Pricing based on a training radius
My in-home training business has taken a growth spurt, for which I’m very thankful. But another thread got me thinking about my pricing, because the driving that I’m doing can be significant.
Does anyone do their pricing based on a geographic radius? And if so, how many pricing tiers do you have?
The bulk of my clients are within 2 miles of my house, and I can get from one house to the next in about 10 minutes. I can charge them a reasonably low rate because I have minimal travel time. Now I have a small group of clients (coworkers) who want me to train them at their work, 10 miles away from my house, with an unpredictable freeway commute. I have to charge them more or it won’t be worth my time. Just wondering how others handle it, and how many tiers you have.
Hello Nancy Korf,
Good for you; I hope business continues to grow for you.
I eliminated the travel rate and only charge an hourly flat rate. You are lucky, my clients are farther than yours; but, I love where we live. When I did charge for travel, it was by the mile. Too many clients trying to bargain the mileage rate made pricing and comparison confusing as well as frustrating. It is not the customer’s fault what the travel time/distance costs due to location, which changes with detours. I did my best to drive as directly as possible to the destination.
In the end, omitting the travel fee pleases everyone.
Take care,
Natalie aka NAPS 2 B Fit.
I charge my session rate for all travel over 15 minutes. The bulk of my clients that have in-home sessions are within (or close to within) that travel radius. But I have had a few requests from clients further out of town. I can’t schedule anyone else for the time I am travelling. One client is an hour drive one way. The time, gas, wear/tear on the car, the huge convenience it is for the client, etc. all add up to why I charge for the travel time.
Nancy, traffic is unpredictably heavy any time of day in my area, so time and distance are significant. I’m in the process of restructuring to a set monthly rate; but it will likely include a mileage component. Thus far my clients have been understanding. There is one fee for working one-on-one within a five-mile radius of my home office, which includes the majority of my client base. For each additional mile radius, I add $5. The website, www.freemaptools.com is what I use to determine the driving radius for each client. Current,committed clients will have little or no change in their rates than the newer or less-frequent clients.