Going from 1 on 1 to training more than one at once...how did clients react?

[bigballin6161]

I have always done 1 on 1 training. Now the problem is that I am full and working 50+ hours a week and the only way to make more money/lighten the load is to start training more than one person at a time. I see other people doing this and it does not seem to be a problem. Im sure it would not be a problem for new clients as they dont know any better but the ones who you have had for years, how do they react? Since alot of the time is like talking and bull****ting and stuff, which I thing alot of people do like. That would obvious be cut out once you start training more than one at a time.

Im independent and I can structure my pay however I want. I was going to just keep the rates the same or should I drop the hourly rate for my current clients a bit as they will basically be getting less of my time now?

Any input in how I can make this transition without losing my current client base would be great. Thanks!

[Sinix]

I have always done 1 on 1 training. Now the problem is that I am full and working 50+ hours a week and the only way to make more money/lighten the load is to start training more than one person at a time. I see other people doing this and it does not seem to be a problem. Im sure it would not be a problem for new clients as they dont know any better but the ones who you have had for years, how do they react? Since alot of the time is like talking and bull****ting and stuff, which I thing alot of people do like. That would obvious be cut out once you start training more than one at a time.

Im independent and I can structure my pay however I want. I was going to just keep the rates the same or should I drop the hourly rate for my current clients a bit as they will basically be getting less of my time now?

Any input in how I can make this transition without losing my current client base would be great. Thanks!

If I were your client I might not like that. I always keep prices and time slots the same for clients. You can experiment new stuff on new clients.

[PeteratCastle]

I have always done 1 on 1 training. Now the problem is that I am full and working 50+ hours a week and the only way to make more money/lighten the load is to start training more than one person at a time. I see other people doing this and it does not seem to be a problem. Im sure it would not be a problem for new clients as they dont know any better but the ones who you have had for years, how do they react? Since alot of the time is like talking and bull****ting and stuff, which I thing alot of people do like. That would obvious be cut out once you start training more than one at a time.

Im independent and I can structure my pay however I want. I was going to just keep the rates the same or should I drop the hourly rate for my current clients a bit as they will basically be getting less of my time now?

Any input in how I can make this transition without losing my current client base would be great. Thanks!

Instead of training 2 people in one go (for the same rate, btw? I'd tell you to stick that TBH) how's about just charging more?

If you charge $50 an hour now and do 50 hrs a week you're making $2500. You could charge $62.50 an hour and lose 10 clients..you'd make the same money but be working only 40 hrs.
A lot of your existing clients will be able to pay a bit more, they'll find the money TBH.

[WoofieNugget]

So I'm suddenly going to get less attention and focus, possibly be paired with a stranger and still get charged one on one rates? No thanks. Just because you're busy doesn't justify dropping the service level. I'd increase your rates and reduce your hours. You must have a few clients that you don't really want to work with and see if they want to move to another trainer.

[rdferguson]

General rule of thumb: when doing 2:1's, charge each person ~60% of what you'd charge for 1:1 of the same duration. So, if you charge $50/hr 1:1, charge $30/ea for 2:1. That way they pay less than they've been paying, and you get more than you've been getting for the same duration (2x$30=$60/hr). At that sort of price, you could probably even get 3-4:1 happening, so $50/hr becomes $90-120/hr. Plenty of people would still happily pay at that rate.

Or you can do what Peter and Woofie said: charge more.

My personal opinion is that if you have that many clients, you should hire another trainer to take a bunch of them on at the prices you're currently charging, and simultaneously increase your charge out rate by a large enough margin for half of your clients to want to transfer to the new trainer, but a low enough margin for the other half to stick with you. If your clients are absolutely cheap, that margin won't be much. If you've got good clients, that margin could be quite a bit. So again, say you're charging $50/hr right now. If you've got good clients, you might hire a new trainer and have him/her charge $50/hr, and increase your rate to $70/hr. If you've got really good clients who think you're a really good trainer, you might even make that $80/hr. If you've got cheap clients, you might only need to increase your rates to $60/hr to pawn half your clients off to the other trainer. In these examples given, if the new trainer gets to keep $30/hr for themselves, then in order for you to get the same net income, you'd either need to increase your own charge out rate by $30/hr, or start taking on more clients. That's assuming 50% of your clients go to the new trainer. But either way, your time is freed up, and you can either use the new free time to enjoy a more casual lifestyle, or you can use it to take on new clients at a higher rate.

