More than 500 fitness industry professionals packed Sydney Town Hall for the 2026 AUSactive Annual Awards, celebrating finalists and winners across 32 award categories.
For the first time, the AUSactive Awards included an Individual Sales Excellence Award – recognising the important role sales professionals play in the success of gyms and fitness businesses across Australia. Mystery Shopping For Fitness Businesses was the official partner for this award.
This made the 2026 Awards particularly special for Lisa Lord, General Manager of Mystery Shopping For Fitness Businesses, who played a major role in bringing the new award to life.
Recognising Sales Excellence in the Fitness Industry
Every day, sales professionals are responsible for turning enquiries into conversations, prospects into members and helping more people begin their fitness journey.
Yet their contribution had never been recognised on a national stage.
“I have attended the national awards for the last few years and always wondered why we never celebrated the people who help bring new people into our classes and new clients to our trainers,” said Lisa.
“Sales professionals play an incredibly important role in every fitness business, and we felt it was time they were recognised and celebrated.”
That’s why we proposed the Individual Sales Excellence Award to AUSactive and developed a judging process designed to assess what really happens when a prospective member contacts a fitness business.
Rather than relying solely on written submissions or interviews, we used mystery shopping to assess real-world fitness sales skills and customer experiences.
Lisa developed the judging strategy and conducted a detailed audit of individual sales skills to determine the four finalists. Further mystery shopping was then conducted to determine the inaugural winner.
“We are so grateful to have formed this partnership with AUSactive and to now shine a light on these team members.”
Lisa concluded, “We loved being part of the inaugural Sales Excellence Award and can’t wait to see this category continue to grow in the years ahead!”
Congratulations to Kristy McDougall
Congratulations to everyone who entered the inaugural award and particularly to the 2026 AUSactive Individual Sales Excellence Award winner, Kristy McDougall from Listen To Your Body.
Why Fitness Sales Mystery Shopping Matters
The same mystery shopping methodology used as part of the judging process is something we use every day to help gyms and fitness businesses improve their sales performance.
A fitness business can invest heavily in marketing to generate leads, but what happens when those leads actually make contact?
Are phone enquiries answered professionally? Are the right questions being asked? Does the sales professional genuinely listen to the prospect? Does the experience make the prospect want to take the next step?
Gym mystery shopping provides an objective view of the real sales experience being delivered to prospective members.
It allows fitness business owners and managers to identify what’s working, uncover gaps in their sales process and provide their teams with specific coaching and training opportunities.
Most importantly, mystery shopping isn’t about catching people doing something wrong. It’s about identifying opportunities to make your people, your sales process and your customer experience better.
If you’d like to understand what prospective members really experience when they contact your gym or fitness business, chat with Lisa at lisa@activemgmt.com.au.
Experienced and results orientated Lisa delivers exceptional customer service, reflecting her commitment to her clients’ success. She combines a warm, compassionate personality with steely determination and focus. Lisa’s early experience working in Media followed by her career in the Real Estate Industry that spans over 25 years is where she has honed her Sales, Marketing and Customer Service skills. Dedicated to her clients’ success shines through in her everyday approach and she is both passionate and proactive with a genuine knowledge and belief that Mystery Shopping can make a huge difference in your business. Lisa is an avid bibliophile and works as a writer and editor in her spare time.