Fitness Business

6 Group Training Models For Your Fitness Business

2010-04-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

It's so important to LEVERAGING YOUR TIME as a fitness business owner... and there is NO better way to do that then by working with more groups.

Here's an overview of 6 group training models, and some very important reasons why you should take a look at each in much closer detail:

Model #1 - 8 or 12 week Group Classes: This is one of the oldest models of all time. Think 'teacher' and 'students.' Essentially you are taking a subject your fitness business market wants to learn more about, breaking up the content into 8 or 12 'lessons', and then selling it packaged as 'workshop' with bundled education type materials as bonus. Binder, worksheets, audio CD's, DVD's etc. There are several other keys to make it work best, and some subjects that work better for this model than others.

Model #2- 8 or 12 week Private- Group Class "hybrid" Essentially a repeat of model #1, but blending the group element with alternating weeks of private 'one-on-one' time with each student. The time required to fulfill this type of program increases, and therefore the margin is affected somewhat, but generally speaking you can charge more for this type of group than model #1 because of the increased perceived value of 'access to the coach'. Also a great fit if achieving the goals of your participants in the group really demands some individualized work and attention.
In some cases, the 'private' time with coach can be delegated to your fitness business staff. While the main group classes are taught by principal in the fitness business.

Model #3 - Group Training and Boot Camps: They are the hottest thing exploding in the fitness business industry right now and for good reason. They're highly scale-able, incredible leverage and ROI, and a WHOLE LOT OF FUN (and therefore better 'stick' and retention of clients) with members.

Of course the fulfillment model and be adjusted to whatever you and your market are into. For example: 'Crossfit' classes, martial arts classes, kettlebell classes, pilates classes, military style boot camps, mommy-and-me boot camps, sports conditioning boot camps, you-name-it-plug-it-in here.

Model #4 - Semi-Private Training: This was popular several years ago and has been a quiet 'sleeper' model for some time. Simple to adjust to if you are currently offering only private training services.

Instructor to student ratio increases from 1 to 1, to 2,3,4 or 5 to 1. Rate increases, but overall revenue per hour (and more importantly MARGIN)goes up substantially.
This model option is great to sell in an economy where not as many folks can invest in high-end private training packages.

Model #5 - Workshops and Clinics (plus 'camps'): This is a model that not enough fitness businesses are taking advantage of. And adding this in and doing it right, can really make a massive difference in your bottom line.
How is your facility currently being used on the weekend?
Is it generating as much revenue as during the week?
Take note- find a 'niche' topic your market wants to learn more about, typically this works well for sports type markets or technical instruction like Olympic lifting, martial arts techniques, etc.

Offer a weekend 'clinic'. Often guest speakers, lecturers, and 'celebrity' talent, can be brought in and used to help sell the event.

Model #6 - Feeder Classes: Not really a group in itself, but a great model to sell higher end programs. Essentially you are breaking up a large ticket sale into smaller transactions by selling into a low cost 'workshop class' (typically $20-$147), providing great content and value. Then offer participants to continue on learning more and working with you by making the investment into the larger, higher priced program.

Big secret here is the feeder class cost investment should be priced to cover all marketing costs. Thereby eliminated all marketing costs for higher end program, and giving you more margin (and net profit) in the big program.

Use one, several, or all of these group training models to leverage your time in your fitness business to bring in more revenue in less time.

About the Author:
As a former fitness business owner, Sean Greeley has a true insight into what it takes to pull yourself out of the trenches and onto easy street. For more, download the free report and audio at www.fitnessmarketingmuscle.com/category/fitness-marketing/

8 Ways To Increase Your Fitness Business Income

2010-04-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

What's your fitness business income goal for the next 12 months? What's your plan for accomplishing it? Have you done the assessing, forecasting, and planning to hit your target?

Let me give you a few more clicks on the dial you can use to hit those targets this year.

1.Raise prices -- Too many folks charge too little for the value they deliver in their fitness business. When was the last time you raised yours? If you're saying "I can't charge anymore to my clients" then maybe you're targeting the wrong clients for your services. Offer high priced 'private' and exclusive services to the affluent or ultra-affluent.

2.Increase transaction size -- How are you packaging and selling your fitness business services right now? May there be some room for expansion in this area for next year? What if you simply added a larger package on your menu, how many would take it? Note I didn't say discount it, I just said offer a larger package or longer term contract.

