Feed: Part II - The World’s Best Trainers and Coaches Share - AggScore: 13.3

Fitness Business Owner of the Month – May 2012

A fitness business owner success story by Pat Rigsby

Each month here at FBI we recognize a Fitness Business Owner of the Month.  We hope to not only recognize fitness entrepreneurs for their successes but also to inspire other fitness pros to move forward in their business endeavors.

The winner will not only get a public ‘pat on the back’ in the form of a post like this, but they’ll also receive a 1 hour coaching call, free admission to the live event of their choice and a product of their choice from what we offer here at FBI.

Our March Fitness Business Owner of the Month is Jeff Blair, Owner of Jeff Blair Fitness in Los Angeles, CA.

Jeff has been a trainer for over 10 years but has just had his own facility for the past year.

What I LOVE about Jeff’s story is how he put his mind to achieving a goal and he did it.

Jeff joined our Accelerator program and attended his first meeting in mid-January.  During the meeting he set a goal of doubling his income of $4700 per month and by his fourth month in the program he’d already exceeded that goal.

Not only has his revenue doubled, but he now has a consistent approach to lead generation, he’s got a solid infrastructure for his business and is soon moving to an even bigger facility (he’s in about 700 sq. ft. now).

Jeff has truly become a success story no matter how you measure it.  He’s recently been featured in Men’s Fitness in both the American and Australian versions of Men’s Fitness, been featured as the fitness expert on National ABC show “Everyday Health” and even had an athlete of his drafted in the 2nd round of the most recent NFL Draft.

Jeff is one more great example of the opportunity the fitness industry offers.  In just several months Jeff has really exploded his business growth while at the same time laying the foundation for long term, sustained success.

So Congratulations Jeff!  I’m excited to name you Fitness Business Owner of the Month and look forward to giving you your well deserved prizes of the coaching call and the product from the FBI collection of resources as well as seeing you at a live event of your choosing soon!

If you’d like to be considered for next month’s Fitness Business Owner of the Month, please contact our Customer Experience Manager, Lee Ann Salsman at leeann.fcg@gmail.com for an application.

Are You Too Busy To Be A Successful Fitness Pro?

How To Be A Successful Fitness Pro. A Post By Pat Rigsby

We all have the same 24 hours in a day and the same 7 days in a week. So why is it that some top producers seem to get mountains of things accomplished while others seem to never move closer to their goals?

Well, first I’d suggest that those high achievers have a clear picture of what they are trying to get done.

Secondly, I’d say that they value their time more than most and make sure that they are getting a significant return on the time they invest in activities.

And finally I believe that the successful plan their day to make sure they move closer to their goals.

While this isn’t specifically a goal achievement program, I strongly suggest that you spend some time deciding exactly how you want your business to look in 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. Once you have that clear picture of your future, then making decisions on how to spend your time becomes much easier. It essentially boils down to this:

Is this going to move me closer to or further away from my goals?

If the activity is going to move you closer to your goals, then you should do it. If it’s going to move you farther away, then don’t do it.

As you evolve in your fitness business endeavors you’re choices on activities will often be:

Which activity will move me to my goal more quickly?

But you need to know what your goals are. Do you?

Once you’ve decided what your goals are, achieving them becomes easier.

You essentially need to find the fastest and most direct route to the goals that you want to achieve.

This seems pretty simple, right?

Then why don’t most people live their lives this way?

Well, most of us are bombarded with so many distractions every day that the direct route is no longer obvious. So much of our attention gets diverted and so many people promise us the quick fix that keeps us on the right path that we’re usually prevented from achieving our goals.

The other problem is that we see the latest ‘fad’ and soon have a different goal that takes all of our focus away from our initial goal.

So here’s what I suggest that you do: Get very clear on what you want. Once you’re clear, work backward from where you want to be to where you are. If you are not sure of the steps in between, the easiest way to develop a path to follow is to model someone who’s achieved what you want to achieve. Learn the steps that they took and build them in to your plan.

The approach that I’ve had the most success in using backward planning is to set 3 types of goals:

Long Term Goals (12-36 months away)
Medium Term Goals (3-12 months away)
Short Term Goals (1 Day to 3 months away)

The short term goals all lead to the medium term goals and the medium term goals lead to the long term goals. Everything is interconnected.

With this approach daily planning becomes simple. I need to perform activities that move me closer to my short term goals. If they don’t move me closer to those goals I need to try to eliminate those activities.

So here exactly how I suggest that you do your daily planning:

On Sunday identify the tasks that you need to accomplish during the upcoming week to keep you on track to achieve you short term goals.

