At every gym in America, you will find personal training services being offered. It’s a vital part of your gym’s success and a great revenue generator when performed efficiently. As most personal trainers and gym owners experience, sales will fluctuate throughout the calendar year. There’s typically a rush of new clients after the winter holidays, while the summer tends to be slow as vacations and warm weather take priority. If you’re feeling the effects of that dip in traffic in your personal training sales or simply need a little energy boost, perhaps a rebrand is needed to break through and get you back on track. A rebrand can be something as simple as clarifying your offer to help your members better understand how you can help them and why they want to sign up.
Here’s a strategy I developed personally back in the summer of 2023 to rebrand my personal training and double my sales during the slow summer months.
Pre-Rebrand:
I was a Fitness Director and Personal Trainer at a local membership-based community center. The clientele consisted of older adults with a mix of middle-aged adults and kids. Many of our members were either brand new to fitness, had little to no experience working with a trainer, or hadn’t had structured program opportunities offered to them.
At the time, I had about 4-6 consistent clients (one-on-one training), whom I trained periodically throughout the week. By the time May hit, that number started to drop to 2-3 clients per week. Knowing the summer months were inconsistent and revenue was stalling, I decided we needed to make a change and rebrand our training services.
Specialty Personal Training:
Instead of creating another generic flyer reminding our members about our personal training services or offering discounted rates, our “specialty” personal training program focused on providing “goal-specific” customized training. Which we all know is what personal training actually is. We simply gave it a more exclusive name and a new way to market to our members.
For example, for the older adult population at our facility, their primary goal is to improve strength, balance, and coordination. So this became one of the specialty programs being offered.
Specialties Included:
- Strength, Balance, and Coordination for Older Adults
- General Weight Loss
- Strength/ Muscle Building
- Sports-specific training (golf, tennis, etc.)
- 30 min mobility/ stretching
We provided more context and clarity as to what the program would entail. This allowed our members to know their goals would be met without the added step of having to inquire. Each specialty program correlated with our personal training packages. Members simply needed to reach out about which one they wanted based on their goals.
We didn’t have to change what we were doing; we changed how it was presented to our members. At the end of the day, it’s still personal training. But by focusing more on the individual’s goals, we presented it as a structured program instead of a one-off service. This helped provide a better glimpse into what exactly we were offering from a personal training standpoint.
Results:
After 2-3 months of implementing the new offer, I found my client numbers going from 2-3 clients per week to 10-12 clients per week. This may not seem like a huge deal, but at the end of the day, bringing in new clients is always a win, especially during the slow summer months. This continued influx led to hiring 2 personal trainers to take over the program for me. Implementing a goal-specific personal training program has been widely successful at our facility and provides a solid framework to build from for the future.
Biggest Take Away:
At the end of the day, we all want to be able to provide the very best services for our members and clients. To achieve long-term success, it’s important to know your members’ goals and needs, along with the market you’re training in. If you are currently operating in a membership-based facility and struggling to gain clients or have hit a sales plateau, consider looking into how you’re marketing your services. Consider presenting your offer in a new and exciting way. Oftentimes, the product works it just gets lost in the delivery. In my experience, it catered well to beginners as it provided a safe and open environment while also showcasing our trainer’s expertise, as it valued their ability to organize programs specific to each of the specialty goals.
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