This is part of how we help gym owners build ad systems like Joel's. See the plan here:

https://100kplan.com

Joel Holland never ran a gym ad in 14 years. He used AI to build his first campaign. $3 cost per lead. 84 leads in 10 days. Here's how.

This gym Facebook ads using AI breakdown starts with Joel Holland, who runs 902 Athletics, a 17,000 square foot CrossFit and commercial gym in a 9,000 person market in Nova Scotia, Canada. In 14 years of business he had never run a paid ad. Everything was organic and referral based.

Ten days before this conversation, Joel taught himself how to run gym ads using Claude, an AI tool, and built his entire campaign from scratch. No agency. No prior experience. The result was a $3 cost per lead, compared to the $20 to $35 most gyms are paying right now, and 84 leads in 10 days.

Mike and Joel walk through the exact setup: the lead objective, the offer, the 34 second video ad, and why Joel wanted to learn ads himself before ever handing the account to an agency. They also cover why most agencies get bad results even when the technical setup is correct, and what the Meta algorithm actually does to gym ads that lose attention in the first two seconds.

If you have been told paid ads do not work for your gym, this look at gym Facebook ads using AI might change your mind.

In this episode you'll learn:

— Why Joel never ran a paid ad in 14 years of business, until now

— How he used Claude to build his entire ad campaign from scratch, no agency

— The lead objective, offer, and 34 second video ad that got him $3 leads

— Why he chose a two week trial with no charge instead of worrying it would devalue his gym

— The 70 to 75% trial-to-paid conversion rate that made the offer make sense

— Why increasing ad budget by more than 15 to 20% at a time can hurt performance

— What the Meta algorithm actually does to ads that lose attention in the first few seconds

— Why most agencies get blamed for bad creative instead of a bad account setup

— Why Joel is running his own ads for 30 to 45 days before handing it to an agency

— Why referrals built his gym to 1,000 members before he ever ran an ad

— What to say the next time an agency tells you they have never seen this before

If you have been putting off paid ads because you assumed you needed an agency first, this episode shows you what is actually possible on your own.

Timestamps:

0:00 $3 cost per lead, 84 leads in 10 days

0:50 Welcoming Joel and setting up the story

2:30 Inside Joel's 17,000 square foot gym

3:17 Why Joel wanted to learn ads before hiring an agency

3:57 The lead objective and the sign up flow

4:14 The two week trial offer that started it all

5:17 The 70 to 75% trial to paid conversion rate

6:20 Building the video ad and the first few seconds that matter

9:20 The $15 daily budget and why Mike called immediately

10:21 What happens the moment someone clicks the ad

12:29 How referrals built the gym before any paid ads

13:32 The biggest lesson Joel did not expect

15:00 What the Meta algorithm actually does to bad ads

16:30 Why a 9,000 person market is not an excuse

18:10 What Joel took away from the A-Class retreat

100K Plan:

https://100kplan.com

Behind Gym Doors Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnwaMl7Us7dAkfE6idQW56EYkEEQ2E5eE

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Joel used AI to build a $3 cost per lead campaign from scratch, in a market smaller than most gym owners would even try. The plan behind how GSD Gyms helps studios build systems like this is right here.

Watch the 100K Plan:

https://100kplan.com

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Turns out horses and Facebook ads mix better than you'd think.

Matt charges $600 a month, keeps under 2% churn, and earns $30K per member. Here's his exact gym sales and referral system.

This gym membership sales case study starts with the math. The average gym member in America is worth $1,400 over their lifetime. Matt's average member is worth $30,000. Same math, completely different numbers: under 2% monthly churn, more than 50 months of average retention, and 15 competing gyms within five minutes of his Costa Mesa studio.

Matt runs Recoup Personal Training with his wife Stevie and business partner Beau, and joined Mike at the A-Class retreat to break down the sales process behind those numbers. This is not about closing harder. It is about everything that happens before the close.

They walk through how to build real rapport without relying on small talk, the discovery questions that get a prospect to sell themselves, and a live role play of Matt's actual $600 a month consultation. Matt also breaks down his gold gift card referral program and why giving away a month at no charge makes sense when a member is worth $30,000.

If you have ever been afraid to raise your prices, this gym membership sales breakdown shows you what is actually possible.

In this episode you'll learn:
— Why the average gym member is worth $1,400, and Matt's is worth $30,000
— The exact discovery questions that get a prospect to sell themselves
— Why rapport is not about small talk, and what actually works instead
— A live $600 a month sales role play, start to finish
— The dating analogy Matt uses to explain why sales are lost early
— Why closing 1% better matters more at a $30,000 lifetime value
— The gold gift card referral program that turns one sale into two
— Why a month with no charge is a smarter referral incentive than a discount
— How Matt and his team refined their avatar after almost losing their best clients
— Why Matt still does the sales himself instead of handing it off
— How reviews and past client stories became their real growth engine

If you have ever wondered whether raising your prices would cost you members, this episode shows you what happens when the sales process actually earns it.

