Why This Matters

In today’s hyper-competitive market, achieving sustainable franchise success is challenging. It requires moving past generic operational models to protect your core brand value. You might be an emerging franchisor looking to scale your infrastructure safely. Or, you could be an established business looking to expand efficiency across diverse operational footprints. Either way, integrating modern leadership methodologies into your network is critical.

This deep dive tackles the shifting demands of modern franchise operations. We address the operational realities of transitioning from rigid corporate systems to collaborative networks. Finally, we look at why relationship-driven leadership and localized support form the ultimate foundation for driving long-term unit performance. Read on to discover how translating real-world retail firepower into structured fitness systems can transform your entire business ecosystem.

Introduction

Doug Mark: Welcome to The Training Effect, the show where we uncover how learning systems and training drive business success. I’m your host, Doug Mark, and today I’m joined by a true operational powerhouse in the franchise fitness world, Kristin Del Sontro. As the Director of Operations at Retro Fitness, Kristin oversees multi-state franchise territories. She actively drives performance, supports franchise growth, and builds systems that actually work.

What makes her story compelling is her 20-plus-year journey leading high-impact teams across some of the biggest names in national retail. She has managed operations for iconic brands like Gap, H&M, David’s Tea, Macy’s, and Ann Taylor.

Bringing Firepower to the Fitness Space

Doug Mark: Before bringing that operational firepower to the franchise fitness space, Kristin built a reputation as a turnaround specialist. She is a people-first leader, a NASM certified personal trainer, and a certified nutrition coach. Additionally, she is the founder of New Jersey’s Sip Saver Social, a thriving women’s networking group.

She leads with energy, empathy, and excellence. Today, we’re diving into what it takes to build franchise systems that scale, teams that thrive, and training frameworks that actually stick. Kristin, welcome.

Kristin Del Sontro: Thank you, Doug. I am so incredibly excited to be here with you today.

From Big-Box Retail to Fitness Frameworks

Doug Mark: You have built an incredible career around turning underperforming business units into high-performing operations, and you consistently lead with your heart. I’m wondering, what first drew you into the franchise operations space, especially after coming from the retail world?

Kristin Del Sontro: It was a unique transition. I spent about twenty years working in traditional retail environments. Eventually, you reach a point in your career where you face the classic question: where do you see yourself in five or ten years? Retail managers have to wear an incredible number of unacknowledged hats every single day.

On a pure leap of faith, I decided to start applying to corporate brands that I personally loved as a consumer, one of which was Retro Fitness.

Trading the Stockroom for the Showroom Floor

Kristin Del Sontro: I honestly didn’t think they would call me back. I wasn’t a traditional “gym rat,” and I was completely transparent about being overweight at the time. I was simply looking for a much healthier career environment. I wanted to escape the 4:30 AM delivery trucks, the late nights, the weekends, and the missed family holidays. When they called me, I was shocked. I initially viewed the interview as a great way to brush up on my presentation skills.

However, I quickly realized that franchise systems are made of independent small business owners who deeply need help with administrative structures, business acumen, and team building.

During my final interview, I looked them in the eye and said, “I can’t tell you how to bench press, and I don’t know any of this equipment, but I can tell you exactly how to make money and how to build elite teams”. That operational skill set transferred perfectly. I jumped in head-first and embraced being an active student of the fitness industry.

Eliminating the Credibility Gap Through Personal Growth

Doug Mark: You didn’t just stay behind an administrative desk, though. You’ve truly turned yourself into a certified fitness professional. You didn’t technically have to get certified to perform your corporate job, so what inspired you to take that difficult extra step?

Kristin Del Sontro: Retro Fitness is deeply committed to providing robust tools and resources for both franchisees and corporate staff. When you do standard performance reviews, professional growth is vital, but personal growth is just as huge.

Early on, I realized that when a corporate operations leader meets with gym owners and seasoned personal trainers, there can be a slight lack of initial credibility if you don’t understand their frame of reference. It is hard to look at someone’s P&L and give advice if you don’t live in their world.

Becoming a Student Again

Kristin Del Sontro: I asked my supervisors if I could pursue my personal training certification, and they told me to go for it. I basically turned into a college student again at night and on the weekends. I walked around everywhere with stacks of flashcards, studying complex biological concepts.