Each night spend 10 minutes planning the upcoming day. This will allow you to ‘sleep easy’ knowing that you are going to accomplish what you need to. Make sure that you have at least one ‘core task’ that no matter what, you will get accomplished in the upcoming day that will move you toward your goal. At the same time you should evaluate what you were able to accomplish during the day that’s coming to a close and whether the decisions you made moved you closer to your goals or took you farther away.

In the morning review your task list for the day. Allocate all your energies to accomplishing at least one ‘core’ task that will move you closer to your short term goal. If you’re booked with clients or designing programs all morning, get up a bit earlier or block off 30 minutes to make sure that you can accomplish a high return activity.

Review your goals and task list at least once during the day to make sure that you stay on track. By reviewing your goals too (and not just your tasks) you’ll be more likely to stay motivated.

A few tips to make sure that you get the most from your planning:

Always do your planning the night before.

Accept the fact that you’re not going to get everything that you want to done each day. That’s not an excuse so you don’t do anything.

Pledge to accomplish at least one task that moves you closer to your goals each day. Small, incremental improvements add up quickly.

Recognize that all actions move you closer to or farther from your goals as a fitness pro. Make note each evening of the activities that are moving you farther from your goals and track to see if patterns become apparent. If you’re spending 2 hours a day on e-mail but don’t have time to market, then you’ve seen a pattern that you need to change.

Dedicated to your success,

Pat Rigsby

National Transformation Contest

What Can A National Transformation Contest Do For Your Fitness Business?

The Campaign

Earlier this year, some of our clients and FR franchisees participated in our first ever National Transformation Contest. Hundreds of fitness professionals were given the opportunity to host a local contest, which not only led to a lot of leaner, healthier bodies throughout the country, but also gave fitness business owners the chance to generate new business, increase membership sales, build relationships and good will in their communities, and reinforce a results-driven culture within their facilities.

Fitness professionals teamed up with Personal Trainer Foods, a business that delivers 28 days of pre-cooked, healthy, and preservative-free meals of protein and produce to homes throughout the United States. The PTF program allows fit pros to earn commissions while providing a done-for-you nutrition solution to their clients who are trying to transform their bodies.

National campaigns tend to generate a lot more buzz than other promotions, so we provided fit pros with a complete 30 day promotion plan to endorse the contest in their communities, allowing them to extend their reach to many new clients while also reinvigorating current members. Included in the plan were email sequences, joint venture strategies, and press releases, among several other marketing materials. The benefits to those businesses that participated were significant.

For example:

• Ryan Ketchum and Wil Fleming, owners of Force Fitness and Performance in Bloomington, IN, had 54 participants, 38 of them new clients.

• Ken and Kerri Grall, Fitness Revolution franchisees and owners of Edge Fitness in Sun Prairie, WI, had 36 participants, 10 of which were new.

• Chris Arnold, a Fitness Revolution franchisee and the owner of Physically Fit Personal Training in Shelton, CT, had 40 participants, 21 of them new.

• Anthony Dix, a Fitness Revolution franchisee and the owner of Coulee Region Bootcamps in La Crosse, WI, had 42 total participants (18 new and 15 reactivations). 

Also equipped with an 8 week training and nutrition program to give to participating clients, fitness professionals were able to begin the contest in February without spending a significant amount of time trying to come up with the contest details.

"What made this contest so appealing was the fact that we received access to everything we needed to run the program… marketing materials, an 8 week nutrition program, a guide to organizing and regulating the contest, handouts to give to participants, and even sales systems to ensure we would be able to continue helping the new clients achieve other goals even after the contest ends," said Ryan Ketchum.

"The Fitness Consulting Group team even sent out weekly tips, updates, and scripts we could use to continue keeping our clients motivated throughout the contest. The new business this helped generate was much better than many other promotions we’ve run in the past."

The National Transformation Contest Winner

In addition to cash rewards and other prizes individual fit pros made available to winning contestants, the winner at each location was entered into consideration for a national grand prize, the opportunity to be in a commercial for Personal Trainer Food.

The contest officially ended April 1st, and finally, with all the data collected and analyzed, Fitness Consulting Group is ready to announce the 2012 National Transformation Contest Winner: Jodi Trippany of Bloomington, Indiana! Jodi trains at Force Fitness and Performance (member of the Fitness Revolution Nation), owned and operated by Ryan Ketchum and Wil Fleming.

The three other finalists in the contest included Scott Prouty, who trains with Trevor Wittwer at Functional Fitness (also a member of the FR Nation) in Redwood Falls, MN, Marlin Diekfuss, who trains with Mark Lopez at Fitness Revolution New Tampa in Florida, and Joe Mangan, who trains with Ryan Riley at Riley Athletics (FR Nation)in Seattle.