Timestamps:
— 0:00 The average member math: $1,400 versus $30,000
— 0:38 Welcoming Matt and introducing Recoup Personal Training
— 1:41 $600 a month, under 2% churn, and what that means
— 2:48 Why raising prices does not have to cost you members
— 4:26 Why sales are lost in the first few minutes
— 5:28 What most people get wrong about rapport
— 7:44 The discovery process that gets a prospect to sell themselves
— 9:00 Live role play: selling a $600 a month consultation
— 10:35 Why reviews became their biggest growth lever
— 11:46 Turning results into referrals without asking for a review
— 15:34 The avatar mistake that almost cost them their best clients
— 18:18 The gold gift card referral program
— 18:59 Why giving away a month makes more sense than a discount
— 21:14 Capacity, sales volume, and why they are not opening a second location
— 22:22 How much of the sales Matt still does himself
— 23:32 Natural talent versus a trainable sales system

Connect with Mattison Fetters, Recoup Personal Training: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recoup_personal_training
100K Plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMPx7b3_LOA
Behind Gym Doors Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnwaMl7Us7dAkfE6idQW56EYkEEQ2E5eE

Mike breaks down the exact sales math and referral system behind a $30,000 lifetime value member. The plan behind how GSD Gyms helps studios build systems like this is right here.

Turns out the golden gift card is not for show.

Mike coaches a struggling Pilates studio owner on phone sales live: avatar building, referral strategy, and a real walk-in prospect.

This pilates studio sales coaching session picks up where Part 1 left off. In Part 1, Mike walked through Jess Landar's churn, lifetime value, and pricing. In Part 2, they build her customer avatar, run a full gym sales role play on her actual phone script, and design a gym referral program built around feeding children.

Halfway through filming, a real prospect walked into Jess's studio while the cameras were rolling. Mike coached her through that conversation live, in real time. It has never happened on this podcast before.

The gym membership sales tips in this pilates studio sales coaching session are not Pilates-specific. The same principles for how to sell gym memberships, plant a belief before price ever comes up, and control a sales call apply to any boutique gym.

This is Part 2 of a continuing series. Jess has 30 days of ads running before she and Mike reconnect for Part 3.

In this episode you'll learn:
— The exact way to build a customer avatar most gym owners skip
— A full gym sales role play using Jess's real phone script, line by line
— What happened when a real prospect walked into the studio mid recording
— How to plant a belief before a prospect ever asks about price
— The moves that control a sales call instead of getting steered by it
— A gym referral program built around feeding children instead of a discount
— The welcome gift bag move that gets new members texting back after their first class
— Why customer acquisition cost matters more than cost per lead
— How to turn a low priced trial into a full membership without extra ad spend
— The AI assistant setup Mike uses to manage ads, CRM, and follow up
— The homework and 30 day timeline before Part 3

If you have ever fumbled a walk-in prospect or lost control of a sales call, this live session shows you exactly what to do differently.

Timestamps:
— 0:00 Welcome back for Part 2
— 4:54 Building Jess's avatar, meet Brenda
— 10:05 Finding Brenda's biggest insecurity
— 12:17 The fishing analogy for hooks, lines, and offers
— 17:46 How many members her studio can actually hold
— 24:31 Live roleplay: selling the $39 trial over the phone
— 29:41 Planting a belief before the close
— 32:04 Finding out how ready a lead really is
— 41:12 The VIP referral pass strategy
— 45:33 Amateurs add, professionals multiply
— 49:39 The double call and video text combo
— 1:00:26 Why customer acquisition cost matters more than cost per lead
— 1:08:39 Designing a scarier, higher converting offer
— 1:16:05 What value stacking actually means
— 1:19:20 Setting up an AI assistant to run the business
— 1:21:29 Automating follow up with Go High Level

Connect with Jess Landar: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thereformerlibrary
100K Plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMPx7b3_LOA
Behind Gym Doors Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnwaMl7Us7dAkfE6idQW56EYkEEQ2E5eE
Go High Level (CRM Mike uses and recommends): https://www.gohighlevel.com/?fp_ref=gsd-company11
Viktor AI Assistant (referral credit link): https://ref.viktor.com/mike-arce

Mike builds Jess's entire offer and sales script live, the same way GSD Gyms helps studios everywhere sell what they already have. The plan behind how we get gyms to $100K a month is right here.

Turns out a $39 trial can do a lot of talking.