Well, I could have or maybe even should have titled this blog post, “Why I hate half-hour sessions!” But I didn’t. It’s true though. I hate em. Yeah, I said it! ; )  

“But Mark they’re the newest trend. Everyone is offering them now. It allows us to market to more people and to train more people per day. We’ll make so much more money this way.”  

Hmmmm I doubt it, and to me and the people you should be marketing to, they scream cheap, low value, and poor service. They scream desperate.

In my 20 years, I’ve only met one truly successful personal trainer that offers half-hour sessions. Yes, only one. His name is Bill, and he’s done a phone consult with me. So, how does he do so well doing half-hours? Because he offers them for the right reasons. Not to cheapen them. Not to devalue his service.     

As I have been saying since I started Personal Training Biz early in 2015, your market needs to be wealthy/successful people.

Yes, some people hate that I’m writing about this. They think it’s mean. Greedy. Unethical.

Well, I really couldn’t care less what the detractors are saying. I’m here to share the TRUTH about the personal training business, and what it takes to truly be successful.

I will continue to share with the world that wealthy/successful clients will allow you to stay in the industry you love. So you won’t become part of the sickening statistic where 80% of personal trainers quit within 2 years if you follow my advice.

Stop feeling guilty would ya! I’m so tired of personal trainers saying that our job should only be about helping people. That you shouldn’t even be thinking about the money.

Well, I’m here to make you realize that like in every other industry, it’s ok to make a lot of money as a personal trainer. It’s ok to be successful and help people at the same time.

So, who really wants these half-hour sessions?

Answer: People that can’t afford an hour.

Oops! Here I go again offending everyone. Being a greedy business owner. ; )

Ok another question…

Why are you offering half-hour sessions?

Oh, I know the answer to this one too.

Since the sessions are cheaper, you think more people will come a callin. More people will then know you and how great your service is. That you’ll cover more ground, and that you’ll make more per hour.

Hey, I hear what you’re saying, but you just won’t keep most of these half-hour clients. They won’t stick. You won’t retain them.

Ok, I think that most personal trainers really believe that they will make more money per day if they’d offer half-hour sessions. I agree that technically you “could” make more money. If you could fill your schedule that is.

Do you really think that you can train 16-20 people per day, every day?

How will you market this? “Hey everyone! Hire me! My service is cheaper! Oh, but I’m really good though!”

Again, what kind of potential client are you gonna get going this route? One concerned with price. One with excuses.

Ya see, most younger trainers that I’ve spoken with love half-hours.

Again, they have been told by their smart bosses that since they’re cheaper, more people will buy. Really?

Most clients that buy half-hour sessions aren’t doers. People that just buy “some” usually aren’t committed people.

You won’t grow a good relationship with this type of client.

They’re so concerned about the money, and your service has no value in their eyes. They’ll hardly schedule sessions with you, and they’ll skip all the time.

No consistency=no results=no referrals.

Another hard truth is that if these people can’t afford you long term, do you really think that any of their family or friends could either?

People that buy half-hour sessions tend to not have very much disposable income. Duh! Hence the cheaper half hour sessions they bought.

With that usually the case these clients will probably only workout once, maybe twice a week at most. More than likely only twice a month. Yikes!

With this in mind, how many clients would you need to technically work “full time?” Yep, if you’re as good as me at math, ; ) you’d know that you’d need 40 clients to technically be a full time personal trainer. That is if they all trained with you for a half hour twice a week. Which probably won’t happen.

Plus, let’s be honest here. Most of them aren’t lifers. They’ll quit no matter how great you are. Sorry.

Again, I’m not here to sugar coat anything in my blog. I’ve witnessed too much in 20 years in this industry to not be brutally honest with you.

Here’s another obvious question…

What if you or your client is 7 minutes late for the half hour session?

What about the little extras you should be giving? Foam rolling, stretching, nutrition talk, attitude talk…

Why should they have to finish their workout on their own?

Half-hours aren’t a very personal experience. I’ve witnessed it.

“Ok Steve, thanks for all your hard work for the last 23 minutes… That was a blur huh? Ha Ha, ok see ya later, I gotta run! NEXT!!! Oh hey Lisa. Are you warmed up and ready to go? We have a quick circuit here today. Let’s go!”

You might say, “Well Mark, that’s what they get in a half-hour. They get less of me.” THAT’S… MY… POINT!!!

No value=No retention=No growth=No freedom=Get a new job.

Again, who can you help if you’re broke and have to find a new job?

I know that you might ONLY be offering half-hours, but why don’t you ask the “quality lead” client (wealthy/successful) what they want?

I bet they choose the hour sessions.

They want more. They’ll pay more. They see the value.

They’ll fall in love with you faster doing hour sessions 2-4 times a week too.

You’ll build a very solid relationship with them which will lead to tons of perfect referrals.

Do a top notch job, and they’ll never quit you. NEVER!  

The most successful personal trainers in the world retain their clients.  

How? They get their clients results quickly, because they can afford to workout with them 2+ times per week, every week for years and years. And ya know, it’s so much easier to manage less clients that train 2-4 times per week with you.

It’s common knowledge that you’ll care more about less people, because you see them more often. Because they’re a bigger part of your life.

This will of course make you a better personal trainer.

I can give you a million more reasons that hour sessions are a much better choice than half-hour sessions. I can literally talk all day on this subject.

I have fought (not literally) club owners on this topic quite a few times. Even with their personal trainers dropping like flies they respond with, “Oh Mark you can sell personal training to everyone. It doesn’t just have to be the wealthy/successful like you think.”

MY RESPONSE…

“Look into your trainers’ eyes. Tell me what you see there. It’s fear. Uncertainty. They know this proper, politically correct way of thinking to market to everyone isn’t working, but they don’t know what to do. They can’t escape these deals you keep running… they know that no matter how good of a job they do, they CAN NOT and WILL NOT retain their clients. The prices are too low. You’re marketing to the wrong people. It’s a never ending struggle. Stop devaluing your club, and your trainers.”

Then…  Wide eyed club owner. Jar dropped slightly. Slow vertical nod. ; ) LOL

Thank you for reading today. I really appreciate all the support that I’ve been receiving during my journey to shake up the personal training world.

I love seeing my blog posts shared and I love all the emails, DMs, and Facebook messages that are sent to me. Because of you, Personal Training Biz is growing crazy fast.

Thanks again, talk soon.

P.S. Do you want to make more money as a personal trainer? Do you want a lot more certainty in your future?

If so, get your butt here. —> PTB Consulting

There you’ll learn how I can help you end some of the fear that you face on a daily basis. Let me teach you everything I’ve learned in the last 20 years and counting.

It’s not some gimmicky magical online training or group training course either.

It’s me teaching you exactly how I grew my personal training business. How I’ve been able to dominate my city for 20 years. I will teach you how to get known by the right people, and how to attain high end clients that will continue to pay you year after year.

Clients that will then market your business for you by spreading your name all over town to other high end potential clients. Usually their friends and family members.

Take a chance. Stop thinking it’s risky. Stop waiting for something to happen.

Trust me to share the TRUTH with you on how to truly make it in this industry. To actually make $100,000 per year.

Here’s the link again. PTB Consulting Click it now!

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