(And The Secret To Get Clients To Stay In The Group For Years!)
Dear Friend,
I’m about to show you why you need to be doing group training… and… how it can easily add $1,000 a month to your income almost immediately!
Listen, I’ve met and worked with a lot of trainers, and very few of them know how to make group personal training profitable.
Many trainers never even do group training.
And This Is A Huge Mistake
So I’m going to share the pros and cons of group training so you can decide if you want to incorporate that into your brand, business, and training structure.
If you want to know about pricing in general, you can read my previous article: How To Price Your Sessions
Group Personal Training
The way I define group training is training three or more people. Actually, I limit my groups to six people because it allows me to charge a higher price and the group members get much more attention and value.
Some trainers do boot-camps with 15 or 20 people… and they like it. I personally think it becomes too impersonal with a group that big and puts me at a disadvantage in terms of spotting every person.
Early in my career, I began group training and I really love it. The sessions are fun, and the clients love it because it’s social and cheaper than private training.
So let’s take a look at…
The benefits and costs of group training
First off, it’s cheaper for your clients. It can also be easier in terms of scheduling because the group has a standing appointment and if someone misses it, they still get charged.
In terms of pricing, I personally charge between $15-$20 per session per person. That means if someone is doing group sessions two times per week, they pay (on average) $200 per month.
And most people can easily afford that, and they really get tremendous value out of it.
It’s also very profitable!
If I have a group of 6 people, each paying $200 per month, that’s a total of $1,200 per month and it fills just one of my time slots.
My groups have been together for about four years, so another benefit is the staying power/retention. Because it’s cheaper, and my clients create great bonds and relationships, they tend to stay in the group for a very long time.
Another benefit is that one person can drop out or add and it only has a small affect on me and my business. I can add a person without any extra work or time, but still generate more income.
The Cons of Group Training
If you haven’t already thought about this, let me just spell it out… group training requires more clients.
For example, if I have 12 clients that are training two times per week on average, I would make roughly $5,000 per month gross income. If I was doing group training, those 12 clients would generate around $2,400 per month… about half.
This is economics at its best… Supply and demand.
The question you need to ask is, “will the lower price point of group training attract so many more clients that I’ll be able to get enough clients to make the $5,000 or more per month?”
Conversely, (in this example) if you only did group training, you only need four groups (24 clients) to make it to $5,000 per month, and you’d be working just four hours a week.
So…
What Should You Do?
First of all, this article is simply an introduction to group training. The fact is, when you do group training correctly it will grow your income fast.
In fact, I have an entire online lesson in my e-class devoted to group training because it’s that important, and you can’t skip it…
In addition, you need to consider the following:
- Is your gym in an area that has the type of clientele that really want group training?
- Is the gym you work at big enough (has enough members) to support group training?
- Do you like group training or private training better?
- How many hours a week can you spend training?
- What is the brand you want to create?
If your gym is full of men, group training probably won’t be as popular. Likewise, if your gym is full of serious athletes, they probably won’t want group training.
On the other hand, if your gym has primarily women who want to get in shape and have fun, group training might be a great choice!
If your gym has a small membership base, then getting 24 or more clients could be a real challenge. However, if you’re at a really big club, group training could work great!
If you hate training groups, don’t do it. It won’t be good for anyone.
If you have a part-time job and you only want to train a few hours a week, and you want to make it as profitable as you can, group training might be a great choice to do that.
As far as branding goes… group training would be a more social, female-based, fun brand. Think: Richard Simmons. If you’d rather be more glamorous and high-profile, private sessions with elite clientele is a better choice.
Let’s talk about this. Leave me a comment so we can discuss group training and see if it’s a good choice for you!