How to Evaluate Sales Software for Your Gym

You’re ready to make a change. 

You’re tired of grinding and struggling to manage your gym on your own. You realize you need help. If you’re going to do this right, you’ll need the right gym management software. Something that helps your staff attract and close new opportunities.

What should you be looking for? 

Today, we’ll look at how you can find and evaluate sales software for your gym. 

Understanding your Gym’s Needs

When you’re evaluating your gym, you’ll need to take a look at where you are now and where you’d like your gym to be in the near future. When you’re evaluating gym management software, you’ll want to:

1. Identify the pain points in your fitness business
2. Determine your gym’s unique requirements
3. Set clear goals for your gym sales software

Let’s break these down a bit further. 

Identifying Pain Points in Your Fitness Business

Contrary to popular belief, the pain points in your fitness business aren’t unique or special. Most of the headaches and challenges you experience are the same, common pain points that other gym owners experience.  

• Overcoming competition: How can you stand out among the other gyms in your community? What about online fitness options? What sort of uniqueness, value propositions, and irresistible offers are you promoting?  
• Member retention: You’re fighting to keep churn to a minimum and keeping your members engaged with the programs and offerings you have available in your gym. 
• Client acquisition: You’re working to attract new members in a competitive landscape that’s filled with lowball options like Planet Fitness or premium options like Equinox. 
• Customer support: What sort of workflow or sales process do you have in place to manage member complaints, solicit feedback, and build a strong member community? 
• Staff turnover: How do you keep trainers and support staff with you? High turnover rates will impact service quality negatively, which increases churn and decreases member retention. 
• Scheduling conflicts: You have time slots that work well for your clients, but do they work well for your trainers? You’re forced to juggle trainer availability and class schedules to keep member retention high. 
• Payment challenges: Expired card data, late payments, failed transactions, partial payments—these are all ongoing challenges that your payment processing platform needs to be able to manage. You should be able to track payments consistently (positive or negative) over time.
• Marketing challenges: Do you have a compelling value proposition? How do you acquire more clients with the limited time and budget you have available? 
• Facility maintenance: As you’ve probably guessed, Staph infections and skin diseases increase churn. Who’s responsible for cleaning and maintaining the equipment in your facility? Keeping your space safe and operational is a full-time job on its own. 
• Time management: You’re constantly fighting battles on two fronts—working on your business (administrative tasks, marketing, promotion, partnerships, etc.) and working in your business (cleaning the gym, training staff, ordering products, etc.). 
• Legal compliance: Is your gym compliant with health and insurance regulations? Are all of your members signing waivers? Have you set appropriate boundaries in your gym (e.g., wiping down equipment after use, no cameras allowed in the building, keep your shoes on, etc.)? 

We’ve outlined these pain points; now we need to identify areas where gym sales software can address the problem, improving our gym operations and increasing monthly recurring revenue. 

• Marketing tools give you the ability to market your way out of any competitor or marketing challenge. You should be able to create landing pages, build a website, send emails, book appointments—all of the usual things you’d need to do in a digital marketing campaign. 
• Booking tools will allow you to optimize your calendar, eliminating scheduling conflicts with clients, classes, and trainers. With the right tools, scheduling classes that work for everyone is easy; when that happens, it should be easy to manage bookings appropriately. 
• Attendance tools will help you (a.) track the number of people attending, gauging the popularity or success of a particular session or event. (b.) give you an indication of the members who are about to churn (as member engagement and attendance fall, churn rates rise) and (c.) provide your customer support teams with a consistent list of names they can reach out to in their win-back campaigns. 
• Billing tools are necessary if you want revenue, but they can do so much more. If your automated billing and attendance tools are on the same platform (i.e., Gymdesk), you can give your support teams even more assistance by providing a list of people who continue to pay for a membership but do not use the facility or services you provide.
• Member management tools provide you with the platform you need to manage memberships, legal compliance, staff issues, and facility maintenance. This helps staff manage important to-dos in their roles more effectively. 
• Facility access tools ensure that the right people have access to your gym. People who refuse to pay or are disruptive/inappropriate can be removed and their access revoked in a few clicks. 

Determine Your Gym’s Unique Requirements

You’ll want to consider the size and complexity of your gym—the number of locations you have, staff member requirements, training, and support needs. Can each of the sales software tools address these problems?

Next, consider the specific essential features you’ll need in your gym sales software. Do you need to contact potential members via text, push notifications, and email? What about landing and offer pages?

Take the time to map things out.

It’s always better to ask for more than you need; if you go conservative, you may end up with the wrong tool for the job and a tool that you’re stuck with for a longer period of time. 

Set clear goals for your gym sales software

There’s a simple, high-level approach you can take to setting your goals.

Look forward, reason backwards.  

When you look forward, you imagine an outcome that’s one year in the future. What does your gym look like? How many members and staff do you have? What sort of revenue are you bringing in? What sort of programs do you have? 

Have that picture in your head? 

Perfect.

Now, using logic, reason backwards from that vision of the future. What specifically do you need to do—daily, weekly, monthly, to get to the outcome you saw in your mind? Create an action plan that’s specific and measurable, one that requires growth for you to achieve.