Throughout the 8 weeks, Jodi added extra days to her training program, began training for the Tough Mudder, and added Personal Trainer Food to her nutrition program.

According to Ketchum, "Jodi is 100% dedicated to reaching her goals. Her husband, George, is a huge factor in her success as well and has personally lost 80lbs in his time at Force. These two are our Power Couple.  Over 130lbs were lost between the two of them, and they made incredible changes."

"The energy and enthusiasm that Jodi has for training are unmatched.  Jodi completes our boot camp workouts with a weight vest on to ensure she is getting the most out of the workout, and she never misses a day. She and George are a motivating force in our boot camp program and push the entire group to an entirely new level."

Before starting her transformation, Jodi weighed in at 178.8 pounds and measured at 36.5 inches around her belly. By the end of the contest, she finished at 146.4 pounds and 29.25 inches for a grand total of 32.4 pounds and 7.25 inches lost!

When Jodi was asked the difference between this contest and other programs she had participated in, she replied, "Personal Trainer Food! Using Personal Trainer Foods gave the contest a new spin to my approach. It made the process easy by not having to think about my meals. The food was always ready, making it simple. There was no guess work involved."

"I don’t think it would have been possible to achieve the results without Personal Trainer Food, the Force Fitness team of coaches and administrative staff, my fellow boot campers, and my husband and committed boot camp comrade George." 

Congratulations, Jodi Trippany! We look forward to seeing you in the commercial!

Would you like to be involved in our next National Transformation Contest?

With our first National Transformation Contest in the books, we are planning on taking the second to another level! Would you like your local fitness business to be a part of something bigger? What about your clients… would they like the opportunity to transform their lives like hundreds of others contestants and have the opportunity to be recognized on the national scale?

What can participation in the next National Transformation Contest do for you and your fitness business?

It will…

1. Save you time- It’s as SIMPLE as it gets; our "done-for-you" National Transformation Contest Blueprint gives you everything you need to run the campaign

2. Make you money- You’ll get an influx of paid leads, will have the opportunity to sell new memberships, and you’ll make money on the back-end through Personal Trainer Food and supplement sales… but best of all, these systems are built into the blueprint!

3. Build community- Nothing builds community like people working together to change their lives. A transformation contest will help your business reinforce a culture of results.

The FCG Family is blazing a new trail for fitness professionals. Together, we work to cultivate relationships, discover untapped market opportunities, create effective solutions, and maximize the success of fitness professionals and their clients, our business partners, and our team. 

We want you and your clients to join us in our next national transformation contest.

Dedicated to Your Success,

Pat

25 Minutes For Fitness Pros To Get Things Done

Efficiency For Fitness Pros. A Post By Pat Rigsby

Like you, I have a lot of responsibilities. A number of business obligations including lots of phone calls, managing projects, writing, travel and any number of other things that go into building several businesses simultaneously. So below I’ve shared 4 steps I use and a few other random tips for fitness pros that I think can also help you get more done. Here you go:

 
Step One: Evaluate - Each night before I go to bed, I evaluate the day that is coming to a close before planning the next day. I wait as late as possible so my mind is clear when I go to bed. I look over the task list I created the evening before and see what I got done.

Did I miss or fail to complete anything important?

Do I need to follow up on anything?

Does anything need to carry over to the next day?

Is there anything that can be eliminated or delegated?

(This takes about 2-3 minutes total.)

 
Step Two: Plan - As soon as I’ve reviewed the previous day, I start planning the next day. I check out my Google Calendar and add any commitments listed there to my task list. Then I look at anything from the previous day that needs to be carried over and any task or activity that I know I need to get done the next day.

Once everything is listed, I’ll review my goals ( I keep a list of goals and I’d recommend you do too) briefly and then ‘star’ the top three tasks that aren’t just scheduled calls or appointments that I’m committed to. These might be something like writing sales copy or a blog post, creating a module for a program or contacting someone about a project idea.

With the 3 starred items I will block off time on my calendar to get those tasks completed.

(This takes about 2-3 minutes total.)

 
Step Three: Review - Each morning take 1-2 minutes to review the day ahead. This helps me prepare for the day ahead and get in the right frame of mind. For example:

If I know that I will be writing copy, I’ll make sure I have my notes on my desktop to review or any other sales letters I want to review available. Basically, when the time comes to be able to jump right into the task and not spend 15 minutes getting focused.

(Like I said – 1 or 2 minutes maximum for this.)

Step Four: Execute 25 On / 5 Off - My workday is blocked of in 30 minute increments. Most calls are scheduled for 30 minutes and if there is a chance one will take longer, it’s scheduled for an hour.

Ideally, calls will be done in 25 minutes so I have 5 minutes to catch up or prep for the next block of time.

