For years the health club industry operated under a stale paradigm, stated in its simplest form as follows:
“Aggressively sell memberships.” With time, the paradigm expanded to include a “connection” with personal trainers and the modified paradigm became, “Aggressively sell memberships, offer a free personal training trial, and provide trainers with opportunity to “sell.” This operating paradigm has more holes than a mountain of Swiss cheese, but when independent clubs had little threat of large monsters moving into their backyards, it worked to drive profits. In the 21st Century our industry has gone through a metamorphosis, and the large health club chains have become a threat to the club owner relying upon a limited demographic.
With every challenge comes opportunity. If we consider the state of health of our population, we’ll find that with more socalled solutions offered today than ever before, America’s fatter than ever. In that lies massive opportunity. With a sole focus on membership sales, we, as an industry, fail to make a dent upon the physical condition of our population. If, however, the focus is shared equally between enrolling members and thrilling members, the independent club owner can develop a loyal membership base where the bottom line relies not exclusively on new sales, but on compelling members to take advantage of paid services leading to recurring revenues.
Before I share the elements of what we’ll call “the New Paradigm,” allow me to point out a few flaws in the old line of thinking.
1. “Free” personal training sessions aren’t free. Owners pay trainers between $8 and $12 per hour for servicing freebies. Between $24 and $36 come off the bottom line with every membership sold.
2. While trainers are passionate about personal training, they lack selling skills. In most clubs the conversion rate (free sessions converting to paid clients) is as low as 4 percent.
3. It is quite possible, even probable, that a new member, uninformed as to the specifics of achieving results, will exercise and fail to see a significant payoff.
The New Paradigm positions trainers, not as throw-ins, but as professionals. If you were to invest in a country club membership and you were to ask for your “Free” golf lessons, you’d raise some eyebrows.
“FREEEE? We don’t offer FREE golf lessons. We have a Golf PRO!”
I’m suggesting we position the trainers as “pros,” and we take some important steps that lead to personal training revenue rivaling membership revenue as a contributor to profitability. Here are a few steps toward repositioning your training staff and moving your club closer to being bullet proof should a giant suddenly take shape in your backyard.
1. Rather than free session(s), offer a paid orientation in which a trainer meets with between three and 8 new members. The fee is $20 with an unconditional money back guarantee. The trainer receives $10 for every member in attendance. You don’t have to reach into your pocket, and the trainer commands an opportunity to earn up to $80 in a working hour.
2. Standardize personal training fees and rely upon a short menu. In my clubs we offer a “single session,” which nobody ever opts to pay for, and a “series,” where a client and trainer mutually commit to “every” session. It can be every Monday at 2:00 or it can be “the first Monday of every month.” A series offers a price incentive, but the commitment is real. Clients committed to a series are charged for late cancels and no-shows.
3. Offer a comprehensive trainer training program that includes a distinctive focus on “persuasion.”
4. Position trainers as experts by prominently displaying articles they’ve written offering real solutions. Reinforce them with testimonials attributing thrilling transformations to the connection with the training team.
With a strategy in place to prosper by servicing members, we, as club operators, can collectively become the greatest single vehicle toward improving the health of our deconditioned nation and being recognized as the well-compensated heroes we deserve to be.
Phil Kaplan is the Owner of Phil Kaplan’s Fitness. He can be contacted at 561.204.2014, or visit www.philkaplan.com.