And, of course, once you've built up a certain number of clients, you can go through the process of hiring a new trainer and bumping up your prices again. Now you've got 2 trainers doing 25 hours a week of PT for you, and you get $20 for every hour that they do, and by now you're charging closer to $100/hr for your own sessions. In fact, the first trainer you hired is probably ready for increased prices now, too, so maybe they bump up from $50/hr to $60/hr, they keep $35 and you keep $25. More wins.

[bigballin6161]

Thanks for the replies everyone. As of right now I charge $60/hour which I pretty much believe is close to the ceiling for my area/my client base. For me to increase my rates by $10 still isnt enough risk/reward to actually change my structuring. The problem with hiring somone else is that well I dont want to give any of my current client base to them and good trainers that wont try and steal your clients are hard to find.

How about this? All current clients would now only pay $40/hour while all new ones will now pay $60/hour which still gives me $100/hour. The old people will be happy as they are saving 30% and the new people will really no no different. I feel like im missing the boat by limiting 1/ hour when I see other trainers doing multiples.

[BodyQuest1]

^^What about hiring a new trainer and having them sign a Noncompete agreement?? That way, your new trainer will think TWICE before even trying to take your clients.
Don't worry so much about others competing with you or you competing with others. Worry about finding a way to help others and training them more EFFICIENTLY(even if it HAS to come down to hiring a great new trainer).
Besides do you even plan to work 50+hrs your ENTIRE life? :O

[PerFit]

When I had my studio we implemented semi private training which was a 4-on-1 structure. Our original rates ranged between $75-$90/hr. Semi private training clients were charged $50 per session. I ran it in 12 week blocks.

The sessions we had we

3x a week
6am MON-WED-FRI
6:30pm MON-WED-FRI

2x a week
6am TUES-THURS
6:30pm TUES-THURS

Our sessions were regularly booked full. Thats $2000 for 10 hrs work.

In regards to your clients liking/disliking it, its all about how you present it to them. Focus on the positives rather than worrying about the negatives they may think about. Show them that semi private is better value as its a little cheaper and they get that accountability and friendly motivation of working alongside like minded people. Some of your clients will say 'omg thanks for giving me a cheaper option. i was going to have to stop taining otherwise"

I would put up the prices of your 1-on-1 training. If people want private, they will still pay.

I would give each of your clients a letter outlining how you are introducing a new service, give them an incentive to join up to it by a certain deadline but also mention private training is going up.

[Jhertilus]

If I were your client I might not like that. I always keep prices and time slots the same for clients. You can experiment new stuff on new clients.

You hit the nail on the head. From there, you can tell your current clients about your extra offers.
Some people just want that one on one experience and that's what they pay for

[PerFit]

If I were your client I might not like that. I always keep prices and time slots the same for clients. You can experiment new stuff on new clients.

You hit the nail on the head. From there, you can tell your current clients about your extra offers.
Some people just want that one on one experience and that's what they pay for

So you're saying you'd NEVER put the prices up on your clients? Ever heard of a thing called inflation?

[KyleAaron]

How about talking to your clients?

Explain, "I am quite busy now, I can work more hours but I'll get tired, to ensure good service I'm keeping my hours the same. So after the current packages of $60/session run out, I'll be changing to this: $65/session, or else $30/session but you will share the time with 1-3 other people. Up to you which you choose. I would suggest you join with X and Y, I can tell you about them, great people..." I would sell them on the small group stuff, programming becomes easier, as does the social chitchat, etc. In one of my small groups I've got two clients who've been with me 2 years, and another couple a year. They've heard all my jokes, I've heard all their excuses. Mixing them together keeps things fresh.

