Behind Gym Doors | A Fitness Business Podcast Podcast By Mike Arce | GSD Gyms | Fitness Business Growth cover art

Behind Gym Doors | A Fitness Business Podcast

Behind Gym Doors | A Fitness Business Podcast

By: Mike Arce | GSD Gyms | Fitness Business Growth
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We cover the most common challenges in the fitness industry to help you overcome them and GSD! This podcast is also available in high-def video and audio only formats. -- Read the show: https://www.loudrumor.com/the-gsd-show/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GSDshow/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/GSD_Show Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gsd_show/ Economics Exercise & Fitness Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Hygiene & Healthy Living Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • #436: Your Gym is Leaking Money (12 Metrics You MUST Track for Max Profitability)
    Apr 16 2026

    🚨 LIVE AI Workshop for Gym Owners — April 30th, 2pm PT / 5pm ET
    Learn how to use A.I. to get more leads and members at your gym — without being a tech person.

    Limited seats. Register → GSDlive.com

    ——————————————————

    Most gyms are leaking money. They just don't know where.

    And the reason isn't bad marketing or a weak sales team. It's that most gym owners are working on the wrong things, while the real problems go completely undetected.

    In this episode, Mike Arce breaks down the 12 metrics every gym and fitness studio must track. Not vanity numbers. Not what your ad agency tells you to look at. The actual numbers that tell you what's working, what's broken, and exactly where to focus next.

    When you don't track these, you end up overpaying for leads, underspending on what's actually working, keeping the wrong people, firing the wrong people, and losing members faster than you can replace them — without ever knowing why.

    When you do track them? You stop guessing. You stop burning out. You make decisions like a CEO.

    📲 Want the free cheat sheet with all 12 metrics?
    DM the word KPI to @GSDGyms on Instagram and we'll send it to you instantly.

    In this episode you'll learn:

    • The formula to calculate exactly how many leads your gym needs every month
    • Show rate benchmarks: what's average, good, and great (and how to hit 90%+)
    • Close rate targets — and why closing over 60% means it's time to raise your prices
    • Monthly attrition rate: the metric that separates gyms that grow from gyms that grind
    • Length of engagement (LEG): why going from 10% to 3% attrition makes you an entirely different business
    • Average revenue per member (ARM) and how to calculate it correctly
    • Lifetime value (LTV): the most important number in your business — and how to grow it
    • Customer acquisition cost (CAC): why your ad agency is calculating this wrong
    • Lead-to-sale conversion rate and what it tells you that your close rate can't
    • Cost per lead by platform — and how to use it to spend smarter
    • Ancillary sales: why members who buy two extra things have an 80% higher retention rate
    • Labor budget: the rule of thirds that separates healthy gyms from ones that hemorrhage money

    If you're tired of working hard and not knowing why your gym isn't growing — this episode will change that.

    ——————————————————

    ⏱ Timestamps:

    • 0:00 — Why most gyms are leaking money without knowing it
    • 1:00 — Mike Arce intro + GSD Gyms credibility
    • 2:00 — Why burnout isn't about hours — it's about working on the wrong things
    • 3:45 — Metric 1: Leads per month — the formula to know your exact target
    • 6:58 — Metric 2: Show rate — average vs. good vs. great benchmarks
    • 9:36 — Metric 3: Close rate — targets, benchmarks, and when to raise prices
    • 11:59 — Metric 4: Monthly attrition rate — and why pauses count
    • 15:02 — Metric 5: Length of engagement (LEG) — the compounding impact of retention
    • 17:50 — Metric 6: Average revenue per member (ARM)
    • 19:15 — Why not being a numbers person is costing you money
    • 21:02 — Metric 7: Lifetime value (LTV) — the most important number in your gym
    • 22:35 — Metric 8: Customer acquisition cost (CAC) — and why most gyms calculate it wrong
    • 28:10 — Metric 9: Lead-to-sale conversion rate
    • 30:11 — Metric 10: Cost per lead — by platform and in total
    • 33:29 — Metric 11: Ancillary sales — how extra revenue drives retention
    • 37:53 — Metric 12: Labor budget — the rule of thirds for a healthy gym
    • 40:25 — How to get the free KPI cheat sheet + final CTA

    ——————————————————

    🎯 Ready to grow your gym faster? See how GSD Gyms helps fitness studios reach $100K/month → 100kplan.com

    Show more Show less
    41 mins
  • #435: Behind the Scenes Gym Sales Training with The Collective
    Apr 9 2026

    🚨 LIVE AI Workshop for Gym Owners — April 30th, 2pm PT / 5pm ET Learn how to use A.I. to get more leads and members at your gym — without being a tech person.

