Tag Archives: Sessions

Do you devalue your services?

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I am always amazed at how many fitness clubs and personal trainers follow the herd. Out of the hundreds of clubs I have visited over the years maybe only a handful of clubs do not sell packages for their services (i.e personal training). When I ask owners or managers why they sell packages the response I always seem to get is, “well that is what such and such club does, so we have to offer that.” Let me ask you this, “do doctors offer packages for seeing them multiple times?” No, and you shouldn’t either. I just read an article on Club Industry’s web site that talks about consumers ready to spend more in 2011. Go read it when you have a chance and realize this, if you provide a service that people value then you should charge what you think it is worth and that will lead me to my final point today.

I want to leave you today asking yourself this question, “why is 10 sessions worth $50, but one session is worth $65?” Are you providing the same value during each service? Does over ten sessions the time you spent learning Anatomy and Physiology diminish? No, and that is why you need to stop following the herd and devaluing your services. If you don’t have the ability to set your rates I understand but if you do, then you should feel confident in what you are charging and stick to it. You service is worth what you believe it is worth. If you don’t have that confidence you will struggle long term in the fitness business.

For more info on sales and how to charge what you are worht check out my book www.anatomyofsales.com or join my coaching program here.

To your success,
Coach Dave

Part III of 7 tips on how to get more personal training clients

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Last week I started a series of posts on, “7 tips on how to get more personal training clients” and today I want to finish the series with the final two. Before I finish the series let me give you a piece of advice that will help you. First of all, reading and agreeing with me is okay, but if you do not act and do something then you are missing out. One of my short comings for a long time was the fact that I read a lot, had great ideas, but never acted and implemented them. That all changed one day when a previous supervisor told me that you have great ideas but you don’t do anything about them. That lit a fire and since that day when I find myself talking about how I want to create more passive income or start a business I say to myself, “Quit talking and do something”. I hope I light a fire in you. Okay onto the final two tips. The first one is a simple action tip, but few personal trainers take advatange of what they have at their finger tips.

6.) Ask your current clients – Your current clients should be your biggest fan and you have at your fingertips the potential to get several more clients but you have to ask. Now, the key here is to make sure that you have an incentive for your client. For example, for every client they refer you can give them a few complimentary sessions in return. Think long term and big picture here. Also, don’t go to the well too often and if you ask them once and they do not respond then move onto another client. 

The final tip has to do with a marketing strategy called positioning.

7.) Position yourself – this final tip will take sometime to develop and understand. The biggest mistake I see personal trainers make is they want to everything to everyone. It is important to become an expert in a niche and market yourself as the expert. Once you have established your self as say the expert in “Back Pain” then people will come to seek you out for your help. If you are having a tough time figure out a niche just ask yourself what you are passionate about and gravitate towards that to start with.

Well that concludes the seven tips on how to get more personal training clients. Remember you need to start putting things into action because action will lead to results! Good luck!

First Class Service

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What can you learn from flying first class and how can you apply it to your  business?

Well, let me tell you I finally get it! This past week I had to fly to Orlando due to the passing of my Grandfather and I flew first class. This was only the second time I have had the opportunity to fly first class but what an experience. Now, it did not come cheap. We had to use a lot of our miles, as well as pay a small fee, but the airline made it worth it. The reason the airlines make it worth the money is because the airline companies know that the first class passengers spend the most money and are probably the most loyal. This is what you need to take note of. Most sales professionals and trainers spend way too much time and effort on getting new clients and don’t realize that they need to spend more time on giving their current clients first class service.

Why, you ask? Well, the clients who train with you the most are going to continue to train with you, and will also continue to spread the good news about you. So, what can you do to start creating first class service?

Here are a few things:

1.) Send a thank you card to your clients – a spontaneous card thanking them is a very nice gesture, which shows you took the time out of your schedule to show your appreciation.

2.) Comp them a personal training session – Set a number of sessions trained and after they hit that number give them a comp session.

3.) Give them a small gift – you can get creative here and you do not need to spend a lot of money here. Remember it is all about the gesture.

4.) Start a distribution list and send them motivational quotes and articles.

5.) Remember kids names, birthdays, anniversaries, etc… Use this to send emails, cards, and congratulations when you are talking to them.

 

Now, these are just a few ideas, but the point here is you need to go above and beyond to create memorable and positive experiences for your clients. The airlines have been providing first class service for a long time and they know how to get it right, so if you need to see what I am talking about fly first class and then start providing first class service.

Fortune in the follow up

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Okay, I know I said I was going to finish up the 5 Steps to Successful Selling series last week, but things got away from me. Sorry about that! So, today I am going to finish up with step number five, “The Fortune is in the Follow up.” In case you are just joining me with this series you can see the start of the series at the original post 5 steps to Successful Selling.

V. The Fortune in the Follow-Up

A.) Past and Present Clients – So many times I see personal trainers asking and looking for new clients and I tell them that you need to look at your current clients and previous ones to see if you can get more sessions from them as opposed to looking to add sessions through new clients. Why do I say this? Well, it is easy to get clients whom you have already established a trusted relationship with to buy from you as to build a new relationship. 

B.) New Members – Now, if you are new or need to build up a current and past client list then you need to focus in on new members to your gym or club. The key here is to build trust and rapport with them and show them that you can solve their problems. Once you have established that relationship set a time frame, say like six weeks, and follow up with them to see how things are going and keep the connection. You never know if they will decide to start training. 

I can’t tell you

The Power of Planning

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With college graduation approaching it reminds me of a time in my life where I had no real clue as to what I was going to do after I graduated. Up until this point I had a goal of being the first person in my family to graduate college. I was stoked that I had just finished an internship at the Cooper Fitness Center and was now ready to graduate and head into the real world. The only problem I was not sure if I wanted to work with athletes or wanted to do personal training. As you know by now I went the personal training route; however, when I first started I had no plan. It was not until I read Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” that I started to plan. Also, I wrote a post awhile back titled “The Fastest Way to a Six Figure Income, which summarizes the study conducted by Harvard and showed the power of planning. I suggest you read it and see for yourself the remarkable results. Okay Dave, if planning is so important show me what I need to consider for my individual plan.

A.) Yearly – You need a plan for the entire year and the following should be included:

  1. desired annual income
  2. personal development
  3.  professional development

B.)Monthly

  1. needed monthly income
  2. planned events
  3. unplanned events
C.) Weekly
  1. needed weekly sessions
  2. adapt and overcome
D.) Daily
  1. DMO – Daily Method of Operation
  2. Consistency