[PeteratCastle]

Thanks for the replies everyone. As of right now I charge $60/hour which I pretty much believe is close to the ceiling for my area/my client base. For me to increase my rates by $10 still isnt enough risk/reward to actually change my structuring. The problem with hiring somone else is that well I dont want to give any of my current client base to them and good trainers that wont try and steal your clients are hard to find.

How about this? All current clients would now only pay $40/hour while all new ones will now pay $60/hour which still gives me $100/hour. The old people will be happy as they are saving 30% and the new people will really no no different. I feel like im missing the boat by limiting 1/ hour when I see other trainers doing multiples.

Think about that last bit.
I am training with the same guy week in, week out from now on. I pay $60, as I'm a new client. He pays $40 as he's an older client. I find out that he pays $20 a session less than I do.

How long after that will I be leaving you?

[rdferguson]

Thanks for the replies everyone. As of right now I charge $60/hour which I pretty much believe is close to the ceiling for my area/my client base. For me to increase my rates by $10 still isnt enough risk/reward to actually change my structuring. The problem with hiring somone else is that well I dont want to give any of my current client base to them and good trainers that wont try and steal your clients are hard to find.

How about this? All current clients would now only pay $40/hour while all new ones will now pay $60/hour which still gives me $100/hour. The old people will be happy as they are saving 30% and the new people will really no no different. I feel like im missing the boat by limiting 1/ hour when I see other trainers doing multiples.

Much better option would be, as others have more or less said, charge $30-40/hr for small group training, and make it the same rate for each client. Keep charging $60/hr for 1:1, or increase by a bit. You say in increase of $10/hr wouldn't result in a change in your structuring, which sounds to me like you have nothing to lose by increasing your 1:1 rate, so I'd increase it. With small group training, don't limit yourself to 2:1. Say you set your prices at $70/hr for 1:1 and $40/hr for small group, but small groups can go as high as 4:1; you're potentially getting $160/hr in small groups, yet it's still financially a win-win. If you're happy to do that, then the next step is to personally inform each of your current clients. Present everything as being on the client's side, eg "All new clients will be charged $70/hr from now on, but to reward your commitment to training, you'll continue paying $60/hr for 1:1 training for the next 6 weeks. I'm also beginning a new private group training program, which I thought you might be interested in. I'll be setting up groups of 2-4 who I think will work well together based on goals, experience and personality, which will help you to build a greater support network to keep you on track, and will make the sessions a lot of fun. It's a bit more wallet-friendly, too, at just $40/hr."

[BodyQuest1]

Think about that last bit.
I am training with the same guy week in, week out from now on. I pay $60, as I'm a new client. He pays $40 as he's an older client. I find out that he pays $20 a session less than I do.

How long after that will I be leaving you?

Great point!
Remember, if you care about your business LONG-TERM, gotta think Integrity & Consistency :O

[Jsf721]

I have used a person trainer for the last 7 months in conjunction to working out on my own. It keeps me form getting bored doing the same splits and also he introduces me to new exercises (compound exercises) and helps me learn the correct form. It is usually a 1 on one session, however, there are times where I go with my son or friend and he only has one time slot open. In that cases I train with one or 2 other people. What he usually does it set up a small circuit that we rotate into. The gym is a Personal training gym so its not crowded and access to machines and free weights is a non issue. I feel that I get just a good a work out in the small group as I do on my own and it has been fun.

I did a "boot camp" group and I would rather no do in the future. They have 12 clients, and 2-3 trainers and do a larger circuit with a rotation. Don't feel that was more beneficial than working out on my own and I will not look to do that again. Too many people who have no idea what their doing.

Hope this helps you. Really like the trainers I have worked with 1 on 1. I like to switch up trainers every so often as it lets me be exposed to different styles and methodology. I have one guy I use 90% and when he is not available I use 2 other guys. One is a MMA guy, loves the TRX stuff, rings for dips etc and the other is a huge BB and he really gives me a targeted workout. His philosophy is kill each body part until its beaten to a pulp. My regular guy is more into the splits and works in some cardio/isometrics (Roman Chair/Planks).