For writing, work on projects, etc. – same thing. They get 30 minute blocks of time.

But 30 minutes is actually 25 minutes of uninterrupted work and 5 minutes of either getting out of my chair & stretching / moving or some quick stuff like responding to an email or two. No heavy mental lifting. I’ll set the timer for 25 minutes and when the buzzer goes off, set it for another 5.

It’s incredible how much you can get done in 25 minutes if you have no interruptions. I can often write an entire blog post or 2 newsletters in that time frame. But that’s the key – no interruptions.

No checking email.
No checking Facebook or Twitter.
No unscheduled phone calls.
No surfing the internet.
No interrupting yourself to go get a drink, use the bathroom or anything else that will pull your focus away from the task at hand.

Over time you’re going to get a great idea of exactly how much you can get done in this amount of time. Once you have a rough idea of this, that’s when things get easy.

Then you can break up the stuff you need to get done into 25 minute blocks and big projects no longer seem overwhelming.

For me, it’s almost a contest – a race against time to see how much I can get done in 25 minutes.

Maybe for you making 10 Business of the Week calls takes 1 Block but writing a client email newsletter takes 3 Blocks. Just break it down and schedule it.

This approach has been great for me and I think it will be great for fitness pros too.

With that in mind, here are a couple of other tips to get more done:

• The first hire any fitness professional should make is a personal assistant. You should try to delegate the $10 tasks that are taking up some of your time and spend your time on the high return stuff. Besides – hiring an assistant is easier than hiring someone to train or coach. You can use your network or Craigslist and find a number of solid prospects for an Admin. Asst. position and free up a lot of your time to do the higher return stuff.
• Schedule everything. As far as I’m concerned, if it’s not scheduled – it’s not important. Block off time to spend with your family. Time to read or study. Time for your own training. If you schedule time for clients, then you should be scheduling time for you too.
• Hold yourself accountable. Our Franchisees and Mastermind members do a Friday Check-In to the group to share what they got done during the past week and believe me, no one wants to be the slacker. You can list things out on Sunday of each week and review them the following Sunday, find an accountability partner or if you can join one of our programs or franchises and work with us for your accountability?
• Set specific goals and be accountable. This is big for me. I want a target to shoot for at all times.

Alright – there you go: my simple solution for Fitness Pros to get more done.

Fitness Business Owner of the Month – April 2012

A fitness business owner success story by Pat Rigsby

Each month here at FBI we recognize a Fitness Business Owner of the Month.  We hope to not only recognize fitness entrepreneurs for their successes but also to inspire other fitness pros to move forward in their business endeavors.

The winner will not only get a public ‘pat on the back’ in the form of a post like this, but they’ll also receive a 1 hour coaching call, free admission to the live event of their choice and a product of their choice from what we offer here at FBI.

Dustin Williams is our Fitness Business Owner of the Month this month – and he’s a great example of how to build a solid business.

Dustin owns Precision Fitness in Bentonville, Arkansas and has been in business for about 2 and a half years.

For the bulk of this time Dustin has been associated with the Fitness Consulting Group, first as a reader of the newsletter and blog – and both a Fitness Revolution & Athletic Revolution franchisee as well as a member of our Accelerator coaching program.

Dustin followed his passion for fitness (he’s a competitive natural bodybuilder as well) and launched a business, but rather than doing what most do and go through years of trial and error, he committed to being the best at his craft in Northwest Arkansas and leaned on us for support for the business side of things.

Using that approach Dustin has grown Precision Fitness to over 85 clients and a monthly revenue of over $13,000 (growing about 1K every month.) He’s also moving into a new 4500 sq. ft. location (double his old facility’s size.)

Not bad for 29 years old, right?

If you want to follow Dustin’s blueprint for success, here it is:

1. Become the best at what you do in your area.
2. Get coaching and support where you need it.
3. Attend live events (I’ve seen Dustin 3 times in the past 6 weeks at our events.)
4. Build your business by applying what you learn.

That’s really it.

He’s got multiple streams of revenue… camps, semi-private, small group, youth training, supplement sales, Personal Trainer Foods and more.

He’s created leverage by hiring another trainer and delivering a number of high margin offerings.

He gets better every month by taking massive action.

So congrats to Dustin for being our Fitness Business Owner of the Month – the honor is well deserved… and I won’t be surprised if we’re honoring him again down the line as I’m sure he’s going to continue to have a lot of success.

If you’d like to be considered for next month’s Fitness Business Owner of the Month, please contact our Customer Experience Manager, Lee Ann Salsman at leeann.fcg@gmail.com for an application.

Referrals Made Easy

A Post On Getting Referrals By Pat Rigsby

As fitness business owner we all want more referrals. They’re the easiest prospects to sell, they are more likely to refer others and they’ll stay longer and pay more while they’re clients.

