built a sales system that tripled his gym's monthly signups

Author

John Franklin
September 18, 2026

What’s up, Gym World?

Most gym owners know they need more members walking through the door. But the second the word “sales” comes up, a lot of them go quiet.

Nobody wants to feel pushy, so instead of building a real process, a lot of gyms just…hope.

Hope the front desk person closes a few.

Hope word of mouth does the rest.

Will Harrison didn’t come at this problem from a coaching background, or a business degree, or even gym ownership. He came at it as a member who happened to be good at sales, and turned that into a system that changed his gym's entire trajectory.

From Member to the Gym’s First Sales Hire

Will joined CrossFit Bath as a regular member. He was overweight, burnt out from a corporate sales job, and driving over a thousand miles a week for work.

CrossFit changed how he felt. It didn’t change his job, though; he still hated it.

Then COVID hit, and everything shifted. One of the gym’s owners reached out with a question: would Will ever consider a sales role at the gym?

💬 At the time, this wasn’t really a thing. Most CrossFit boxes didn’t have anyone dedicated to sales. Front desk, sure. A salaried sales role? Almost unheard of.

Will took the job in the middle of lockdown, with the gym sitting at 142 members.

What Changed When Someone Actually Owned Sales

Before Will, the gym’s sales fell to whoever had time: an owner, a coach, whoever could squeeze it in between other responsibilities.

Once someone was fully dedicated to it, the numbers moved fast:

  • Before: 8 to 10 new members a month

  • After: 48 to 49 new members a month

Will credits some of it to a competitive mindset he brought over from his old sales job. But most of it came down to something more straightforward: nobody else had the time or the passion to focus on it.

Will’s Core Philosophy: Sales Is the Transfer of Enthusiasm

Ask Will what makes someone good at sales, and he won’t talk about scripts or closing tricks.

He says the same three traits that make a great coach make a great salesperson:

  • Empathy

  • Genuine care

  • Passion for the thing you’re selling

💬 If you’re passionate about what your gym does for people, Will says you’re already 90% of the way there. The rest is process.

Why Nobody Cares About Your Rowers

Prospects don’t care how many rowers you have. They don’t care about your barbells, your certifications, or your shower situation.

What they care about is one question: can you actually help me?

Will points to a common mistake he calls the “telling reflex.” A prospect mentions they want to lose weight, and the salesperson immediately jumps to features: “Great, we run nine classes a day, and our coaches will get you there!”

The problem? You just skipped discovery. You never asked why losing weight matters to them, or what it would mean for their life.

💬 People buy based on emotion, then justify it with logic afterward. If you skip past their emotional “why,” you’re selling to the wrong part of their brain.

The Mistake That Kills a Sale Right After You Present the Price

Will shared a story about a gym owner who came to him stuck. The owner said he was doing everything right, presenting the price, walking through the timetable, but sales weren’t closing.

Here’s what he was actually doing: after presenting the price, he’d say something like, “I’ll send over the info, and we can figure out how you might get started.”

He never actually asked for the sale.

💬 That gap matters more than people think. The moment someone hears a price, they’re at peak emotional buying interest. Send them home to “think about it,” and their spouse, their schedule, or their own doubt will talk them out of it before they come back.

Will’s team uses a five-step framework for the close: empathize, isolate, reisolate, gain commitment, overcome. Every step leads with empathy first, objection-handling second.

Becoming a Co-Owner

Eventually, Will moved from sales rep to head of sales and marketing, then into an ownership stake.

He admits the hardest part wasn’t the paperwork. It was letting go of his identity as “the sales guy” and trusting someone else to take that role so he could grow into a bigger one.

💬 A lot of gym owners hold onto tasks because doing the work is tied to their sense of value. Will says the fix is deliberate succession planning: get someone ready for your seat before you actually need to hand it over.

The ownership structure itself came down to a simple formula: take operating profit, agree on a multiplier, and negotiate from there.

Helping Other Gym Owners Through The Fitness Flywheel

On the side, Will now runs The Fitness Flywheel, working with affiliate owners across Europe and Asia on the exact same problems he solved at CrossFit Bath.

Two results he shared:

  • A gym owner with 34 members grew by 36% in a single month

  • A gym owner with 2 locations and 240 members now runs 3 locations with over 800 members

💬 Different starting points, same underlying issue: most gym owners are juggling ten roles at once, and sales is the one that gets neglected.

TL;DR

If you want to sell more gym memberships without feeling like a sleazy salesperson:

  • Dedicate real time to sales. A part-time effort gets part-time results.

  • Lead with empathy, care, and genuine passion before you talk about tactics.

  • Do real discovery before pitching. Ask why something matters before explaining how you’ll help.

  • Always ask for the sale directly. Don’t let someone leave to “think about it.”

  • Plan your own succession. Someone else being capable of your role is what lets you grow into the next one.

cheers,

j