How Rich Thaw Grew EMPWR Fitness 40% Using Referrals and Sell-by-Chat

🌎 Rich Thaw , owner of EMPWR Fitness and Sports Performance Training in Montreal, joins Mateo to break down how he grew his gym's membership base by 40% in Q4, largely without paid ads. They get into his sell-by-chat strategy, why he cuts his schedule to grow faster, how he uses referral automations inside Kilo to turn happy members into a lead machine, and why sometimes discounting your trial offer even further is the right call.P.S. If you like the show, then you'll love the Gym World newsletter. Every Friday, John Franklin breaks down the possibilities of making money in the fitness industry. Subscribe here to avoid missing out.📱 Socials:Rich Thaw (Instagram) - https://www.instagram.com/empwr__/EMPWR (Website) - https://empwrfast.com/📺 Watch On:https://www.youtube.com/@GymWorldWorldwide🔥Show Notes:(0:38) — Introduction: Rich Thaw, EMPWR Fitness, Montreal(2:28) — What Empower does: small group personal training for athletic adults(3:36) — Rich's background: hockey, Mike Boyle, and how he got into coaching(5:13) — The early days: online training, the garage gym, and getting the cops called(7:06) — Growing pains: too many sessions, not enough revenue(8:50) — The conversation with Mark Fisher that changed everything(10:17) — Cutting the schedule to buy back time (and why it was terrifying)(11:45) — Run a successful gym with Kilo (visit https://usekilo.com/)(12:25) — Sell by chat: how Rich turned social media interactions into booked trials(14:06) — Has the offer changed? Breaking down the 10-day / 3-session trial for $99(15:12) — Why discounting the trial even further sometimes works better(17:57) — Positioning small group training vs. personal training vs. group classes(19:39) — How Rich structures his referral program (and when he makes the ask)(21:16) — The QR code, the Kilo automation, and what happens 30 minutes after a referral(21:52) — Other lead gen: promos, reactivation campaigns, and the dollar trial(23:49) — Onboarding: what the trial experience actually looks like at EMPWR(25:53) — Converting trial members into long-term memberships(28:52) — What's next: finding a full-time coach and building the team(29:53) — Where to follow Rich