The 4 P’s to Plumping Up Your Profits

Growing your profits

If you’re one of the many trainers that still rely heavily on one-on-one training for a majority of your business then listen up. To take your business to the next level it’s essential that you diversify your service offerings. This article will show you what you can do to plump up your profits starting now.

Before we lunge into the plump up plan, it’s important to understand that building business momentum takes time. It’s the actions you take on a daily basis that make the difference to growing your business and assists you in moving forward. You may not see results right away but with a consistent effort they will come. The 4 P’s will take time to develop so be patient. Here are the 4 P’s to profit.

Programs

Add programs to your service mix. This could be as simple as offering an outdoor class, running clinic, hiking club, stretch class, posture flexibility or fitness assessments. Programs allow you to service a large number of people and therefore increase your revenue per hour more quickly then one-on-one training. Some of these programs can be offered outside which means you do not incur any overhead costs. Other programs will require that you find space to host them. Local churches, community centers and colleges all have space you can rent by the hour. If you’re not sure how to market a program then check out my book entitled, The How Guide To Starting Your Own Personal Training Business. It’s filled with lots of tips on how to start a program and provides important marketing resources.

Products

This is an extremely overlooked area by many trainers probably because it’s not something they know much about. Admittedly, before writing my book I didn’t know much about product development either. I learned a lot through the process and here’s your first step.

Think about your business and if you’ve created anything unique such as a training program or nutrition plan. If you have, then it’s possible you could be packaging and selling it. Perhaps you enjoy writing and would like to create an e-book with some of your ideas. Some trainers enjoy the nutrition aspect of training and have compiled recipes for their clients. This could turn into an e-book or consider self-publishing it into a book. There are lots of options on how to create products for your business. The best thing about having products to sell is that it becomes passive income. Personal training requires your time but products allow you to make money while you’re sleeping.

Partnerships

Trainers are often on their own in their business. Building partnerships or strategic alliances helps build both businesses. Think about other businesses in your area. Are there any out there that you can approach and build an alliance with? For example, if you train runners perhaps you can partner with a running store and provide talks, write for their blog or newsletter or offer to be their fitness expert. In exchange the store would be a good source of referrals for you. 

You may also wish to partner with other trainers in your area who share a different market niche. That’s right, connect with other trainers and see how you can help each other to build your businesses. Just recently, I pulled six of my business coaching clients together to share in the cost of an ad in the local paper. Individually, they would not have been able to afford the ad but together they gained exposure because they were willing to work together.

Personnel

The last P has to do with hiring people to expand your business. Once you get to a certain level it becomes necessary to take on another person to help you grow your business. This is where I usually hear trainers say, “I can’t find anyone who is as good as me” or “my clients won’t want to train with someone else”. Other issues that commonly surface are;

1) What if the client likes them better?

2) What if the trainer decides to plunder my clients and run off with them?

3) I don’t feel like I can trust other trainers.

4) What if the trainer undermines my business?

Someone who thinks like this is coming from a scarcity mentality. Not all trainers have poor work ethics. The trick is to find the right person. Not every trainer is interested in starting their own business and some would be happy to work only part-time. 

A number of years ago, my husband and I decided to do some travelling in South America. We took six weeks and travelled to Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. I was working about thirty hours a week personal training and I knew I couldn’t let my clients go without training for six weeks and expect to have a practice when I came back. It’s also not fair to clients to take such a long break from training or expect them to find another alternative. So, I decided to hire someone to take my clients while I was away. It took a while to find just the right person, but I did. She shadowed some of my more challenging clients so she would feel comfortable and I went over each client file to orient her. She met as many of my clients as possible so that each person felt comfortable with the arrangement.

I didn’t give clients the option of training with her. I just informed them that this was going to happen and I would ensure they were taken care of. They appreciated the effort and I got great feedback when I got back from my trip. I didn’t lose one client and I made money while lying on a beach in Belize.

When the time comes that you are busy enough to hire someone then I suggest you put those fears behind you and do it. It’s a sure way to grow your business. Yes, you will have to pay this person for the work they do but you’re still going to make more money then if you tried doing everything by yourself.

Well there you have it, the 4P’s to plumping up your profits. To get started chose one P and then develop a plan. If you getting stuck or aren’t sure how to start then don’t hesitate to ask for help. That’s what business coaching is all about, helping you follow through with a plan and giving you the tools, resources and ability to move your business forward. The 4 P’s will help you plump up your profit so you can enjoy more financial success in your business and perhaps allow you to splurge on that something special.