Because I learn best by doing, I taught myself progressive workout routines by physically putting myself through the exact exercises I was reading about.

Passing that exam was a proud moment, but I have a strong passion for never doing things halfway. The natural next step was learning how to properly fuel the human body, which drove me to earn my nutrition certification. You can master every physical movement on the gym floor, but if you aren’t fueling your body correctly, you are only halfway to your goals.

Unlocking the Power of Franchise Peer Networks

Doug Mark: That unique blend of frontend retail leadership, fitness knowledge, and corporate expertise gives you a distinct edge. How has that combination shaped the way you approach franchise owners today?

Kristin Del Sontro: It gives me deep empathy for the business owner. In corporate retail, you manage stores for a massive entity. But in franchising, you are dealing with an individual’s lifelong dream. These owners have their houses on the line and kids to send through college.

Because of that reality, you cannot just show up on day one, demand to see their P&L, and blindly tell them what they are doing wrong. You have to invest real time into relationship building to establish mutual trust. Whether they own a single location or a multi-unit territory, their business is a very private, sacred place to them, and you must respect that .

The Value of Local Networks

“When you buy into a franchise, you aren’t just signing a contract for corporate tools and resources. You are buying into an elite peer network of like-minded men and women who are walking in your exact shoes.” — Kristin Del Sontro

Kristin Del Sontro: If a general manager is struggling with time management, a solution delivered by a corporate coach might not always land effectively. Instead, I tell the owner to pick up the phone and call the franchisee down the street.

If that peer has been operating clubs for ten years longer, they will provide real-world, practical ideas that corporate might not even think of. Leveraging that ecosystem is an incredible asset.

Doug Mark: That aligns perfectly with the golden rule of franchising: you are in business for yourself, but never by yourself. Knowing that a peer has successfully navigated your exact roadblock creates an invaluable infrastructure of support .

Kristin Del Sontro: Absolutely. I always tell our owners and managers to be generous with their time and pay it forward. The lesson you master today is the exact blueprint another owner will need tomorrow. There are more than enough wins and revenue in this industry for everyone to achieve massive success.

Operational Reality: Teaching vs. Telling in Franchise Operations

Doug Mark: Moving from retail systems with established corporate playbooks to independent franchise operations is a massive shift. What was the biggest operational lesson you learned during that transition?

Kristin Del Sontro: I have the operational bruises to prove how different it is. In big-box corporate retail, a regional manager walks into a store and whatever they say goes immediately. There is no real conversation or collaborative dialogue. If I tell a manager to move the mannequins to the left side of the floor, they do it simply because I issued the directive.

Making Suggestions, Not Decisions

Kristin Del Sontro: Franchise operations require a completely different approach. I frequently tell my territories: “My job is to make the suggestions; your job is to make the decisions”. I am simply the vehicle delivering best practices, field data, and resources because we want their business to thrive.

Instead of demanding a visual change, I say, “Doug, in my experience, if you move these visual displays to the left, your members will interact with them more frequently, which will naturally drive up your retail sales”. I provide the data-backed suggestion, but I respect their autonomy to make the final call for their business.

Navigating the Evolution of Modern Fitness Trends

Doug Mark: What has surprised you the most about managing fitness operations compared to your time in traditional retail channels?

Kristin Del Sontro: The sheer velocity of the industry’s evolution surprised me. Coming out of the pandemic, consumer perspectives on health shifted dramatically. People no longer visit a commercial gym just to pick heavy weights up and put them back down.

Today, fitness directly encompasses mental health, stress relief, and functional movement. For a busy professional, that hour on the gym floor might be the only personal time they get all day. The environment must support their total well-being.

A Shift in Generational Priorities

Kristin Del Sontro: I see this evolution clearly in my own children, who are in their teens and early twenties. Our generation was taught to maximize every single minute of the day for corporate productivity and hard work.

The younger generation handles their days differently, and I truly applaud them for it. They deeply value their mental health. When they go on modern job interviews, they actively ask about PTO and scheduling flexibility because they want to ensure they can still attend their morning yoga classes. They refuse to make work the singular focus of their existence, and that lifestyle shift shapes how we manage our club environments.

The Retro Fitness Suite of Services Model

Doug Mark: Balancing that evolving member experience across multiple states requires a powerful corporate backbone. What specific operational structures must be in place for a brand to scale its franchise system successfully?