Unfortunately, referrals aren’t as easy to come by as they used to be. In years gone by all you had to do was offer up a prize or reward and your current clients would line up to send you new clients for a chance to win what you were offering or a crisp $50 bill.

It’s not quite that easy any more.

You can still be a referral driven business, but you need to set the stage to make that happen. Here’s a primer to get you started.

Referrals can be broken down into two categories:

1. Incentivized
2. Inspired

Inspired Referrals are the Viral payoff for giving your clients an extraordinary experience.

Incentivized Referrals come from JV’s, contests, rewards, etc.

Inspired Referrals will come by making sure you and your team treats everyone like close personal friends, you deliver the results the client initially came to you for and make your clients feel like your facility is their home away from home.

In fact, a training business that excels in those areas alone can build a great client base with a fraction of the marketing cost typically associated with business growth.

Incentivized Referrals, however, can give your business a great boost too, especially as you’re still positioning yourself as the premier training solution in your community.

But in general, you can’t expert to build a business solely from incentivized referrals.

Unfortunately, most of the talk about referral marketing only focuses on incentivized referrals and the short-lived fireworks they can provide.

Don’t get caught up in the hype and think that alone will carry you.

So remember, the first thing you should do is focus on Extraordinary Service, and Client Experience. Once you are in a process of gradually improving those things, then add in Incentivized Referral programs in any of the following ways:

1. Point of Sale Referrals
2. Contests
3. Rewards
4. Gift Certificates / Gift Cards
5. Bring-a-Friend

Just remember that when you “bribe” your clients (let’s be honest, that’s what you’re doing here), you need to help make the experience fun for your clients and those that they refer. Referring shouldn’t be your clients pitching or hard selling your business. It should be education, shared positive experiences and an opportunity to experience what you do with as little risk as possible.

So that’s it – a simple formula for Referrals Made Easy that will send you new business month after month.

Your Fitness Marketing Plan For Maximizing Value

A post on developing your fitness marketing plan by Pat Rigsby

What if you could automatically make each prospect you get three to four  times as valuable?  That’s a fitness marketing plan you’d put into action immediately, right?

Well – to make each prospect you get as valuable as possible, you need a plan because it doesn’t happen by accident…so I’ve shared a blueprint you can follow.  Your own fitness marketing plan.

Basically, you have a funnel your prospects go through already, whether you realize it or not.  Most of your prospects go through the same type of process, whether it’s really efficient or not very efficient at all.

So what we want to do is to make your marketing plan a drop dead simple, step-by-step funnel that every prospect goes through where you have the highest possibility of maximizing the value of their relationship to your business.

Your Fitness Marketing Plan

Step One -Have a Powerful Lead Magnet

Your lead magnet should be your ‘bait’ that attracts the type of prospects that you want in your business and starts to position you as their ideal solution. This Lead Magnet typically will be something that is offered on your website, but you could offer something different for public speaking engagements or other live opportunities.

Step Two – Make Your Front End Offer

After getting your Lead Magnet, the prospect is immediately directed to your Front End Offer.  This is their low risk opportunity to experience what you have to offer.  Common Front End Offers are one or two week trials, $1 trials, a month of training for a discounted fee or for businesses that are exclusively one on one or semi-private, an assessment and a couple of sessions. If the prospect does not immediately take you up on the Front End Offer, they go to Step Three.  If they do take you up on your Front End Offer, the immediately move to Step Four.

Step Three – Follow Up

Your follow up should be comprised of email, phone calls and possibly direct mail.  The objective of your follow up is to get the prospect into your facility or camp for a low risk opportunity to experience what you have to offer.  You do this by highlighting the benefits of what you offer, display some social proof and finding your prospect’s pain.  Everything in Step Three is designed to move people to the Front End Offer.

Step Four – Offer Your Core Program(s)

Once someone has experienced your Front End Offer, they should be ready to move to one of your Core Programs.  With this in mind you should make an offer for your Core Program(s) after the completion of the first day of the Front End Offering.

Many prospects will already know that you’re the best solution for them after a single day of working with you, so you should always provide them the opportunity to move into one of your Core Programs after their first experience.

Step Five – Follow Up And Convert

Some of the prospects that take you up on the Front End Offer won’t immediately be ready to upgrade and enroll in your Core Program(s.)  To address this, you should follow up with them and make a personal contact with them no less than every 3 days and make at least one offer to upgrade every week.

Step Six – Point Of Sale Upsell

One of the most effective ways to increasing the immediate relationship value with your clients is the Point of Sale Upsell.  Fortunately, there’s a very simple system to achieve this.  The upsell should be products or services that will help your client get results event faster. 