3.Increase your margins -- How much are you charging, what does it cost your company to fulfill it? Is this spread as good as it could be or are you overpaying for 'diva' trainers that are super 'experts.' Might be time to revisit this one -- hire personality and attitude, and then train everything else.

4.Start offering additional products and services to your customers -- The smart fitness business owners we've worked with, have ALL expanded their offerings to include multiple products and services. Private training, small group training, boot camp, corporate fitness, in-home training, nutrition counseling services, nutrition products, information products, and more. This is one of THE fastest and easiest ways to grow your business. What ones are you already doing and have good traction with, what new ones could you add, what ones are you doing that need more work to be maximized? How have you prioritized your investment of time/money and the return each will bring you (in the short and long term)? Do some more review and analysis here.

5.Add another continuity program -- If you are NOT building some type of continuity program in your business (boot camp or group training, back-end nutrition auto-ship products, gym/studio 'memberships') then it's time to get on with it already. If you're offering one already, what new one could you add to your offerings for 2010?

6.Develop customer value -- Simply stated, over-deliver and then sell more to those who are already buying from you.

7.Increase your business value -- How saleable is your fitness business? Do you have a strong database and plug-n-play marketing, sales, and management systems working in your biz? If not, what needs to become more plug-n-play in order to make your business incredibly valuable to a buyer? Have you thought through an exit strategy? If you've never even considered one, what would one look like one day if you wanted to exercise that option? Something to ponder...

8.80/20 rule -- 20 percent of the things you focus on will always deliver 80 percent of your results. That means it's real important you get clear on what is your 'unique ability' as an entrepreneur and fitness business owner. ... and build a team around you to handle everything else. If you're still dealing with head trash about who you are and WHAT your role and responsibility is to your biz, time to get clear on this now. Note: as you continue to grow, it's important you continually refine and get more clarity here. When you do this, growth gets easier because you're leveraging your strengths and getting smart. Not running around like a chicken with your head cut off anymore like your first year in biz.

About the Author:
Sean Greeley is a former multi-location personal training studio owner that has a true insight into what it takes to pull yourself out of the trenches. For more, download the "Secrets To Their Success" free report and audio at www.fitnessmarketingmuscle.com/category/fitness-business/

6 Group Training Models For Your Fitness Business

2010-04-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

4 Time Management Secrets To Fitness Business Success

2010-02-28T19:43:00.000-08:00

Many fitness business professional's find themselves at a point of "not enough time to get everything done" So how can we best manage our time to be successful?Let's first find a realistic starting point. It doesn't make sense to start lists, fill in planners, set priorities and other nonsense without first digging out some fundamental information. Here are a few time management tips for fitness business success:

#1 'BRAIN DUMP'

First, start off by doing a "brain-dump." Take some time to write down everything you do on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. You'll need to do two: one professional and one personal. You may even want to get some help from your business colleagues, spouse or a close friend. This is a key "foundational" step that should be done or the plan will fail.

#2 ORGANIZE IN DETAIL

Once your brain dump is done, break the lists further down into categories such as, stuff to delegate, stuff that you can do in just a few minutes, and bigger 'project' stuff. As a fitness business owner, you can't possibly try to do everything yourself. If you have key people in place, such as administrative support, look at what you can delegate to them. Next, you should be down to bigger 'project' items -- project work here is anything that is two or more steps or has other people involved.

#3 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Now you can determine how to handle some of the 'bigger' project stuff. You'll need to take some time to analyze each of these tasks/projects to determine what comes first. What is the most important 'project' you can work on? Think about what contribution completion of this task will bring to your fitness business and how time sensitive is it? What is the next action step?

Now comes the most important part of all. YOU MUST BLOCK PROJECT TIME ON YOUR CALENDAR. In order to effectively manage projects you should work on them the same time every day. If a project is one that requires creativity, then schedule time when you are at your best. If the project is one of "boiler plate" type work then schedule it when all you want to do is "grind" away at something. The main thing is that you block the time every day. Make 'project' time a daily habit.

