“I WANT TO SELL MY TRAINING ONLINE, BUT I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DEFINE THE PRICE”

When starting a training or sports coaching business, there are two things you need to be clear about. The first is what services you are qualified to offer based on your training and experience. And the second is the price you will set for your online personal training.

Determining the appropriate price for your online personal training depends on several factors:

• Your business
• Your clients
• Your potential client base
• Your environment (other trainers or fitness professionals)
• And what your services include

However, to begin addressing the two questions mentioned at the beginning of this article, you first need to know what aspects you should consider before sitting down to define the price of your services. And without further ado, let’s go through them!

#1 Make your services worth it (and what they cost)

For this first point, we have taken inspiration from the Value Delivery System of our friends at the Academy of Online Coaches to show you that, although it may be cliché, the first step to success is offering a quality service.

First, let practice and experience speak louder than your resume

A good practice to identify the needs to be met by your client is to ask yourself the following question and, of course, answer it in detail.

“What skills or tasks should your client perform to achieve their goal?” – We recommend writing down at least five points.

With the answers, you will know what your proposal should include in order to later communicate it attractively to your client.

Second, offer close and personalized customer support

It may sound obvious, but many trainers think that offering personalized attention means being available 24 hours a day to their clients via WhatsApp, video calls, or phone calls, and this is not entirely correct.

Quality support would involve not only answering questions but also motivating and accompanying them throughout their process, as long as it is done through the training software you use and within your working hours.

And to finish this first point…

Finally, track goals and objectives

One of the things you need to do as a fitness professional is to ensure that your clients meet the challenges or programs you set for them. In case they don’t, you should provide them with help and alternative plans.

Ideally, document the entire client process within your training business management software. You can conduct a weekly questionnaire to assess their knowledge and satisfaction with the training and nutrition plan to detect how you can support and motivate them to continue progressing towards their goal.

#2 Consider these aspects to define the price of your online training services

Taking your training business into the digital world opens up many opportunities for growth, especially because you have a much larger group of potential clients and personal training software that can help you multiply your income.

Now let’s look at some aspects you should consider when defining the price of your training services:

The package

One way to increase client retention and take advantage of its benefits is to offer training programs instead of individual sessions.

You can group your services together at a unified price that appears to reflect a discount. In fact, to ensure higher income, you can set the hourly rate slightly higher than the norm (there’s nothing wrong with this as long as it’s not excessively inflated).

However, there is a factor that can work against you if you don’t know how to differentiate yourself and add value… the competition.

And here we are going to clarify something quickly…

There are 3 methods for setting prices for your services: the competition-based method, the demand-based method, and the cost-based method. To avoid getting confused about which one to use, we will recommend two methods: the competition-based method (as we will explain now) and the cost-based method (covered in point three of this article).

Competition-based method

It is important to take into account the competition, as long as you feel that you are not currently able to differentiate yourself or provide more value to the client, and that this value is appreciated, demanded, and perceived.

You see, since you don’t know the cost structure of the competition, it is madness to enter a “price war.” It is better to use their prices only as a reference to know what type of clients you should focus on and how you will offer your services, so that they reflect the advantages and benefits of working with you.

However, if you want to define the price of your services based on your direct competition, you can create your own strategy depending on where you want to position yourself:

• Above the competition, provided that your services are truly different or have a prestigious image superior to that of your competitors.
• At the same level as the competition. If what you offer is very similar to what your competition offers, you can use their prices as a reference and define yours very close to their figures. Be careful with the reference you use; setting the same prices as a fitness business that is considered a leader in its sector can position you as a brand that lacks originality and attractiveness.
• Below the competition. You can offer your services at a lower price than your competition. But be careful, this works if your services are basic and aim to satisfy a broad sector of the market.

Psychology

A good strategy for defining your prices can be to use prices ending in nine or odd numbers. This method is known as “psychological pricing,” and from the perspective of this study, a price ending in zero leads to the perception that it has been rounded up, while an odd price leads to the opposite perception.

