How to sell to gyms: fitness studios, yoga and martial arts, who buys and when

To sell to gyms, list every gym and studio in your area by type (big-box gyms, boutique studios, yoga and Pilates studios, martial arts schools), set aside franchise locations whose vendors are chosen by the brand, and contact the owner or general manager mid-morning on a weekday, between the early and evening classes. Lead with a member number they track: new sign-ups, retention, class fill or revenue per member. Gyms and studios are all on Google Maps with hours, reviews and Instagram links, which tells you a lot about size and style before you write.

What do gyms buy, and who decides?#

Gyms buy equipment, member management and booking software, marketing, payments, insurance, cleaning, towels and laundry, supplements and retail, and staffing. At independents the owner decides; at bigger gyms the general manager handles most vendors; at franchises the brand decides some of it.

Independents, boutiques and franchises. Independent gyms and boutique studios decide locally and fast. Franchise locations are run by local franchisees who often have some freedom on local marketing, cleaning and staffing, but not on equipment or core software. Check before you spend time on them.

Coaches and trainers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says fitness and recreational sports centers employ 55% of fitness trainers and instructors, and 15% are self-employed. Independent trainers working out of a gym can be their own small market for software, insurance and education.

How do I build a list of gyms and studios?#

Search Google Maps by type across your area, in pieces, and segment the export by category, reviews, hours and social links.

1. Search each type. "Gym", "fitness center", "health club", "personal trainer", "yoga studio", "Pilates studio", "boxing gym", "martial arts school", "kickboxing school", "rock climbing gym", "dance school". Add "CrossFit gym", "jiu jitsu" and "karate school" as search terms.
2. Search in pieces. One Maps search returns about 120 results. A city has more gyms and studios than that, so split by neighborhood or ZIP code. See why Google Maps stops at 120 results.
3. Remove duplicates across types.
4. Separate franchises by sorting on business name and flagging names that repeat. There's no franchise flag on Maps.
5. Segment:
   • category: big-box gym vs boutique vs yoga vs martial arts. They buy differently.
   • reviews: a size signal. Martial arts schools and yoga studios with hundreds of reviews have a large member base.
   • rating: retention and reputation pitches start here.
   • hours: 24-hour gyms buy access control, security and cleaning; studios with only class hours buy booking tools.
   • website and Instagram: studios often market on Instagram; no website is a web-design lead.
   • emails with role and source: the owner's or manager's address over a generic info@ inbox.

The gym lead list page has the full search terms and fields, and studios have their own: yoga studios and martial arts schools.

What should I pitch to a gym?#

Pitch in member terms. Owners think about sign-ups, cancellations, class fill and revenue per member, not features.

• Software: pitch retention and payments: fewer failed card payments, easier booking, reminders that bring members back. Quote only numbers you can document.
• Marketing agencies: trial offers that turn into memberships, and reviews that rank them in "gym near me" searches. Compare their reviews and rating with the top gyms nearby.
• Equipment: lead with service response time, financing and a layout plan. New gyms and expansions are the best moments, so watch for new listings.
• Cleaning and laundry: locker rooms and mats drive cancellations when they're dirty. Offer a walkthrough and a fixed price. See how to get commercial cleaning contracts.
• Martial arts and yoga: smaller teams, class-based schedules, families as members. Pitch tools for belt testing, class packs, waivers and kids' programs.

When is the best time to contact gyms?#

Mid-morning or early afternoon on weekdays. Early mornings (roughly 5:30 to 9 a.m.) and evenings (5 to 8 p.m.) are peak class times, when owners and managers are on the floor.

These are common patterns, not measured results. Martial arts schools often have after-school kids' classes, so their quiet time is the morning. The hours column on each listing shows when they open and close.

Gatekeepers. Front desk staff sell memberships and will try to sign you up. Say you're a vendor and ask for the owner or general manager by role, and when they're usually in.

What should my email to a gym say?#

Short, specific, member-focused. Double-brace fields are columns from the export.

Subject: January sign-ups at {{business}}

Hi there,

{{business}} has {{reviews}} reviews at {{rating}} stars, which is a
strong base in {{city}}. I help {{category}} owners turn the New Year
rush into members who stay past March, with [specific tactic].