I have always done 1 on 1 training. Now the problem is that I am full and working 50+ hours a week and the only way to make more money/lighten the load is to start training more than one person at a time. I see other people doing this and it does not seem to be a problem. Im sure it would not be a problem for new clients as they dont know any better but the ones who you have had for years, how do they react? Since alot of the time is like talking and bull****ting and stuff, which I thing alot of people do like. That would obvious be cut out once you start training more than one at a time.

Im independent and I can structure my pay however I want. I was going to just keep the rates the same or should I drop the hourly rate for my current clients a bit as they will basically be getting less of my time now?

Any input in how I can make this transition without losing my current client base would be great. Thanks!

[Sinix]

So you're saying you'd NEVER put the prices up on your clients? Ever heard of a thing called inflation?

IDK if my mind set is normal or not but I always grandfather my clients in. What ever offer I give them at the start, that's that. I'll only change if they leave for some time then come back under certain circumstances. And I'm in the process of greatly increasing my prices too. I look at it this way- I'm not only loyal to my oldest clients but they are my core group and that's valuable to have in a business like this where there's client turn over. Then even with those low prices, those older clients will eventually stop too which will leave me with a core of still lower priced but higher than the original low price clients while I'm also continuing to raise prices on new clients.

[Sinix]

Think about that last bit.
I am training with the same guy week in, week out from now on. I pay $60, as I'm a new client. He pays $40 as he's an older client. I find out that he pays $20 a session less than I do.

How long after that will I be leaving you?

If you're worried about new clients leaving if they hear your grandfathered clients are getting a better deal then you probably aren't at a stable point where you can raise your prices. Get a stable client base where it gets to the point where you literally can't add any more without raising the prices and if people can't pay higher then it's time for you and them to start thinking about other solutions.

[SugarFree1]

IDK if my mind set is normal or not but I always grandfather my clients in. What ever offer I give them at the start, that's that. I'll only change if they leave for some time then come back under certain circumstances. And I'm in the process of greatly increasing my prices too. I look at it this way- I'm not only loyal to my oldest clients but they are my core group and that's valuable to have in a business like this where there's client turn over. Then even with those low prices, those older clients will eventually stop too which will leave me with a core of still lower priced but higher than the original low price clients while I'm also continuing to raise prices on new clients.

I'd agree with this. I'm a client and have been with my trainer for over 2 years now. First of all it pisses me off when I hear things every once in while about how others are paying less then I am. I would certainly quit if she raised the prices on me. If anything you would think there would be some type of discount/decrease for remaining a denpendable long standing regular client. And I certainly wouldnt even consider allowing someone else to partner into my session! I have an in-home trainer and she comes to my house each week to train the wife and I back to back. These are still seperate sessions.

I wont even workout with my wife regardless if the trainer is there or not. I'll do my own session first and then stay to assist her through her own session when the trainer isnt there. Workingout with someone I find to be a nuisance and detracts from my own workout. First of all, I time my rest periods; when dieting for example my rests are limited to 30-60 seconds. This can not be kept with someone else working in between sets. Secondly constantly changing weights back and forth and spotting someone else between each of your sets is not a true rest. And of course you always wind up with problems such as the other person messing up your workout then they skip out, are late, are not training at the same intensity etc. Add in that a trainer is then taking time paid for you to help and talk to this other person and its just the final straw.

[bigballin6161]

Thanks everyone for all of the great answers...this is really a big decision. After much debating I am going to go with this solution for now. I feel that I cannot raise the prices on my core. They are my whole business and some of them have been with me for years. If I piss them off for trying to make more money everything can change for the worse very very quickly.

My core is responsible for about $1200-$1500/week so even if I just keep them I will still be doing pretty good. All new clients will will now pay either $70 or $80 with the choice of group for $50. Like someone else said makes sense not to mess with your bread and butter, and yes they should be gettting somewhat of a deal for loyalty. The new clients can take it or leave it....