This could be a nutrition coaching program, supplements, more sessions during their first month or even a workshop to improve their proficiency faster. Typically, this upsell offer should be 50% – 100% of the value of their first month of your Core Offering.

So if your Core Offering is $199 / mo., then your upsell should be anywhere from $99-199.

This is an often overlooked, but critical part of your fitness marketing plan – so don’t ignore it.

Step Seven – Point Of Sale Referral Request

Someone is never more likely to refer than right after they’ve become a client so it’s critical that you ask for referrals at this point.  You can either ask for names and contact information of people that your new client feel would be a good fit for your services and you can follow up with them – or you can provide the new client with a couple of gift cards that they can share with people that they think would benefit.

After this point you can maximize your fitness marketing plan by:

Creating Referral Opportunities Every Month – Holding a Charity Bring A Friend Workout every month, holding at least 2 referral contests each year, recognizing your clients who refer publicly (make a big deal out of it) and asking in an individual setting – either though direct mail or in person – periodically will maximize referrals.

Hold A Workshop Each Month – Rotate between things like:

1. Resistance Band Training Workshops
2. Kettlebell Workshops
3. TRX Workshops
4. Nutrition Workshops
5. Smoothie 101 Workshops
6. Recovery & Regeneration Workshops
7. Etc.

All of these can help you sell retail offerings like bands, foam rollers and nutritional products.  They’ll also help your clients get results faster while generating more back end revenue for you.

Connect With Your Clients – Send a fitness marketing newsletter, send personal emails, cards and texts.  Take your clients out for coffee or lunch.  This is also my favorite way to get your clients to open more doors for you. 

Ask your client if you can take them out for coffee and get their advice.  Let them know that you want more clients like them and would love to get their advice on how they think you can reach that market.  By asking their advice you’ll usually get even better feedback than if you simply ask for a referral.

Deliver an Extraordinary Experience – Even though this is a post of developing your marketing plan, I’d be a fool if I didn’t remind you that your best marketing tool is the experience your clients have when working with you.

So now all you need to do is reexamine your personal fitness marketing plan and make sure it looks somewhat like the model I’ve described. Then the key is execution.  It doesn’t matter if you have the best plan in the world if you don’t’ execute it.

The sooner you implement this formula, the sooner you’ll maximize the value of your client relationships!

Tell me what you think below…

Dedicated to Your Success,

Pat

Personal Training Sales: The Value Capture Solution

A Post on Personal Training Sales By Pat Rigsby

For the typical entrepreneurial personal trainer sales is a hot topic. 

They want to know how to sell more. 

How to close more deals.

But in my mind, this view is a small part of a much bigger picture.

The Client Value Capture picture.

So I wanted to explain my take on Client Value Capture and how it can explode your personal training sales.

Client Value Capture – Level One

At Level One, we’re simply talking about maximizing the value of the standard personal training client program.

We can do this by:

Raising Rates – Raising rates is something that most personal trainers are afraid to do, but it’s one of the best ways available to maximize personal training sales. 

My suggestion is that you should raise rates each year, typically by an amount that will not cause you or the client much if any stress.  You could easily raise rates $1-2 dollars per group training session or $3-5 per semi-private or private training session with little if any backlash.

Let’s look at the simple math…If you raise group training sessions by just $1 per session and you have 100 clients that train 3 days per week (12 sessions per month), you’ve made an additional $1200 per month.  $14,400 per year.

Did you ever consider pricing your programs with a .99 at the end? 

Going from $179 to $179.99 per month for 100 clients will add almost $1200 to your yearly bottom line.  Maybe enough to pay for your client management system by simply adding .99.

Better Retention – Getting people to stick around longer.  If your typical client stays for 6 months, but through improved retention you can get them to stay for 9 months, you’ve increased the client value capture by 50%.

You can do this by:

• Enrolling clients in longer programs from day one.  Getting them to sign up for 6 months or 12 instead of 3 months or on month to month agreements.
• Upgrading clients as early as possible.  Magazines don’t wait until the end of a subscription to renew someone and neither should you.  Start asking for an upgrade after the client has been in the program for a few weeks and can start to really recognize the benefits of your service.
• Provide a Great Experience.  If you’re clients are delighted (not just satisfied) with what you offer – they’ll stay longer.

Reactivation – If someone leaves you, you should have the mindset that they’re going on vacation – not breaking up with you.  So with this mindset you:

• Make sure they leave happy.  Give them a gift (sounds crazy, right?) when they say they’re leaving.  Why?  Because you want their most recent memory of you to be positive and because no one else would ever do it.
• Stay in contact.  Keep them on your newsletter list and follow up with them periodically to make sure they know you care about their success.
• Win them back.  Make really strong offers at least a couple times per year that will win them back.  They may have left for reasons beyond your control – finances, schedule, etc.  If that’s the case, reactivation offers will often get them back in the door.

