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Book 21 of 46

Gym Launch Secrets

By Alex Hormozi

430 pages, 27 chapters

Frameworks: 33

The frameworks here are Alex Hormozi's, from Gym Launch Secrets. Claude read the book in Tom's Brain and linked it to his lessons.

How Tom uses this

Gym Launch Secrets backs three of Tom's lessons. Under each of his lessons, what the book says about it, and on which pages.

What it argues

Hormozi argues that most gym owners are stuck because three systems are broken: client acquisition, the revenue model and retention. Cheap front-end offers lose money, so he has owners sell a high-ticket irresistible offer that pays for its own advertising, which he calls client-financed acquisition. He then pulls three profit levers together: raise prices and bill weekly on 28-day cycles, move from unlimited to three sessions a week to lift capacity, and trim sessions and payroll to hold an 80% service margin. Retention comes from systems for process, people and product, framed by the pie equation, where the maximum membership is monthly sign-ups divided by churn. The wedding cake model then stacks front-end cash and recurring revenue across large group, semi-privates, supplements and internal plays. Underneath it all, effort cannot fix a bad model, and charging more funds the service that keeps people.

Worth keeping

  • Client-financed acquisition: make more on front-end sales than the ads cost and you never need a marketing budget again (p. 85). One $100 spend returned $1,200.
  • Raise prices. Two tiers, large group at about $199 per month and one-on-four at about $599, and avoid No Man's Land at 5 to 15 people (p. 146).
  • Sell weekly amounts but bill every 28 days: it adds about 8% revenue and lifts take-home from 12% to 19.7% (p. 162).
  • The pie equation: maximum members equals monthly sign-ups divided by churn, so 10 sign-ups at 10% churn caps at 100 and 20 sign-ups at 5% reaches 400 (p. 244).
  • Run an 80% service margin: revenue per session minus trainer cost over revenue, and cut empty sessions (p. 185).
  • C-L-O-S-E-R plus the belief-breaking formula give a repeatable script for selling to cold traffic (p. 111).
  • The set is the close: no card and deposit means no booking (p. 345).
  • Five horsemen of retention: personal reach-outs every 14 days, weekly attendance checks, handwritten cards, events every 21 days and exit interviews (p. 253).
  • Downsell your upsell: charge more up front for a defined-end program then drop to a lower membership rate (p. 83).
  • Wedding cake: each tier has icing (front-end cash) and cake (recurring revenue) across large group, semi-privates and supplements, with internal plays as the sprinkles (p. 312).

The questions it answers

  • What is content operations actually worth to a company, in money?

    Hormozi says to price by what the client will pay to solve a pain and not by market averages or cost to fulfil, and shows lifetime value arithmetic that gives a rate a defensible basis.

  • How do you build a personal brand that generates inbound rather than requiring outbound?

    Gym Launch is over 40% referral driven, and he treats referrals, a testimonial wall and public reviews as the engine that keeps inbound flowing.

  • How do you price and sell a tool you built for yourself?

    He says to raise prices, use two tiers aimed at two buyer types, sell weekly amounts on a longer billing cycle, and start with a high-ticket front end that pays for its own advertising.

  • What is the smallest team that can produce at the volume I am used to?

    His chart sets headcount and hours per role against membership in 75-member steps, which gives a ratio of staff to recurring clients to test against Tom's team sizes.

The frameworks

33 frameworks, one animation each

Every framework, step by step

The only 3 ways to grow your business

The three growth paths every gym profit lever pulls on.

  1. Acquire. Get more clients.
  2. Ascend. Increase the average purchase through higher prices, cross-sells and upsells.
  3. Resell. Get people to buy more frequently, which in gyms is retention.

From chapter: Chapter 2, A Client-Acquisition Model That Works, pp. 71–84

Fixing the broken acquisition model

The four steps that replace the Sell Your Soul model.

  1. Create a high-ticket front-end offer. Sell a premium offer rather than a cheap trial.
  2. Get paid to acquire customers. Make more on front-end sales than the ads cost.
  3. Get them to show up. Schedule fast and use reminders.
  4. Get them to buy. Use a repeatable sales framework.