There is a myth that these prices can only be used for basic services with little added value, that are not highly personalized and are offered by many competitors. This may or may not be true, however, for a fitness business, it is a good strategy if you are trying to attract new clients who want to train.

If you are not entirely sure about applying this technique, you can start by conducting a test, changing the price of your specific products or services to an odd or nine-ending price.

Creativity

When selling your services, focus on the value you will offer beyond just training or a nutrition plan.

And you may wonder, “Why should I focus on creativity when defining my prices?”

Easy! Because the added value you communicate about your services will be more impactful than the price itself.

Your expertise can make you a top personal trainer, and your creativity can make you the only one or the first trainer to use it to communicate and sell in a different and original way. And this, in turn, will make more people want to pay for your services.

Always remember this… The more creative you are at identifying an unsatisfied need, addressing health and training issues, and meeting the needs of your clients, the greater the value you will add to your training services.

Do you struggle to be creative and original?

Take a moment to look around and think about these questions… What has been your experience as a personal trainer? What works? What doesn’t work? What can you do to make it work better? Is there another type of client that could perfectly fit my coaching?

Once you have the answers, work on them. Use them as part of your pricing and communication strategy.

Time

Not accounting for the time needed to run a business is a common mistake among personal trainers.

Many often calculate their hourly rates assuming that 100% of their working hours will be reserved for their clients. If this were true, you would have to work overtime to do all the things that keep your training business running, such as administrative tasks, marketing, and program or plan creation.

Your rates and prices should cover not only the time you spend training your clients but also the administration and business development equally. The key is to organize and distribute your time according to each task, taking into account prioritizing or addressing urgent tasks first.

#3 Now, set a price for your online training services

This strategy applies whether you are a personal trainer or if you have any type of business where you provide advice to your clients. However, you should know that there is no correct or exact price.

The price you charge will depend on the perceived value to the client and the specific problem you are solving for them.

Alright, let’s get to the point. Here are the first 3 steps to take before defining the price of your fitness services:

How much money do you need per month to live?

Open your bank accounts and, if you haven’t done it already, analyze your monthly expenses and the money you need to live. Keep in mind that each person is different and has different needs and expenses.

How many hours are you willing to work?

The second analysis you need to do is the number of hours you can or want to work per month. But be realistic; there’s no need to remind you that full-time work in Spain is 40 hours per week.

You need to consider the hours you will allocate to each task. One thing is the time you solely dedicate to providing your services, and another is the time you spend on marketing, sales, and administrative tasks for your training business.

For the formula we will show you later, the calculation of these hours should be the sum of all of them (a single number). However, dividing them will help you organize yourself and always adhere to that plan, thus avoiding working more than you actually can.

Watch out! Consider taxes

The third analysis, and the least enjoyable one, is: What taxes exist in your country for the type of services you offer? For example, in Spain, you have to consider that 21% of the price of a service is VAT that you collect and then pay to the government.

The result of this calculation will be added at the end of the formula we will teach you below.

To conclude this article, here’s a great piece of advice for you:

Don’t try to add many things to your service to make it seem more valuable. Be specific and offer only what is necessary for that client with a specific problem or need. For example, for a client with back pain, you can offer a guided exercise program, a nutritional plan, and continuous follow-up… this is already enough.

Many trainers fail to realize that the act of training itself is something that many people don’t like or find challenging. If you add a multitude of tasks to be done, the client will lose motivation to continue working toward their goals.

If the additional tasks are necessary, present them as extras, so that the client doesn’t feel obliged to perform them immediately but rather at their own pace and time (for example, a document you sent them to read and apply to their process of change or evolution)…

There you have it! Now, don’t wait any longer and start selling your online training services, whether they are virtual or in person, in any discipline or modality. There are no excuses!

Oh! And if you haven’t yet digitized your fitness business, you’re in the right place to take this big step.

Start using Harbiz today, the #1 platform for managing training businesses. You can try it for free for 30 days without registering your credit card… What do you say, are you up for it?