Personal Training vs Group Fitness

[Jrocks09]

Hey guys I'm currently working at a club which includes free group fitness classes within clients membership. I'm finding it difficult for most trainers at this club to gain a strong clientele list because of the free group fitness classes. What are some marketing techniques that you have used to over come a barrier like this?

[rdferguson]

How have you established that free group classes are resulting in difficulty building PT client bases?

I don't have any direct marketing strategies for you, but overall a system needs to be established that communicates and demonstrates the value of personal training over and above group fitness. What are the unique benefits of having a personal trainer instead of going to classes? What are the unique benefits that each of the PT's brings to the table that people can't get out of cookie cutter classes?

Write down as many benefits of PT -- in general, and specific to each trainer -- as you can think of. Then figure out which of those benefits are the most compelling. Start emphasising those points in your marketing.

[WolfBeast]

Are you offering a free 30min session for new gym members? This is a great way to snag someone off of the cardio machines and introduce them to new exercises, some enjoy it enough that they will hire you.

[Jrocks09]

Are you offering a free 30min session for new gym members? This is a great way to snag someone off of the cardio machines and introduce them to new exercises, some enjoy it enough that they will hire you.

Currently we do offer 30 minute sessions for every new sign up. Unfortunately I came on staff during the summer and its been a dry season. Most of the potential clients are away at their vacation homes. That being said their are very few people coming through the door. The club also has a low emphasis on fitness and brands itself through Squash training, which generates 95% of the clubs income. As far the group fitness concern, most intakes that myself and a few of the other trainers meet, report back the the clients love the session, but would rather go the route of group training due to cost. (we dont have control over pricing.)

On average the trainers who have been there longer then myself are averaging two to three clients. I'm well over that already. I'v used several unique ways of marketing in the club.
1: Set up a fitness table and be available to talk. (most effective.)
2: Built easy to read intro to fitness pan flits.
3: Created a trainers board. (up until now the club did not advertise who the trainers where in the club. Now we have photo frames and bios for every trainer.)
4: Created fitness classes (this received push back because it directly challenged the free group exercise classes.) No longer can offer.
5: marketing in the community. Got to know local business owners and people in the community.

Anyway that's just a few ideas. Maybe the issue is just simply because of the dry summer. Just wanted to see what are some techniques other trainers are using! (Tried to answer both replies in this message.)

[RamsdenF]

That being said their are very few people coming through the door. The club also has a low emphasis on fitness and brands itself through Squash training, which generates 95% of the clubs income. As far the group fitness concern, most intakes that myself and a few of the other trainers meet, report back the the clients love the session, but would rather go the route of group training due to cost. (we dont have control over pricing.)

The club is your main enemy....not yourself or anything you are doing.

The club like most, doesn't care about client results from PT. They want $$$. Best way to do that is to avoid paying any employee for 1 on 1. It is a little different at this club because they offer free classes. But if they are not serious about PT....you will never do well as a trainer there. Time to look elsewhere brother.

[Ronin4help]

Hey guys I'm currently working at a club which includes free group fitness classes within clients membership. I'm finding it difficult for most trainers at this club to gain a strong clientele list because of the free group fitness classes. What are some marketing techniques that you have used to over come a barrier like this?

a few free sessions should not be a deterrent from regular sessions from a certified personal trainer. It's like saying a free sandwhich will keep people from retuning to Subway once they have used the coupon.

[Partyrocking]

Are their any colleges near your gym? It seems odd that your gym was dry in the summer. My gym is at its busiest during the summer and in January, largely due to high school/college kids.

[TheGymWits]

Most gyms offer free group exercise so I don't think that the classes are taking away form the PT. I do both PT and group ex and for the most part, class people stick with their classes and people who train rarely take classes, the settings are so different that they cater to different people. It may have more to do with the time of year or other variables. One thing that helps me is that since I teach classes, wherever a class taker is interested in PT, they usually come to me first. Maybe consider getting on the schedule for a few classes.

[Jrocks09]

Are their any colleges near your gym? It seems odd that your gym was dry in the summer. My gym is at its busiest during the summer and in January, largely due to high school/college kids.

We do have several colleges in the area but the club is marketed as a "Premium club" So the price point is pretty high for college students. As of this week an email was sent out that a local college has paid for their students to access the club. However the influx of students are off limits for personal trainers to market too. (It maybe due to insurance reasons.) Iv worked in clubs located in Boston and was pretty successful. So this isn't my first time in the business.

I guess I am just trying to decide if its worth sticking with the club. I had generated a advertisement for a diet and fitness guide to draw more attention. I had sign ups coming through. However on my day off I got an email that the sign up sheet was taken down because it conflicted with X,Y and Z. Sorry for the rambling. Just trying to give everyone a fuller picture of the situation.

[Ronin4help]

On your off days, shop yourself around. You don't have to wonder. Simply do the leg work and look at the numbers. Compare the various options and select the most probable one.