From chapter: Chapter 2, A Client-Acquisition Model That Works, pp. 71–84

Irresistible offer checklist

Eight levers that make the offer convert prospects into buyers.

  1. Pre-Frame. Use authority and social proof on the phone before they arrive.
  2. Price Anchor. Drop a much higher price before the real one.
  3. Splinter Stack. Unbundle services into perks, bonuses and next logical needs.
  4. Scarcity. Tell them only X spots remain.
  5. Urgency. Give a time limit, such as a programme starting tomorrow.
  6. Crazy Guarantee. Offer a personal refund if service falls short.
  7. Bribe. Give the paid programme free if they join as a member today.
  8. Downsell Your Upsell. Charge more for a defined-end program then drop to a lower rate for continuity.

From chapter: Chapter 2, A Client-Acquisition Model That Works, pp. 71–84

Client-financed acquisition

A loop that turns ad spend into profit within days.

  1. Create a high-ticket front-end product. Sell a premium offer at $500 to $600.
  2. Spend on ads. Put the spend into a leads campaign.
  3. Book and show appointments. Schedule most leads and see about half.
  4. Sell the front end. Close around 20% of leads.
  5. Re-spend the proceeds. Use deposits to fund the next days of ads.

From chapter: Chapter 3, Get Paid To Acquire Customers, pp. 85–94

Lead-Gen Scrambler

Lists of ad parts to mix into endless new ads.

  1. Headline. Duration, gender, benefit, status, curiosity, against fear, negative, challenge.
  2. Copy. Short or long, free, new, reason why, benefits, status, describe don't tell, scarcity, urgency, implied authority.
  3. Page name and business name. Keep multiple descriptive versions.
  4. Image. Contrast, group pictures, selfies, workout and class shots, memes.
  5. Video. Testimonials, facility tour, whiteboard, pitching, subtitles.

From chapter: Chapter 3, Get Paid To Acquire Customers, pp. 85–94

Twelve copy commandments

The checklist applied to every ad Gym Launch writes.

  1. Headline comes first. It is the most read part and curiosity is king.
  2. Say what only you can say. Name anything remarkable or different.
  3. Call out who you want and do not want. Excluding people is even more powerful.
  4. Reason why. Always say why you are running the promotion.
  5. Damaging admission. Own your flaws to make the rest believable.
  6. Show, don't tell. Describe the emotion rather than the claim.
  7. Tie benefits to status. Make the benefit about how others will see them.
  8. Use urgency and scarcity. Keep both legitimate.
  9. Implied authority. State credentials and results.
  10. P.S. = power sentence. Headline and P.S. are the most read words.
  11. Clear next steps. Make it stupid simple with steps one, two and three.
  12. Third-grade level. Check the reading level with a free tool.

From chapter: Chapter 3, Get Paid To Acquire Customers, pp. 85–94

The C-L-O-S-E-R formula

Hormozi's sales framework for cold traffic.

  1. Clarify. Ask what brought them in, their goal and why they signed up, to find the gap.
  2. Label. Recap current state versus desired state with their numbers.
  3. Overview. Review past pains and what they tried, categorised by fitness, nutrition and accountability.
  4. Sell the vacation. Tie your core benefits to the reasons earlier attempts failed.
  5. Explain away concerns. Handle stalls, decision-maker and price objections.
  6. Reinforce. Handwritten invitation, owner call and swag.

From chapter: Chapter 6, The C-L-O-S-E-R Formula, pp. 111–130

Belief-breaking formula

Five steps to change a belief, from Linh Trinh.

  1. Say what they believe. State the belief out loud.
  2. Say why it is wrong. Show the flaw.
  3. Say what is right. Give the replacement.
  4. Say why it is right. Explain the reason.
  5. Show proof. Testimonials and third-party stats.

From chapter: Chapter 6, The C-L-O-S-E-R Formula, pp. 111–130

Virtuous versus vicious cycle of price

How price moves client behaviour and the business.

