5 Things Fitness Business Owners Should Consider BEFORE Raising Membership Rates

Barry Duncan — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

There are several things to consider before raising member rates. When should I increase the price? … Who should get the increase? … How do I deliver the news? … Will it affect my sign-up rates? … What are other local businesses charging? … While there’s no clear-cut method for a Fitness business to follow when raising rates, there are several areas to think through before changing what you charge members. This blog highlights the most important.

Changing your rates is one thing that can separate profit from bankruptcy. You must look at the numbers closely. Many Fitness businesses start off with low rates to get people in the door; making it difficult to raise rates. Others set rates high and end up discounting everyone, never really knowing how much members are truly paying.

Here are five steps that will assist in deciding your member rate increase:

Research your competitors. This could be as easy as searching the web or as hard as sending in a silent shopper. Most companies post rates and specials on their website. For those that don’t, you can place a call or have a friend reach out. Silent shopping is a good way to get a better idea of the quality of the service and the types of facilities in your area. It’s a good way to gauge where you stand in your community.
Know what members currently pay. If you’re using handwriting books to track this, then you could be having difficulty. It’s best to get a software product, like myVolo, to track the current rates of members. Having this ability will allow you to know who is paying below rack rate and what they’re averaging. If you have a price difference in packages of $10 from your highest to lowest rates and the bulk of your members are paying closer to the lowest rate, then you may have less room to move. If they’re paying somewhere in the middle, then you have lots of room to move your rates.
Give as much notice as possible. I recommend notifying members at least three months prior to the increase; even though our rate cards and contracts state 30 days. This allows time for members to accept the change and this is long enough to lose the shock value. Many members will forget the change when it comes into effect. You should change your rack rates on marketing materials immediately so that new members already have the increased rates. If someone happens to see those old marketing pieces, then I would recommend honoring that rate one time and let the client know new rates will apply the next time.
Write a letter. In the personal training industry we develop close relationships with our members. So if you just blast out an email, it misses that personal touch. A personalized letter is a critical part of delivering the news. It’s more professional than just an email or poster on the gym wall. In the letter, explain the increase and address when rates were last changed. Let your Fitness members know that they are important and that if they have any questions or concerns to come speak with you. This opens up the door so that you can address concerns individually and maybe offer exemptions to those that cannot financially make the change.
Be sure that you can justify the change. Justification is always needed when dealing with personal training clients. It may not be fair but it is what it is. You need to be able to highlight the pros and differences that your services and facility offer. If you cannot do this, then perhaps a rate increase is not the best thing for you. If you have not bought new equipment or if you do not have exceptional trainers, then skip this year and plan for next. This will take you back to number one on this list … being better than your competitors, knowing their rates and why you’re better.

We’ve been very fortunate at our studio. Over the years we haven’t lost a single member after a rate increase. Considering that a $2 rate increase per session equals over $20,000.00 in annual revenue, it’s well worth the time spent to keep each member and dollar.

Remember that raising membership rates can make or break a business. Be sure to carefully examine the impact made on all areas of your business – from profitability, administration and operations, to member perception and retention.

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FREE SAMPLES: Member Rate Increase Letters

If you would like a couple of our rate increase letters to use as a sample, email me at barry@myvolo.com and I’ll be happy to send them over.

How to Forecast the Financials of Your Fitness Business

Barry Duncan — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Forecasting your finances is an important part of any business, but even more important for a Fitness business because it is serviced-based. All serviced-based businesses need to keep a close watch on the revenue that is brought in each day and the potential revenues for the rest of the month. How you sell your services will ultimately determine how you forecast your finances. Luckily myVolo online software has you covered no matter how you want to see this information or how you sell your services.

Fitness Business Sample One: Pre-Sell Packages

Grouping sessions together in package, and providing a discount if you buy larger session packages, is very common in the world of Personal Training. When we first opened our training studio back in 2000, we offered discounted session packages based on size but have since switched. More on that later.

Two key reports to run in myVolo software to forecast revenue for pre-sell packages: 1) Appointments Outstanding Report and 2) Renewal Candidates Report.

An Appointment Outstanding Report will show the number of remaining sessions or classes that all of your members have left in their packages along with when these packages will expire. A really cool exclusive to this myVolo software report is that we have also made this an active report — meaning that if you wanted to change the expiration dates, or search for expired packages and re-activate them, you could in real time.

The Renewal Candidates Report adds the ability to see people that have a specific number of appointments remaining, or have memberships or packages that will expire in a specified number of days, such as the next seven days.

Fitness Business Sample Two: Post Billing

Above I mentioned that we used to sell packages but now we do not. Currently, we only sell one package called an Intro Pack that has six Personal Training sessions.

Today, we instead put every member onto post billing. Essentially it is like running a tab for each member. We put any completed session, and product that is purchased, on an account to be billed for once a month. Post billing is a common practice among private members clubs and golf and country clubs. Post billing is not as common in Fitness but the trend is growing and myVolo software has the ability to track member accounts and handle post billing.

A report that we look at for post billing is the Accounts Due Report. This report will show what we have sitting on all our member accounts — allowing us to forecast our potential billing with complete accuracy as the month is progressing.

Fitness Business Sample Three: Memberships

Monthly memberships are by far the most common way of billing for gyms and now they are becoming a preferred method for Personal Trainers, Yoga studios, and Boot Camp businesses. Memberships are typically a month in length, but we are seeing 4- and 6-week billing cycles more and more with serviced-based Fitness memberships.

Another trend we’re seeing when using myVolo software is to switch from prorating memberships to billing date to date. This is a great way to control cash flow for your Fitness business. A great report for forecasting revenue from memberships is the Automatic Renewals Report; which shows you all membership types, the number of scheduled renewals, renewal frequency, billing profile, next renewal date, and the renewal amount.

In the myVolo software, you can select the search parameters for this report by date, member names, sales categories, or membership types — giving you a complete picture of what you have coming in the future.

When you use a business management software like myVolo, the goal is to get a better understanding of your revenues and forecast for future expenses. Before you sign for a lease on new equipment, or hire to renovate an area of the gym, run a few reports and see what revenues are coming. Remember everything in myVolo software is tracked to member accounts so if you check a member into your facility, schedule them for an appointment, or sell a product, it is all tracked back to the member’s account for easy reference.

More tips and reports that you can use to run your Fitness business will be coming. In the meantime, if you are a user of myVolo software, or any other software, please feel free to comment and ask how you can get the information you require. Better yet, schedule a demo of myVolo or book a training session with one of our staff members. Both are free, so don’t delay! Get using your software to its fullest … your business will thank you.

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Know Your Numbers Before Making Price or Wage Changes in Your Fitness Business

Barry Duncan — Wed, 01 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

It does not matter if you are trying to achieve $50k a year or the elusive seven-figure revenue for your Fitness business. Either way you will need to know your numbers. The question is: What numbers? Ask five experts and you will receive five different answers. Who is telling the truth is where most Fitness entrepreneurs are left scratching their heads. The reality is that all five experts are most likely correct.

You have made the journey from employee to business owner, eventually to employer, so knowing revenue is critical. Don’t forget all those other numbers like member turnover, new sign-ups, and gross profit. These other numbers can provide insight into changes that should be considered in the upcoming year in order to sustain growth. Knowing your numbers as a Fitness business owner is one thing, but knowing what to do with them is what will lead to success.

If we take a typical situation such as providing a $2 per hour raise to trainers in a Personal Training studio and look at how this will impact gross profit or your projected growth, we may see that a small raise can have a huge impact on both of these numbers. To do this, we will need some base numbers from your 2012 year. In the myVolo software, these numbers will all be in ONE report … the Cost of Services report.

You will need these numbers:

Personal Training revenue from 2012
Cost of service 2012
Number of sessions completed in 2012 (by the hour)

Use the above numbers to calculate:

Gross profit
Average session rate
Average cost per session
Gross profit per session

Ok … let’s put some numbers in here and do some math. The Personal Training Studio we will use for our example has pulled the myVolo Cost of Services report for their 2012 year and had $300k in Personal Training revenue with a cost of service at $120k or 40% on 5,000 training hours. If they want to provide their trainers with a pay increase of $2 per training hour and also would like to see a 10% growth in gross profit, how many additional training hours will be needed in 2013? How much additional revenue will be needed in 2013?

Now I like tables and Excel spreadsheets to make my life easy, this one would look like this:

This Personal Training studio will need to increase their sales by almost $50k and total training hours by over 800 for the year in order to achieve their goal and increase wages. Before any Fitness business makes a decision on wage increases, they should look at what their current gross profit is on that service and what the raise will mean. With myVolo online software, you can even break these numbers down per trainer to see what each trainer is bringing into the studio and what they cost to provide those services

Keep in mind that if sessions are complimentary or discounted, then this will change your numbers dramatically. In our training studio, I use the cost of service reports per trainer when I review wages. This way I will know the impact from just that one trainer.

Next week, we will look at some more great numbers that will help you grow your Fitness business.

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Fitness Business Strategy: 8 Steps to Creating a Company Culture of Success

Barry Duncan — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:00:00 GMT

I have been very fortunate to run a successful Fitness business for the past 13 years, but I would be lying if I said it was all because of strategic planning and systems development. Not that I do not treasure both of those as a necessity for any Fitness business, but the reality is that it has always come down to who I hired and the tools given to them to succeed.

As an owner and operator it can be especially hard to not become too attached to your ideas and concepts. This will lead some of us to not listen to key employees and even the non-key employees. On top of that, in the Fitness world, over 80% of the people work as independent contractors and not employees, so it can be very hard to motivate them to be excited and embrace what your business is trying to accomplish. It is the culture of everyone buying into the same philosophies and systems that will build a foundation that will help your Fitness business continue to grow.

If a gym has a revolving door of trainers, they should ask why. If the clients seem unmotivated and not achieving goals, then the owner or manager needs to ask why. The hardest thing that any Fitness business owner can do is to ask the hard questions about themselves as a leader. The answers are sometimes not what we want to hear. If management wants to take credit for all that goes right, they better shoulder the blame when “you know what” hits the fan.

8 Steps to Creating a Strong Company Culture for Your Fitness Business:

1. Set expectations and hold everyone, even yourself, accountable. A clear understanding of what the roles and responsibilities are is critical for all staff to know. Holding everyone to the same standards is critical to a great environment.

