Personal Fitness Professional - March/April 2015 - 10

BOOST YOUR BUSINESS

EDUCATION CONNECTION

Bedros Keuilian | www.PTPower.com

Jason Karp, PhD l www.Run-Fit.com

Maximize profits with
group training

The right move

There's one word I use to explain the benefits
of group training: leverage. Group training
allows you to more efficiently leverage your
time, skills and expertise to reach more clients
and ultimately run a more profitable business.
By its nature, group training costs less
than traditional one-on-one training, yet
this is another benefit because it allows
your marketing to target a much larger potential client pool. Group training appeals
to a much broader percentage of the population- you need more
clients to succeed as a group trainer but your services are available
to significantly more people seeking higher level workout programs.
Before you can begin offering group sessions, however, you need to
know how much you should charge for them. Luckily, there is a formula
that takes all of your experience, reputation and talent into account. Take
the rate you currently charge for individual training sessions, double it,
and then divide it by three. This simple trick will let you know exactly
what you should begin charging for your new group training program.
If you are worried about transitioning your current clients into this
new model, break the news to them using a little trick called The Oreo
Cookie Method. Begin with the awesome news: you discovered an
incredible new system that will allow them to achieve better results,
workout alongside their friends and pay less for training. Then break it
to them gently that you will no longer be offering one-on-one sessions
but immediately turn that around and remind them that you will be
there for them every step of the way throughout the group training.
Marketing a group training program is easier, too. For example, you
can turn your best clients into referral goldmines by making them your
human billboards. These people need to be living, breathing, preaching examples of your group training's transformational qualities. To
help your human billboards get referrals, promote low-barrier offers
that get prospects into your program using a low upfront cost for a
short period of time. You can offer multiple weeks access for one low
price, an offer that would be impossible with one-on-one training. Finally, make sure you utilize the incredible power of email list-building.
This is the most powerful strategy for building the Know, Like and Trust
Factor for any fitness pro. Build your list with your website, your consultations and your community outreach and then send regular content
and offer emails that position you as the local expert in your area.
If you truly want to succeed with your new group training program,
you must set yourself apart from every other option available to your
prospects. There's only one thing that can genuinely make you different from all the other trainers in your area: results. Deliver the results
that they can't get anywhere else and you'll have clients for life.

My friend's son, Billy, was born without a
right arm. My friend promised herself that
she wouldn't hold Billy back because of a
disability. When Billy was seven years old,
he asked if he could take karate lessons. His
mother was nervous at the idea since karate
can be very dangerous, especially for someone missing an arm. But she remembered
the promise she made to herself, so she
agreed, hoping Billy would be okay.
The first day of karate class, Billy met his sensei, who taught him a
move and had him practice it. At the end of the first class, he sent Billy
home and told him to come back next week. The next week, the sensei
showed Billy the same move and had Billy practice it. Billy practiced the
move again the following week, and the week after that, and the week
after that. After a couple of months of lessons, the sensei said, "Billy, you
are ready for your first karate tournament." Billy couldn't believe his ears.
"What?" he said, startled at the idea. "How can I be ready to compete? You've taught me only one move and I don't have a right arm!"
"Don't worry. You're ready," the sensei said confidently.
In his first match at the karate tournament, Billy nervously stood
on the mat, facing his opponent. He didn't know what the heck to
do. He looked over at the sensei, shrugged his shoulders, and asked,
"What do I do?" The sensei looked right at him and replied, "Do the
move." Billy did the move and won the match. For his second match,
again he was nervous. He stood on the mat, facing his opponent.
Again, he looked over to the sensei, shrugged his shoulders, and
asked, "What do I do?" The sensei replied, "Do the move."
Billy did the move and again won the match. Billy did the only move
he knew a few more times, winning each of his matches and making it
all the way to the finals. For the final championship match, Billy stood
on the mat, facing his opponent. This time, he looked over to the sensei confidently and nodded his head. The sensei nodded his head.
Billy did the move, and he won the championship match. Billy was ecstatic. He had never accomplished anything like this before.
During the drive home, Billy said to the sensei, "Sensei, I don't understand. How was I able to win the tournament? I only know one-"
The sensei stopped him before he could finish the sentence. "Billy,"
he said authoritatively, "you have mastered the most difficult move in
karate. There is only one defense for that move. For your opponent
to defend that move, he would have to grab your right arm."
Want to be successful? Learn the right move and practice it until
you have it mastered.

Bedros Keuilian is a fitness business consultant and founder of Fit Body
Boot Camp. Get free fitness marketing and business tips at his blog
RenegadeFitnessMarketing.com.

| WWW.FIT-PRO.COM | MARCH-APRIL 2015

Dr. Jason Karp is one of the foremost running experts in America, 2011 IDEA
Personal Trainer of the Year and recipient of the 2014 President's Council on
Fitness, Sports & Nutrition Community Leadership Award. He is the creator
of the Run-Fit Specialist certification. A PhD in exercise physiology, he has
more than 200 publications, is currently writing his sixth book, mentors fitness professionals and speaks around the world. www.Run-Fit.com

Personal Fitness Professional - March/April 2015

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