  1. Lower price. Emotional investment, perceived value and results fall while demandingness rises.
  2. Business effect of low price. Profit per customer, self-value, service levels and sales conviction all fall.
  3. Higher price. Investment, value and results rise while demandingness falls.
  4. Business effect of high price. More profit to reinvest, higher service levels and stronger sales conviction.

From chapter: Chapter 8, Price-Profit Levers, pp. 141–164

Two-tier membership actions

What to do to the membership structure.

  1. Combine options into two tiers. One for each of the two buyer types.
  2. Offer large group at $199 per month. 16-plus people per session.
  3. Offer semi-private at $599 per month. One trainer with four clients.
  4. Remove No Man's Land price points. Drop anything between $250 and $399 with 5 to 15 people.
  5. Switch billing to weekly pricing on 28-day cycles. Sell at $39 to $49 per week.

From chapter: Chapter 8, Price-Profit Levers, pp. 141–164

Choosing a billing cycle

Compare 7, 14, 28 days and monthly on four factors.

  1. Sellability. 7-day cycles win, 28-day lose.
  2. Admin work. 28-day cycles win, 7-day lose.
  3. Sick days and vacancy policy. Use a clear no-freeze policy.
  4. Revenue aligned with payroll. 7, 14 and 28-day cycles align, monthly does not.

From chapter: Chapter 8, Price-Profit Levers, pp. 141–164

Service margin calculation

Four numbers that give a session gross margin.

  1. Number of sessions. Sessions per week times 4.3.
  2. Revenue per session. Monthly revenue divided by total sessions.
  3. Cost to fulfil each session. Hourly pay times the payroll multiplier of 1.22.
  4. Margin. Revenue minus cost, divided by revenue.

From chapter: Chapter 10, The Overhead Lever, pp. 183–192

Overhead lever summary

Four actions to raise margin.

  1. Know your margin maths. Calculate revenue per session and trainer cost.
  2. Cut unneeded sessions. Only keep sessions you can fill.
  3. Drop to 3x per week. Let the membership level cut the number of sessions needed.
  4. Calibrate trainer pay if needed. Standardise pay across trainers.

From chapter: Chapter 10, The Overhead Lever, pp. 183–192

Your New Gym On Paper

Four steps to model the full turnaround.

  1. Step 1: Define what you can control. List price, sessions, duration, capacity, trainer pay, membership level and billing cycle.
  2. Step 2: Price increase and billing cycle switch. Move from $118 per month to $39 per week.
  3. Step 3: Increase fulfilment capacity and cut overhead. Use the capacity levers and the overhead lever together.
  4. Step 4: Do the maths. Compare revenue, overhead and profit under three scenarios.

From chapter: Chapter 11, Your New Gym On Paper, pp. 193–206

The pie equation

The formula for the maximum number of EFTs.

  1. Count monthly sign-ups. Referrals plus marketing.
  2. Find the monthly churn rate. As a decimal.
  3. Divide sign-ups by churn. 10 / 0.1 = 100 maximum EFTs.
  4. Change one input. 20 sign-ups gives 200, 5% churn gives 200.
  5. Change both. 20 sign-ups at 5% churn gives 400.

From chapter: Chapter 14, How Retention Multiplies Revenue, pp. 239–246

Process, people, product

Three-part structure of the retention system.

  1. Process. How to treat customers: ideal customer life cycle and the five horsemen.
  2. People. How to treat employees: structure, communication cycles and five things per role.
  3. Product. How to have amazing sessions: trainer motivation and session structure.

From chapter: Chapter 14, How Retention Multiplies Revenue, pp. 239–246

The five horsemen of retention

The few actions that drive retention.

  1. Reach-outs / touch points. Personal text or message every 14 days.
  2. Attendance tracking. Review weekly, ideally by Wednesday.
  3. Handwritten cards. At sign-up, for referral asks and at milestones.
  4. Member events. Social events every 21 days.
  5. Exit interviews. Re-sell the member using C-L-O-S-E-R.

