Clubs & Studios
Selling Yourself (Without Selling Out)
Social media marketing is extremely popular among trainers. Some fitness pros have cultlike followings on Facebook. Others offer workout routines to subscribers through YouTube. Many pros blog about health and…
A Better Way to Determine Class Value
Class value is in the eye of the beholder. Depending on where you’ve worked and what you’ve learned over the years, the metrics you use to review, modify or cancel a class can vary significantly.
Purchasing Used Fitness Equipment
Exercise equipment ranks high on the list of fitness facility costs. From navigating the maze of manufacturers to negotiating price and financing options, purchasing equipment for your club is a complex process.
First-Session Success
“I’m terrified of change, even if it will improve my life.”
“I hate asking for help or admitting that I do not know something.”
“I avoid environments that are unfamiliar or that make me feel out of place.”
“I don’t believe that my own personal shortcomings are a source of my problems.”
“I will defend what I believe, even though it may not be right.”
For many people, those statements are true.
Saving a Sinking Ship, Part 4: Understanding the Financial Structure of Your Business
When you’re looking to build a successful personal training business, having a sound understanding of finances is a must. Most fitness experts possess exceptional interpersonal skills and are able to transform lives. But they often lack the ability to effectively manage and balance a budget and to use it to forecast and take advantage of financial trends. Financial mishaps and misunderstandings can lead to business failure in no time. In this article, I will share several simple strategies that you can implement today to get your business on track to financial freedom.
How to Plan Your First Health Fair
“Me, plan a health fair? You must be kidding!”
That’s what I said when I was asked to organize our fitness facility’s first health fair.
Direct Mail: Now Fitter Than Ever
During my decade of experience in marketing, I’ve seen a lot of failures—and many more successes. With the Internet, the art of fitness marketing is more complex than it once was. However, many of the basic principles still apply.
Prevent Overtraining
While the majority of exercisers are healthy individuals with a positive view of themselves, a few people use fitness as a means of perpetuating compulsive, obsessive exercise patterns. In fact, according to the American Council on Exercise, about 1%–3% of the population experience some degree of exercise addiction (Matthews 2009). Overtraining–or overexercising–is common at nearly all health clubs.
Saving a Sinking Ship, Part 3: Achieving Excellence in Customer Service
With the recent fluctuation in the economy, businesses have become acutely aware of the need to provide a high level of customer service. Businesses that can create a competitive advantage through the service they provide will find themselves one step closer to success. Those that ignore the value of service will find themselves falling toward failure. In this article, I will share sound principles for creating a culture of excellence in customer service.
Customer Service How-Tos
With savvy customers often looking for that little bit extra when they invest in fitness, customer service skills can make or break a business.
“It is the personal, little things that make a difference,” says Nicki Anderson, owner of Healthy Innovations Inc., in Naperville, Illinois. “You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on advertising [to draw clientele]. You simply have to care, bring value to your clients and always go a step beyond their expectations.”
Here are Anderson’s top tips for providing tip-top customer service for your clients and facility members:
IHRSA 2012 Health Club Consumer Report
Curious about fitness facility activity, usage and trends among consumers?
Selling Services in a Faltering Economy, Part 2
In Part I of “Selling Services in a Faltering Economy” (in the October 2012 issue of IDEA Trainer Success), I discussed five steps you can take to energize your business: target your expertise; differentiate your products, price and relationships; protect your current client base; develop multiple revenue streams; and give gifts that reward you, too. Here are five more steps you can take to boost sales in a weak economy.
Offer Multiple Purchase Options [subhead]
Increasing Professionalism: Building Relationships
As a fitness professional, you are in the relationship business. Just as the food you eat fuels your body for exercise, relationships are the fuel that feeds your business. But growing your business requires more than having strong interpersonal skills with your clients. Your business success is also influenced by your relationships with your colleagues and competitors. For example, cooperative marketing efforts and co-promotion can help your business grow. Also, solid business relationships can help you work through personal and professional challenges.
[subhead] Prioritize
Small-Group Secrets: Pricing and Profits
Small-group training—workouts for groups of three to 10 clients (www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/small group-secrets-the-start-up-plan)—is a trend that’s changing the face of our industry.
Why? Profit margins are much better with small group, says Mike Bates, MBA, owner of Refine Fitness Studio in Windsor, Ontario. “If your goal is to make money, you should do as much [small-group training] as you can, as long as it fits with your training philosophy.”
The HIPAA Effect
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (42 United States Code § 1320d), which took effect nearly 10 years ago, has had a profound impact on the healthcare industry. Though HIPAA covers many areas, the privacy rule in particular is noteworthy.
Easy Ways to Increase Revenue
Wouldn’t it be great to gather the best practices of fitness facilities around the country and distill this knowledge into a succinct series? That’s what this new column explores: the very best secrets of success for operating, managing and marketing a fitness facility.
Team Development: The Perfect Member Experience
If you had only one chance to make a good first impression, you wouldn’t want to blow it by providing potential clients with a subpar initial experience. Yet, a shoddy introduction and a useless tour followed by a hardcore sales pitch are what people sometimes get when they walk into a fitness facility.
Operation: Motivation
Retention, retention, retention. The fitness industry is continually seeking bigger and better ways to retain members.
A Tool for Group Fitness Managers
Group fitness managers interested in gaining insights on program management have a new free resource created by IDEA author and presenter Shannon Fable and her Web developer husband John Fable. Called GroupEx PRO, the program aims to “help eliminate the frustration felt by group fitness managers with regard to communication.”
Here are some components of GroupEx PRO:
sub board that assists with requesting and approving subs
scheduler that allows a manager to embed updated schedules directly into a fitness facility website
Incentivize Wellness
More companies are implementing wellness programs to positively impact employee health and cut healthcare costs. Some of the organizations offer employees incentives to participate in health-promoting activities. If you currently work in corporate wellness, here are some ideas from the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2012; 54 [7], 889–96) to pass along to your wellness liaison: