We talk a lot about member retention.
When you work to retain existing members, the payoff is a steady stream of revenue for your gym.
But keeping members isn’t the only way to stabilize and grow your overall revenue. Getting your existing members to buy more products and services also increases your gym’s revenue and grows your business.
Products & Services To Grow Your Gym Revenue
Think about it this way:
If you could add an extra $25 per member per month to your overall monthly revenue, how much more would you bring in annually?
- 50 gym members = $15,000 more annually
- 75 gym members = $22,500 more annually
- 100 gym members = $30,000 more annually
If you’re not already working to increase your revenue per member, you could be leaving a lot of money on the table. So let’s look at ways to capture that revenue and grow your business.
8 Revenue Generators for Your Gym
1. Retail Items
Selling retail items is one of the best ways to increase revenue by relying on existing membership.
With fitness industry markups as high as 100%, there’s plenty of money to be made in retail sales. Many gym owners find that retail is the easiest way to make additional money.
Once you stock the items, they basically sell themselves — with the help of a software with retail management, of course.
Whether it’s bottled water, supplements, snacks, or clothing, your members will appreciate the convenience of buying these things from you. Plus, if you’re selling it, they know you’re endorsing it.
Check out these tips for increasing revenue from retail sales, depending on your fitness focus (there’s plenty of crossover between business types):
2. Workshops
Want to help members break through a plateau? Give them the tools to mix up their training routines.
Workshops help you earn more revenue and boost your retention at the same time. The more knowledge and tools a gym member has, the more successful they will be. And that success correlates with greater retention.
When it comes to planning workshops, think about the questions you’re often asked and use them as a starting place:
- Will I get bulky if I lift heavy?
- What is an IIFYM eating plan?
- How much cardio should I do?
- What supplements should I take?
- How do I prep for a fitness competition?
The list goes on.
If you don’t have the knowledge to lead a specific workshop, reach out to your network. Often, industry professionals will lead a workshop (for free) in exchange for access to your members.
For example, a massage therapist could host a workshop on foam and trigger point rollers for mobility, and a competition prep coach could give an overview of the fitness competition space.
3. Personal Training
Like workshops, personal training sessions boost revenue and increase knowledge and skills that help with retention.
4. Boot Camps
Members are more motivated to work out during certain times of the year, and offering boot camps to capitalize on that momentum will help you earn more revenue.
For instance, you could easily add a boot camp to prepare for the New Year’s bump in memberships. Other fun ideas, depending on where you live, include a winter sports prep camp and a summertime beach boot camp.
5. Body Comp Assessments
Offering body composition assessments for a small fee can bring in more revenue, especially if you tie them into a complimentary service like a nutrition plan or set of personal training sessions.
6. Nutrition Plans
Like trainers, nutritionists can join your gym on a freelance basis and provide additional income for you and a service for your members. Even if you offer nutritionist services on an appointment-only basis, your members will appreciate the convenience and the opportunity to learn more about a well-rounded diet.
7. Massage Therapy
Do have extra space you can lease out to a massage therapist or other complimentary service provider? Bodywork goes hand-in-hand with fitness and wellness and would be a great service offering at your gym.
8. Childcare
If you don’t already offer childcare, consider adding it for an additional fee. You can charge by the week, month, or day. If you don’t have space now, keep your eyes open for a way to expand or rent adjoining space in your building.
Offer More to Existing Gym Members
As a busy gym owner, it’s easy to look at marketing and member retention as the only focus points for revenue growth. But you should not overlook increasing your revenue per member as a way to grow your business.
If it’s an option for them, gym members will buy more services and spend more money in house, increasing your overall revenue.
Article originally published July 2019 and updated May 2022.
Get insight into what thriving fitness studios around the world are doing to grow their revenue and run a successful business. Download your copy of our free Boutique Fitness Benchmark Report.
Hi I have a gym of 10,000 sqf in a town of 6000 and we cant sell,anything to memebers
they want to buy all there items at bodybuilding.com amazon,gnc Costco but here we
have product that we can order from many companys,we have tanning to and they
rather go to the town that’s about 15 min away and tan.So whats the best way do you
think to work this,it just seams like no one wants to put that extra $1.00 in the gym
it would be great for any help thanks
if anyone can help me on this that would be great thanks
Hi David, have you made it simple for members to buy retail at your gym? Do you offer the ability for members to purchase retail on their own? What about an online retail store? If you’re interested in learning more about how Zen Planner can help simplify and expand retail sales at your gym, schedule some time chat with one of our Software Specialists: http://info.zenplanner.com/gym-software-live-demo. Thanks!
I’m going to be rather honest and blunt in my response to David; in effort to bring clarity and reality.
David, it sounds to me like you are already defeated and struggle more managing your own objections. I can assure you no one would rather drive 15 minutes away to go to a different gym or tanning. However, if staff is rude they will. If you facility is outdated or uninviting they will. If they don’t know you exist they will. So first, how does your facility compare with this other facility they would rather go to?
Second, how is your marketing. Are you marketing daily, weekly, and monthly? Do you know who your guests are? Past cancelled members? Member value/proposition statement is? Do you provide on boarding to strengthen relationships and improve comfort and encourage repeat business?
We have 4 competing gyms in our area of about 20,000. Everyone of them is cheaper yet we remain the leader in our market? I even require a 12 month commitment and $150 early termination fee. I’m not worried about selling price or commitment. I also try to not make excuses for why not and focus more on solutions on how to instead.
Hope this helps motivate you a little to think differently. If you are defeated your clients will pick up on this.
Hello, my name is Max. Just opened our gym March 3rd of this year and the 1st month we were signing at least 5 to 10 people up a day. Now maybe 1 or 2 every other day and getting more cancellations than sign ups. I’m just one of the trainers but I can see where we need to adjust, and my voice would never be paid attention to over the owners. We need to expand, there’s no communication and our marketing is weak. Any suggestions on what i could do, because I see us slowly sinking?
Hello Max, that sounds frustrating. We have lots of useful blogs and resources around retention, as well as marketing. It sounds like your biggest issue right now is retaining the members you acquired from the beginning. Because it’s much cheaper to keep a gym member than acquire a new one, we always recommend starting here. Check out this blog, 3 Simple Ways to Improve Gym Member Retention and see if it has some useful information for you. If you want to dive deeper, download our complete retention guide at the bottom of the article. Let us know if this helps!
I am opening a gymnastics/fitness center and hadn’t planned on renting or having outside trainers. I was recently approached about doing this but want to make sure it makes sense for both of us. I want the extra income as a startup and want to make sure I keep my clients. I am trying to figure out how this should work. Any suggestions?
Hi Linda! Congrats on opening your gymnastics and fitness center. I can understand why this would be a difficult decision. There are several things to consider here. First, I would make sure you trust the trainer you are considering renting out to. Do they uphold your business’s core values? If they are someone you would be comfortable with having in your facility, the next step may be to establish an agreement, which would include some type of competitive clause. I would recommend hiring a legal professional to guide this process. That agreement should cover everything from facility access terms to how long this agreement will last and their fee. Ultimately, it comes down to what’s best for your business and brand over the long run. Hope this helps, Linda.