From chapter: Chapter 16, PROCESS:, pp. 253–266

Handwritten card referral system

A ten-step system that gives each trainer about 10 hot leads a week.

  1. Divide customers into groups A to D. List names, numbers and addresses.
  2. Give one column to each trainer. Then split into four weekly lists.
  3. Write a card with a P.S.. Ask them to text a picture of the card to a friend with a free first month.
  4. Follow up in person. Ask who they sent it to.
  5. Record a 20-second video. Take the client's phone and film together.
  6. Message the prospect and call. Trainer follows up from their own phone to book a visit.

From chapter: Chapter 16, PROCESS:, pp. 253–266

Organisational structure by client count

Roles added as recurring members grow.

  1. 0 to 100 clients. Owner, 1 to 2 trainers and a 20-hour operations manager.
  2. 100 to 175. 2 to 4 trainers, operations manager and a 20-hour challenge manager.
  3. 175 to 250. 4 to 6 trainers and operations at 40-plus hours.
  4. 250 to 325. 6 to 8 trainers and a retention manager at 20 hours.
  5. 400-plus. Add sales managers and admin staff, with a profit share for operations.

From chapter: Chapter 17, PEOPLE:, pp. 267–272

Benchmarks before a second location

Hormozi's conditions for opening again.

  1. Stack cash. $20,000 per month profit for six straight months.
  2. Staff run operations. Including sales, during that time.
  3. Keep growing. The gym should have grown across the six months.
  4. Bank balance. At least $200,000 before looking.

From chapter: Chapter 17, PEOPLE:, pp. 267–272

The Wedding Cake Gym Profit Model

Three tiers, each with front-end icing and recurring cake.

  1. Layer 1: Large group. Icing: challenges and defined-end programs at $400 to $1,000. Cake: recurring EFT at $167 to $225 per month.
  2. Layer 2: Semi-privates. Icing: 12-week high ticket at $1,500 to $3,000. Cake: 1-on-4 EFT at $500 to $700 per month.
  3. Layer 3: Supplements. Icing: packages at $500 to $5,000. Cake: autoship at $200 to $400 per month.
  4. Sprinkles: Internal plays. A traffic source feeding every layer.

From chapter: Chapter 22, The Wedding Cake Gym Profit Model, pp. 309–318

Gym Launch innovation process

How new systems are found and rolled out.

  1. Find an issue. In lead generation, nurture, sales, fulfilment or ascension and retention.
  2. Grab 20 gyms in 20 markets. Those with the worst of the problem.
  3. Interview the top 10 gyms. Itemise their techniques in a teachable format.
  4. Implement in weaker gyms. See if it works in at least 80%.
  5. Roll out or iterate. Systematise for the Gym Lords community, or fix and retest.

From chapter: Chapter 22, The Wedding Cake Gym Profit Model, pp. 309–318

Three conversion attempts to EFT

Ways to turn challenge members into recurring members within six weeks.

  1. First attempt: Bribe. Price the program at $599 or more, then give it free if they join as members on day one, prepaying six weeks at $49 per week.
  2. Second attempt: Abandon Hope Sale. At week three, a mandatory halfway meeting, tips and encouragement, re-ask goals, then credit the $600 toward a year membership with the remaining weeks free.
  3. Third attempt: Last Chance. At the weigh-out, credit $25 per pound lost spread over a chosen number of months to land on the target EFT.

From chapter: Chapter 23, Tier 1:, pp. 319–334

Backing into your ideal EFT

Using terms to hit a target price.

  1. Choose the ideal EFT. For example $49 per week or about $200 per month.
  2. Set an inflated list price. For example $249 or $250 per month.
  3. Calculate the credit. $25 per pound lost, or the program price.
  4. Spread the credit over months. Choose months so the monthly discount lands on the target.

From chapter: Chapter 23, Tier 1:, pp. 319–334

High-ticket fitness sales script

Setter or closer call flow for a $2,000 to $3,000 program.