This seems like the safest solution for now even though it will not give me the chance to grow as fast as I wanted....I can experiment with the new ones.

Once again thanks for all the great input everyone!

[KyleAaron]

I'd agree with this. I'm a client and have been with my trainer for over 2 years now. First of all it pisses me off when I hear things every once in while about how others are paying less then I am. I would certainly quit if she raised the prices on me. If anything you would think there would be some type of discount/decrease for remaining a denpendable long standing regular client.

Interesting notion. What's your work? I'm sure your employer would be interested to hear that you believe he doesn't have to give you a raise each year, and in fact you will offer to have your pay lowered in gratitude for his loyalty as an employer in not firing you for no reason in the last 2 years.

When a person is employed by a large company, they expect that they'll get a raise each year at least equivalent to inflation, and a raise reflecting their improved competence over that time. The large company isn't fond of these ideas, typically, but they put up with it because it's expected.

I'm a better trainer than I was 2 years ago. In my case, working for a community gym, they set the prices, what changes is only how much of that I get. People $65.50 for an hour of my time. That's $65.50 for someone with several years' experience, who has a relatively full schedule, and who has taken people from bed-ridden recovering from cancer or herniated discs all the way through their recovery to participating in powerlifting competitions. It's also $65.50 for the 19yo girl fresh out of an 8 week course who can't coach a pushup. But in five years that girl having had experience and done courses might be better than any of us. Should she not be able to increase her rates at all? Her clients who've stayed with her that time will be enjoying the benefits of her increased competence - should they not pay more?

It's an interesting notion that if you're paid a salary, it should increase every year with inflation and competence, but if you're paid by the session, you should get the same or even less over time.

[BC02]

Think about that last bit.
I am training with the same guy week in, week out from now on. I pay $60, as I'm a new client. He pays $40 as he's an older client. I find out that he pays $20 a session less than I do.

How long after that will I be leaving you?

happens all the time with memberships

[Sinix]

Interesting notion. What's your work? I'm sure your employer would be interested to hear that you believe he doesn't have to give you a raise each year, and in fact you will offer to have your pay lowered in gratitude for his loyalty as an employer in not firing you for no reason in the last 2 years.

When a person is employed by a large company, they expect that they'll get a raise each year at least equivalent to inflation, and a raise reflecting their improved competence over that time. The large company isn't fond of these ideas, typically, but they put up with it because it's expected.

I'm a better trainer than I was 2 years ago. In my case, working for a community gym, they set the prices, what changes is only how much of that I get. People $65.50 for an hour of my time. That's $65.50 for someone with several years' experience, who has a relatively full schedule, and who has taken people from bed-ridden recovering from cancer or herniated discs all the way through their recovery to participating in powerlifting competitions. It's also $65.50 for the 19yo girl fresh out of an 8 week course who can't coach a pushup. But in five years that girl having had experience and done courses might be better than any of us. Should she not be able to increase her rates at all? Her clients who've stayed with her that time will be enjoying the benefits of her increased competence - should they not pay more?

It's an interesting notion that if you're paid a salary, it should increase every year with inflation and competence, but if you're paid by the session, you should get the same or even less over time.

I look at it this way, your clients aren't your bosses. Your overall salary is not their business. If you're a good trainer then you can't let your inability to get greater compensation via new clients infringe on people you already made a deal with. I think you should at least let your prospective clients know that prices are fair to jump up on subsequent packages... but I don't think many people will mention that cause it's a turn off....

[bigballin6161]

Interesting notion. What's your work? I'm sure your employer would be interested to hear that you believe he doesn't have to give you a raise each year, and in fact you will offer to have your pay lowered in gratitude for his loyalty as an employer in not firing you for no reason in the last 2 years.

When a person is employed by a large company, they expect that they'll get a raise each year at least equivalent to inflation, and a raise reflecting their improved competence over that time. The large company isn't fond of these ideas, typically, but they put up with it because it's expected.