2. Create a code of conduct. Be sure to include your expectations and to review it with all new hires and at staff meetings. It may stress what most people feel is obvious, but you must not assume that they are aware of everything necessary. Our code of conduct covers everything from proper attire to language on the gym floor.

3. Do not expect what you do not inspect. I love this saying and use it for many aspects of my business and life. You cannot manage your Fitness business thinking that everyone is doing what needs to be done. You need to pull reports and check member files to make sure everything is getting done.

4. Reward your staff and recognize them publicly. It may seem a bit cheesy when you see that employee of the month award, but I can honestly say that receiving it makes you feel recognized and appreciated by owners and management. This goes a long way for employee morale.

5. Meet with staff regularly. I like to host one group meeting every quarter and then schedule 5-10 minute one-on-one sessions that happen each month. The one-on-ones are a way to connect with the staff on a personal level. It’s a way to get to know what they have going on as well as any concerns they may have.

6. Organize staff-only events. Some events that we have done with staff include active events like kayaking, snow shoeing, white water rafting, and hiking. We also will do group pot lucks, bowling, theater nights, and other non-active events. The most popular event is paintballing. They all seem to like to shoot me … go figure.

7. Treat everyone the same no matter their position or how long they have worked there. If reception sees or hears you making exceptions for trainers, or a new staff member hears of exceptions for a senior staffer, it will create bitterness and animosity within the company.

8. Overpay for quality, but not too much. It’s a balancing act between profits and rewarding people for hard quality work. We pay our trainers very well, but we also have bonuses for lead conversions and member retention that add incentive to go that extra mile.

Momentum Fitness is a 5,000 sq. ft. Personal Training studio that is now 13 years old. We have more than 20 trainers, three receptionists, and a school for Personal Trainers that all need to peacefully exist under one roof. We conduct over 18,000 hours of training every year, so culture is critical for us to keep things running smoothly. We have the lowest staff turnover in our area. The current average trainer turnover is at six-and-a-half years. We have six trainers that have been with us for over 10 years.

Next week we will expand on how creating a phenomenal staff culture leads to new members and an amazing Fitness environment for everyone.

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Fitness Business Strategy: 5 Steps to Strengthen Member Culture

Barry Duncan — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Do you remember the TV show “Cheers”? The classic “Norm!” said by all as one of the regulars walked into the bar is a great example of member culture. The Cheers song “Where everybody knows your name. And they’re always glad you came …” is what every Fitness business should strive for.

Now the beer, pretzels, and chicken wings may not resonate with the Fitness industry, but that concept of everyone meeting others and just having a great time is definitely needed.

In essence you want your facility to become a gathering place for people. It should be a place where everyone meets to go out for a run, comes to get that great workout, or just meets up with a friend to do some Yoga or stretching.

In our facility when a client leaves, others ask where they are and when they plan to come back. It’s not just our friendly staff that say “hi”, but other clients that train at the same time. We are building a community and a network for our clients that reaches beyond the trainers, and becomes more about the facility as "the place to be".

The key for any Fitness facility is to make it about the facility … not the trainers, owners, or the other staff. This concept becomes even more critical for Personal Trainers trying to expand and grow beyond just their own training hours and clients. It’s the difference between being a trainer-centric business versus a facility-centric business. You want to have your clients and members feel an attachment to your space. This is how you build a member culture that will keep staff and add new members.

5 steps to building a strong member culture in your Fitness business:

1. It all starts with your business name. When naming your business or facility, avoid using your name in the title. Unless you are a celebrity and building off that brand, it will only make your space focused on you versus the clients. It will also be harder for you as the owner to sub contract out to other trainers. Your business name should resonate with your target demographic and not necessarily you or your staff.

2. Always greet and say goodbye to every person that walks through your doors. When possible have your staff greet people by name. Saying their names as they enter and exit is really important for smaller Fitness studios and gyms. It’s also a fantastic way for larger facilities to make members feel special.

3. Staff and trainers should be on the floor and talking with people … not sitting behind the front desk or in the back staff area. For larger- and medium-sized facilities, have a designated staff member that walks the floor, says “hello”, and asks people how everything is going. Introduce members, when appropriate. Your staff can become an ice breaker between people. This goes a long way to making your space member-focused.

4. Host run clinics. Members and even non-members can meet and use stretch areas and your changing room. When possible do these for free or minimal cost and add it to your marketing. The goal here would be to have those non-members and friends of members convert into paying members.

5. Host community events or charity fundraisers. This is a fantastic way to gain exposure and build up your community involvement. Find out which charities members are involved in and make a donation of your Fitness services. Last year our studio donated over $10,000 in services to client charities. We converted eight new members with an average spend of $500 a month. This has been a great way to build business and support charities.

People need to identify with your message and brand. The more you can make this about your facility and how great it is to come there, the quicker you can start to develop a member culture that will grow your Fitness business.

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A Spring Cleaning Checklist to Freshen Up Your Fitness Business

Barry Duncan — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Every year in April, millions of people start their annual Spring cleaning around the house and yard. I saw a list the other day that had over 15 items on it … and that was just the “indoor list”. It covered everything from storing the winter comforters to re-sealing the bathroom grout. It was truly a crazy list. But we all need to do it. As the days get longer, our homes become a place where people gather, mingle and have a BBQ or deck party. For this, the house needs to look good … right?

It’s the same for your Fitness Business. A good Spring cleaning can go a long way to making new and existing members feel excited about hanging out and mingling in your facility. One of the goals in marketing is to make your Fitness business feel like a place where everyone belongs and that hanging out is the cool thing to do. Also, you need to start to prep for those “Spring events”. Get your posters and notices ready to promote all the wonderful events that you will be involved in over the next few months.

A Fitness business Spring cleaning checklist will look similar to the home version. It will include an “inside the gym cleaning” list. However, instead of outside yard work or garage cleaning, a business cleaning is added. See the check list provided below …

Indoor list

Wash all the walls.
If needed, repair paint chips or re-paint the entire space.
If you have tile ceilings, replace all stained or marked panels.
If you have a solid ceiling, wash and repair … like the walls.
Clean and service all equipment. Be sure to remove all panels and clean the inside, especially for cardio equipment.
Window coverings should all be cleaned.
Wash and remove any stains in seating areas or carpeted spaces.
Polish and buff all hardwood floor surfaces.
Check that all locks in changing rooms are functioning properly.
Re-seal the grout in shower and bathroom. I would hire this task out as it can take hours.
Double check all safety gear and equipment.
Tidy up your reception space and add some Spring plants or flowers to make it look fresh.
Do an inventory of all equipment and list out new purchases needed.
Clean, repair, and replace mats and pads.

Business List

Review last year’s data, sales, class attendance, training sessions, special deals offered, and marketing campaigns.
Look at the beginning of this year. With one quarter down are you on track for growth?
Look at your Spring marketing and sales plan. Make any necessary edits.
Review all your staff performances and audit any client files for your personal training business.
Check-in with all your affiliates and see where they are at and what they have going on. Also, update them on what is happening at your business.
Survey your clients or members. Get to know what they are up to or would like to see added to your gym.
Connect with local businesses and organizations to find out what events are being held this Spring and Summer in your area ... Get involved.
Give your social media pages a Spring makeover. Update all of the content.

Some great Spring programs to offer:

1. Outdoor boot camps

2. Runs, triathlons or cycling clubs, clinics

3. Host a charity event

4. Spring nutritional seminar

5. Get ready for the beach seminar

Spring is here! Whether we love it or hate it, a good Spring cleaning can get your Fitness business ready for the coming months. For a private demo of how myVolo software can assist in your Spring cleaning and planning, please click the big “Reserve Your Demo” button below.

What additional items would you add to your Fitness business Spring cleaning list? Share below ...

Managing Leads for Your Fitness Business [Sample Workflow Included]

Nikki Layton — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:00:00 GMT

We’ve been talking a ton about lead management — how to generate leads, capture leads, follow-up with leads. Now it’s time to take a look at the next big obstacle Fitness business owners face … lead workflow.

A lead workflow is quite simply the processes that your Fitness business will use to follow up with new prospects.

In myVolo studio management software, we can create specific lead workflows to attach to different marketing campaigns and offers.

The sample lead workflow here is one for a Personal Training studio. The names in the examples are fictitious. This Personal Training studio is offering a free Health assessment to its prospects. The sample lead workflow is specifically for leads that request more information about the Personal Training studio’s services.

1. A new lead fills in the online lead capture form, similar to the one on the right.

(Note that through the myVolo online software you can create online lead capture forms that are fully customizable. You choose the fields, the colors, and the information that is required – an exclusive of the myVolo business management software.)

2. Email #1 - A thank you email is sent immediately after the lead completes the online lead capture form

Hello Jim Brown,

First I would like to thank you for giving “Your Gym” an opportunity to be involved in your Fitness plan. We pride ourselves on assisting every member, and even non-members, in achieving all of their Health and Fitness goals. Steve will be calling you soon to discuss how our memberships work and to discuss any specials that we may have going on now or starting soon. As an added bonus, here is a promo code that you can use in our online store to book a complimentary Heath assessment. Your login information is below.

Thank you again and we all look forward to working out with you soon.

Best regards,

The Entire Staff,

“Your Gym”
Address
555-555-5555
Website
Steve’s email

3. Task #1 - Staff member to reach out by phone within 48 hours after the lead completes the online lead capture form

MyVolo studio management software will assign tasks for the staff of your gym to do the scheduled follow up. In this example, the task will be added to staff person Steve’s task list immediately after the lead submits the form. Steve will have 48 hours to complete the call. MyVolo software does not make the phone calls for you, but this is pretty darn close.

4. Email #2 – A follow-up email is sent 7 days after the lead completes the online lead capture form

Hello Jim Brown,

We know that Steve has been in contact with you, but we wanted to reach out anyway and see if you have any further questions in regards to our facility and your future Fitness plans. Below we have included a few member testimonials and a link to our Facebook page. We hope you will “Like” us on Facebook and read what all the happy, Fitness-minded members have to say about “Your Gym”.

“I have been going to “Your Gym” for 2 years now and not only have I lost over 50 lbs., I have also found a new community of friends and Fitness professionals that answer all my questions without any sales pitches. I love “Your Gym”!”
- Terrence B Member

“I was so scared to join a gym and lift weights for the first time but the friendly atmosphere and knowledgeable staff at “Your Gym” helped me every step of the way. After a few sessions with Paul, one of the best trainers in the world, I was ready to work out on my own. Although I still see Paul once in a while I now have the confidence to go to any gym and know that I am exercising safely and efficiently.”
- Sally Newbie

Check out our Facebook page here: “Your Gym”

Also book your free Health assessment: Book Now.