  1. Small talk. Build rapport and find common ground.
  2. Set the frame. State the time, ask for a yes to questions and ask why now.
  3. Goals and diagnostics. Future pace 12 months and dig into why it matters.
  4. What they've tried. What's stopping them from getting there alone.
  5. How long would you wait. Test urgency, and disqualify if they are not ready.
  6. Offer to tell them. Recap, then shut up and let them ask.
  7. Price on request. Give the total, then the discount for showing up.
  8. Lock the set. Card, deposit, decision-maker and payment method confirmed.

From chapter: Chapter 24, Tier 2:, pp. 335–348

Semi-private tier numbers

How the layer builds up.

  1. Icing. 12 sales at $2,500 spread over months, about $10,000 per month.
  2. Cake. About 50 members at $550 per month.
  3. Total second level. About $37,500 per month at a 40-person program.

From chapter: Chapter 24, Tier 2:, pp. 335–348

The Hamburger Workout

Ingredients of an amazing session.

  1. Prep work. Clean bathrooms and a fresh, clean playlist daily.
  2. When they walk in. Greet by name within 10 seconds, check in, social check-in and introduce newcomers to OGs.
  3. During the session. Mic, set volume, announcements during warm-up, automated timer, demonstrate at most two exercises.
  4. Coaching touches. Two shout-outs and two correction cues per person.
  5. Close. Reset stations, meet in the middle, hands-in moment, promo sign-ups, 3-2-1 cheer.

From chapter: Chapter 21, PRODUCT: How To Run An, pp. 295–308

Two main drivers of the wedding cake

How to maximise profit per customer.

  1. Accommodating buying curve. Let higher spenders spend more with a premium tier.
  2. Maximise buying curves per customer. Sell into different wallets like supplements.

From chapter: Chapter 21, PRODUCT: How To Run An, pp. 295–308

The employee pipeline

Five processes for every role, mirroring the sales pipeline.

  1. Application. Always have an inflow of applicants, using ads.
  2. Application nurture. Follow up fast and give a reason to get on the phone.
  3. Interviewing. Trainers: shadow and teach a class. Salespeople: work ethic, past success, curiosity, coachability, energy.
  4. Onboarding / training. Introductions, first-week agenda, values, growth path, communication cycle, perfect day, numbers.
  5. Management / ascension. Praise to success and promote with a clear growth path.

From chapter: Chapter 19, PEOPLE:, pp. 279–286

Interviewing salespeople

Five things to look for.

  1. Work ethic. Fast response time once you show interest.
  2. Past success. Look at the track record.
  3. Curiosity. How many questions do they ask?
  4. Coachability. Have them sell you, then give feedback.
  5. Energy. Upbeat and positive.

From chapter: Chapter 19, PEOPLE:, pp. 279–286

Internal play summary

Rules for running internal plays.

  1. Take rate. About 25% of members take an internal offer.
  2. Price. $150 to $199.
  3. Margin. Run 90% margins.
  4. Cadence. Run every six weeks, with a promo of four to six weeks.
  5. Upsell. Move 25% to 35% into HTP if you have it.
  6. Fulfilment. Weekends during off hours.
  7. Stack. Sell supplements and other ancillary services.

From chapter: Chapter 26, Sprinkles:, pp. 359–430

Obstacle overcomes

The four types of objection and how to handle them.

  1. Stalls and delays. Ask 'What's your main concern?', rocking chair close, three questions, scale 1 to 10.
  2. Decision-maker. Agreements about the spouse, what if they say no, delayed payment close.
  3. Price. Best case/worst case, expensive clothing, identity swap, gonna spend it anyways, split payments.
  4. Fitness and program related. Scripts for injuries, boredom, start dates, alcohol, cheat days, conditions.

From chapter: Chapter 26, Sprinkles:, pp. 359–430

Stacking ancillary value from one internal play

How a single $99 play grows.

  1. Large group service. 100% take rate at $99.
  2. Supplements. 90% take a $167 bundle for $150 added ticket value.
  3. Semi-private. 25% take a $550 program for $137 added value in month one.

From chapter: Chapter 26, Sprinkles:, pp. 359–430

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