If I could go back in time and slap myself in the back of the head I would, because the mistakes I made when I was first starting out as a trainer damn near made me go broke.
I was doing what I see a LOT of trainers doing today; which is trying to be everything to every body.
I offered weight loss, weight gain, athletic training, injury rehab, 30 minute sessions, 60 minute sessions and the list went on…
For me, it wasn’t until I figured out what I was good at, who my market was, and what my product should be that my business began to grow, my profits multiplied, and I opened up a second, third, and fourth location.
And that’s what I want to share with you today…
Thing #1 is make your business model simple. Being known for one thing and being the best at that one thing gives you a distinct advantage because it makes your fitness business marketing funnel and sales process simple.
Plus, it keeps your message to your community crystal clear.
I can honestly say that’s one of the key things that makes Fit Body Boot Camp such a successful business model.
We do one thing and we do it better than anyone else.
Because of that, we know who to market to (and more importantly) who to repel.
We know where our best leads and prospects are and how to attract them into our funnel. That makes our fitness marketing process predictable.
We have a proven sales process that converts prospects into paying clients.
And because we do one thing and we do it better than anyone else, we retain our clients longer and they refer their friends, family and co-workers to us.
Sonya Gonzalez in this video is a great example of what I’m talking about.
So, thing #1 is to create a simple fitness business model that’s easy to run.
Complex models mean complex marketing, and complex selling, and complex everything.
Thing #2 is authority positioning.
Think about it…
A generalist makes mediocre money
A specialist makes a good income
But an authority on a subject makes the most and is highest in demand.
And when you position yourself as the authority in fitness and fat loss in your community, you not only put a velvet rope around your business, but you can also command a lot more money from your clients.
Yesterday I was talking to Ron, a coaching client from Huston, TX and he went on to tell me how after watching one of my coaching videos he decided to create what I call a “flag ship” product and recently sold his first one for $4,000.
Up until then he only had personal training programs that ranged from a couple hundred bucks to a grand or so.
But because he’s done a great job at positioning himself in his community and because he had the confidence to create and offer a “flag ship” product, he was able to sell his first one within days of offering it.
I have no doubt that he’ll be doing more of that…
Listen, there are always people out here who are willing to pay you whatever you are willing to ask for in order to get the outcome that you’re known to deliver.
So, it pays to take the time to position yourself as that authority and to be known for something. In fact, one of the key things your fitness business marketing system should do is to position you as the local fitness authority.
Now, I should clarify that having a “flag ship” product doesn’t mean that you’re deviating from your core program or offering.
For example, Fit Body Boot Camp owners Kathy and Ahmed Tafti started offering a 24 month version of their main program and that become their “flag ship” product – and they’ve sold a bunch of them since.
Thing #3 is to replicate and duplicate your business model.
In other words, open up location two, three and so on…
That may sound simple enough, but the truth is replication and duplication is the acid test for all businesses.
Because that’s when you realize that the only thing that was holding your first location together was YOU and not the systems that you thought you had in place.
So, before you make that mistake of stepping away from your location to go and open up your next one, get your ducks in order like Stephanie Flynn, Cabel McElderry, Sonya Gonzalez, Kathy and Ahmed Tafti, and John and Cara Eckerman have.
All of them use systems to run their business and THEY run the systems.
The formula is this if you want to open up two or more locations…
Replace yourself as the trainer.
Replace yourself as the assistant.
Replace yourself as the closer.
But YOU keep running the personal training marketing funnels for all of your locations.
And it doesn’t stop there…
…you need systems, real systems that your trainers and assistant can follow and “paint by numbers” for things like taking incoming phone calls, emails, walk ins, referrals, re-signs, and collections, yes, from time to time your clients are gonna fall behind on payments and they need to be collected on.
Your trainer need to be as good as you or better. He or she needs to keep the fitness evals going and have the ability to not only deliver great workouts but also a great experience each time so that the clients will keep coming back – otherwise you’re gonna end up with a severe retention problem.
That’s the model that makes a successful fitness business.
And by successful I mean one that makes really good money, helps a lot of people in the community, and gives you the freedom to sleep in if you want to and to step away and take time off without having your income suffer.
Committed to your success,
Bedros Keuilian
P.S. Watch this video where Sonya Gonzalez shares her business model.