Here’s an example to show you what I mean.

Looking forward, I see that my gym has grown to 1,000 members. I run a premium gym, so my price point is higher, in the $200 to $395 a month range. I’ve recruited the top 10% of trainers in the state to work with me. This means I’m looking for A-player clients and staff who are eager to grow.

Reasoning backwards, I realize I’ll need to:

• Create a story around our business (origin, values, idea, enemy, journey, win conditions)
• Build an advertising campaign/use the right marketing strategies and generate 100 sign-ups per month. 
• Maintain a 5% conversion rate
• Bring in 3,000 website visitors per month. 
• Keep churn to 10% or less

This is a small example, but it conveys the point. To set a goal, look to the future, then reason backwards using logic, outlining the steps you’ll need to take to get there. 

How to Evaluate Sales Software Features

Your sales software should facilitate lead captures from multiple sources—your website, social media, text, phone, email, etc. Your software should function like a CRM, collecting and organizing your prospects into a centralized database. 

You’ve generated leads. What happens next?

You should have workflows in place to help guide your next steps. You’ll need: 

• Broadcast and automated follow-up sequences: Your sales reps will need to be able to send messages out to potential members on an as-needed basis. Automated follow-up is helpful for potential members who need to be nurtured. Both of these sequences are essential because most of your prospects won’t be ready to buy right away. 
• Class scheduling sequences: Your prospects may not know where to start. You’ll need a few things with this workflow (1.) an onboarding sequence to get them acquainted with everything that’s available to them, (2.) a scheduling sequence to set them up with the products, services, and support they paid for. 
• Feedback sequences: When you make it a habit to request member feedback, you identify problems well before they become serious. It’s also easy to generate reviews and testimonials. That’s important because testimonials attract new, like-minded people to your gym. 

Your sales software should be able to handle all of this, supporting your sales team with the workflows, templates, and tools they need to attract more clients.

Here’s an example to show you what I mean. 

Your sales software should seamlessly integrate with your scheduling system; it should be easy for clients and staff to manage bookings, reschedules, or cancellations. Next, you’ll want to verify the software’s ability to accurately track attendance—the more insights into member behavior, the better. 

You should be able to see an overview of your attendance data as well as member data at the individual level. Viewing check-ins, average attendance, and the number of members who were active in the last 30, 60, or 90 days is an important must-have.

• Is attendance falling? If you can see that data, you have a chance at finding out why
• Attendance increasing? Find the reason and reproduce it
• Are specific trainers a draw for members? Do specific trainers repel members? Why? 
• Which programs, classes, location, or timeframe works best for members? 

If you get this data from your sales software, you can find the answers you need. If you don’t have the data, you can’t find the answers to these questions. 

This works in reverse, too. 

Let’s say Johnny, one of your members, is going on vacation for two weeks. His routine has been disrupted, so when he gets back, it may be tough for him to get back into the swing of things.

If you know his routine, you can invite him to the gym when he’s back in town. 

If your sales software can send automated text messages, push notifications, and emails, you can automate reminders and notifications for classes, sessions, and appointments. 

Why the focus on attendance?

Attendance tracking gives you the knowledge you need to improve member management and retention and decrease churn. It’s an indicator, the canary in the coal mine, telling you that something has changed. 

Assessing and Improving the User Experience (UX) 

Great UX design is great for business.

Great sales software takes large, complicated sales processes and makes them clear, simple to understand, and easy to use. At first glance, this doesn’t seem all that important, but it is. If your sales software is easy, simple, and clear, your employees will use it!  

Your sales software needs to accommodate three users.

Ease of Use for Your Staff and Members

The sales software’s user interface should be clear, concise, and intuitive. Icons should be properly labeled, and all of the data on the page should be displayed in a format that’s easy to scan. The more complicated your sales software, the more onboarding and training your staff will need to do their jobs. 

Why does that matter? 

If your sales software is difficult to use, you’ll be forced to deal with: 

• Transitional pain: The transition from what your team is using/doing now to the difficult sales software you’re planning will be messy and expensive. 
• Frequent support calls: Your staff will be forced to contact you and your vendors for help. Depending on the support plan you have, your employees will spend more of their time on support calls, trolling through knowledgebase documents, or trying to figure out what to do instead of the one thing you’re paying them to do—take care of your business. 
• Lost revenue (due to mistakes): If your sales software is difficult to use, you may find that staff resort to guessing. That guessing will lead to expensive mistakes that require more time and money to fix. These mistakes will create mistakes elsewhere, creating a vicious cycle.  

Want to avoid these issues? 

Look for software that’s clear, concise, and simple. Take advantage of the free trial if it’s offered. Give your staff a chance to use it, to see what they think of it. This will help earn their buy-in; it also gives you a clear sense of the UX. 

Mobile Accessibility and Responsiveness

Your sales software should be fully responsive and mobile-friendly. Your sales team should be able to use your sales from any device—Chromebooks, smartphones, tablets, desktops, etc. You’re looking for specifics here; The app should look and function the same way the experience should be seamless. The links, icons, and buttons should be in the same place.   