#4 TIME FRAMES

There are five time frames generally accepted as the most usable; Annual, Quarterly, Monthly, Weekly and Daily. Deciding where to put your action items should be fairly easy as for the most part they are self explanatory. For example, annual items are birthdays, tax due day, vacation time. You'll find that after awhile things will "flow" down to the weekly and daily items, which will be the most used time frames. Each month you will start your new/updated weekly list with a review of the upcoming month's activities. The weekly items are normally easy to prioritize as they are either 'blocked time' for projects or very highly visible action items. The daily list is an accumulation of the week's priorities by day as well as any additional action items from other lists. Just be careful when creating the daily list as it can get out of control with too much stuff.

Always ask yourself two questions: what is the most important thing I should be working on right now and when I complete the action item will it contribute to the overall welfare of the organization? By breaking down your tasks and project work in this way, you'll see your time in a different light. It will help reduce stress and help you to identify the really important stuff out there, so you can plan properly for fitness business success!

About the Author:

He has over 30 years of sales, management, and leadership experience with 4 Fortune 500 companies. He is currently a sales, business optimization, leadership coach for fitness professionals. For more tips for business success go to www.fitnessmarketingmuscle.com/category/fitness-business/

Read more: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/4-Time-Management-Secrets-To-Fitness-Business-Success/951734#ixzz0gtRMa5Gr
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Avoid the #1 mistake that KILLS new websites

2010-02-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

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Avoid the #1 mistake that KILLS new websites

2010-02-19T08:43:00.000-08:00

Top Five Ways to Telemarket Your Fitness Business

2010-02-10T00:07:00.000-08:00

Many customers and buyers consider the standard forms of fitness business telemarketing to be the most frustrating aspect of fitness-related advertisements. Aggravating phone calls and junk e-mail messages are not ideal marketing methods for attracting new clients and maintaining current ones. Don't be afraid to explore the alternatives. More often than not, a unique and less invasive fitness business telemarketing approach will produce stronger results and supply a higher level of customer satisfaction.

Fortunately, there are five exciting ways to enhance the structure and techniques of your fitness business. These alternatives will increase the effectiveness of your fitness business telemarketing strategies and bring your fitness endeavor to new levels. It can also help to boost foot and Internet traffic.

Bookmarking Sites

Both in-person and online fitness businesses can benefit from the overwhelming amount of marketing tools available on the Internet. Public sites allow for social bookmarking, a fitness business telemarketing method that is used to notify other members of the site about new fitness products and services. Details can be provided by posting articles about your company or by providing a link to your website.

Social bookmarking is a form of fitness business telemarketing that allows you to advertise your business indirectly and provides an opportunity to meet new people who are curious about your business. Compared to other fitness business telemarketing methods, social bookmarking is an inexpensive approach because many sites offer free membership. Your ads and links may also appear in online search results.

Social Networking Sites

By setting up business or personal profiles on social networking sites, you can market products and services through fitness business telemarketing with very little effort. These types of popular sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, are a great way to reach clients without investing significant amounts of time or money. Social networking sites allow you to tap into a simpler type of fitness business telemarketing using a marketing profile, banner services, and other advertising tools, such as forums and groups.

Free Forum Sites

Public forums are another useful method of fitness business telemarketing. They give you a chance to connect with consumers to discuss business matters and exchange information to help you best cater to their needs. Social bookmarking and social sites have a variety of public forums from which to choose, bringing customization to your fitness business telemarketing strategies. There are also sites that allow you to create your own free fitness business forum, giving you control over the topics and information discussed within the forum.

Social Groups

Find people with similar interests by creating a fitness group and put your fitness business telemarketing to good use. Groups are usually classified by topic, hobby and occupation, making it easy for individuals interested in fitness to locate your group. Social groups eliminate the need for screening, since those who join your group will already have an underlying attraction to fitness. Through these groups, you can promote your business by sending e-mails or offering specials to draw attention to your fitness business, using a more discreet form of fitness business telemarketing. You can set up a social group for free, using standard e-mail servers such as Yahoo! Groups, Google Groups, and MSN Groups.

Referrals

Not surprisingly, word of mouth remains one of the most effective ways to approach fitness business telemarketing. Simply introduce your fitness business to potential customers and provide referral incentives. By generating business through personal referrals, your clients will do the fitness business telemarketing for you. You will also save a substantial amount of money otherwise wasted on calls to people who just aren't interested in your products and services. When you are contacted or visited by a referred customer, you know they sincerely want to learn more about your fitness business. You will also see first-hand the positive results of proper fitness business telemarketing strategies.

By : Nitin Chhoda
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/top-five-ways-to-telemarket-your-fitness-business-785537.html