Don’t Be the “Low-Cost” or “Cheap” Trainer
“When you are the cheapest, you are not promising change. You are promising them the same, but cheaper.” – Seth Godin
Imagine…
Bob’s Canteen has a steak for $2.99. Meanwhile, next door, Premium Steakhouse is selling steaks for $50.
Without having tried either steak, which steak would you assume is the bigger, juicier, more tender, grass fed steak?
People would assume the $50 steak is going to be of much higher quality than a steak for under 3 dollars. If the $3 dollar steak was delivered to the table and tasted like my high school baseball glove, we wouldn’t be overly surprised.
Also, which place do you think you would be most excited about to going to and likely tell your friends and family about?
When you price yourself as the cheapest trainer in the area, you are devaluing your services in the eyes of potential clients or members.
So, when you post all over your Instagram and Facebook that you have “Time Slots Available,” special discounts or rates that are a fraction of what other trainers in your area or charging-” prospective clients are going to assume your services must be low-quality — like the always cheap and empty restaurant- Bob’s Canteen.
Look, you do not have to charge the highest rates in town. But, prospective clients might just perceive “low-cost” as meaning “low value.”
Be sure not to devalue your services before you’ve even had the chance to build your business.
There is no single answer as to how much you should charge for your services.
Supply/demand is always the primary factor when determining price.
This is a good news/bad news scenario for personal trainers.
The bad news: There are a LOT of personal trainers (supply) and a lot of them are charging clients rates that keeps the trainer at a poverty level in terms of income.
The good news: There is no demand for lousy or even average trainers. If you can get your skills and abilities to the point where people are talking about you…DEMAND FOR YOU…WILL BE HIGH.
Furthermore, there is only ONE of you. Therefore, with regards to supply and demand, you can charge a much higher rate.
Sorry I don’t have something a little more concrete for you with regards to how much you should charge for your services.
Summary:
Don’t be the cheap trainer in town, devaluing your services in the eyes of prospective clients.
To increase demand for your services, you need to make yourself stand out in an industry where there are a large number of trainers. The way you do that is to get GREAT at what you do.
When you are great at what you do, the supply is lower and the demand is higher, thereby allowing you to charge premium rates for you’re services.
Best wishes of success your way, my friend!
Jeff