Best regards,

The Entire Staff,

“Your Gym”
Address
555-555-5555
Website
Steve’s email

5. Task #2 – Staff member to reach out by phone 10 days after the lead completes the online lead capture form

The purpose of the second phone call is to schedule the complimentary Health assessment that was given out.

6. Email #3 – A final email is sent 14 days after the lead completes the online lead capture form

Hello Jim Brown,

I am sorry that “Your Gym” is not the right fit for you right now and we hope that you will have huge success in your Fitness program. Should you ever have any questions or need advice, please contact Steve at our facility. We have kept you on a regular email list that is very informative and filled with nutritional tips and Fitness advice. If you would prefer to not receive any additional information, please contact us by replying to this email and we will remove you from our list. Also if you know someone that would benefit from our services, please send them this promo code for their complimentary Health assessment.

Promo code: FREE-HA001

Best regards,

The Entire Staff,

“Your Gym”
Address
555-555-5555
Website
Steve’s email

Keep in mind the length of a lead workflow can vary. This sample lead workflow is on the short side with only two tasks and three emails. We have some lead workflows in our Personal Training studio that are set up for 10-15 tasks and several personal phone calls. Ultimately, each Fitness business will develop their own lead workflows that are right for their particular marketing campaigns and business.

I hope you found this sample workflow helpful. If you have any suggestions or comments, please share them below.

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Turning Fitness Business Leads into Sales: Tips to Craft Effective Follow-Up Emails

Barry Duncan — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Everyone is busy and having 100 emails stacked up in your email inbox can be overwhelming, even if it is information you requested. Most people just do not have time to sift through each email. Instead they develop quick ways to sort through messages by seeing who sent it, reading the subject line, or reading the first sentence to determine which messages get their time and attention. So how do you make it so your emails to your Fitness leads that wanted more information don’t get deleted as soon as they’re received?

What not to do when putting together email messages to Fitness leads:

1. Don’t write subject lines like advertisements.
The email subject line is the first thing a lead sees so taking the time to make it relevant to your recipients is extremely important. Nothing screams spam (and creates the urge to hit that delete button) more than an email subject line reading “How to lose 30 lbs. and keep it off”. Instead, customize your email subject line based on the initial request from the lead. Make it relevant to the lead’s interest. Through a business management software system like myVolo, you can set specific information requests to receive specific email messages. For instance, say a lead has requested information on Personal Training sessions and packages. Records tagged as personal training information requests could receive an email with a subject line reading, “Membership options for Personal Training with YOUR GYM NAME”. Making the subject line relevant to the request will increase the likelihood that the email will be read, and get you that much closer to converting the lead a member of your Fitness business.

2. Don’t send canned, mass emails to Fitness leads.
Now that your recipient has opened the email, continue with relevancy by personalizing your email content. Just as you made the subject line relevant to their request, make the email content also applicable to the lead’s interest. Include information on what the lead requested and personalize the email. myVolo software uses special data tags that will add the potential client’s name as well as any staff and facility name to each email message that is sent out.

3. Don’t leave your lead hanging without a next step to take.
Every email message that you send out should include a call to action — words that urge the lead to take immediate action. Common calls to action include: “call now”, “click here”, or “visit”. An example: “Click here to view our schedule and book your Personal Training session today.” It’s also a good practice to add the words “today” or “now” to create urgency. “Call us today” or “Call us now”.

4. Don’t use “No Reply” automated email addresses.
This may be a personal issue that I have but not having a way to reply to an email just tells me that the company sending does not want to interact with me; they just want to talk at me. All emails to your leads should have some sort of personalization to it including a way for your leads to reach you. Most email software will allow you to put contact information in the body of the email. The email manager in myVolo software actually adds a reply-to email address to emails sent from the software. This greatly improves the interaction between your Fitness business and potential leads.

5. Don’t hoard your expertise.
I know several Fitness professionals and business owners that are really skeptical about giving away free information on how-to exercises. I have said over and over again in several blogs that you want your Fitness business to be known as the leader on Fitness in your neighborhood. To do this, you need to tell everyone who will listen what you know about Fitness. Sending out “how-to exercise correctly” pamphlets to people that inquired about your gym will inspire them to come and check you out even more.

Bottom line: Keep your follow-up emails relevant to the lead’s interest and provide ways for them to easily take the next step and get a hold of you. Doing so will help you convert your Fitness leads into members much quicker.

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A Big Opportunity Most Fitness Business Owners Miss - Lead Management 101

Barry Duncan — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Last week I discussed “5 Things You Need for Effective Fitness Business Lead Management”. This week, I will elaborate on some of the specific areas for lead management … primarily automated workflows and lead sources.

What is a Lead?

A lead can be defined in a few different ways. Sales people will often take a narrow view, wanting leads to meet very specific criteria. Marketing people prefer a much broader view ... anyone that expresses interest in your services or products. For Fitness businesses, it is best to use the marketing viewpoint. Be sure to treat any person that expresses an interest as a lead and follow up accordingly. Word of mouth is the number one way to get more clients, so treat everyone as a lead and they will tell people about you … even if they do not sign up. We often hear “It is not the right exercise for me but I think “Joe” will love it!” So even though the initial person interested may not sign up, “Joe” may be a good candidate.

How Do You Get More Leads?

In order for any Fitness business to succeed, you will need to have several different lead sources. A lead source is the reason or method by which any lead connects to your Fitness business. As mentioned above, the number one lead source is word of mouth (WOM) in the Fitness industry, but even word of mouth can have several sub sources. Lead sources give you greater insight to the success of the specific marketing channels you have for your business. Below are some of the most common lead sources in Fitness and some possible sub sources.

You will see that some sub sources appear multiple times, such as affiliates, and this is a really good thing to track. If an affiliate is referring people to your Fitness business, then you want to know how these referrals are gathering additional information. Do they go to your website or walk in to your facility? When it comes to leads, information is the key. Most of the Fitness businesses that I know do not have massive marketing budgets. Knowing how the majority of your members come in is key to knowing how to spend limited funds most effectively.

With myVolo lead manager, you can run a simple search and you will know how leads are coming in and where they are in their workflow or sales cycle. Workflows are the automated, or by person, follow-up methods that your Fitness business team uses when leads come in. MyVolo has the ability for the Fitness business owner to create automated messages by text or email, that can be sent out to the new leads on different days from the time the lead is created. There is also the ability to create follow-up tasks such as phone calls or personalized emails or text messages that are assigned to specific staff. For example, if you do personal training and also handle insurance claims for rehabilitation, then you may need a specific staff member to do all the follow-up with a lead to gather medical and claim information. Below are some sample flows and actions or tasks that you can have in your myVolo software. Remember, these are completely customizable so you can have as many different flows as you need for your Fitness business.

The goal of any workflow is to make the lead feel like you care and just want to assist them in achieving their Fitness goals. You want them to feel like they are already a part of your facility.

Next week we will discuss ways to tailor your marketing copy in follow-up communications and cover best practices on how to set up effective lead workflows.

To learn more about our new lead management piece and how you can take control of your Fitness business lead funnel, book a demo today!

5 Things You Need for Effective Fitness Business Lead Management

Barry Duncan — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:44:00 GMT

Consistent follow-up with leads is proven to increase your chances of converting those leads to sales. Because of that, we recently launched a complete closed-loop lead management solution as part of the myVolo software. This new enhancement enables myVolo software users to easily set and standardize a sales process by automating tasks, emails, and text messaging for consistent follow-up.

This is a HUGE deal for many reasons. First, myVolo is the only web-based software in the Health and Fitness industry that will handle it all — sales, billing, scheduling, member management, staff management, and now lead management for your Fitness business. Second, everyone needs, and should have, an effective way to manage and create lead flows. It is critical that a system be created around your leads and that you have effective ways to follow up with people — otherwise you’re throwing marketing dollars and potential membership sales out the window!

5 Elements for Successful Lead Management in Your Fitness Business:

1. Implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System

It is great if you are getting 100 new leads a month, but if you have no system in your Fitness business to manage these potential new clients, then you will lose out on the opportunity. A great CRM, like myVolo software, allows you to create automated lead follow-ups by email or text message, and you can also assign new leads and follow-up tasks to your sales staff.

2. Track Lead Sources

Reports are the next level that a Fitness business owner will need in order to search for the number of leads from a specific source and to see where they are in a specific lead flow. Having the ability to assign tasks to staff and to check on overdue tasks is critical for the business owner. Also having the ability to move people from one status or lead flow to another is a great way to make sure that your leads are getting the correct emails and phone calls.

3. Contact Leads Quickly

It is said that if you do not reach out to a new lead within the first 48 hours that the chances of converting the lead to a sale drops by 50%. Timing is everything. With the myVolo lead management system, all new leads will receive an automated message by either email or text message, and follow-up tasks will be scheduled for your staff. That means no more missed opportunities.

4. Treat Leads Like Customers

Messages to your leads should be written in the same language as the messages sent to your members. In other words, avoid sending sales language to your leads. You want your leads to feel the culture of your Fitness business … and feel like they are already members. Never be afraid of sending out free information to all of your prospects. It will only reinforce you as the expert that they need.

5. Nurture Your Leads

Lead nurturing is all about keeping in contact with everyone that has ever reached out to your Fitness business for information. For example, in our Fitness studio we send every person in our myVolo software database a birthday email. They all get the birthday email regardless if they are a lead, new client, old client, or lost lead. With the new lead management system, myVolo has also added the ability for Fitness business owners to create a drip marketing campaign — a pre-written set of emails or text messages that are sent to leads over time. This is particularly effective for leads that have not yet converted to a membership sale. The emails and text messages expose them to more of your services and offerings.

To have a look at this powerful new enhancement to the myVolo software, contact us and we will arrange a personal demo so you can start to standardize and improve your lead management process right away. Next week I will cover how to create automated lead flows.

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NEW RELEASE … A Start-to-Finish Lead Management System for Your Fitness Business!

Book a demo today to check out myVolo’s new closed-loop solution for capturing, distributing, nurturing, and converting sales leads. The built-in system will help drive new leads, membership sales, and profit to your Fitness business.

How to get the Most out of your MyVolo Site – Jeff Harris

Jeff Harris — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:00:00 GMT

MyVolo is an incredible web-based scheduling software application that can add tremendous value to your business. This blog is not intended to be a sales pitch as the performance of this product speaks for itself. Rather, it is intended to help you get the most out of this powerful tool and the resources supporting you!

MyVolo offers two different programs to help you get maximum value from your site and from our team. Here are some commonly-asked questions and quick answers to get you familiar with the programs.

What does the Training & Support Program offer? How does it differ from the Implementation Program?

Our Training & Support team is available to answer any questions you may have within any part of your myVolo site Monday through Friday from 9:00 am-9:00 pm EST. You can either initiate a chat by clicking on the “Live Chat” link once you log-in to your myVolo account, or you can contact us directly for impromptu trainings at 866.303.1038. Live support and training are unlimited and free of charge as they are included in your subscription.

The Implementation program offers one-on-one training for you and/or your staff to help you get completely comfortable using myVolo. We will assist you in setting up site’s preferences, train you on inputting data that pertains to your business and your members, and help you understand the variety of reports available to you so that you can use them to their fullest to uncover sales and retention opportunities for your business. Once you have completed the Implementation Program, you can reach out to any member of our Training & Support team for ongoing support.

What is the cost of training classes?

We understand how important it is for you and your team to be trained on products that help you run the day-to-day operations of your business. With this in mind, I would like to reiterate that we do NOT charge for any of our training classes. We are more interested in ensuring that you are able to successfully utilize our programs … not charging you for your own time.

How do I register for a training class?

You do not need to register for a class. All you need to do is use our “Live Chat” program to initiate a conversation with one of our knowledgeable staff members or call us at 866.303.1038. If your schedule requires you to book an appointment for a date in the future, we will do our best to accommodate your schedule within our business hours.

What if I need to cancel my training class reservation?

If you have to cancel or reschedule for any reason, we understand! However, we politely request that you let us know. Simply send an email to support@myvolo.com indicating your change of schedule and preferred time to reschedule.

What are the hours of operation for Training & Support?

Our Training & Support team can be reached Monday through Friday from 9 am to 9 pm EST.

Jeff Harris manages the Implementation department that assists new clients in getting started with Member Solutions. Jeff also manages the Training & Support department who provide live training and support for all Member Solutions software applications. He has been with Member Solutions since 2003 in various roles and enjoys interacting with clients.

Learn how myVolo can add tremendous value to your business.

The Business of Fitness: How to Dodge 3 All-Too-Common (and Costly) Slip-Ups

Avandi Wallace — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Scheduling and operational mistakes are all too common in running a Fitness business. And the results of those errors can cost you in time, money, and customers. Here are three common slip-ups and how to prevent them.

#1 – Double Booking Sessions — It happens all the time but that doesn’t make it any less embarrassing and inconvenient when it does. Your customers have taken the time to come to your Fitness business only to find that there is actually no appointment at all … someone else has taken their scheduled time slot.

You look unprofessional, and immediately your relationship with your customer is strained.

Fortunately with a system like myVolo, this problem will not, and cannot, happen. Our online studio scheduling software is specifically designed to avert these mishaps altogether. For example, if a trainer has a class scheduled at 2 pm on Monday, and you go to the private-type schedule to book a client for a session at that same time with the same trainer, you won’t be able to. myVolo will display the trainer’s appointments across all schedules, which means you can kiss double booking goodbye!

#2 – No Organized Follow-Up to Fitness Leads — Little could be worse than letting your Fitness leads slip through the cracks. You’ve spent your hard-earned money and time to get them. Without consistent lead follow-up, you’re tossing money out the window!

Fortunately, we’ve just rolled out a new feature that enables you to capture leads and more easily convert them into enrolled, paying members. The new lead management system includes a simple-to-use widget to build lead capture forms. Just pick the fields, determine which fields you’d like to set as required, and myVolo generates a custom lead capture form you can embed on your Fitness business’ website. All the data a lead enters into the fields on the form then flows directly into your myVolo software database.

Using the Message Center, you’re able to create detailed messages to send to the lead and set a workflow where messages automatically go out at specified dates and times. It’s follow-up at its best! Similarly, you can create and assign tasks to staff members.

#3 – A Messy Membership List — Standardized, complete membership data will make your life much easier, and your marketing all the more effective. You’ll be able to find the information you’re looking for, when you need it, and even better, identify opportunities that can positively impact your bottom line.

With myVolo software, you can assign specific member types which can then be filtered and used throughout myVolo’s 30+ real-time business reports. These member types also allow you to quickly search for groups of people in your member area along with a number of other filters that you can apply to obtain the member list you need. You can even assign a specific package or contract to a member type so that when a member purchases it, they will be automatically assigned to it.

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FREE Webinar: Tips to Target, Capture, & Convert Fitness Leads
March 5, 2013

Join Nikki Layton on Tuesday, March 5th at 1:30 pm EST to learn how myVolo software simplifies and streamlines the lead management process. You’ll also learn how to:

Tap into proven marketing channels that will impact lead generation
Standardize your lead management process for better sales results
Set automated emails and text messages to facilitate your sales cycle
And more!

Space is Limited ... Register Now!

Fitness Boot Camp - Brick and Mortar vs. Dirt and Grass

Barry Duncan — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Scenario one:

You have been running a boot camp outside for the summer and have built up a fantastic group of regulars. However, now that the winter weather is here, not many clients are participating. The indoor boot camp is looking more and more promising. But is it really the way to go?

Scenario two:

You have an indoor boot camp with a room of raving fans that love your energy and everything seems great … until the first of each month when you write that huge check to the landlord. Monthly rent and sunny weather makes the outdoor boot camp look more promising. But again is it really?

The explosion of boot camps has created a debate amongst the campers and the instructors as to which is best, the indoor or outdoor. Both have very strong arguments that we will explore to help you make this decision. Remember, there is no right or wrong choice here; only what is best for your Fitness business and the target demographic you want. This is and always should be why you make your decision. We will look at four key factors that your Fitness business will need to consider when making this important decision and how each option stacks up.

Fitness Boot Camp Factor 1: Cost to Operate

The first thought here would be that an outdoor boot camp should win hands down. However that is not always the case and you will need to do some research here before you make this decision for your Fitness business. Many cities and regions require permits to use park or field spaces for commercial purposes, and these fees can be high in some areas. Where I live it is $20 per class. If you are running the usual 4-6 classes a day, then that is $90.00-$120.00 per day fee. A 1,000 sq. /ft. space is typically $2,500-$3,500 per month. That comes out to $85-$115 per day. You would also need power and utilities for the indoor space, but the outdoor space requires a van or truck for transport. So you get the idea that the huge savings may not be there. Another factor is that outdoor fitness boot camps require additional insurance coverage in most states and provinces, so please check this out before you start.

Overall winner: If no park fees are required outdoor boot camps will win; otherwise it is a tie.

Fitness Boot Camp Factor 2: Climate

This is one that indoor Fitness enthusiast will champion all the way because who wants to work out in the snow and excessive heat. However, I know some people that have very successful boot camps in some harshly cold and hot climates. The thing is that they are very specialized and niche focused. This gives them a very unique demographic that is not weather adverse. If you are running an indoor space, temperature and air quality control is needed. This can add to the cost of the space per month, but it will keep the gym smelling better and the temperature where it is comfortable for the masses.

Overall winner: Since the masses are what most of us market to, indoor wins.

Fitness Boot Camp Factor 3: Atmosphere

Outdoor camps always have nature on its side. This could be beaches, mountains, beautiful parks or wooded forests. All have the fresh air and natural stimulus that people love. Indoor has music and multiple tailored or even branded surroundings. You can logo walls, keep it a brick or garage feeling, or soften it up for a specific demographic. Also indoors, you can have access to facilities like bathrooms and showers. This gives you a powerful argument for the indoors. Outdoors will build a better connection to getting your people active outside of the boot camps, and this may build long-term success for your campers that some forget to take into consideration.

Overall winner: I am going to call this a tie as I think that both offer many pros and too few cons to make it a deciding factor.

Fitness Boot Camp Factor 4: Equipment

This is also a deceptive one. At first glance most people will say that the indoor boot camp will have greater access to equipment. This may be true, but I have never seen this as a limiting factor for the Fitness boot camp operator. After talking with hundreds of operators and campers, it appears that almost all indoor and outdoor providers use the same tools; BOSUs, TRX straps, med balls, ladders, ropes and various other dynamic exercise pieces that are easy to set up and very portable. Rarely do I see or hear of fitness boot camps using free weights, benches and machines, so I do not see this as a huge advantage for the indoor people. However access to other amenities such as toilets, change rooms and showers is a huge plus. Also the indoor camps can easily upsell additional products that they keep on hand such as bands, nutritional products, or training gear.

Overall Winner: Just for the access to amenities the victory is the indoor camp.

After all is tallied up the indoor Fitness boot camps win in two key categories; Climate and Equipment, both of which will allow the Fitness business to have a much wider target demographic. I really like that part. With a tie going to Atmosphere, it leaves the outdoor Fitness boot camp with the big win of Cost to Operate. Now before the outdoor people all run off to sign a new lease, there is one more factor that I need to mention. Do not ever sign a lease on a space if you have not built up that much needed group of campers. Before you move your Fitness business to the great indoors test things outdoors. Then find a nice cheap space that you can move into close to where you have been doing your outdoor camps.

The bottom line is that outdoors is where you should start and then move to a nice indoor space once you have established a great following.

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You're Invited ... To Business BootCamp Conference & Awards!

Come and meet Barry and other Fitness business professionals at Business BootCamp Conference and Awards on October 5^th in Philadelphia, PA. It's a great opportunity for Personal Trainers, Fitness business operators, and CrossFit gym owners to learn from the best in the business.

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New myVolo Release – Your Complete Lead Management System is Here!

Barry Duncan — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:00:00 GMT

A new person comes into your Fitness business to inquire about your services. After a brief discussion, they leave with some information and a way to contact you.

A potential new member visits your website. They read through your “About Us” page, watch a couple videos, then land on your “Contact Us” page that lets them know how to reach you.

You have an affiliate that promotes your services on their website. People that are interested in Fitness can get your contact information from the affiliate’s web page, or they can click through to your business website to learn more.

All of these scenarios have the same problem: people have found a way to get your contact information, but there is no way for you to reach out to them … that is until now!

Introducing the latest myVolo release … a complete lead management system. This all-new system is available to every one of our clients to use. It’s a way for your Fitness business to capture new leads, set automated emails and text messages to be sent to your new leads, and to automatically assign and create follow-up tasks for you and your staff.

Imagine the person in the first scenario who walks into your Fitness business. You could simply ask them a few quick questions and then add them directly into your myVolo software. Then, in less than a minute after the prospective member has left your facility, they receive an email or text message from your company.

And that’s just the beginning …

We’ve created a super simple widget to build lead capture forms – forms that you can then easily embed on your website and on your affiliates’ websites. You determine the form fields, pick which are required, and the data entered flows automatically into your myVolo database! Again, the lead will receive a message from your Fitness business and follow-up tasks will be automatically assigned to you or your staff.

With the new system, you can create as many lead workflows as you’d like to enhance your marketing and tracking of leads. The beauty of it is that you will know where all your leads are coming from … all from the same software that manages your scheduling and billing. It has never been easier to capture leads and ensure follow-up!

Now you can …

Send your leads personalized emails once a month and set tasks for follow-up
Use our enhanced email to send out promotions to all leads or to a group that is part of a specific campaign
Add new leads to your email list and set automated emails and text messages to be sent for follow-up

If your Fitness business wants new leads and better ways to manage them, take some time to contact one of our representatives and schedule a training of myVolo’s new Marketing and Lead Management tool. It will totally amaze you and improve your ability to keep tabs on each new prospect that comes in. Add to that all of the functionality and flexibility of myVolo’s member and billing management, and you will finally have a complete all-in-one system to use to run the best Fitness business in town.

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FREE Webinar: Tips to Target, Capture, & Convert Fitness Leads
March 5, 2013

Join Nikki Layton on Tuesday, March 5th at 1:30 pm EST to learn how myVolo software simplifies and streamlines the lead management process. You’ll also learn how to:

Tap into proven marketing channels that will impact lead generation
Standardize your lead management process for better sales results
Set automated emails and text messages to facilitate your sales cycle
And more!

Space is Limited ... Register Now!

Go Social in Your Fitness Business

Barry Duncan — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Over the past month, we’ve been discussing different ways to market and manage your Fitness business for success. In a recent article, I covered the importance of creating a Fitness blog to establish yourself as an expert in your field. I also talked about using keywords within your blog articles to help with search engine optimization (SEO); in other words, to help you and your business “get found” on the web.

Other recent posts covered a 5-step local marketing approach for your Fitness business, followed by last week’s blog on delivering killer customer service. This week, we are going to get your Fitness business social!

Social media is all the rage, and I hate to say it, but it is a necessity for ALL small businesses, including Fitness businesses. Personal Training studios, boot camps, Yoga studios, and CrossFit centers are service-based niche markets that are built on word of mouth. People come to a class or a session, and then they tell others how much they loved it (or liked it, if you are a Facebook fan). Social networks allow your members to engage and connect directly with your Fitness business so that it can make it easier for their friends and followers to find you or hear your message. Remember we talked about becoming a Fitness expert in your niche and spreading the word as loud as possible? Consider social media an amplifier for your message!

Facebook: Create a Facebook account for your business that is separate from your personal account. Use this account to reach out to your existing members, promote upcoming events, make announcements, update contests results, post Fitness photos or videos, and share anything else related to your Fitness business and the Fitness industry.
LinkedIn: Create a professional business account and treat it differently than a business Facebook account. Your business’ LinkedIn account can be used to engage and interact with professional organizations and associations, as well as other professionals in the Fitness industry. Remember it is important to engage with others and interact on conversations.
YouTube: The video-sharing site is a great way to promote your knowledge and your clients’ successes. If you host competitions or challenges, a video will enable others to view and connect with your Fitness business events. Add to this some instructional videos that showcase your knowledge and expertise to position yourself as the “go-to” on Fitness.
Twitter: Use Twitter for day-to-day engagement and to feed information to or from your other social media accounts. You may have a Twitter feed on your Facebook, or you may tweet the latest exercise video you posted on YouTube. There are companies that will auto-tweet topics and ideas for you, but take caution when using these as you lose control of the messages.
Deal Sites: Groupon and Living Social are still two of the largest deal sites, but more and more competitive niche markets are popping up all the time. MetaBody is one that is specific to fitness passes. The key to success is having a software system like myVolo that can track all of the coupon codes and who has redeemed them.
Review sites: Using sites like Yelp is a great way to try and improve SEO and get more members. You can direct your satisfied members to Yelp and other online review sites for the purpose of writing reviews of your Fitness business.

As great as social media is, it can be a double-edged sword. Be sure to use caution and read everything before you post it. Read it out loud so that you can hear how it sounds. Remember that the written word is toneless. Sarcasm and voice fluctuations that make things funny rarely come across that way when written down.

Also, should you receive a negative review, respond right away with resolutions to the person’s comments. Don’t get into a war of words. It never looks good.

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Killer Customer Service: 5 Quick Tips for Your Fitness Business

Barry Duncan — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Upon entering a Sushi or Japanese restaurant, you may be greeted by the chefs with the expression “irasshaimase”, which means “Welcome, please come in”. It is one of the reasons I love going out for sushi … and I eat a lot of it!

Whether you’re a Personal Trainer, a Fitness club operator, or a Yoga studio manager, you want to create that same special feeling when people enter your business doors, or even walk into a class that is being taught.

The policy at our Personal Training studio is very simple: every trainer greets everyone. They do not pass a client without saying hello. If the client is leaving, they say goodbye. These greetings and salutations go a long way to making our clients feel at home in our gym, which is exactly the feeling we strive for.

The easiest way to provide killer customer service in your fitness business is to do more for your members.

Here are five quick and simple ways to amp up your customer service:

Offer Towel Service — Provide clients with workout towels and shower towels so they do not need to carry around a wet towel all day in their gym bag. If you do not have access to laundry services, you can brand the towels with your business logo and use the towels as promotions by giving them to new clients as a welcome gift. The towels will serve as additional advertising should your clients visit another gym.
Provide Online Appointment Scheduling — Your clients deserve quick access to your schedules so they can make changes and book the sessions that they want, when they want them. The great thing with using software like myVolo is that frees up your time from answering the phone or emailing people back and forth to book appointments. Online scheduling will end appointment errors (no more double-bookings), and keep your clients happy and in charge of their scheduling!
Run Internal Events and Contests — Contests and events can be easy to put together and fun for your clients and trainers. Track the number of steps and reward those that hit 10,000 steps a day, or use the elliptical and stair climbers to track against the elevation of mountains like Everest or Fuji. Internal competitions, contests, and events will keep your clients engaged and your trainers focused.
Host an Online Store — This is another double-purpose service offering — one that clients love and that you can use to generate more revenue for your fitness business. Sell your memberships, Personal Training sessions, your Fitness gear, and even your events, through an online store. myVolo software takes this a step further providing a store where you can sell your Fitness business products and services, and add your affiliate’s websites to this same store to generate even more revenue for your Fitness business.
Spa-Up Your Bathrooms — Your clients are busy and need to get ready for a day of work or a night out. Provide soaps, shampoos, and accessories to transform your change room into a spa-like space. If you do this right, you can also sell these same products to your members by setting up distributor agreements with suppliers.

When you deliver superior customer service like this, you can use it as a competitive advantage to contend with other fitness gyms and studios, to justify your price points, and to promote additional revenue streams, all while making your existing clients raving fans of your fitness facility.

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Deliver Killer Customer Service with myVolo Software!

Send targeted emails, surveys, newsletters, text messages, and mobile coupons to connect with existing and potential clients. myVolo also gives you an online member portal enabling clients to book, review, and pay online — when it’s convenient for them!

Book a FREE customized demo of myVolo today to see how the software can enhance your customer service!

5 Steps to Building an Effective Local-Level Marketing Strategy for Your Fitness Business

Barry Duncan — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:00:00 GMT

A well-thought-out local-level marketing plan is critical to your success. The plan needs to be centered on the fitness services and products that your business offers to the community. You want your referrers to become champions of your business, and your community to perceive you as the “go-to” person on Health, Fitness, and Wellness.

Identify businesses that share the same target demographic as your fitness business; those companies that will benefit equally from you referring people to their business. The goal is to create a mutually-beneficial reciprocal relationship. If you are a Personal Training studio, you could partner with a spa or hair salon.

I encourage you to think outside the box too. Our studio recently created a relationship with a nearby Acura car dealership. When someone buys a new car, they receive a gift pack of training sessions to our studio. This has been a great way to get a local business talking about us and advertising our services in their showroom.
Solidify your professionalism and business presence through community groups. After joining our local Chamber of Commerce, my partner, Nikki Layton, was voted “2009 Business Person of the Year” in our community. This recognition has gone a long way to advertise our Personal Training studio and brand it as a professional local business. We also had some great press around it. There are dozens of local church groups, community programs, business networking groups, and associations within your area. Search your city and your state, and the words “Business Groups” or “Chamber of Commerce”, in Google for starters. (i.e. Birmingham Alabama Business Groups)
Get involved in local events and charities. Every year we raise money for a charity through our “Train the Trainer” event held at our Personal Training studio. Clients purchase minutes where they get to train the trainer. To date, we have raised over $150,000.00 for various charities. These donations help to highlight community spirit. Some other ideas: donate services at silent auctions within your community or donate a prize to the winner of a pie-eating contest at the local fair.
Host Fitness workshops at your facility and invite the neighborhood. Running a fitness workshop is a way for you to show the community what you do and become the local expert on Health and Fitness. Host a talk once a month. The talk doesn’t need to be long — 30 to 60 minutes at most — and can cover a wide range of topics, from exercise for children, to how to plan health-conscious grocery lists. You can choose to keep the workshop free-of-charge, or donate the fees collected to a local shelter or food drive at a local food bank. Be sure to develop a press release every time you host an event.
Use the local media and press to your advantage. If you see an article related to Fitness, Health or Wellness, contact the author, offer additional information and/or advice, or write a rebuttal to what was said. Your goal is to build a list of writers and press contacts that you can reach out to when you host an event. Even if your press release is printed once out of every ten times you send it, it is still free press.

Another added value from doing this legwork: you get to meet some fabulous people and learn more about the businesses in your area.

Share your own community success stories below.

