Cost per session?

[coolcoolcat]

In the midwest, is $80 per hour too much??

[MuscleTechMarc]

If your good... NO!

As long as people see the value and look forward to coming back, you can charge as much as you want.

[ericmackcarter]

If your good... NO!

As long as people see the value and look forward to coming back, you can charge as much as you want.

This is a good response in "the perfect world". It doesn't work this way in "the real world". Before you develop a reputation and establish yourself, how many people do you think are going to pay $750-$1000 per month for personal training? Not many, particularly in the midwest.

MuscleTechMarc, I'm not exactly disagreeing with you, however. If you are excellent at what you do, you should demand excellent compensation. But I think this is more a process than a decision. If I charged $80 at first, I wouldn't be in business.

I think $1 per minute, plus or minus 20%, is a good starting point if you are a competent trainer and good salesman.

[jando]

what are the demographics of the area?

but short answer is probably

[MuscleTechMarc]

It is always easier to go down in price instead of up. Charge $80 out of the gate and then offer them a deal if they pay for a minimum of 25 sessions up front.

[tylerpritchard_7]

It depends on what you believe you're worth. If you can't justify your own value, you can't expect others to.

Have pricing tiers, if you charge $80 for 1-5 sessions, then do
$75, 6-10
$70, 11-20...

[volitionfitness]

In the midwest, is $80 per hour too much??

city?
demographics?
your "branding" or overall business visibility? (do you have a presentable and marketable image or "brand" that specifically offers something different than competition?)
your experience? (education, certifications, specializations, etc etc?)
your location? (are you in your own facility, or someone elses? are you centrally located/convenient?)
total value/amenities you offer? (ie private studio, specialty equipment, actual training specialization)
total competition? does the competition in your price range offer something you do not, or less?

tons of questions you could ask. for 80 a session/hour you better be pretty damn good. if you know you are, charge it.

[brspecialists]

In the midwest, is $80 per hour too much??

Of course if you get your clients great results then you will be worth it. I have shifted over to 1/2 sessions because it makes me more money and have found that clients are getting as good of results because we spend very little time chatting. Also, clients don't seem to care about length of session as much as price in my experience (as long as the results are there). If you are going with the OPT model where you spend time each session foam rolling and such then you will need to do hours, but I teach them that stuff periodically and assign it as 'homework' and spend session time kicking butt. I charge $35-45 per 1/2 hour for privates and $15-25 per session for small group training. Longer term commitments get the cheaper rate. So I went from $50-60 per hour to now a minimum $70 per hour and up to $180 per hour for small groups. Good luck.