Megan Senger
Megan Senger
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Without adding any more clients to your roster, could you generate more money from your small-group training program than you do today? If you add small-group-savvy profit centers to your business plan, the answer is: Absolutely!
That’s according to many of the experts interviewed for this article about SGT, a service in which three to 10 clients work with one trainer in a shared session.
Can packaged foods
really
help to “reduce cholesterol,” “support immunity” or “maintain a healthy heart?” Considering that many boxed foods in grocery store aisles are heavily processed and have added sugar, these kinds of marketing statements may seem suspicious to nutrition-savvy fitness professionals.
Done right, online personal training can improve your bottom line. Here are some of the programs and systems to simplify the process.
“Heavily marketed products backed by health brands or ‘gurus’ can have everyone questioning their food and nutrition choices,” says Teri Mosey, a holistic nutrition and culinary consultant in New York City who holds advanced degrees in exercise physiology and nutrition. “These foods being advertised as superfoods are [simply] whole foods from nature that have been around for thousands of years. They are just getting their 10 minutes of fame.”
Here are some thrifty substitutions for hyped-but-pricey foods that frequently show up on “superfood” summaries.
Once you’ve determined the kinds of online products you plan to offer, the next step is to attract and maintain a healthy virtual clientele. Learn how to do just that.
Wild-caught Alaskan salmon, fresh organic blueberries, pomegranate seeds, quinoa and açai berry juice. All are amazing superfoods, right?
Yes . . . and they also are amazingly expensive. And for many of your clients, that part is not so super.
Some government agencies use front-of-package pictorial seals or logos. These include the “USDA Organic” seal and the “USDA Process Verified” shield.
The second installment of this series on online training focuses on the different types of programs—and pricing strategies—successful entrepreneurs have used to build a solid Internet-based business.
Genetic modification is a technique that changes the genetic makeup of cells to enhance a desirable trait in a plant or animal. The result is a genetically modified organism (GMO).
GMO disclosure labels on transgenic food products are currently required in 64 countries worldwide (CFS 2013). In the U.S., bills calling for mandatory labels on GMO foods have been created in 26 states (Goad 2013), although none have become law except in Vermont, and even that decree is being challenged in court (Entine 2014).
The market for older seniors (70 and over) is growing thanks to the aging of the Baby Boomers. By 2050, 1 in 5 Americans (21%) will be 85 or older— up from roughly 14% in 2010 (Vincent & Velkoff 2010).
To attract new customers over the age of 70, you’ve got to go where seniors are, says Dan Ritchie, president of the Functional Aging Institute.
Five small-group training experts answer questions about this burgeoning trend. Topics include working simultaneously with clients at different skill levels; training people with special needs (whether they are athletes or clients with disabilities); handling no-shows; and teaching warm-ups.
Which is better: A “natural” product or an “organic” one? Eggs from “cage-free,” “pastured” or “vegetarian-fed” chickens? “Grass-fed” or “grass-finished” beef? “Low-fat” or “reduced-fat” snacks? Or do these terms mean anything at all?
Tired of the inherent time-for-dollars limits of traditional personal training? Virtual coaching offers a supplemental income stream—or an online-only career.
Fitness and wellness professionals know the importance of building a strong referral program with allied health professionals, such as physicians, but making connections is not always easy. Personal trainers, for example, have worked hard to gain trust from the medical community.
Do you want to build your career around a highly dedicated and underserved fitness niche? Consider the lucrative market of seniors 70 and older.
Though senior fitness tends to have a 50-and-up focus, there are considerable physical, practical and psychosocial differences between a fit 55-year-old and a somewhat frail 80-year-old. Yet the latter could perhaps benefit from your services the most.
As previous articles in the IDEA Trainer Success’ small-group training series have shown, SGT is poised to become a significant force in the fitness industry.
Over the past 2 years, more than 25 experts have contributed to this ongoing series on building a profitable program. Yet some of their very useful tips have, by necessity, been cut during the editing process.
For many fuller-figured individuals, the idea of going to a fitness facility is overwhelming. Unfortunately, our images and headlines don’t help. In industry marketing materials, “we feature the already fit, which is intimidating,” says Boulder, Colorado–based marketing and sales expert Debra Atkinson, MS. “We feature tight clothes, the room full of toned, flawless-skinned individuals working…
When it comes to health, men sometimes seem to get short changed. Compared with women, men die more often of cardiovascular disease and cancer, are less likely to discuss concerns with their doctor, and live an average of about 6 years less than their female counterparts (Icahn 2014). As a fitness professional, you work on the front lines of wellness and are in a prime position to share information that may save a life.
Adding small-group training (SGT) to your current list of services is a great way to pull in more cash. But there’s still a financial ceiling to the highly successful profit center. Learn what other experts are doing to bust through that ceiling and make more money from SGT.