I'm a better trainer than I was 2 years ago. In my case, working for a community gym, they set the prices, what changes is only how much of that I get. People $65.50 for an hour of my time. That's $65.50 for someone with several years' experience, who has a relatively full schedule, and who has taken people from bed-ridden recovering from cancer or herniated discs all the way through their recovery to participating in powerlifting competitions. It's also $65.50 for the 19yo girl fresh out of an 8 week course who can't coach a pushup. But in five years that girl having had experience and done courses might be better than any of us. Should she not be able to increase her rates at all? Her clients who've stayed with her that time will be enjoying the benefits of her increased competence - should they not pay more?

It's an interesting notion that if you're paid a salary, it should increase every year with inflation and competence, but if you're paid by the session, you should get the same or even less over time.

This is a very good point. When I started out many years ago it was at $45. Once I got more certs and experience I raised it to $60 and I didnt have a problem. But now I dunno about raising it again...as in most of my clients give me $720/month, and most of them really are not that well off, as in they will definitely feel it. I agree with the service being worth more its just that its kinda hard to raise on some clients who have prob given me over 20k over the years...

I still feel better about raising the prices for the new clients and they can deal with it. I really dont need the new clients to survive...but I do need the old ones. I mean if i started working with someone and realized I was being charged more than older clients who were there forever then I would kind of understand that. Luck of the draw kinda thing.

[KyleAaron]

It's not your job to worry about your clients' finances. I've had university students happily pay for PT, and I've had people who I knew were on $120+k say it was too expensive. One guy was quite literally a multimillionaire, he spent half the year sailing his yacht in races, and he made sure to suspend his direct debit if he was away even a week, and always claimed any missed sessions. So I don't worry about that stuff, I'm their trainer, not their accountant. It's my job to provide something of value, it's their job to decide if it has value for them or not.

Yes, they've given you a lot of money over the years. I've given the local supermarket more than $20k over the years - does that mean they'll keep charging me $1 for a litre of milk when everyone else is paying $1.20? I've been with my power company for five years, in 2008 the price was $0.18/kWh, should it still be that for me instead of $0.25/kWh?

Ultimately, it's up to you. Just remember that this is a for-profit business, not a charity. At 50 hours a week, if you raise your hourly rate by $2 then you get an extra $100 a week. How many clients will you lose because of two bucks an hour? I would suggest: none.

Here's another thought: I would rather enhance the deal than discount the deal.

For example, if someone signs on for 12 months, you could give them a gift worth 1 month's payment. Financially this is the same for you as would be "pay for 11, get the 12th month free." But it doesn't feel the same to the person signing on, driving home with a huge hamper next to their new gym bag and magazine and protein powder - or whatever. My clients get (fitness-related) gifts on training anniversaries or when they achieve little milestones of progress. "You squatted 100kg, now you are a serious lifter, you need serious training equipment, here are some weightlifting shoes."

If that's not your style, offer upgrades of your service. "My fees are going up from $60 to $65, but everyone who is doing one-on-one PT will also now have access to a small group training session each week, there are three times, Mon/Wed/Fri 0800-0900, normally people pay $30 each for those, you already pay for PT so this is just a bonus, really you are getting all that extra training for just ten bucks. And if later you want to change to do just the small group training that'll be fine." Or, "My fees are going up by five bucks an hour, but now everyone will be getting a nutritional plan to follow." Or whatever.

Rather than giving the same but charging less, charge the same or more but give more. People don't mind paying more if they're getting more.

[PeteratCastle]

If you're worried about new clients leaving if they hear your grandfathered clients are getting a better deal then you probably aren't at a stable point where you can raise your prices. Get a stable client base where it gets to the point where you literally can't add any more without raising the prices and if people can't pay higher then it's time for you and them to start thinking about other solutions.

I get what you're saying but I don't agree with it.
I don't see any reason not to raise rates for me existing clients when I raise rates.
Once someone has been with me for 6months+ they are likely to stay with me even if I increase my rates. (My retention rate is incredible TBH so this might not go for everyone)
The reason I raise my rates is because I want to make the same, or more, money in fewer hours. How am I going to accomplish this if I keep the rates of my existing clients the same?

