The Challenge: A Gym Without a System

When Raul Aguilar of Traction Lab first began working with his client Flex Appeal, he discovered a fitness business with significant untapped potential. Despite spending money on ads for six years, the gym lacked foundational systems for handling leads effectively.

“The first thing I did was ask, ‘Do you have a contact center?'” Raul explains. “They didn’t. When I asked who was picking up the phone, they said ‘me and the receptionist.'”

The gym, located in a border town, specifically targeted Spanish-speaking clients—a well-defined niche with strong market potential. But without a proper lead management system, they were leaving substantial revenue on the table. Previous attempts to expand to multiple locations had failed primarily due to poor lead management processes.

The Metrics Before Implementation:

• Lead response time: 4+ days
• Lead conversion rate: Only 36% of leads provided contact information
• No dedicated person managing lead responses
• Ad spend generating leads that weren’t being properly followed up
• High churn rate: approximately 70%
• Failed expansion attempts: Unable to scale beyond one location

The Solution: “Vicky” with Mexico Spanish Specialization

Raul implemented CloseBot in July 2024 and created an AI assistant affectionately named “Vicky” (or “La Vickie”) with a critical adaptation that would prove transformative: ensuring Vicky communicated in Mexico Spanish—specifically, northern Mexican Spanish.

“A lot of people don’t know that there are different dialects,” Raul points out. “It’s like the way we speak in Florida, New York, or Texas is different than how we speak in California.”

This cultural and linguistic nuance became a key factor in the success of the implementation. By ensuring Vicky spoke the specific regional dialect of the gym’s target audience, they achieved an immediate connection with prospects that felt authentic and respectful.

The Implementation Strategy

Rather than overwhelming the system with numerous objectives, Raul focused Vicky on just two critical tasks:

1. Responding immediately to new leads
2. Collecting contact information (specifically WhatsApp numbers)

This laser focus proved to be another crucial decision. “Two objectives is the key,” Raul explains. “If you figure out two objectives, you’ll be more successful than with three, and you’ll be more successful than with four.”

The simplified qualification flow they developed was elegant in its simplicity:

1. Determine interest in the gym’s offer
2. Identify which location the prospect would attend
3. Collect their phone number

Traction Lab even modified CloseBot’s settings to slightly slow down response times (from 9 seconds to 33 seconds) to make interactions feel more human while still maintaining lightning-fast engagement.

The Results: Transformation Across All Metrics

The impact of implementing CloseBot with these strategic choices was immediate and dramatic:

Immediate Impact (July to August 2024):

• Response time: From 4 days to just 33 seconds
• Lead conversion rate: Jumped from 36% to 53% in just one month
• More qualified leads: Despite 18% fewer inbound leads (631 vs 773), Vicky generated 17% more qualified leads (331 vs 282)
• Processed over 35,000 automated messages across Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Website Chat
• Churn rate: Reduced from 70% to approximately 20%
• Revenue: In February, the gym invested $3,000 in ads and generated $25,000 in sales
• Growth: Second location reached capacity with a waitlist
• Business intelligence: Using Vicky to collect zip code data to plan their third location

Long-Term Impact (2023 vs 2024):

• Revenue growth: 23% increase (from $655,900 to $805,300)
• Total contacts created: 353% increase (from 1,345 to 4,748)
• Qualified leads: 255% increase (from 540 to 1,375)
• Second location success: Reached 85% capacity within 4 months of opening

Beyond Lead Conversion: Strategic Business Intelligence and Expansion

Perhaps most impressively, the CloseBot implementation evolved beyond simple lead conversion. When the gym began planning their third location, Raul added zip code collection to Vicky’s tasks.

“He didn’t have a standard procedure or marketing research to tell him where to open,” Raul shares. “They’re just going to feed that customer base to that location because the second location doesn’t have any more space. They’re on a waitlist.”

This strategic use of AI for business intelligence demonstrates how properly implemented conversational AI can drive business decisions well beyond the initial sales process.

Client Journey: From Skepticism to Evangelism

Like many business owners, Raul’s client initially approached AI with skepticism. “The first thing is they’re almost trying to prove that it doesn’t work,” Raul notes about the typical client journey.

The client would frequently interrupt conversations during the first two weeks until Raul explained: “If you jump into the conversations, that tells me you don’t have an onboarding process. You have to let Vicky fail and correct.”

Once the client stepped back and let the system work, the results spoke for themselves. The gym owner went from skeptical to becoming a passionate advocate for the technology.

Key Takeaways From This Case Study

1. Speak the right language: Cultural and dialect specificity created authentic connections
2. Focus on 2-3 objectives: Simplicity drives success in AI implementation
3. Let the system work: Business owners need to allow the AI to learn and adjust
4. Use data to guide decisions: AI can provide strategic business intelligence beyond sales
5. Patience yields results: The full benefits emerge when given proper time to develop

Real Numbers: The Investment and ROI

Traction Lab charges Flex Appeal just $500 per month for the CloseBot implementation and management. Interestingly, the gym owner actually offered to pay more after seeing the results, but Raul preferred to receive referrals to other gym owners instead – a testament to the value delivered.

The initial setup was approximately $5,000, with an ongoing fee of about $1,500 per location. Considering the business is now generating over $800,000 annually with projections to hit $1.5 million in 2025, this represents an extraordinary return on investment.

Connect With Raul Aguilar

If your agency works with gyms or other businesses that could benefit from culturally-relevant AI implementation, Raul Aguilar at Traction Lab offer specialized expertise in this area. His experience scaling businesses from 0 to 7 million in annual revenue provides valuable insights for growth-focused businesses.

To learn more, reach out to Raul directly at Traction Lab. His experience with CloseBot implementation, particularly for Spanish-speaking markets, represents a valuable resource for businesses looking to enhance their lead response systems.

See The Full Interview

Watch the complete interview between Bryce DeCora and Raul Aguilar to get all the details of this remarkable business transformation:

This case study demonstrates how strategic AI implementation with cultural awareness can transform business metrics across the board. From response times to expansion planning, the right approach to conversational AI delivers measurable ROI for businesses willing to embrace the technology properly. For just $500/month, Traction Lab helped Flex Appeal build a foundation for multi-location expansion and nearly double their revenue – an opportunity any marketing agency owner would be eager to bring to their clients.