How to Calculate the Cost of a New Client
Succeeding in business means you have to wear a lot of hats. You’re a personal trainer, yes, but you’re also a small business owner. You must start thinking like a businessperson. Here are my suggestions and simple strategies to help you understand how the money and time you invest in attracting clients can pay off in the long run to drive your business forward.
Time is Money
A lot of experts will tell you not to trade your time for money. Think about for just a second. Literally everyone trades time for money at one point or another and when you’re starting out, time is one of the commodities you have that is worth something. To me, the only difference between people who succeed in business and those who don’t is how much they get paid for their time.
In my book, Your Fitness Career, I get into the nuts and bolts of determining your hourly rate effectively. Let me just say here that even though you may feel like you’re flying by the seat of your pants when determining your hourly rate, there is a method to the madness. You must take into account several things, including:
How much money you want to make each month
How many hours you can invest in your fitness business
How much marketing will cost
How many of your available hours must be spent on administrative tasks
How much time you can devote to clients
I know, it’s a lot to take in. My book helps break this down point by point. Just understand that this is something you really need to think about in order for your own business to succeed and for you to charge prices that actually provide you with the income you want. Determining the value of your time is one of the most important aspects of your fitness business.
Spending Money to Make Money
A wise person once told me that in order to make money, you have to spend it. That’s a big part of calculating the cost of a new client for your fitness business.
Now, remembering that your time is money and that you have to spend money to make money, let’s say you decide to provide complimentary sessions for prospective clients. If you can convert at least half of the people you provide a complimentary session to into long-term clients, then you’re exactly where you need to be.
If you’ve given out 10 complimentary sessions you calculated to be worth $2000 and then booked half of those people for regular sessions, the cost of the $2000 campaign to gain 5 new clients is $400 a piece. See where I’m going with that? You need to understand how much time you’re devoting to promoting yourself and how many conversions to regular sessions that will get you, then you can determine how much each new client costs and if that’s something that’s sustainable for your business.
The fitness business isn’t easy, but it’s also not an impossible one to be successful in. All you need to do is always be open to learning new things to drive your business forward!
Looking to become a successful personal trainer? Make it possible with my book. Your Fitness Career