How to follow up old enquiries at your gym or studio, and turn them into members

Why old enquiries are worth your time

Somewhere in your inbox are people who put their hand up. They told you what they wanted help with, then life got in the way.

Most of them haven't said no. They just never heard back, or heard once and never again. Two-Brain Business's research (opens in a new tab) found that about one in seven gyms don't call new enquiries at all.

When you're coaching, leading the team and keeping everything running, follow-up is the first thing to slip. So a list of old enquiries is often the quickest win you have: no ads, no new content, just people who already know your name.

Who to include, and who to leave out

Start with everyone who enquired in the last 12 months and didn't join: web forms, calls, messages, social media and people who booked a first session but didn't turn up.

The older the enquiry, the less they'll expect to hear from you. Treat anything over a year or two with care, and keep the first message especially light.

Leave out:

• Anyone who's already a member, or joined and then left. Former members need a different message: see win back former members.
• Anyone who said no, asked you to stop, or unsubscribed.
• People whose details you didn't collect yourself, such as a bought or borrowed list.
• Anyone who stopped halfway through signing up recently. They need a call: see abandoned sign-ups.

Clean the list first

An hour spent cleaning the list makes every message more personal and saves embarrassing mistakes. For each person, you want:

• Their first name, spelled properly.
• What they asked about, in their words: "lower back pain", "getting fit for a wedding", "a class to do with a friend".
• When they enquired, so you can leave out the very old ones.
• Email and mobile number, with duplicates removed.

If your enquiries arrive as free-text messages, an AI assistant can summarise each one into a few words for you. Check the summaries before you use them: a wrong one is worse than none.

The follow-up, message by message

The simplest opener I know is Dean Jackson's nine-word email (opens in a new tab): a short note asking whether they're still looking for what they wanted. It works because it reads like a message from a person, and it's easy to answer.

Then build the rest of the campaign around three ideas: remind them what they asked about, show them people like them who started, and give them one simple next step.

End every message the same way: "Just reply YES and I'll find you a time." One word is easier than a booking form, and every reply starts a real conversation.

When they reply

The messages only open the door. What turns a reply into a member is the conversation that follows, so answer every reply personally, ideally within the hour.

• Thank them, and ask one question: "Is [what they asked about] still the main thing you'd like help with?"
• Offer two times for their first visit, rather than a link to a calendar.
• If they've joined somewhere else, wish them well and stop. They'll remember how you made them feel.

For the first visit itself, see intro offer ideas and The First Five. For the conversation about joining, see gym sales conversion.

Email, text or a call?

Use email to tell the story and text to make sure it's seen. A text from a named person ("Sam here from…") is hard to miss, but keep it short, and only send it after an email.

Call the warmest few: people who enquired in the last month or two, or who booked and didn't turn up. Open with help, not a pitch: "You got in touch about [what they asked]. Did you ever get it sorted?"

What to offer

People who enquired but never started need a small, safe first step, not a price cut. The best old-enquiry offers do three things:

• Make starting free or easy: a consultation, an assessment and a first session, with no obligation.
• Reward joining with a bonus, not a discount: an extra month, a few personal training sessions or an add-on. It keeps your price intact.
• Have a real end date: the end of the month, or the number of places your coaches can actually take.

Only say places are limited if they are. One honest deadline beats a fake countdown every time.

Keep it on the right side of privacy rules

Someone who asked you about joining expects to hear about joining. Keep the messages to that, say who you are, include a simple way to opt out in every email and text, and stop the moment anyone asks.

• UK: if someone gave you their details while asking about joining, you can usually email or text them about similar services under the "soft opt-in", as long as they could opt out when they enquired and in every message since. See the ICO's guidance on electronic mail marketing (opens in a new tab).
• Australia: the Spam Act needs consent, which can sometimes be inferred from an existing relationship. The regulator prefers express consent. See the ACMA (opens in a new tab).
• United States: CAN-SPAM doesn't require consent for email, but every message needs a working opt-out that you honour promptly. See the FTC's compliance guide (opens in a new tab). Texts have stricter rules, so check before you send them.

This isn't legal advice. If you're unsure, ask someone who knows the rules where you are.

Make it a routine

Run the campaign once properly, then make it a habit. Every three months, the enquiries from the last quarter who didn't join get the same five messages.

Better still, stop the list building up in the first place. Tag every enquiry with what they asked about, and let your software send the follow-up when someone hasn't booked after a few days. Then your team only needs to handle the replies.

For the everyday routine, see lead follow-up mistakes, and for how it fits with the rest of your emails, the Member Journey Email Map.

What to measure

Track four numbers for each campaign:

• Replies: how many people answered at all, including "no thanks".
• Booked: how many booked a first visit.
• Joined: how many became members.
• Revenue: what those new members pay each month.

Note the reasons people give for not joining the first time. If the same reason keeps coming up, fix it in your offer or your first reply, and fewer enquiries will go quiet next time. The enquiry-to-member checker shows where else people drop out.

Mistakes to avoid

• Leading with a discount. It brings in bargain hunters and undercuts your members.
• Generic messages. "Still thinking about joining?" is fine. "Still looking for help with your back?" is much better.
• A link instead of a conversation. Ask for a one-word reply, then talk to them.
• Fake scarcity. People can tell, and it costs you trust.
• Not stopping. Five messages, then leave them alone until the next quarter.
• Doing it once and forgetting. The list fills up again, every month.

Questions owners ask

Sources

Every figure in this article comes from the sources below or from my own work with gyms and studios, checked in October 2026.

• Two-Brain Business: research on how gyms follow up enquiries (opens in a new tab)
• Dean Jackson: The 9-word email (opens in a new tab)
• Information Commissioner's Office: What are the rules on direct marketing using electronic mail? (opens in a new tab)
• Australian Communications and Media Authority: Avoid sending spam (opens in a new tab)
• Federal Trade Commission: CAN-SPAM Act: a compliance guide for business (opens in a new tab)