Business Growth•Client Engagement•Group Coaching•Growth Tactics TZ Collective Recap | The Business of Belonging: How Coaches Grow Through Community

Melisa Gjika

TZ Collective powered by ABC Fitness

This year’s TZ Collective powered by ABC Fitness focused on belonging as a business advantage. As online coaching, AI, and automation continue to reshape the fitness industry, the coaches who retain clients, scale sustainably, and stand out are the ones who know how to build real community.

Under the theme The Business of Belonging: How Coaches Grow Through Community, six focused sessions brought together industry-leading coaches, business mentors, and product leaders to unpack what they learned and achieved during 2025.

If you couldn’t join live, you can still watch the full event on demand.

Watch the TZ Collective: The Business of Belonging Sessions Here!

Now, let’s dive into the key conversations and takeaways from each session.

Session #1: The Belonging Effect: Why Connected Clients Stay (and Pay) Longer 

Backed by data from ABC Fitness’ Wellness Watch, the conversation opened with a clear signal: 73% of people say community is crucial for fitness motivation and consistency.

The panel agreed that when clients feel connected to a group and a shared mission, they stay longer, engage more consistently, and are more likely to keep investing in their coaching.

Moving away from treating community as a vague concept, the speakers broke down how belonging is intentionally designed. 

The session highlighted that belonging looks different depending on the audience. Competitive groups thrive on standards, performance visibility, and team comparison. Lifestyle-focused clients, on the other hand, respond better to compassion, encouragement, and small, achievable steps. 

From coach-led values and visible leadership to simple, repeatable rituals like daily check-ins, this discussion is not to be missed! 

Moderator: Alejandro Soares, Product Adoption Specialist, ABC Trainerize

Guest speakers

Key takeaways

  • Belonging directly impacts retention and revenue
  • Communities must be coach-led, values-driven, and ritual-based
  • Big missions paired with small teams create stronger accountability
  • Social accountability outperforms coach-only accountability
  • Hybrid communities combine online consistency with in-person depth

Session #2: ABC Trainerize Product Chat: 2025 Highlights and 2026 Sneak Peek

While people often start fitness journeys for health outcomes, connection is what seems to keep them coming back! A major theme throughout this session was the shift toward hybrid coaching, relationship-led experiences, and how both fuel retention and growth. 

With nearly half of coaches now operating hybrid models, community features such as challenges, group coaching, shared wins, and consistent communication are now positioned as core infrastructure, not add-ons. 

The panel also explored how longevity is becoming mainstream and how coaches play a critical role in making it accessible through structured programming and interpretation of data.

Moderator: Sharad Mohan, Co-founder, ABC Trainerize

Guest speakers

Key takeaways

  • Fitness is shifting from product-led to relationship-led experiences
  • Hybrid coaching and community features are now the norm
  • Longevity programming is becoming a core coaching opportunity
  • Wearables provide data, while coaches provide context

What’s Coming to ABC Trainerize in 2026?

  1. AI Workout Builder: Build and edit workouts with over 75% time savings, reducing manual programming work.
  2. Advanced Longevity Tracking: Deeper HRV tracking to support recovery, with new signals such as mood and energy.
  3. Community & Group Coaching Enhancements: Expanded challenges and group features to support larger, more engaged communities.
  4. Business Growth Tools: New acquisition and referral tools designed to drive higher-quality signups and retention.

Session #3: Beyond the 1:1 – How to Scale Your Business with Group Coaching

Moderated by Richelle Volk, this session tackles a big question: what happens when you stop relying on 1-to-1 coaching to grow? The answer is: you remove the capacity ceiling. You make coaching more accessible. And you often improve retention because people move faster when they move together.

Both panelists shared why they brought group coaching in early.

Denise Kirtley built group programs to create real scale in the midlife transformation space. Eva Partridge introduced groups so women who could not afford 1 to 1 coaching could still get structure, accountability, and support. Different audiences. Same outcome. 