Customization Options for Your Fitness Studio Brand

Your sales software should be customizable. You should be able to change the customer-facing portions of your software. You should be able to adjust your implementation to match your brand voice and tone. It’s not a win if your marketing efforts and content are completely wasted after you’ve signed up. 

Look for flexibility. 

You should be able to create automations, workflows, and templates; you’ll want to customize this sales tool so it’s in line with the way you’re already doing things. 

Choosing the Right Sales Software

It’s time to choose your sales software. How do you go about choosing the option that’s best for your gym? It’s a pretty big decision; if you get it wrong, it’ll probably be expensive and messy, with lots of transitional pain.

How about we choose the right software the first time? 

Here’s how you do it. 

Step #1: Research and Compare Different Options for Gym Management

Gather your list of candidates together. You’ll want to make note of the factors that are important to your business. Primary factors can include: essential features, pricing, onboarding, and customer support. Secondary factors can include: Reviews, years in business, industries supported, total cost of ownership, etc.  

Step #2: Read Reviews and Ask for Referrals

Take the time to read reviews from fitness industry professionals and other gym owners. A single negative review shouldn’t be an immediate dealbreaker. Instead, keep an eye out for specific trends. Look for complaints about poor customer service, outages and downtime, or policy issues (e.g., they keep increasing the price). Keep an eye out for excellent customer service as well!

Keep an eye out for any other details that may be a dealbreaker for you.

Details like what?

• Extra fees for basic customer support
• Core features cost extra
• Important features are missing
• Certain features don’t work
• The software doesn’t perform as expected
• Human error or repeated examples of erroneous billing or charges

Ask colleagues for referrals and introductions. Ask them about the specifics that have worked for them. 

Step #3: Schedule a Free Demo or Trial

Make a list of the software vendors offering a free demo or trial. You need time to test their software features and functionality. Make sure you’re ready to use the demo or free trial. Before you start, you’ll want to take some time to prepare the following: 

• Data you can use to test their sales software
• Staff members who are available to test the software 
• Tasks you can use to test the data (e.g., run a test transaction, add a customer, build a landing page, etc.)
• Verify integrations (e.g., Zapier, Stripe, Zoom, etc.) 
• Gather customer support numbers so you can test out customer support teams when it’s convenient for you

Verify that you have all of the details you need ahead of time so you can get the most out of your demo or free trial. Gather all of the post-sale training you’ll need beforehand so you’re ready to onboard and train your team. 

Post-Sale Implementation and Onboarding

At this point, you’ve made your decision. 

You’ve selected a winner, and you’re now ready to use your sales software. What does this mean? It’s time to train your staff on the new software; you’ll want to ensure that they understand its features and functionality.

You’ll want to make sure that you’re aware of the support and training requirements. Are there set times to use the support lines? What does your plan dictate? Are you able to use chat, phone, and email support, or are you limited to one support channel? Can anyone on your team call in for support, or is it limited to a single point of contact? 

Who’s responsible for support?

Set Up Key Automations and Integrations

Remember that list we talked about earlier? All of the tools you’re already using to manage your business? It’s time to integrate the tools and apps on that list with your sales software. What sort of tools are we talking about here? 

• Email clients (e.g., Google Workspace, Microsoft Outlook)
• Accounting software (e.g., QuickBooks, Xero)
• Facility access tools
• Payment processing (e.g., Authorize.net, Stripe, Square)
• Lead scoring tools (e.g., Lead Forensics, Lead Exec, Lead Score by Zapier)
• Virtual meetings (e.g., Zoom)
• Active Campaign (e.g., email service providers)
• Automation platforms (e.g., Zapier) 

See what I mean? 

You’ll want to set up your integrations now that you’ve selected your sales software. Verify that each integration is performing as expected. Verify that you can sync data between your sales software and each app that you’re connected to. 

What’s after integrations?

Automations! Set up key automations and integrations, e.g., lead capture, automated follow-up messages (e.g., text, push notifications, and email). Confirm that your sales software can do everything you’ve asked it to do—automate tasks and reduce manual data entry.

Finally, add in your workflows and templates. 

For example, you can add in your follow-up emails, downloads, review requests, etc. Once you have all of these set up, you should be ready to go. 

Find and evaluate sales software for your Fitness Business

Take a look at where your gym is now and where you’d like it to be in the near future. When you’re evaluating gym sales software: 

1. Identify the pain points in your fitness business
2. Determine your gym’s unique requirements
3. Set clear goals for your sales software
4. Evaluate Sales Software Features
5. Assess the User Experience (UX) 
6. Choose the Right Sales Software

It’s about matchmaking. Find the tools that are the best fit for your fitness business. You’ve outlined these pain points; focus on identifying areas where gym sales software can address these problems. If your gym sales software does its job, you should see an immediate benefit in your gym operations, increasing monthly revenue. 

Take a high-level approach to goal setting. 

Look forward, reason backwards.  

Imagine your ideal outcome in the future. Now, using logic, reason backwards from that vision of the future. Outline what needs to be done, and you’ll find you have a clear plan of action for your vision.