Working out of a Budget Gym - Good or Bad for PTs

A new trend on the fitness scene is budget gyms, gone are the days of £60 a month membership with a £250 joining fee as more and more of £14.99 a month with no contract gyms spring up.  What we need to know as PTs is does attaching yourself to one of these gyms do your business good or harm...

...Well...

I am resident in such a gym and have come to the following conclusion

- There are members who are members of these gyms because thats all they can afford
- And there are members who are members because its convenient/close to work etc. and can afford your extra fees

So as long as your marketing targets this demographic then it shouldn't make a difference, the strategy I used to get these clients is with an early riser bootcamp, run 3 times a week and I charge £50 per person per month.  So I kind of had a gym inside a gym, use of the facility but with my 12 people paying a premium.  So if you look for them, you can find them

plus, budget gyms will usually have less rent, less competition and have less of a corporate feel to them leaving you with more freedom to build you business in your vision

Tell me to F**k off but...

Its always tough to approach people in the gym, particularly if you are not like me and actually naturally shy (shut it those who know me! :))

If I need to approach lads my own age or maybe younger than me, rather than swagger over with male bravado, I'll say something like

"Mate, tell me to f**k off if you like but you probably best off doing deadlifts rather than hamstring curls..."

And leave it at that, this seems to work to start a good conversation on the level

Just a thought...

Posters and your PT Business

When I first started in Fitness Marketing in 2002, posters worked a little, and they still do work if you have a large number of them placed in strategic places and we are talking about 30 of them...The old adage is that someone has to see a poster 7 times before it sinks in

Heres an example of one thats worked for me, as you can see its bold, clear and wth a clear call to action.  However, I advocate the use of leadboxes over posters.  This is what a leadbox looks like

A lead box requires a prospective client to take the time to fill in their details and post it in the box, hence the quality of the leads you get tend to be of a higher quality, plus you are in control of getting back to the prospective clients, I advertise my Fat Blaster Program and Early Riser Bootcamp Programs via this way and it works very well, just be sure to contact every lead you get and keep hold  of the details for future marketing efforts.  Use both, but lead boxes are cheap, very effective and something that not many PTs seem to have caught onto

What Separates you from the heard?

There are tons of PTs out there now, after the recession hit many retrained as personal trainers and...if the fitness job boards are anything to go by, I don't believe there are very many "employed" personal trainer jobs, only self employed.

Due to supply outstripping demand, we need to ask ourselves why would a potential client come to us over another personal trainer - REPS certification just doesnt cut it, its pretty much the standard and no gym will touch you if you don't have it!

Here's mine

- Password access to the members area of my website with Videos, Meal plans, Articles and a Support forum, you can do one yourself with a digital camera, an adjustable step and a bit of time in an empty fitness studio

- Discounted Physiotherapy

- Discounted Massage Therapy

- Discounted Nutritional Supplements

- Unlimited support via phone/e-mail

And thats without going into the whole "established for..." "experienced in..." there is three things that I give my clients that are tangible and a clear separator from my competition....Whats yours?