The Prescriptive Model has been proven to help gym owners close more sales, retain clients longer and generate more revenue per member.
We teach all Two-Brain Business clients exactly how to implement this model in gyms, affiliates, studios and franchises, and we provide stacks of done-for-you resources that allow these fitness entrepreneurs to use the plan with great success.
Clients who use the Prescriptive Model at their gyms have a much easier time closing sales with high-value clients. We track sales metrics in hundreds of gyms, and the free consultation at the beginning of the Prescriptive Model beats the free trial when it comes to closing rate. The model’s simple structure also helps gym owners—and their staff members—learn to sell their services without slimy, high-pressure tactics.
The cyclical nature of the Prescriptive Model also keeps gym clients engaged. The first 90 days of membership are critical to retention in a fitness facility, and our model contains precise tactics that measurably improve retention. In the gym industry, average client retention is 7.8 months. The average Two-Brain client’s retention is more than double that: 18.8 months. (Source: “2022 State of the Industry Report.”)
Finally, the Prescriptive Model has a profound effect on total revenue and average revenue per member. It allows gym owners to present high-value solutions to prospective clients in a simplified, direct, genuine manner. Rather than bombarding people with options, a coach clearly presents the best option and then adjusts the plan if needed. But in many cases people jump at the best option, which generates more revenue for the gym. At subsequent meetings to review progress, clients regularly upgrade their packages.
Simply put, the Prescriptive Model is the backbone of the most successful gyms in the world.
The Prescriptive Model: Key Concepts and Structure
You and I own coaching businesses.
That means we sell results. We don’t sell our programming or our equipment or our “culture”—we sell an outcome.
The best way to ensure clients get the results they want is to:
1. Know exactly what results they want.
2. Know exactly where they’re starting.
3. Work backward from their desired result to map the entire process, then keep them on track.
Here’s how the Prescriptive Model works:
The Prescriptive Model: The Exact Steps
Below, I’ll go over the Prescriptive Model in more detail, and I’ll provide a host of resources if you want to dig in.
If you prefer a video overview of the Prescriptive Model, it’s on our YouTube channel:
Here are the exact steps to the Prescriptive Model for gyms:
1. A potential client books a No Sweat Intro or free consultation. Most professionals have a consultative process, not a free trial. Think of lawyers, chiropractors and accountants. A client should come into a coaching business the same way: with a consultation. In that meeting you must use motivational interviewing to find out what the client is really trying to accomplish and why.
2. Take an objective measurement of some type. This is often an aesthetic metric because people are usually coming in concerned about their aesthetics. So you take a body-fat percentage or a biometric measurement. You have to measure what the prospective client cares about.
3. Using your wisdom and experience, determine the client’s needs. You’ll match your services to those needs by making an exact prescription that will get the client to the goal.
4. Flip to the relevant page in the pricing binder. If needed, modify the best prescription based on what makes the person feel most comfortable (“Would you prefer to do these workouts in a small group setting or one on one with me?”), what fits the person’s schedule, and what the new client can afford.
5. Sign them up and begin onboarding. Ensure you book a Goal Review Session within 90 days. Your client journey should include regular contacts with new clients before that meeting. They must receive daily communication from you for at least the first 90 days. This can be done in person—even in a group setting—or it can be done through text, video or email. Many gyms use a client success manager to ensure new clients get settled in quickly.
5. At the three-month mark, meet with the client for a Goal Review Session. In that session, take another measurement. Use this data to showcase the client’s progress and adjust your prescription if needed. You’ll know more about the client now and can add precision to your initial prescription. This increases your value to the client: “A trained fitness pro is giving me a new prescription based on 90 days of data and progress.”
6. Make a new prescription with two options. Option A: “Keep doing what you’re doing.” This is the choice clients will go for if they’re perfectly happy and results are coming at the pace they want. Option B: “If you’re tempted to speed things up, I recommend this adjusted plan.” This is the choice clients will select if they want to buy speed. Remember: Increased speed is very valuable. About 30 percent of the time, a client will wind up upgrading a membership in a Goal Review Session.
7. If a client is happy with progress, you have a golden opportunity to create some media to show them off. Make the client famous. This is great for the client, and it will help the gym’s marketing efforts. It’s also a great time to ask for a referral.
8. Book the next Goal Review Session within three months. Stay in contact with the client according to your communications plan.
9. Repeat this cycle forever.
Here’s a real gym owner explaining how the Prescriptive Model improved his business fast:
Sell and Create Results
This is how you build a client-centric business: You sell a result, you do whatever it takes to create that result, you measure progress toward that results, and then you work on delivering the result faster.
As you get better at delivering results to clients, you increase in value as a coach and business owner. Your business will profit and you’ll make more money. Your sales metrics will improve. Your average revenue per member will improve. Your retention will improve.
But your clients also win when you use the Prescriptive Model. Instead of trying—and usually failing—to solve their own health and fitness problems, they’ll get the perfect plan from a true professional. Then they’ll get results, as well as regular check-ins and adjustments that will keep them on track. If they want to, they can choose to move even faster. Along the way, you’ll have every opportunity to celebrate their progress and ensure they change their lives with your help.
The world’s top fitness professional use the Prescriptive Model. To improve your fitness business and help more people faster, implement it in your gym.
Additional Resources
Podcast: “The Exact Steps to Building a Sales Engine at Your Gym”
Book: “Gym Owners Handbook” by Chris Cooper
Two-Brain mentors teach clients exactly how to implement and use the Prescriptive Model to create strong, profitable fitness businesses. To find out more about mentorship, book a free call here.