Client Value Capture – Level Two

At Level Two, you want to capture a bigger share of your clients’ investment in improving their health and fitness.

Level Two is an area that most fitness pros miss – and this really puts a glass ceiling on their personal training sales.

Here are some ideas as to how you can capture more of your clients’ investment in their health and fitness.

• Offer a Done For You Nutrition Solution – Your clients are eating.  That I’m pretty sure of.  So offer them something like Personal Trainer Foods where you can capture some of the investment they’re making in supportive nutrition. 
• Offer Nutrition Education - Clients know (at least most of them) that exercise alone won’t get them to their goals.  They’re likely buying diet books and trying to figure things out on their own.  They may even join something like Weight Watchers.  Offer a Nutrition Coaching or Weight Management program that educates them on supportive nutrition rather than letting them try to sift through the overwhelming amount of information out there.
• Sell Supplements – They’re buying supplements whether they’ve told you or not.  So choose some that you believe in (we recommend Prograde) and capture some of the investment they’re making and save them from buying things based on hype and sizzle.
• Sell Equipment - If you talk about the importance of foam rolling, they’ll buy one.  Better they buy it from you than from a local sporting goods store.  If they get the kettlebell bug or fall in love with bands – they’re going to buy some for home.   Let them buy through you.  Plus – you can offer workshops to help them derive more value from these tools – another way to capture value.
• Serve Their Family - If they have a child that is enrolled in a youth fitness or sports performance program – is it with you?  They already know you, like you and see you as an expert…so why shouldn’t it be?

Client Value Capture – Level Three

Now the goal is to capture more of the market.  This means capturing more leads, having more front end offers and a broader array of programs.

Here are some examples:

:: Getting More Leads – If you do private or semi-private training as your primary offering, you need to be getting a minimum of 20 leads per month.  If you do more bootcamp / group training, you need to be getting a minimum of 30 leads per month.  If you’re not hitting this number then you’ve already made it tough to reach your personal training sales goals.

If you aren’t hitting those numbers consider:

• Stepping up your referral systems
• Contacting your network more regularly and working to grow it
• Employing more external lead generation strategies like public speaking or direct mail.

:: Expanding Your Offerings – If you’re all bootcamps, considering adding semi-private.  If you don’t offer weight management, tap into the Weight Watchers market and offer that program.  Look into Corporate Programming or Youth Programming.  Offer some niched programs for moms or some other group.  Create some programs for people trying to derive a specific benefit. 

There are people currently in your area who are:

• Using P90X
• Going to a big box health club
• Using a different trainer
• Participating in a corporate driven program
• Working out at home on their own
• Dieting
• Thinking about getting started

How can you win some of them?

And to make sure I’m not confusing you – this doesn’t mean that you should do all of these things – just pick one or two crowds to go after.

So there’s a different way to look at improving personal training sales.  A way of thinking about things that I’m guessing is a little different than what you’re used to.  So start looking at ways that you can increase your Client Value Capture and watch your personal training sales go through the roof.

Tell me what you think below…

Dedicated to Your Success,

Pat

Fitness Business Owner Of The Month – March 2012

A fitness business owner success story by Pat Rigsby

Each month here at FBI we recognize a Fitness Business Owner of the Month.  We hope to not only recognize fitness entrepreneurs for their successes but also to inspire other fitness pros to move forward in their business endeavors.

The winner will not only get a public ‘pat on the back’ in the form of a post like this, but they’ll also receive a 1 hour coaching call, free admission to the live event of their choice and a product of their choice from what we offer here at FBI.

Our March Fitness Business Owner of the Month is Jeff McDaniel, Owner of Bootcamp: Bulletproof in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Jeff and his business Bootcamp: Bulletproof have been in operation for over 3 years and in that time have grown to serving almost 90 clients with just he and one other staff member.

Jeff initially started out running his camp in a park like many fitness pros and has grown into his own facility where he runs 6 different camps and an expanding online Bootcamp To Go program.

Jeff is one more great example of the opportunity the fitness industry offers.  In just a short period of time (he really only started studying the business side of fitness in the last year) he’s grown into his own facility and has both an offline and online presence.

So Congratulations Jeff!  I’m excited to name you Fitness Business Owner of the Month and look forward to giving you your well deserved prizes of the coaching call and the product from the FBI collection of resources as well as seeing you at a live event of your choosing soon!

If you’d like to be considered for next month’s Fitness Business Owner of the Month, please contact our Customer Experience Manager, Lee Ann Salsman at leeann.fcg@gmail.com for an application.

