(And what’s actually holding their sales back)
Before we get into this, let me introduce myself real quick, because why on earth should you even be listening to anything a random girl from the south side of London has to say about sales right? Context really matters.
I’ve spent over a decade working in sales, I started out in gyms and quickly progressed from sales associate to senior sales in just 3 months at one of Londons leading gyms, GYMBOX. I then became a sales manager a few short months later. Fun fact, I actually came back this year and I am now managing one of the GYMBOX clubs, full circle moment foreal!
Anyways, after being sales manager I then moved and a large part of my career was as an Account Manager within the online fitness industry. During that time, I worked closely with online fitness coaches at different stages of growth, from early-stage coaches trying to sign their first clients, to fast-scaling businesses managing hundreds of active clients.
I’ve supported and worked alongside coaches and brands such as Cassia Clarke Coaching (one of the fastest-scaling coaches at Lenus with over 400 clients), Optimalik Coaching, Natalie Rose Fitness, Alfa Coaching, and others across the fitness space. My role was helping coaches build sustainable, scalable businesses by strengthening their branding, marketing, and, most importantly, their sales systems.
Over the years, I’ve sat in on thousands of sales conversations. I’ve reviewed pipelines, analysed close rates, rebuilt sales processes, and watched the same pattern repeat itself again and again.
And that’s why I’m confident saying this:
Most fitness coaches don’t have a lead problem.
In fact, most of the coaches I worked with were already generating plenty of interest, some weren’t (but that’s a problem to solve another day). They had people in their DMs. They had enquiry forms being filled out. They were booking calls.
Yet sales still felt non existent.
Some months were strong. Others were quiet.
They’d hear all the usual things like:
- “I need to think about it”
- “I’ll get back to you”
- “Now’s not the right time”
- “I need to speak to my partner”….this one always gets my eyes rolling!
And the default thought was always the same for my coaches:
I just need more leads.
But what I saw behind the scenes told a very different story.
What was actually happening had very little to do with lead volume and everything to do with what happened after the lead arrived.
The real issue: a broken sales system
When coaches say they need more leads, what they usually mean is that they have no frikking clue what’s going to happen with this lead and are just hoping for the best .
They might close two or three clients one week, then nothing the next. They might feel confident on one call and completely unsure on the next. They might spend hours in DMs or on calls without clear outcomes.
This isn’t because they’re bad at sales.
It’s because they’re operating without a clear sales system.
Without structure, sales conversations rely on:
- Memory
- Improvisation
- Scripts that fall apart under pressure
- Hope that the “right” client will say yes
And hope isn’t a strategy.
A sales system is what turns:
- Interest into clarity
- Conversations into decisions
- Leads into predictable revenue
Without it, more leads simply create more headache, not more income.
Why more leads often make things worse
Here’s something most coaches don’t expect…
More leads can actually highlight sales problems rather than fix them.
When your close rate is low:
- More leads = more unanswered messages
- More calls = more fatigue
- More follow-up = more frustration
Instead of scaling, you feel burnt out, busier and more overwhelmed, with literally nothing to show for it.
This is why some coaches:
- Work harder than ever
- Post more content
- Run more ads
- Offer more discounts
Yet still feel stuck.
The issue isn’t effort.
It’s efficiency.
What actually moves the needle = sales efficiency
Sales efficiency is about how well your system converts the leads you already have.
That means looking at:
- How clearly your offer is positioned
- How leads are qualified before calls
- How sales conversations are structured
- How objections are handled
- How follow-up is managed
Small improvements here can have a dramatic impact.
For example:
- Increasing your close rate from 20% to 30%
- Improving show-up rates by 10–15%
- Clarifying pricing and expectations before calls
None of these require more leads.
They just require a better system.
Sales shouldn’t feel awkward or pushy
One of the biggest misconceptions in the fitness industry is that sales has to feel ‘uncomfortable’.
It’s really not that deep guys! In reality, sales only feels awkward when…
- There’s no structure
- There’s no clarity
- There’s no leadership in the conversation
- You’re just an awkward person in general
When a sales system is in place, conversations feel calmer. Prospects feel guided. Decisions feel clearer.
You’re not convincing someone to buy.
You’re helping them decide.
That’s a very different energy.
The shift that changes everything
The moment coaches stop asking me, How do I get more leads? And start asking, How do I improve my sales system?
Everything changes.
Sales becomes:
- More consistent
- More predictable
- Less emotionally draining
- Easier to scale
- AND WORTH EVERY STEP
Growth stops feeling like a constant uphill battle all the bloody time.
Where to start
If this hits you, the best place to start isn’t by rewriting your content or running ads.
It’s by auditing your current sales system.
Understanding where your process is working, and where it’s flopping, gives you clarity on what to fix first.
I’ve created two free tools to help you do exactly that:
- The Sales System Scorecard — a quick self-assessment to identify gaps in your sales process
- The Close Rate Calculator — a simple way to understand how efficiently your leads are converting into clients
Both will give you immediate insight into what’s actually holding your sales back.
Access my free tools here
FREE SALES TOOLS
Listen, its 2026..
You don’t need to work harder.
You don’t need more leads.
You need a sales system that turns interest into confident decisions.
Once that’s in place, growth becomes a lot simpler.
Well, let’s wrap this up because I need you to actually go aways and deep how shxt your sales process is now but it’s ok because I look forward to diving deeper into my bullet proof sales system in my next post so make sure you subscribe friend.
Naomi x
Biz Blossom Co 