The other day I received an inquiry from a potential client pertaining to our Personal Training Services. This person had been referred to us from one of our long term clients who has lost over 80lbs since she began working with us almost two years ago. He was so impressed with our client’s results that he wanted to know the “secrets” to her success.

On a side note, let me start by saying, there are no “secrets” to any of our clients’ success stories. Quite simply, the clients that put in the work and follow the plan that we lay out for them, are the ones that achieve results. However that’s another story all in itself.

Essentially this friend of our client’s, wanted to work with the people that helped her transform her physique within the past 24 months. However he was reluctant to book with us because we do not offer free initial sessions or complimentary group classes like some of our competitors do.

In all my years of working as a Personal Trainer/Small Business Owner, I can happily report that not a single person has ever requested for a free session (up until now that is). And if someone were to request for a free session, I would politely inform them that this is something that we do not offer. With that said, we do offer complimentary 30 minute consultations, however there is no actual training involved in these meetings.

My reasoning for not offering free sessions with myself or any of our trainers is simple. I feel that whenever you give away a service, you are devaluing that service. And training people both on the floor and online, is something that we’ve done for almost twenty years now. We have a proven track record for results that speaks for itself. That track record for success along with our two decades of experience, should be enough to warrant a reason as to why we don’t offer free workouts.

Unfortunately some people don’t view things this way. Some people believe that they should be able to try something out for free before deciding to purchase it. And in some cases, I do agree with this theory. However when it comes to receiving a quality service offered by a reputable company, I think the idea of free anything is laughable at best.

The Underseller

It’s no secret that Personal Training can become quite costly. And although we try our best to make our rates as cost effective as possible for people, we understand that not everyone can afford to work with a Trainer. Unfortunately many of our competitors know this as well and capitalize on the issue by offering reduced rates on training sessions and complimentary classes for people who are working within a budget. At first glance, this may seem like a great opportunity to get fit with the help of a trained fitness professional. However at some point you have to wonder and ask yourself – Why are these sessions and classes so cheap and how exactly can they remain so profitable?

Getting What You Pay For

I truly believe that there is no such thing as a one size fits all program for everyone when it comes to diet and exercise. I don’t think that deadlifts are the “best” exercise, nor do I believe that it’s “essential” to know how to squat. I do believe in finding a formula that works for each individual by using a customized approach that takes into consideration each person’s specific goals, level of fitness, physical limitations and lifestyle.

And even though I believe that it’s absolutely crucial to take the necessary time to learn about your clients and to take a more customized approach to each individual’s style of training, it’s not always practical for a company that is trying to hit target sales each month to take any additional time to do so. On the contrary, it’s much more profitable to throw 30 people into a “Boot Camp” Class with One Instructor who’s been teaching for only a few months yet is willing to take a pay cut, because he or she is new and inexperienced at their job. Even better, charge an even lower drop-in rate per person, add in a “End of the Month Sale” and cram another 30 people into that very same class! Now you’re making some serious money!!!! And best of all, now you’re going to hit that monthly sales quota!

Unfortunately, now you’re also risking injuring someone and giving an industry that already has a bad reputation for scamming people, an even worse reputation by offering a terribly diluted service.

So What Should Be Done?

Check Out Part 2 of My Two Part Blog – “The Price of Personal Training” Next Week And Find Out!

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance