It seems pretty natural that most people in business for themselves would be comfortable with the idea of collecting large sums of money for their services. But here is the truth about that, and it's the reason why some personal trainers fail to collect higher fees, and continually struggle within the fitness market: MANY PEOPLE struggle with the concept of money - how to earn it, and how much their services are worth.
One of the hidden stumbling blocks to success is having confidence in what you do, and feeling comfortable about charging money for it. When I first started chiropractic practice, asking people to pay cash for my services was something I felt very uncomfortable with. It took almost a year before I really got comfortable with how much I charged in my office and asking patients to pay my fees.
I once had a staff member, who was extremely uncomfortable asking for money. When patients would walk to the front of the office to pay for their services, any thing over $25.00 made her extremely uncomfortable, and she would start to not only look nervous but start to stutter and sound very uneasy. The problem was she was my front desk person. Needless to say she didn't last long.
Asking your clients to pay for your training services, should be an easy concept for any fitness professional. But many people have hang-ups when it comes to money, and asking others to pay them. Take a look at your sales procedures and how you collect money from clients, if you shy away from dealing with money issues rather than confronting them head-on, you've got issues with money.
It's okay, we all go through it, but once you can identify it, then you can fix it.
Focus on how much you want to make each month, and each year. Once you have an idea on how much you want to make each year, break it down to the week and then into the hour. And if it's not feasible to collect what you want in that hour time frame, then start charging more or get more creative with your services. Boot camps can yield higher dollar amounts per hour, versus one-on-one sessions. Semi-private group sessions are also higher yielding programs as well. The bottom line is this: You must be comfortable with how much you charge your clients, if you're not mentally okay with it, you'll always have problems collecting higher fees. Take time this next week or next month to look at other fitness businesses; often times seeing what others charge and the level of services they charge for, makes us a little more comfortable with our own fees. It may take a little work, but you'll feel much better about what you offer your clients and how much you charge for your services.
Focus on how much you want to make each month, and each year. Once you have an idea on how much you want to make each year, break it down to the week and then into the hour. And if it's not feasible to collect what you want in that hour time frame, then start charging more or get more creative with your services. Boot camps can yield higher dollar amounts per hour, versus one-on-one sessions. Semi-private group sessions are also higher yielding programs as well. The bottom line is this: You must be comfortable with how much you charge your clients, if you're not mentally okay with it, you'll always have problems collecting higher fees. Take time this next week or next month to look at other fitness businesses; often times seeing what others charge and the level of services they charge for, makes us a little more comfortable with our own fees. It may take a little work, but you'll feel much better about what you offer your clients and how much you charge for your services.
Until next time,
Dr. James Roman
Your Personal Trainer Marketing Coach
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