    Limited seats. Register → GSDlive.com

    ——————————————————

    Most gym owners think the sale happens at the close. It doesn't. By the time you're showing the pricing sheet, it's already done — or it's already lost.

    In this episode, Mike Arce sits down with the sales team at The Collective — a fitness studio in Gilbert, Arizona that went from $35K to over $100K/month — and walks them through the entire sales process end to end. Live. With real role plays. This isn't theory. You're listening to it happen in real time.

    The biggest thing holding your sales team back isn't their script. It's ego. The moment a salesperson starts worrying about how they sound, whether they should follow up again, or what the prospect thinks of them — they've already lost the sale. The best salespeople forget about themselves completely and focus on one thing: the person in front of them.

    In this episode you'll learn:

    • Why ego is the #1 thing killing your gym's close rate (and how to fix it fast)
    • The phone call framework that makes prospects feel like your only call of the day
    • How congruency across every touchpoint — ads, website, phone call, tour — makes closing effortless
    • Why the sale is never at the close — and where it actually happens
    • How to do the tour so the prospect is sold before they ever see the price sheet
    • The hand-off to the coach that builds accountability and drives retention
    • How to ask for the membership without it ever feeling like a sales moment
    • The referral move that turns every booking into two opportunities If your gym's sales process feels like it's held together with duct tape — this episode will fix that.

    ——————————————————

    ⏱ Timestamps:

    • 0:00 —Intro: live sales training at The Collective in Gilbert, AZ
    • 0:43 —Why ego is the biggest thing holding your sales team back
    • 3:52 —The first domino: why a gym membership changes more than fitness
    • 6:55 —The full prospect journey and why congruency closes sales
    • 9:51 — Lead ops: speed, uniqueness, and frequency on phone calls
    • 13:50 — CRM notes and why talent can't beat discipline
    • 16:20 — Role play: the phone call done wrong vs. done right
    • 21:00 — Role play: how to book the appointment and generate a referral
    • 25:35 — What great salespeople gather on every call (and why it matters)
    • 33:06 — The in-person tour: how to customize it for every prospect
    • 39:00 — Handing off to the coach and why it matters for retention
    • 47:00 — Showing the pricing sheet without killing the close
    • 53:00 — Team takeaways: what the sales staff learned today
    • 1:00:00 — Final CTA

    Click to View the Complete Board Graphic: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QvQtoOxp_MzazXvdFGR5DpV0rdBy7FCd/view?usp=sharing

    ——————————————————

    🎯 Ready to grow your gym faster? See how GSD Gyms helps fitness studios reach $100K/month → 100kplan.com

    Show more Show less
    1 hr
  • 434: Why Gym Employees Can't Sell - And How to Fix It (The CPT Sales Machine)
    Apr 2 2026

    Your gym staff isn't bad at sales. You just never gave them what they actually need to close.

    In this episode, Mike Arce breaks down the CPT Sales Machine — the 3-part framework behind the gyms GSD works with that consistently hit 80%+ close rates, even as they raise prices.

    Here's the hard truth most gym owners miss: you're great at sales because you have conviction no employee will ever naturally match. Your gym is your baby. Theirs is a job. But conviction can be built — and when you pair it with the right process and the right training rhythms, your staff starts outselling you.

    One of our member gyms went from 15 new members a month to 35–40 — not by hiring better people. By fixing these three things.

    In this episode:

    • Why you're the only one closing at your gym (and why it's not your staff's fault)
    • The CPT Sales Machine: Conviction, Process, and Training — in order of importance
    • How to build real belief in your team using daily wins, mission talks, and monthly member stories
    • The pre, during, and post sales process your staff needs to stop winging it
    • The 3 training rhythms that separate gyms with 80%+ close rates from everyone else
    • BONUS: The 4 Levels of Certainty every prospect needs before they'll buy

    If you're tired of being the only one who can sell at your gym — this one's for you.

    🎯 Ready to grow your gym faster? See how GSD Gyms helps fitness studios reach $100K/month → 100kplan.com

    ⏱ Episode Timestamps:

    • 0:00 — Why your staff can't sell
    • 1:00 — Mike Arce + GSD Gyms intro
    • 2:00 — The real problem (it's not potential or activity)
    • 3:30 — Introducing the CPT Sales Machine
    • 4:15 — C: Conviction — why owners have it and how to build it in your team
    • 8:15 — P: Process — pre, during, and post frameworks
    • 15:30 — T: Training — 3 types that drive 80%+ close rates
    • 27:00 — Digging a hole vs. solving a Rubik's Cube
    • 34:00 — BONUS: The 4 Levels of Certainty
    • 38:00 — Final CTA
    Show more Show less
    38 mins
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