Big Ideas For Growing A Training Business

A post on Growing A Training Business by Pat Rigsby

Oven the past few weeks we’ve had a couple groups of Mastermind Members in town, held a live event and hosted a Fitness Revolution franchise training.  Every chance I have the opportunity to spend time around elite fitness professionals like I recently have, I get a flood of ideas and thoughts about growing a training business.

With that in mind I thought I’d share some of them with you.

Know What You Need & Get It – Every successful training business needs to have certain processes and systems in place.  First you need to know what those processes and systems are – then you need to get them in place in your business.  If you don’t know what you need – talk to someone like me to fill in the blanks or model someone who is where you want to be.  Once you know – create the systems yourself or lean on products, coaching or a total solution like Fitness Revolution if you don’t want to create them or you want to fast track the process.

Burying your head or procrastinating on this will prevent you from ever having a great fitness business.

Live In Their Experience - If you want to be more effective in selling training or in growing your training business through maximizing the value of each client relationship, you’ve got to put yourself in their shoes.  You need to know what keeps them up at night.  You need to know what their day looks like.  You need to speak their language.  If you do this, being the best and most complete solution for them will become far, far easier.

Coaching Is The Ultimate Accelerator – Why do big box health clubs suck?  Well, there are a number of reasons, but the big one for me is there is no coaching.  If people don’t have a plan to get them to their goals, they may fumble around like they’re looking for something in the dark and accidentally get there – but the odds aren’t great and they’ll probably give up before they have success.  Coaching solves this and provides a road map to follow and accountability to keep people on track.  This is crucial for you to convey to your clients and it probably is something you should keep in mind for yourself.

One Is A Terrible Number – If you’re growing a training business, the number ‘one’ is your enemy.  Having only one lead generation strategy.  Having only one option to offer to prospective clients.  Employing only one revenue stream.  Being a one person operation.  All of them are potential roadblocks to success.

Meet People Where They Are – This hold true in marketing where you need to be where your ideal prospects are located. It holds true in the service you provide, by being willing to adapt and customize the way you present what you offer to address the prospective client’s wants and needs.  It holds true in coaching where you need to adapt your solution to help people where they really are, not where you think they should be.  This one is so important that our entire Fitness Revolution business model hinges on it.  Instead of being a one-size-fits-all offering like virtually all other franchises, we built our business to meet quality fitness pros where they are and work closely with them to move them to where they want to be.  You should do the same.

Think BIG – The most successful trainers and coaches I know all think differently than the rest.  They all think much bigger.  They think about doing big things, not ordinary things.  They set big goals.  They take big actions.  Big achievements don’t begin with little dreams.

Be A Better Listener – If you want to sell more, listen more intently to what your prospects are saying.  If you want to add revenue streams to your business, listen to what your clients are really asking for more help with.  If you want to grow, listen to your network and they’ll reveal a surprisingly large number of opportunities.  If you really pay attention instead of just waiting to talk, business becomes much easier.

You’ve Got To Be A Little Obsessive – Growing a training business into your own little fitness empire requires you to be a little obsessive.  Not to the point where you ignore the other important things in your life, but obsessive about getting better each and every day.  Most business owners don’t do this.  They essentially just go to work every day like they’re an employee and not a business builder.  If you want a great business, you need to get a little better every day – and that requires you to be somewhat obsessive to the details and obsessive about improvement.

Avoid Average – The average business owner – fitness or otherwise – starts a business because they hate their current job and want to do something they think they like to pay the bills.  This is average.  Don’t be average.  Hating your job is no better of a reason to start a business than disliking your current significant other is for marrying someone you don’t know.  If you want to build a great business you’re passionate about building something great.  Because you have a passion for what you do.  Those types of thoughts should drive you… not avoiding a job you hate.

Stay One Step Ahead – The fitness pros who are growing a training business to the highest level are relentless is their quest to improve.  There is zero complacency.  They’re always improving.  Always looking for another edge.  Staying the same isn’t ever even a consideration.

Education Is An Investment, Not An Expense – *Every* single one of the top pros in the industry either benefit from Coaching or Masterminds.  But they view education differently than everyone else too.  Most people see the fees for Coaching or a Mastermind as an expense.  “That’s too expensive!”  The top .1% simply look at it as an investment.  If they invest $5000, they do it fully expecting to make 10X, 20X… maybe even 30 or 40X that back in return.

So there are some big ideas to help you in growing your training business.

They’re just a few of the things I see in the people we work closely with that I feel are critical for success.

Also – if you’re interested in working with us more closely through our coaching offerings, email me directly at patrigsby@gmail.com and we’ll see what might be a good fit.

Let me know what you think below.

Dedicated to your succes,

Pat