If you want to learn more about two different but effective group models, this conversation is worth a peek. Denise shared her higher-touch, coach-backed model, while Eva’s model is lower-touch and more flexible, with rolling intakes and self-selected training splits. 

The session closed with real client stories, including transformations of 70 to 100 pounds, reinforcing that group coaching, even at lower touch, can deliver life-changing results.

Moderator: Richelle Volk, Sunday Move Club, and ABC Trainerize Content Creator

Guest speakers

Key takeaways

  • Group coaching removes the capacity cap of 1-to-1
  • Different group models can work if expectations are clear
  • Cohorts and shared start dates increase bonding and retention
  • Engagement can be structured without constant 1-to-1 access
  • Group programs can be both more accessible and more profitable

Session #4: How to Get Found with AI – Attract New Clients with Your Digital Presence

With discovery moving inside AI tools instead of search engines, this session focused on what coaches need to do to stay visible.

As people now get most of their answers inside a single AI conversation, traditional funnels become harder to see, but new opportunities open up for coaches who clearly document who they serve, what they offer, and why they are different.

Steve Toth introduced AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) as the next evolution of SEO, focused on influencing how AI systems describe and recommend brands.

One of the most practical frameworks shared was “truth alignment.” Steve encouraged coaches to write clear, sales-grade answers to key deal-breaker questions, then test how AI tools respond to those same questions about their brand.

Steve also recommended creating an LLM-friendly info page! To see what that actually looks like and how to build it, the full conversation is worth watching.

Moderator: Taryn Hardes, Senior Content Marketing Manager at ABC Fitness

Guest speaker: Steve Toth, Founder, Notebook Agency

Key takeaways

  • Discovery is shifting from search engines to AI conversations
  • AEO and GEO build on, not replace, strong SEO fundamentals
  • Clear, sales-grade answers improve how AI represents your brand
  • AI rewards niche, scenario-specific content from small businesses
  • Video, FAQs, and consistent online profiles improve visibility and trust

Session #5: The Connection Advantage – Why Community Is Your Best Marketing Strategy

What makes a community? In a fitness industry leaning harder on automation, both speakers answered it for us all and showed why community still works and why it’s so hard to replace.

Tully Johns emphasized the importance of creating spaces where people can show up imperfectly. That openness builds trust, encourages honesty, and leads to deeper engagement over time.

Corey Robuk outlined how community functions across the full customer lifecycle. Front-end communities nurture leads, build trust, and create momentum before a sale. Back-end communities drive retention by giving clients reasons to stay beyond workouts and check-ins. Together, they turn clients into advocates who naturally refer others.

The session closed with practical guidance for coaches at any stage: build community early, show up consistently with intention, and stay relentlessly people-focused.

Moderator: Anthony McNally, ABC Trainerize

Guest speakers

Key takeaways

  • Community is about shared identity, not audience size
  • Authenticity and imperfection build trust and engagement
  • AI should support systems, not replace relationships
  • Community drives both acquisition and retention
  • Consistent human connection is the long-term advantage

Session #6: The ABC Trainerize Best Trainer Awards 2025

The ABC Trainerize Best Trainer Awards 2025 celebrate the coaches and studios who consistently go above and beyond for their clients. 

Winners were selected based on real performance metrics inside the platform, including workouts completed, habits tracked, meals logged, client engagement, and long-term consistency.

This year’s winners demonstrated what modern, results-driven coaching looks like at scale. From high-volume fitness engagement and sustainable nutrition habits to personalized habit coaching and strong community-building, each category reflects a different dimension of client success. We’re proud of our collective:

ABC Trainerize Award Winners, Announced

To all of the 2025 winners and our shortlisted candidates, thank you for raising the bar. Your consistency, dedication, and care continue to shape what great coaching looks like across the ABC Trainerize community.

Catch the Event in Full

You can watch the full TZ Collective: The Business of Belonging virtual event on demand and hear directly from the coaches, business leaders, and product experts shaping the future of fitness. Get practical insights on community-building, retention, group coaching, AI-driven discovery, and long-term business growth, all in one place.

Stream TZ Collective for free

 

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