How does your gym sell personal training packages? Does your fitness staff avoid bringing the idea up with prospects, afraid they’ll walk right out the door? They shouldn’t. In fact, personal training services should be sold at the point of sale – when new health club members first tour your gym.
We all know personal training is good for a fitness center’s bottom line. A client who hires a trainer stays on at your health club three times as long as a regular member. It’s a win-win.
Selling personal training
To sell personal training effectively, your gym needs a standardized template and sales process to close more customers. Although this sounds manipulative, it is not. Stop thinking like that. Personal training is worth the investment because it works – it is the fastest, most effective way for your gym member to reach their goals. A good plan helps customers understand this concept.
Anthony Pasquale, sales director for Gym Insight, used the following method successfully in his gyms for years. Owner Demetrius Moore of American Fitness Center just began implementing this technique in his Fayetteville, Georgia, gym and is now preparing an entire personal training pricing system based on this concept.
Step 1: Value selling – If you don’t ask, you won’t know.
Selling personal training packages starts with a good gym tour. As we recently posted in our blog post “Five Secrets to a Great Gym Tour,” at this point, you’re selling yourself as much as the gym.
In our post, we urged you to slow down, get to know your client and ask questions that make them think about how long they’ve held off, waiting for the “perfect” solution.
Step 2: How do people see themselves?
After the tour, help the client categorize themselves according to their personal goals by offering a variety of personal training programs.
A standard selection might look something like this:
Muscle Building — If you’ve tried for years to gain weight and build muscle, this program is for you. Here, a trainer creates custom workouts designed to “rip and rebuild” musclemass.
Toning and Firming — If you’d like to look fit and trim, our trainers will help you reach your ideal physique while toning and firming. Our program combines cardio, weight training and functional fitness to build overall strength, balance, and stamina
Sports Specific Training —For anyone determined to gain a competitive advantage in their sport — great for high school and collegiate athletes.
Vacation and Wedding — Get ready for the big day:Shed pounds quickly, tone, firm, and sculpt your body.Look great within weeks. This program typically involves more aggressive dieting and workout programs.
Then, once the prospect reviews the packages, simply ask, “out of these four programs, which one works best for you?” When they answer, it’s game on – they’re engaged and are beginning to view themselves differently than when they first walked in.
Step 3: Identify their training type.
Once your client categorizes themselves, move on to the differentiator:
Explain, “Our options are based on the type of exerciser you are. Because of this, we offer both long-term and short-term options.”
Long-term: Do you lack the motivation to go to the gym on your own? Do you need an appointment and accountability? Let us get you in shape with the least amount of guesswork. With this option, you meet with a personal trainer two or more times a week.
Short-term: Are you motivated and hit the gym regularly, but lack the knowledge to really achieve your goals? In this student-teacher relationship, you work out with a trainer once a week, and are provided a diet and exercise regimen to follow.
Spoiler alert — most people know exactly what type of exerciser they are and will point it out immediately. From here, you can introduce pricing.
Step 4: Presenting personal training pricing
Reassure the customer that “Our job is to get you the best results without plateauing. We want to prevent the cycle of starting and then stopping a fitness routine because you quit seeing results.” Then offer one of four packages.
- 5 pack
- 10 pack
- 20 pack
- 40 pack
Explain to the client, the first two packages, five and ten, are best for short-term clients – those individuals with specific goals for self-improvement. The second, 20 and 40, are a bigger investment, created for exercisers who need long-term support maintaining good physical health.
Step 5: The Jump-Start Hail Mary
If the client is not ready to sign, a “Jump-Start” package is an excellent alternative. In this program, a client receives an inexpensive introduction to personal training. A common offer might be three workouts for $99.
Gym owner Moore recently sold two new customers with a jump-start package. The first came in on a Groupon and expressed interest in training for fitness shows. She liked the trainer’s experience but couldn’t afford a standard package. She signed on to the jump-start and continues to use a personal trainer today.
The second client knew he needed personal training, but preferred getting to know the trainer first. The jump-start let him test out the trainer without a long-term commitment.
“People see themselves in these packages immediately. It’s kind of like putting a mirror up to their face,” Moore said.
Step 6: Ok, they still won’t sign up for personal training.
That’s alright. Now is the time to offer an orientation with membership. Sign them up as a member and set an appointment for them to receive an orientation from a personal trainer. Don’t, Pasquale insists, offer an orientation with every membership. It devalues the process.
Sign three out of ten and you’re batting 300.
The charm of selling personal training according to a set sales script is that it will dramatically increase business. Why? Because even front desk staff can jump in and sell a new client.
Secondly, it puts the question out there. Most gyms don’t even try to sell personal training. By presenting private coaching to every new prospect at point of sale, you’re bound to get a few hits. If you sell three out every ten new customers, you’ve increased your numbers by 30 percent and driven up customer retention significantly.
So give it a shot.
The steps are simple:
- Figure out what people want to achieve during the gym tour.
- Give them a training category.
- Let them pick out what type of exerciser they are.
- Suggest a package that fits their training needs, personality, and comfort level.
As Pasquale explains, “even if you are the worst of the worst salesperson, if you only slightly use this script you will do so much better than selling only memberships.”
Gym Insight
A well-run gym requires an organized staff and a plan for success based on understanding the numbers behind your sales. At Gym Insight, our gym management software provides a clear, transparent picture into your company’s financials. Our software is built in-house, by fitness club owners. There are no cumbersome third-party plug-ins or complicated protocols, and it’s available for a single, low monthly subscription price — no hidden fees, no links to your payment processor. Call us today for a free demonstration on how we can lower your software management costs and free up more of your capital!