This course is a comprehensive look at what it takes to build, lead and sustain a high-performing membership sales team in today’s club environment. Led by Bill McBride — CEO, owner-operator, and advisor to premium fitness brands — this masterclass goes far beyond traditional sales training. It blends membership sales, human behavior, leadership, culture-building and performance management into one unified, actionable system.
With decades of experience leading multi-location clubs and consulting for elite organizations, Bill reveals the mindset and mechanics behind successful membership teams — from hiring the right “thoroughbreds,” to onboarding with intention, to coaching using behavioral models and performance metrics.
You’ll learn how to align your team on goals, diagnose performance issues accurately, and coach using the right leadership style — all while protecting your culture, setting standards, and building trust. Bill also shares proven communication strategies, enrollment language, and buyer psychology to help sales professionals shift from selling memberships to solving people’s problems.
What You’ll Learn:
✔️ How to hire for values, character and potential — not just knowledge and skills
✔️ The five drivers of performance — and how to diagnose before prescribing
✔️ How to use behavioral coaching and GE’s “Values vs. Performance” matrix to manage your team
✔️ Frameworks for enrollment conversations that build trust, connection and emotional buy-in
✔️ How to design onboarding experiences that create confidence and reduce turnover
✔️ Why culture is determined by what leaders tolerate — not what they say
✔️ Practical strategies for pacing, goal-setting, reset meetings and CRM discipline
✔️ How to create structured accountability without micromanaging
✔️ Metrics that matter: measuring what improves performance, not just what reports numbers
✔️ How to turn your membership team into “friends in fitness” — not salespeople
Whether you lead one club or multiple locations, this course will help you develop sales professionals into trusted problem-solvers, transform performance conversations, and cultivate a culture where high standards, trust, accountability and excellence become the norm — not the exception.
About the instructor
Bill McBride is a widely respected health club industry executive with over 30 years of experience leading and managing all aspects of commercial health clubs, medical fitness centers, residential, community, multi-tenant, and corporate fitness operations. He is the Co-Founder, President & CEO of Active Wellness, LLC, and also owns BMC3, a boutique consulting and coaching firm specializing in fitness business strategy, leadership, and operational excellence. Over the course of his career, Bill has served as Chairman of the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) Board of Directors, President of the Mid-Atlantic Club Management Association (MACMA), and as a member of the Industry Advisory Board for the American Council on Exercise (ACE). He is also a Faculty Member of the Medical Wellness Association (MWA) and serves on Advisory Boards for the Medical Fitness Network (MFN) and several fitness-related technology companies. Bill continues to consult, educate, and inspire fitness industry leaders worldwide.
