20 Open Ended Questions That Will Help You Sell More Gym Memberships


Feb 17, 2025

 by Sunny S.
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How to Win More Gym Sales by Asking the Right Questions

Most gym owners blow their sales presentations by jumping straight into features, pricing, and why their gym is the best. But here's the truth: people don’t buy because of what you know—it's how you make them feel and because they feel understood.

Your job in a sales conversation isn’t to sell. It’s to listen. When a potential member feels like you truly understand their challenges, goals, and frustrations, they naturally trust you. And trust leads to sales.

Start With Their Current Reality

Too many gym owners rush to the goals conversation: “What’s your fitness goal?” That’s great, but it’s jumping ahead. Before someone buys into the solution, they need to feel the pain of their current situation.

Start with open-ended questions that get them talking about where they are right now. This builds rapport, uncovers emotional triggers, and helps them realize why change is necessary.

Here are some questions to get the conversation rolling:

  • What does your current fitness routine look like?
  • How do you typically feel at the end of the day?
  • What’s something about your health or fitness that frustrates you the most right now?
  • What’s worked for you in the past when it comes to staying active?
  • What’s been the biggest challenge in sticking to a fitness plan?
  • When was the last time you felt really good about your fitness or health? What was different then?
  • What made you decide to start looking at gyms now?
  • How would you describe your energy levels throughout the day?
  • What’s something about your current routine that you wish was different?

Now, Get Them to See the Possibilities

Once they’ve opened up about their struggles, you can shift the conversation to where they want to go. This is where you help them see what’s possible with your gym.

Ask questions like:

  • If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about your fitness, what would it be?
  • How would improving your fitness impact other areas of your life?
  • What does ‘success’ look like for you in a gym?
  • What’s a goal you’ve thought about but haven’t taken action on yet?
  • If you were able to build a consistent routine, how do you think it would affect your confidence?
  • What’s something you’d love to do that you feel limited by right now?
  • Imagine yourself a year from now - what would need to happen for you to feel proud of your progress?
  • What kind of support or accountability do you think would help you stay consistent?
  • If you could design the perfect fitness experience for yourself, what would it include?
  • How do you want to feel at the end of your workouts?

Bonus Tip: The Most Versatile Question

No matter what question you ask, there’s one simple follow-up that will always give you more insight and build even more trust: “Tell me more about that.”

This question encourages deeper conversation, helps uncover hidden motivations, and shows that you genuinely care about their answer. Use it often, and you’ll see how much more engaged your prospects become.

Understand First. Solve Second.

Most gym owners talk too much. They try to impress potential members with how great their facility is. But the real magic happens when you stop selling and start listening.

If you guide the conversation the right way, the prospect will actually sell themselves on why they need to make a change. Then, when it’s time to talk about your gym, you’re simply connecting the dots between their struggles and how your gym solves them.

This approach isn’t just more effective—it creates members who feel truly valued. And members who feel valued stay longer, refer friends, and make your gym a community, not just a place to work out.

So next time you run a sales presentation, remember: ask first, listen deeply, and let them sell themselves.