Can I send a one-page plan for your gym? No call needed unless it
looks useful.

[Name] · [Company] · [Postal address]
Not interested? Reply "no" and I won't write again.

For equipment:

Subject: equipment service for {{business}}

Hi there,

We supply and service strength and cardio equipment for gyms around
{{city}}, with [response time] on repairs. If you're replacing
anything or expanding this year, I can put together a layout and
financing options for {{business}}.

[Name] · [Company] · [Postal address] · Reply "no" to opt out.

More templates are in cold email templates for local businesses.

How often should I follow up with gyms?#

Three follow-ups over three weeks. If you're local, a visit in the mid-morning lull after the second email works well.

1. Day 1: first email.
2. Day 4: "Is [topic] something you handle, or is there a manager I should talk to?"
3. Day 10: something useful: a short teardown of their Google listing, an equipment service checklist, a retention example.
4. Day 21: a polite close with an offer to check in before the New Year.

What rules apply to cold outreach to gyms?#

US commercial email falls under CAN-SPAM: accurate sender and subject lines, a physical postal address and a working opt-out honored within 10 business days. Calls to businesses are mostly exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry, but the FTC's ban on misrepresentations covers business-to-business calls, and under the TCPA autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts to cell phones need consent. Small studios often list the owner's cell. Google's Maps Platform terms restrict scraping and building lists from Maps content, a contract issue separate from these laws. See cold email laws and get legal advice for your situation.

Worked example: every gym and studio in California#

California has 5,371 fitness and recreational sports center establishments with paid employees (Census County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 713940), the most of any state. Studios and schools without employees aren't counted, and not every studio or martial arts school falls in that code, so a Maps search across all the types above will find more.

For one metro with about 1,500 gyms and studios and about 600 checked emails, the Starter plan at $19 a month (25,000 businesses, 1,000 checked emails) covers it. Each business is charged once ever, gyms outside your area or in another trade are shown free, and unused credits roll over while your plan is active. See pricing.

If you'd rather not build gym lists by hand, Leadraft finds every gym and studio inside the area you choose and checks the emails it finds against the live mailbox. Try it on your city on the free plan, or see the fields on the gym lead list page.

FAQ#

How do I sell to gyms?#

List every gym and studio in your area by type (big-box gyms, boutique studios, yoga and Pilates studios, martial arts schools, CrossFit-style boxes), separate independents from franchise locations, and contact the owner or general manager mid-morning or early afternoon on a weekday. Lead with member numbers: new sign-ups, retention, class fill rate or revenue per member.

Who makes buying decisions at a gym?#

At an independent gym or studio, the owner decides, and often teaches or coaches too. Larger gyms have a general manager who handles day-to-day vendors and a fitness or operations manager for equipment and programming. Franchise locations are run by a franchisee, but many brands set approved equipment, software and marketing at head office.

When is the best time to contact a gym owner?#

Mid-morning after the early classes, roughly 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., or early afternoon, on Tuesday to Thursday. Early mornings and evenings are peak class times. Pitch member-acquisition services well before the New Year sign-up season, in the fall. These are common patterns, not measured results.

How do I find a list of gyms and fitness studios?#

Search Google Maps for gym, fitness center, health club, personal trainer, yoga studio, Pilates studio, boxing gym, martial arts school and kickboxing school in each neighborhood or ZIP code, since one search returns about 120 results. Export with phone, website, rating, reviews, hours, Instagram and emails from each gym's own site.

How many gyms are there in the US?#

County Business Patterns 2023 counts 41,556 fitness and recreational sports center establishments with paid employees (NAICS 713940). Not every studio or martial arts school falls in that code, and owner-run studios with no employees aren't counted, so a Google Maps search usually finds more.

Sources#

1. U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (NAICS 713940 establishments by state).
2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Fitness Trainers and Instructors (where trainers work; self-employment share).
3. Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business and Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
4. Federal Communications Commission, Stop Unwanted Robocalls and Texts.
5. Google, Google Maps Platform Terms of Service.