TBH, I do 1-1 and 2-1 training only, I don't like 3-1/4-1+..that's a personal choice, I just don't enjoy it. But this means that the only way I'll make more money is by raising my rates every now and again. If someone can't afford to train with me directly I refer them to another PT who isn't yet as established as I am and who charges less.

[Sinix]

I don't see any reason not to raise rates for me existing clients when I raise rates.
Once someone has been with me for 6months+ they are likely to stay with me even if I increase my rates. (My retention rate is incredible TBH so this might not go for everyone)

To me, it's disrespectful to clients who were there with you when you were building yourself up. That's how I'd feel if someone told me they are changing the price on me. I say if you want to feel good about it, tell your prospective clients your inflation policy before you start training them.

Do you have a stable clientele? What's gonna happen if you raise prices, no one new wants to sign on at those prices and your old people have started to get annoyed with you demanding more money from them? You're putting yourself in a bad position.

The reason I raise my rates is because I want to make the same, or more, money in fewer hours. How am I going to accomplish this if I keep the rates of my existing clients the same?

You raise the prices on new trainees which still gives you a higher $ per hour overall. Then eventually, over the months, those older grandfathered clients slowly leave, even if you do have a great retention rate.

[KyleAaron]

TDo you have a stable clientele? What's gonna happen if you raise prices, no one new wants to sign on at those prices and your old people have started to get annoyed with you demanding more money from them? You're putting yourself in a bad position.

He trains people 50 hours a week, he tells us. Charges them $60/hr. If he raises it to $62/hr, he gets an extra $100 a week.

Do you seriously think people will quit and refuse to sign up because of another two dollars?

[Sinix]

He trains people 50 hours a week, he tells us. Charges them $60/hr. If he raises it to $62/hr, he gets an extra $100 a week.

Do you seriously think people will quit and refuse to sign up because of another two dollars?

2$ is pretty minor but it could push out someone who is already a bit unhappy with whatever. He could also not inconvenience his core group, wait till someone drops out and charge the next people 65 or 70$.

[rdferguson]

"Dear ______,

It's been great helping you lose 15kg over the last 6 months, and I look forward to seeing you reach your goal of shedding another 15kg before the year's out.

I'm writing to inform you of some changes that will be happening over the coming months.

Due to increased experience and demand for service, starting on 01 May, all new clients will be charged $70 per session. However, to thank you for your loyal service, you will continue paying the current rate of $60 per session until 01 June, and your first session after this date will be absolutely free.

If you have any questions about how this will affect you, I'll be happy to discuss this further with you over coffee.

You've made some great progress this year, and I can't wait to see where your next steps take you.

Sincerely,

________"

Now, was that so offensive? So disrespectful? So hurtful? Such a horrible mistreatment of your client?

[rdferguson]

This is a very good point. When I started out many years ago it was at $45. Once I got more certs and experience I raised it to $60 and I didnt have a problem. But now I dunno about raising it again...as in most of my clients give me $720/month, and most of them really are not that well off, as in they will definitely feel it. I agree with the service being worth more its just that its kinda hard to raise on some clients who have prob given me over 20k over the years...

I still feel better about raising the prices for the new clients and they can deal with it. I really dont need the new clients to survive...but I do need the old ones. I mean if i started working with someone and realized I was being charged more than older clients who were there forever then I would kind of understand that. Luck of the draw kinda thing.

For what it's worth, my rates are scaled so that each additional session/wk is cheaper than the one before, up to the 3rd session. So, for example, 1x60min/wk is $70, but 2x60min/wk is $137 (70 and 67), and 3x60min/wk is $197 (70, 67 and 60). Any additional sessions, if someone were to go to that extent, would all be $60/hr. This may be an appropriate compromise for you, as oppose to just charging more for every session, and you can present it as rewarding those who do multiple sessions per week.

So if a flat increase in price per session would be problematic for your current clients, you could consider a scaled increase which favours those who do more sessions with you.