Kristin Del Sontro: Our executive team has been incredibly innovative in building a comprehensive corporate infrastructure. When an investor signs a franchise agreement with Retro Fitness, they gain immediate access to a highly specialized “Suite of Services” designed to handle the heavy lifting of business management:

The Corporate Support Matrix

Specialized Department	Operational Function & Franchisee Benefit
In-House Real Estate	Handles advanced site selection, demographic analytics, and traffic pattern tracking.
Corporate Call Center	Manages inbound lead generation and executes professional customer follow-ups.
Internal Accounting	Directly assists owners with bookkeeping, financial tracking, and P&L management.
Marketing & Media	Deploys localized advertising campaigns and coordinates national brand promotional playbooks.
Personal Training	Provides a fully standardized, turn-key internal fitness department framework.
Dedicated Field Coaching	Delivers localized operational support and regular on-site business consulting.

The Corporate Management Option

Kristin Del Sontro: We also offer a unique management agreement program for pure hands-off investors. If a corporate professional wants to buy a gym purely for the financial return but doesn’t want to manage daily operations, our corporate team will step in and run the entire facility for them .

If they choose to hand the keys to an independent operator, we pair that manager directly with a field coach to deliver continuous operational tracking and customizable performance updates .

Protecting the Field Coach Span of Control

Doug Mark: That is an incredibly rare level of corporate support. Most franchise systems simply do not possess the infrastructure to offer true absentee management models.

Kristin Del Sontro: It works because we fiercely protect our field coach span of control. In many franchise brands, a business coach is assigned 40, 50, or even 60 units simultaneously. At Retro Fitness, we keep our operational spans low—typically capping them at 12 to 15 locations per coach. This ensures our field leaders live right in the backyard of their assigned clubs.

Active Local Involvement

Kristin Del Sontro: Because of this hyper-local focus, your coach isn’t a distant corporate voice—they are an active part of your local team. If an owner wants to coordinate a local 5K charity run on a Saturday, the field coach will drive out, throw on a team shirt, and help manage the event.

They are physically present on the ground for member engagement nights and community activations. We keep communication completely customized. Whether an owner prefers daily phone calls, detailed emails, or strictly in-person strategy sessions, we adapt to their style. As our CEO Andrew Alfano frequently reminds us, we all wear the exact same jersey.

Case Study: The Anatomy of an Operational Turnaround

Doug Mark: Let’s dive into a tactical case study. Throughout your retail career, you were widely known as a premier “fixer” tasked with turning around underperforming territories. Can you walk us through a specific location that was broken, and explain your exact playbook for fixing it?

Kristin Del Sontro: I inherited a target location that suffered from severe deficiencies in both its personnel culture and its back-of-house operational routines . My turnaround playbook always follows a strict sequence:

• The Secret Shopper Audit: A few days before the store staff knows who I am, I walk into the business unannounced as a regular customer. I need to experience exactly what a consumer sees, feels, and experiences. Your customers will tell you everything you need to know about your operations if you simply take the time to look through their eyes.
• The Straightforward Expectation Alignment: I sit down with the existing team members individually. I look them in the eye and say, “I’m sure you have a story, and I have one too, but we are going to fix this business together. You have a clear choice right now: you can choose to be an active part of my operational team, or you can choose to be a customer. These are my exact expectations” . Being entirely straightforward builds immediate mutual respect.
• Eliminating Back-of-House Bottlenecks: In this specific location, the stockroom was in complete chaos. Inventory was lost in piles, which meant promotions were missed and cash was dissolving across the floor . We completely cleaned the physical footprint, restructured the delivery schedule, and re-trained the inventory team on proper processing workflows to ensure stock moved to the floor rapidly .

Compounding Small Operational Wins

Kristin Del Sontro: The executive team originally gave me a full year to return that specific location to profitability. I promised them I would do it in six to nine months. When a business has been completely neglected, executing the smallest foundational adjustments creates an immediate financial impact.

This location previously sat on a high-shrink target list due to severe internal and external theft. The external theft occurred because there was zero customer service; shoplifters could simply walk in and take whatever they wanted. Internal theft thrived because nobody was watching the data.

By cleaning the environment, turning the lights on, opening exactly on time, and delivering proactive customer engagement, we crushed the theft lines, drove consumer loyalty, and engineered a massive financial turnaround .

Training the “How” and the “Why” for Hourly Staff

Doug Mark: That turnaround success comes directly down to leadership and clear training parameters. What specific role does training play in maintaining these rigid operational standards across a distributed franchise network?

Kristin Del Sontro: Training plays a role in absolutely everything. If you are not completely in tune with what your locations need on the ground, you can never progress. You cannot just blindly throw a corporate directive at the wall and hope it sticks.

Guiding the Next Generation

Kristin Del Sontro: In both fitness and retail, our front-line operations rely heavily on an hourly workforce. For many young employees aged 16 to 25, our front desk is their very first job. They might not stay with the brand forever; many will head off to college within a year. However, as managers and owners, we have a profound professional responsibility to set the pace, establish accountability, and leave a positive lifelong influence on their careers.

Doug Mark: That perspective is beautiful. When dealing with an hourly workforce, you cannot just tell someone to execute a task. You have to explicitly explain how to perform the action and why it matters to the bigger picture.

If you tell a teenager to mop the back floor, they need to know where to begin and exactly how much chemical cleaner to mix into the bucket. You have to build training protocols for the person who has never held a mop in their life. The younger generation doesn’t want blind commands; they are deeply curious and want to understand the underlying purpose behind the operational routine .

Regional Micro-Trainings

Kristin Del Sontro: Exactly, and we must constantly adjust our delivery methods because people possess vastly different learning preferences. Some learn by doing, some by reading, and others are purely visual learners . Because of that reality, we changed our entire corporate training structure.

Instead of hosting one single, massive annual convention, we bring our training directly to the franchisees by conducting in-person field sessions once a quarter. We deliver a targeted, localized segment of education—a quick shot of vitamin C, if you will—to keep teams laser-focused on immediate goals.

Learning from the Best Source: Peers

Kristin Del Sontro: Through consistent network feedback, we also discovered that owners prefer learning directly from their successful peers. Because of that, we heavily integrate live panel discussions into our regional events.

Instead of a corporate director standing on a stage lecturing about member experiences, I put four top-performing franchisees up on a panel. They openly share exactly what they do, how they execute it on the floor, and the precise financial returns they’ve generated. It is incredibly impactful.

Cultivating Community and Connecting with Kristin

Doug Mark: To close things out today, I want to highlight your incredible work as a community builder. You founded New Jersey Sip Saver Social, which has exploded into a massive women’s networking group. What inspired you to launch that initiative on a whim?

Kristin Del Sontro: Coming out of the pandemic, I realized that an incredible number of women struggle to make genuine friendships, especially with the rise of remote work. Many lack authentic human connections outside of their immediate family circles or their children’s school groups.

I launched an Instagram page encouraging total strangers to meet up at local New Jersey restaurants, grab a table, and connect. Everyone pays their own separate check, and it completely eliminates social anxiety.

Keeping True Connections Alive

Kristin Del Sontro: It has grown into a beautiful movement with over 550 active members spanning ages from 17 to 72. Restaurants curate custom menus for us now. At a dinner last Tuesday, a member told me she had a nervous stomachache for two days and almost canceled because of her anxiety. I told her she was incredibly brave and that every single woman at the table felt the exact same way.

It all comes back to a simple philosophy: whether you are interacting with a club member, an hourly staff employee, or a franchisee, just focus on being a good human being first. Never overcomplicate your operations.

Doug Mark: That is the perfect operational note to end on. Kristin, thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing these incredible insights. How can our listeners connect with you and explore opportunities with Retro Fitness?

Kristin Del Sontro: You can connect with me easily on LinkedIn under Kristin Del Sontro, or find our community updates on Instagram at New Jersey Sip Saver Social. If you want to explore the fitness model, head over to the official Retro Fitness website, scroll down to the franchising tab, and download our free discovery book. It outlines our entire corporate Suite of Services and connects you directly with our development team.

Doug Mark: Connect with Kristin, download the discovery book, and if you found today’s conversation valuable, please remember to subscribe to The Training Effect and leave us a review. Share this episode with a franchise leader who is ready to level up their operations and their people. Thanks for tuning in, and we will see you all next time.

About the Author

Doug Mark is the CEO of LearningZen and host of The Training Effect podcast. He works with franchise organizations to design scalable learning systems, franchise onboarding programs, and training strategies that improve operational consistency and franchisee performance.