Wondering how to grow your personal training business and take it to the next level? Maybe you want to increase your revenue but aren’t sure where to start. Or you’re working all the hours you can and don’t have time to train more clients. Whatever your reason for wanting to grow your business, the key is to do it sustainably.
In this article – we look at 5 approaches to growing a PT business and increasing revenue in a way that’s viable long-term.
Why Go For Sustainable Growth?
Let’s start by looking at why sustainable growth matters. After all, more revenue is good no matter how you achieve it, right? This might be true for some people but many PTs want to build a lifestyle business. They’re aiming to do something that they enjoy and can fit around other commitments. They want a career that they find motivating rather than stressful. So, pursuing growth at all costs can often clash with these aspirations.
The benefits of growing your PT business sustainably include…
- Producing more consistent income
- Freeing up time for other activities
- Avoiding stress and burnout
- Creating a stable self-employed career
- Adopting a more enjoyable approach to work
- Achieving work/life balance
Growing your business in a sustainable way allows you to work smarter instead of harder. It enables you to scale and increase revenue, without having to plow even more time into the business. The most popular ways to do this are through automation and outsourcing. But there’s plenty of scope to get creative and find unique ways of scaling sustainably.
How To Grow Your Personal Training Business Sustainably
Here’s how to grow your personal training business using five proven and sustainable strategies…
- Offer online programs
- Promote group personal training
- Upsell complimentary services
- Employ other personal trainers
- Adopt a franchise model
Let’s dive into each of these approaches in a bit more detail…
#1 – Offer Online Programs
Most personal trainers offer in-person sessions which limits the number of clients they can work with. There are only so many hours in a week and you need to allow time for planning and prep. This means that many PTs top out at 30 sessions.
Offering online programs is a fantastic way to get around this. Once you’ve created the workout program, you can sell it over and over without investing any more time. This produces a consistent form of passive income to compliment your in-person training revenue.
But it also works for digital trainers too – if you’re wondering how to grow your online personal training business beyond standard Skype sessions, then fixed programs are the way forward.
#2 – Promote Group Personal Training
Group personal training has been around for several years but still remains a popular fitness trend. By training more clients at once you can increase your total hourly income and make your time more profitable. It also opens up training to people who can’t afford one-to-one sessions but are able to pay a reduced group PT fee.
The downside is that group PT sessions can be a lot harder work. Instead of focusing on one client you’re having to divide your attention between 2-5 people. Yet they still expect a high level of personal support so this can be hard to juggle. However, with a smart approach to planning and strategic setup, you can deliver a high-quality group session that more than meets client needs.
#3 – Upsell Complimentary Services
Upselling is an excellent way to increase your revenue per client. By offering them complimentary products or services, you can boost the amount they spend without having to commit more of your time. The key is to focus on things that don’t require a lot of manual work or can be customised quickly using templates. A few examples include…
- Nutritional reviews
- Supplements
- Stress management packages
- Fitness equipment
- Sleep aids
- Recipe books
All of these things can contribute to people’s overall health and wellness. Think about the requests you get on a regular basis. Do people ask your opinion on which protein powders they should buy? Or want suggestions for healthy recipes? By selling products that address these needs, you’re making it easier for clients to achieve their goals while earning extra money at the same time.
#4 – Employ Other Personal Trainers
If you’re wondering how to grow a personal training business on a large scale, then employing others is a game changer. Adding just one other trainer to your team effectively doubles the number of clients you can serve and revenue you can generate. There is some management time involved but this is vastly outweighed by the increased income potential.
However, this approach will only work if you’re fully booked on a consistent basis. It doesn’t make sense to expand your team if you don’t have enough work to fill your own week. It’s unlikely you’d be able to generate enough leads to justify the additional salary costs. But if lack of time is your limiting factor, then employing others will instantly allow you to scale and grow sustainably.
#5 – Adopt A Franchise Model
This is an infinitely profitable route to sustainable growth that many fitness businesses have taken. Planet Fitness, Anytime Fitness, and Vision PT are just a few of the companies that have chosen to scale through franchising. It’s a big commitment and requires a lot of work upfront but the long-term potential is huge.
Essentially, you allow others to use your name and adopt your business model for a recurring fee. You’ll need to provide detailed operational processes and marketing templates that franchisees can follow. In return, they get to run a business that’s already proven to work instead of taking a risk on something that’s untested. If you’re interested in how to grow your personal training business on a regional or national scale, then this could be a viable option.
Growing Your PT Business – Summary
Knowing how to grow a personal training business is only the first step – the next is to take action. If you’re serious about increasing your income, then choose one idea and run with it. Don’t put it off until you have more time – the chances are you’ll only get busier. But by implementing something scalable now, you can save yourself time over the long term and enjoy a more profitable business.
Personal Trainer Business Resources
Our ready-made templates make it quicker, cheaper, and easier to promote your fitness business. They can improve the effectiveness of your sales and marketing campaigns. If you aren’t an experienced marketer, then templates also provide a useful guide for you to follow.
Whether you run a gym club, fitness studio, or personal training business, these templates will save you time and effort. They’ll help you to plan and organize your promotional activities so that you generate more revenue. You’ll get 40+ templates covering sales, marketing, and business start-up resources.