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How to Start Your Own Fitness Business Blog

Barry Duncan — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 13:00:00 GMT

For many Fitness professionals, studio owners, and Martial Arts operators, the knowledge that they need to promote their business is there. It’s answering the “How?” that people get stuck on.

Over the next five blog posts, we will look at simple, effective, and inexpensive ways that any Fitness business owner can implement to promote and market their services to the masses. We will start today with blogging — why it is important to have a blog, how to write a blog article, and the most important thing: how to choose relevant topics for your demographic and niche market.

Why should a Fitness business host a blog?

Every Fitness business should have a goal to be a leader of their niche market; whether you are a CrossFit gym owner, an operator of a women’s-only boot camp, or a Personal Trainer specializing in post rehabilitation. The need to be an expert is critical to the success of your Fitness business. For this reason alone, you should blog.

Blogging also does this for you:

Improves rank for specific keywords in search engines — Google and other search engines consider each new blog post a new web page which it then crawls and indexes. This in turn increases traffic to your website by including keywords.
Establishes thought leadership, trust, and credibility — You are the expert in your space and your blog can be used to showcase your expertise.
Build community — a blog can become a go-to resource where your clients and prospective clients gather insight and advice, and connect with one another by commenting and sharing thoughts.

How does a Fitness business write an effective blog?

The goal of a blog is to get the information out there so you are perceived as an expert in the area that your Fitness business operates. In order to do this, you will need to find some keywords to intertwine into your blog. These keywords are what search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo, use to identify the content of your blog and rank it according to searches that your target market would search on.

For example, I run a blog for our Personal Training studio in Vancouver. Since our target demographic involves men and women within the Vancouver area that are looking for personal training, I need these three words — Personal Training and Vancouver — in my blog articles. I aim to have those words appear the title, and at most five to 10 times with good sentence structure.

See some examples below. Also read this blog article carefully and see if you can pick out the keywords that I am using.

“The thing I love the most about being a personal trainer in Vancouver …“

“The weather in Vancouver has made it possible for our personal trainers to start …”

“MFit personal trainers have put together a “Snow Fitness Program” for Vancouver residents to …”

Two more important tips:

1) Your blog articles should be between 400 to 600 words – anything shorter might not provide enough value for your readers.

2) Never republish one of your blog articles or a friend’s blog article on your blog. Search engines frown upon duplicate content, and repeating content can negatively impact your website traffic.

How does a Fitness business choose topics to write about?

Topics are probably the hardest thing for any Fitness business owner to come up with. They need to be relevant to your target market and niche. They need to prove you are an expert. They need to use keywords. And most importantly, they need to be valuable to the reader.

The best way for the Fitness professional to be ahead of the curve is to write about what they know … their Fitness business.

Tell stories — share client experiences or your personal knowledge. I have written several blogs about my dog and fitness, so anything goes here.

Use client questions — all Fitness businesses have a wealth of topics coming at them every day when clients ask “Why are they doing this?” or “How can I achieve my goal?”. Make this your next blog topic and remember to be specific.

Research trends — write about the current Fitness trends or problems and how your Fitness business can assist people. Maybe you would advise they avoid the trend and see you instead.

Give away the secrets — people love to receive insider information and since everything as we know it is now available online, do not hesitate to provide the secrets to Fitness and Health. Remember … you’re an expert!

Fitness magazines — You do not even need to subscribe to them; just read the headlines of five magazines, write a blog article about each headline, and you’re done for the month!

Now that you have some quick ways to choose topics and a general format for your blog, it is time for you to start writing. If you have additional questions, or have a tip to share on how to find great Fitness business topics, please comment below.

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Quick Tips to Stick to Your Fitness Business Resolutions

Barry Duncan — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:00:00 GMT

OK … so we have officially passed the one week mark of 2013. That means it’s time for your first of 52 fitness business goal assessments. It’s a practice I faithfully follow and highly recommend: sit down once a week, look at what was accomplished, and what needs to be done in the coming week.

Since this is the first week for reviewing your business goals, we will start by setting some fundamental definitions to use in your future weekly reviews. The definitions will help determine if you have a legitimate reason — or just an excuse — for not completing a weekly task.

As fitness professionals, our clients will often use excuses to not exercise … to not eat right … but there are very few reasons that would be legit for not exercising for an entire week, or for gorging at an all-you-can-eat buffet. The same goes for your fitness business.

Below are the definitions of a “Reason” and an “Excuse”. Please note: these are not definitions as defined in a dictionary. These definitions are written as they relate to running a business.

REASON
A reason is an unpreventable, unavoidable, or unpredictable interference with your business operations. One or all three of the characteristics listed below serve as a valid reason for not accomplishing a task.

Act of God. Think natural disaster. You cannot prevent it. It is unavoidable and unpredictable, such as the most recent devastating hurricane, SuperStorm Sandy. This reason only applies if it happens to you or an immediate family member. If you live and work in Seattle, the effects of Hurricane Sandy cannot be used as a reason for not completing a task.
Hospitalization or death. The old saying “you better be dead or in the hospital” is true. A little flu or cold bug does not cut it as a reason in the business world for not accomplishing a task. You still need get it done or delegate the task to someone else so that it can be completed. This reason may be applied to immediate family members as well. But just because I am getting soft in my old age, please … no second cousins.
Change of plans or direction. A business owner is completely off the hook for not finishing a task when there is a dramatic decision or turn of events that changes the list of action items that need to be accomplished. A conscious decision to change directions and complete other tasks, (instead of the planned tasks) should happen about as often as a hurricane striking your neighborhood.

EXCUSE
An excuse is a guaranteed way to fail at everything you do. Excuses are the complete death of a business, especially a fitness business. The entire Health and Fitness industry is built on the foundation of a “No Excuses!” and “Just Do It!” mentality. There is no quicker way for a fitness business to fail than to have a bunch of lame-ass excuses for not getting something done. Any explanation that does not contain one of the above three characteristics in the Reason section is just an excuse. Below are three of the most common excuses used. Most people label these excuses as legitimate reasons for not completing a project or task.

“I am too busy.” This is by far the worst excuse when it comes to business. That is because the solution to the problem is simple … hire someone. The number one goal of any company, fitness-related or not, is to get more business and grow. No business should ever use the excuse that they are just too busy to get it done, unless they are just too busy to succeed.
“I needed a rest day or “me time”. “What does that even mean? There are seven days in a week. You need three hours for food, three hours of exercise or relaxation, and eight hours of sleep every day. That easily leaves 10 hours to get your daily tasks done. If you need to work 10 hours a day for seven days a week to hit your target goals, then you better do it. The other options are quite simple: adjust your goals so you only need 40 hours a week to accomplish your goals, or hire someone to do some of the work for you.
“My kids had an event on the weekend.” Ok, I am going to make a ton of parents who are fitness owners upset here, but this is just a BAD EXCUSE. First because the event did not just suddenly appear on the calendar. It is not like a soccer game just popped up and your kid came running in begging to go. Second … the number one rule of business planning is to accommodate your personal needs either as a parent or for your sanity. Failure to think about what your family needs of you during planning is not a reason to skip out on your tasks. Hiring staff can help free up your time so you can be both a great parent and business owner.

The one thing you will notice with the excuses is that they all have one common theme … TIME. You need to structure your time effectively each day through daily to-do lists and be realistic about what you can accomplish. The excuses also share one common solution … HIRE PEOPLE. Hiring people because you are too busy, need “me time”, or want to spend more time with your kids is one of the best business decisions that you will ever make. So make it sooner than later.

10 Fitness Business Goals for Success in the New Year

Barry Duncan — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Every year we in the fitness industry hear the resolutions from our existing clients and future clients that want to make a lifestyle change. It could be to lose that elusive final 10 lbs., or a much larger goal of a total body and life transformation. We are here to assist with these goals and to guide our clients to success. But how about your business’ success? As entrepreneurs and fitness business owners we often do not take the time to consider what it is that will make our year better. Who is there to assist us?

I want to challenge each of you to make five fitness business resolutions that will take your business to that next level and then share them with as many people as possible. Facebook it, send it out to your LinkedIn groups, post it on your website, blog it out to your networks, tell your friends and family, or use any other social media outlet you can think of. It really does not matter how, but you must tell everyone you meet about the greatness you want to achieve in 2013. Goals are meant to be shared and people always have greater success the more they share what they are trying to achieve. This goes as much for the person wanting to drop a dress size as it does for the business wanting to increase sales.

10 Fitness Business Resolutions for 2013:

These are examples that you can use and make your own or you can send us your personal resolutions so we can be part of that important network that will put the pressure on you to succeed.

1. Delegate more:

The one area that all fitness business professionals can improve on is how to delegate those tasks that eat up your time. Start with software to manage your schedules, sales, and member accounts. Integrated business management software will provide you with a system that will automate some of those tasks for you, and will give you a tool to delegate others functions while being able to track them, such as staff payroll and billing.

2. Promote your business:

It is all about being consistent in your brand for promotions and messaging. You cannot do something once and expect results. Also, everything you do needs to be focused on your target demographic.

3. Make business planning a priority:

Write your yearly plan then break down everything that needs to happen each month to make that plan work. Every week spend 15 minutes reviewing what happened last week and what is on the schedule for this week. Keep it simple and you will be able to make adjustments as well as stay on track for your yearly goals.

4. Learn to let go:

There are times in business things just do not turn out the way you want them to. Let it go and make the changes that will put you back on the right track. Too often small business owner are nervous about making changes, but adapting to results is the key to your success.

5. Schedule some personal time:

One of the best reasons to complete number three on this list is to be able to know when you can afford to take time off. Make some personal goals that are just about you. For example, when I turned 40 I decided to run an Ironman marathon. It was a fantastic way to make my 40^th year a success. I could not have done this without planning both for my business and my race.

6. Knowledge is power – Learn more to stay ahead

One of the best ways to keep your business ahead of the curve is to keep yourself ahead of everyone else. Attend conferences, join business networks, and learn more about your segment of the fitness industry. Whether you are running a Martial Arts school or a personal training studio, becoming the person that people go to for information will make you a leader. Become a leader and your business will be the benchmark for your competition.

7. Reduce your responsibilities:

In the fitness industry, owner operators often make their business so focused on themselves, making it very difficult to break away. Hiring key employees that can take on responsibilities, or adding a solution such as full-service billing to streamline your business functions, will give you the valuable time you need to grow the business. If you are solely running the business, then you may need to hire people that can grow the business such as a manager and/or marketing company. Keep in mind that if you truly want growth, then you should find a way to make your fitness business capable of running without you there.

8. Upgrade your business:

Spending money on equipment can be a hard thing for a small business. However, you need to keep things fresh for your staff and for your members or students. Upgrading equipment and your facilities is a great way to show everyone you care about the business’ success. This could be as simple as a fresh coat of paint or as challenging as a complete renovation of your space. You should replace worn-out mats, broken fitness equipment or the blocking pads that have duct tape, on to show everyone that your business is important to you, and that you love it as much as they do.

9. Modernize your business:

Technology, social media, and current trends in your industry are all part of staying modern and keeping things moving. Part of your marketing plan should include social media. If you are doing this now, then make sure you keep your pages up to date with continuous and relevant messaging and images.

Use integrated business management software to manage your class and training schedules and integrate your billing and member management. Knowing the latest trends, and being first to implement the ones that are relevant will keep you a step ahead.

10. Give back to your community:

One of the most important pieces to your marketing plan should be how your business will be involved in your community. Donate to charity events, be involved in local business chambers, offer free seminars on your specialty, or get involved with local children’s programs. Anything you can do to make people associate your business with what is happening around town will drive more people through your doors. The added bonus is that it feels really good to know you are making a difference.

Please feel free to use these suggestions to make your 2013 a success. If you have other suggestions that could benefit our readers, add your comments below. If you are just starting out or looking for more information, download our FREE Boost Your Fitness Business Results Kit.

How myVolo Software Simplifies Staff Payroll & Keeps Member Accounts Up to Date - Part 1 - Steve Giroux

Barry Duncan — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 13:00:00 GMT

I’m a Martial Arts business owner and have been operating Giroux Bros. Martial Arts for more than 12 years now. The one thing that hasn’t changed much through the years is the particular Martial Art itself. Additionally, other traditions such as bowing, wearing uniforms, and practicing barefoot continue – and probably will forever.

In the business of Martial Arts, however, many things have changed and will continue to evolve as the years go on. Keeping up with the times is extremely important. Change is often scary, but the end result is usually a benefit to you. In our type of business, positive change is typically the result of someone finding a better and more efficient way of doing something.

One huge benefit to Martial Arts school owners and fitness business owners is using myVolo software to help streamline business operations. Time is a commodity that we all wish we had more of. Using myVolo software will literally give you back hours of your time each week. That’s time you could be using to bring in more students, train new clients, and improve your programs.

The software has many benefits and features, but in Part 1 of this blog, I’m going to highlight a few of the things I like best that completely fit my needs as a membership-based business owner.

Automated Check-In Alerts Keep Member Accounts Up to Date

The first, and most obvious, benefit to myVolo is the billing function that ties in with Member Solutions full-service billing solution. But, more than just billing, myVolo tracks student’s attendance online. At my Martial Arts studio, we use an iPad to check students in while they are doing their warm-up. If the student hasn’t paid, an alert pops up. This has been extremely helpful for me because in the past, I’ve had students that had gone months without making payments. I used to track my members with my billing company and a spreadsheet each month. That process resulted in hours of my time with a high chance of error or oversight. Now, with myVolo, I can keep track of any delinquencies on a daily basis with no effort. Going forward, I’m confident that I’ll never have anyone in class who isn’t up to date with their tuition.

Payroll is Simplified and Streamlined

Another great feature in myVolo software is payroll. For the last couple of years, I required my employees to email me their timesheets. I have a small operation with 6 part-time instructors; most of whom are teenagers. In the past, for each pay period, I would have to wait for everyone to email me their timesheets. And, it never failed … one or two instructors would always miss the deadline. That system slowed down the payroll process tremendously, and it delayed everyone receiving their paychecks. With myVolo, all the instructors have to do now is to make sure they are signed-in as the teacher for a particular day. Then, all I have to do is run the date range and call in payroll at a time that’s convenient for me.

In all, I’m saving a ton of time with just these two functions alone and it’s resulting in a much smoother and efficient operation. In Part 2 of this blog, I’ll discuss a few other favorite functions of the software.

Steve Giroux has been training in the Martial Arts for 29 years and is a 6th Degree Black Belt in Chun Kuk Do. In 1999, he graduated from Bentley College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accountancy with a minor concentration in Law. After founding his studio in January of 1999, Steve has successfully grown revenues over the years after starting at only $7,000 in his first year. You can contact Steve via email at Steve@GirouxBrosMartialArts.com

Want to learn more about how myVolo can save you tons of time?

The Benefits of Using Full-Service Billing for Your Martial Arts Studio – Steve Giroux

Barry Duncan — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Running a Martial Arts studio is not rocket science, although sometimes it can be trickier than necessary. I’ve had my studio for just less than 14 years now and have learned just about everything the hard way. One very important thing that I’ve learned over the years is that there are products and services available to us business owners that will make your life much easier and more productive in operating your studio.

A big mistake that many new business owners make is trying to be the bill collectors themselves. I didn’t start to really build a solid martial arts business until three years into my venture when I stopped listening to others telling me that I should save money by doing my own billing.

Here’s the lesson that I have learned. The ones who told me I would save money with full-service billing were correct. Of course I saved on the percentage of collections that I’d be paying a billing company, but what they didn’t tell me was all of the money I’d be losing from students by having a “loose” payment and membership policy.

For example, I can remember my third year in business and I finally had a decent base of students at my studio. I was working full time as an accountant during the day still. I used most of my paycheck from my day job to cover the expenses of my business. The month was December and I paid the rent, utilities, etc. I did this knowing that I had accounts receivables coming in. All of a sudden though, I realized I had a good portion of students missing the month. With the craziness of the holidays, and knowing they’d be away traveling for part of the month, many decided not to come to class … or pay for that month!

It was so frustrating that people could do this to me. I had no money for Christmas shopping, but couldn’t say anything because I was trying to build a business. However, I wasn’t at a point where I could start questioning the few new students I had finally recruited, as this could potentially create problems.

It was at this point that I started using full-service billing to do my collections. This was the actual turning point for my business, where I was finally able to make the switch from part-time school owner to full-time school owner. It was also at this in time where my business started to become recognized as a professionalized establishment in my community.

I use myVolo’s scheduling, billing, and business management software, and Member Solutions’ full-service billing for my monthly collections. Yes, there is a fee for their service, but trust me it’s more than worth it. The staff at Volo and Member Solutions is extremely professional and will treat your students as if they were their own. I know for sure I’d be missing out on thousands of dollars if I did my own billing, but I would save on fees …

If you are concerned about the additional fees you will incur, an easy solution is to pass it along to your members. In a professional letter, explain to them that you need to outsource this time-consuming task so that you can focus more on your program and the success of your students. Tell them there is a small fee for these professional services and raise their rates by $10 per month. Or, you can also tell them that you are increasing rates due to an increase in your overhead. As the owner, you don’t always have to tell them exactly where their money is going, but by making decisions that will ultimately improve your program, and their overall experience at your studio, will be a win-win for everyone.

Either way, it’s a very smart business decision, and if handled correctly won’t cost you (personally) anything. Full-service billing, in my opinion, is the very first thing you need to do in professionalizing your Martial Arts business. And, it will end up providing you and your studio with more time and money to deliver your students a better, more professional program altogether.

Steve Giroux has been training in the Martial Arts for 29 years and is a 6th Degree Black Belt in Chun Kuk Do. In 1999, he graduated from Bentley College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accountancy with a minor concentration in Law. After founding his studio in January of 1999, Steve has successfully grown revenues over the years after starting at only $7,000 in his first year. You can contact Steve via email at Steve@GirouxBrosMartialArts.com

See how Member Solutions full-service billing solution and myVolo’s online scheduling and business management software can work for your Martial Arts school or fitness business!

Packages for Special Occasions or Holidays

Barry Duncan — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 13:00:00 GMT

In our last few blogs, we discussed knowing your numbers and profit margins before you discount your services for specials over the holiday season. Below are some of the ways that we create packages and deals for the holidays using two very cost effective methods.

Matching Your Services with Products that You Sell

I love this because it really helps to build your clients awareness of other products that you sell. Some of the more common packages would be personal training packages and heart rate monitors. Our personal training studio is an amortized Polar dealer. To set your fitness business up as a Polar dealer, go to their website, search for your region and call them. They are always looking for fitness companies to partner with. As a dealer we know our mark up on the products and can easily calculate the margins and what discount we can offer for the monitors for over the holiday. We have an introductory package that has 6 personal training sessions and these sessions are already at our lowest per session rate of $66.00 per session so we do not want to discount this any more than it is.

Here is a sample form our personal training studio, Momentum Fitness using our introductory package and a Polar FT1.

Introductory Special with Polar FT 1 Heart Rate Monitor

Buy an MFit Introductory Package for a friend family member (or even your own use) and receive $25 off our Polar FT 1 Heart rate monitor.

Regular price: $490.00
Special package price: $465.00

We have discounted the monitor by over 25%, making this is a great offer. Also, since my margin on the monitor is 40%, I still keep an 18.5% margin on the product sale.

Here is the margin break down for the FT 1:

(We pay no commissions on products and have no dedicated sale people so this keeps our margin higher, use caution if you pay commissions or have sales staff wages it dramatically changes your margin)

Partner Packages

We also have a special deal with a local soap and lotion company. We will put together smaller seasonal package with these products. The great thing about partner packages is that both companies can sell these packages and you can tailor them to fit your demographic.

For our relationship with Rocky Mountain Soap Company we can put together a package or women and another for men. For the women, we have a package with soap and lotion. For men, we have one that contains a shaving bar and after shave balm. Both of these packages will have a discount applied, as this will be needed on the service to make it work but since both companies are selling it opens up a greater sales channel and builds a stronger relationship with local business.

Men’s Package:

Four PT 60 min sessions and unlimited cardio for one month
Two Rocky Mountain shaving bars
One Citron Bath Salts
One Citron Body Wash
One Citron Deodorant

Retail Cost: $350.00
Special Cost: $300.00

Woman’s Package:

Four PT 60 min sessions and unlimited cardio for one month
One Body Lotion
One Lavender Hand Cream
One Sports Bath Salts
One Body Wash

Retail Cost: $350.00
Special Cost: $300.00

The soap product is marked down 50%, and our training sessions down from $75 per session to $70 per session. Our introductory package is $66 per session, so we are still above our lowest session rate. It is a win-win as Rocky Mountain still makes money on their product and they get to advertise directly to our clients. We also use their products in our facility. They are a trusted partner so our clients already know and love the brand. Building these types of relationships take time and work, but in the end they can also provide you with some great deals and prizes for events and holiday gifts that can differentiate your fitness business from all the others.

See how myVolo can help you keep track of special holiday packages and promotions.

Keep an eye out for next week's blog for some great New Year's resolutions for your fitness business.

Setting Prices to Make a Profit in Your Personal Training Studio

Barry Duncan — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Last week I did a write up about calculating your cost of service. This week, I'll cover how to set the price of your product or service to ensure you make a profit.

In real estate, the three most important things that determine profits are: location, location, and location. In fitness businesses, when selling your products or services to still make a profit, it is all about margin, margin, and margin.

Margins vs. Mark Ups

One key element in setting the price of a special or a discount is to understand the difference between margins and mark up. Margin is based on the sale price. Mark up is based on the cost. If a fitness company discounts based off the mark up, they could lose money on the deal. If you mark up a product or service 100%, and then sell it at 50% off, you are selling it for cost and will end up losing money once your fixed costs (those costs that do not fluctuate such as insurance, salaries, rent) are subtracted.

For example, if a personal training studio sells training sessions at $50.00 per session, and pays the trainer $25.00 per session, that would equal a 100% mark up. Alternatively, if the studio offers a 50% off sale price of $50.00, there is no profit since the amount received for the personal training session is $25.00 and the amount paid to the trainer is $25.00. What is missing is a positive profit margin.

How to Calculate Your Profit Margin

A profit margin is calculated by taking the price paid for the service and subtracting the cost of the service along with any variable costs. Variable costs are those costs that change with sales volume. For example, material costs such as towels, shampoo, and soap are variable costs.

Here is the problem with margins in the fitness industry: Most margins are really tight for studios and independent trainers ― meaning that they cannot, and should not, ever discount their services.

Using the same scenario of personal training sessions at $50.00, you will still need to subtract out the variable costs and other costs of service to get your margin, along with the $25.00 paid to the trainer. We will use $5 per session as a variable cost to run the fitness studio, leaving $20.00 or a margin of 40%.

In this instance, for every $100.00 in sales revenue, the personal training studio will generate a $40 margin. The profit will be that $40.00 margin minus the fixed cost. If this same training studio is doing $500,000.00 in sales per year, the margin is $200,000.00. After factoring in and subtracting the fixed costs of $180,000.00, the personal training studio profit sits at $20,000.00.

Why Discounting is Not the Answer

I'm a strong believer that any holiday special should not involve discounts on services. In my opinion, fitness businesses that are service-based should look at creating added value with service and product add-ons as specials.

Here's an example to convey my point: If the above training studio ends up discounting each session by 5% ($2.50 per session) or $5.00 per hundred, what will that do to the profit? The studio would now have a margin of 35% or $30. Even if they get more sales and increase revenue to $550,000.00, their annual margin is $192,500.00 after subtracting fixed costs. This leaves the training studio with $12,500.00 in profit, or a loss of $7,500.00. Not a good thing. In fact, to get the profit back to $20,000.00, the annual revenue would need to increase by $75,000.00!

Again, look at what you can offer your clients or prospective clients. Could you add a complimentary personal training session to the mix or offer an additional product or two and sell it as a package deal? Chances are you'll end up making a profit that way, instead of losing out.

Bottom line: Before determining your holiday special, just remember to do the math so you can ensure a positive profit margin for your business.

Next week I'll share some cool combinations on how you can do just that.

Book your tour today… myVolo online scheduling and business management software for clubs, studios, and personal trainers. Book a free demo and we’ll show you firsthand how myVolo will streamline your business functions and free up tons of your time!

Get Fit Holiday Promotions: How to Calculate Your Cost of Service

Barry Duncan — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:00:00 GMT

I do not know if holiday seasonal stress disorder is an actual condition, but if it doesn’t really exist, it certainly should. Every fitness business out there is being pushed this time of year to offer some sort of special or deal in order to entice people to sign up or make that first leap into health and fitness. Given that our wonderful industry also has some of the tightest profit margins, it can cause a greater amount of stress to try and exceed the expectations of the consumer.

Retail businesses can offer an 80% off discount, or a “buy one, get one free” promotion. They’ll still make a profit. But most of the fitness businesses we work with are service-based. If they offered these outrageous discounts, it would mean they would be paying people to work out. Not a bad promotion if you can swing it; “Come to my personal training studio and I will pay you to get fit!” You may get hundreds of clients, but those doors will be closed before they can even get in.

One of the best things to understand before you offer a special promotion is the cost to deliver your service. Determining your cost of service will assist you when you offer any promotions to existing and new members.

Calculating the Cost of Service for a Fitness Business

Overhead Costs ― These are the indirect costs to your fitness business in providing services to customers. Examples include labor for other people who run the fitness facility or Martial Arts school, whether administrative assistants or a director of a department. Other overhead costs include your monthly rent, taxes, insurance, depreciation, advertising, office supplies, equipment lease, utilities, etc. A portion of all these costs will need to be included as part of your fees.
Material Costs ― Material costs refer to stock or inventory required for the service. These are typically not huge additional costs for the average fitness business. For example, an automotive center would need the cost of brake pads and brake fluid when calculating a brake job. In our training studio, I add in the cost for our towels, laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, and razors. We purchase and supply these to our clients. They could just as easily be considered overhead expenses. In our training studio, I know that these toiletries add up to around $3 per client session, so I will use that number when calculating the cost of service and determining a promotional offer.
Labor Costs ― Calculating labor costs for fitness businesses is usually pretty straightforward. Wages are typically the same per service per staff. That said, it is good to keep the average cost per service on hand and up to date. Also remember that when you give a raise to staff members, be sure to change this number to keep your costs in line.

We use our myVolo software to calculate most of this for us with just a click of a button. I can see exactly the percentage of revenue per service that is going to labor for all staff or on a per staff person basis. myVolo also calculates the revenue that I generate per service and pinpoints members that pay below my rack rate so I will know when it is time to raise their rates. All of these costs are important numbers to have handy when determining the discounts you want to offer. I can quickly add my costs together, along with my desired profit, to formulate an accurate price for a special.

Next week I will apply this cost of service calculation to a few fitness business models and show you some cool specials that help increase member attendance and still keep profits high.

See how myVolo can make it easier to calculate your cost of service.

5 Things Fitness Business Owners Should Consider BEFORE Raising Membership Rates

Here are five steps that will assist in deciding your member rate increase:

FREE SAMPLES: Member Rate Increase Letters

How to Forecast the Financials of Your Fitness Business

Fitness Business Sample One: Pre-Sell Packages

Fitness Business Sample Two: Post Billing

Fitness Business Sample Three: Memberships

Learn More About myVolo's 30+ Real-Time Reports!

Know Your Numbers Before Making Price or Wage Changes in Your Fitness Business

Fitness Business Strategy: 8 Steps to Creating a Company Culture of Success

8 Steps to Creating a Strong Company Culture for Your Fitness Business:

Discover the many ways that myVolo software can help you manage your Fitness Business!

Fitness Business Strategy: 5 Steps to Strengthen Member Culture

Book a FREE Tour of myVolo Online Business Management Software Today!

A Spring Cleaning Checklist to Freshen Up Your Fitness Business

Indoor list

Business List

Some great Spring programs to offer:

What additional items would you add to your Fitness business Spring cleaning list? Share below ...

Managing Leads for Your Fitness Business [Sample Workflow Included]

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Turning Fitness Business Leads into Sales: Tips to Craft Effective Follow-Up Emails

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A Big Opportunity Most Fitness Business Owners Miss - Lead Management 101

5 Things You Need for Effective Fitness Business Lead Management

NEW RELEASE … A Start-to-Finish Lead Management System for Your Fitness Business!

How to get the Most out of your MyVolo Site – Jeff Harris

What does the Training & Support Program offer? How does it differ from the Implementation Program?

What is the cost of training classes?

How do I register for a training class?

What if I need to cancel my training class reservation?

What are the hours of operation for Training & Support?

Learn how myVolo can add tremendous value to your business.

The Business of Fitness: How to Dodge 3 All-Too-Common (and Costly) Slip-Ups

FREE Webinar: Tips to Target, Capture, & Convert Fitness LeadsMarch 5, 2013

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Fitness Boot Camp - Brick and Mortar vs. Dirt and Grass

Scenario one:

Scenario two:

Fitness Boot Camp Factor 1: Cost to Operate

Fitness Boot Camp Factor 2: Climate

Fitness Boot Camp Factor 3: Atmosphere

Fitness Boot Camp Factor 4: Equipment

You're Invited ... To Business BootCamp Conference & Awards!

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New myVolo Release – Your Complete Lead Management System is Here!

FREE Webinar: Tips to Target, Capture, & Convert Fitness LeadsMarch 5, 2013

Space is Limited ... Register Now!

Go Social in Your Fitness Business

Join Our LinkedIn Group – The Business of Fitness

Click Here to Join “The Business of Fitness” Today!

Killer Customer Service: 5 Quick Tips for Your Fitness Business

Deliver Killer Customer Service with myVolo Software!

5 Steps to Building an Effective Local-Level Marketing Strategy for Your Fitness Business

FREE Kit: Boost Your Fitness Business Results

How to Start Your Own Fitness Business Blog

Join Our LinkedIn Group – The Business of Fitness

Click Here to Join “The Business of Fitness” Today!

Quick Tips to Stick to Your Fitness Business Resolutions

10 Fitness Business Goals for Success in the New Year

10 Fitness Business Resolutions for 2013:

How myVolo Software Simplifies Staff Payroll & Keeps Member Accounts Up to Date - Part 1 - Steve Giroux

Automated Check-In Alerts Keep Member Accounts Up to Date

Payroll is Simplified and Streamlined

Want to learn more about how myVolo can save you tons of time?

The Benefits of Using Full-Service Billing for Your Martial Arts Studio – Steve Giroux

Packages for Special Occasions or Holidays

Setting Prices to Make a Profit in Your Personal Training Studio

Get Fit Holiday Promotions: How to Calculate Your Cost of Service

FREE Webinar: Tips to Target, Capture, & Convert Fitness Leads
March 5, 2013

FREE Webinar: Tips to Target, Capture, & Convert Fitness Leads
March 5, 2013