Let’s start today with a story…
About 4 years ago, I got a referral from our amazing massage therapist, Jenny Owens.
The client she referred (we’ll call her “Annie”), had suffered from numerous neck and upper back issues, and was finally ready to get back into working out.
The issue?
She’d had 8 or 9 trainers over the years, and literally EVERY ONE had made her neck issues worse.
So needless to say, she was nervous about coming in.
Now after sitting down, talking to and evaluating Annie, it was really clear why her neck was bothering her.
She had a litany of postural issues that were on my radar:
- Incredibly rounded/kyphotic shoulders,
- A very stiff ribcage,
- Head forward posture, and
- Just a TON of tension throughout her entire body.
(BTW – Side note on postural issues at the end so I don’t get off track here!)
So that alone gave me some clues as to what was going on, but then she lobbed me this softball:
Any time I do any rowing exercises, it actually makes me neck way worse.
Noted – because even if the rowing isn’t the problem, it’s probably not something I’m going to start with early in her programming.
But do you know what EVERY TRAINER before us had her doing?
A ton of rowing – so it would “Fix her shoulders.”
Now if you go into the wayback machine, we were all taught that if you wanted to create structural balance around the shoulder, you had to balance your presses and pulls.
If you do a bench, you need to do a row.
But if you had someone like Annie, with those rounded shoulders, the thinking was you probably need to do two – or even three times – as much rowing to balance out her posture and alignment.
And while it was all well meaning, that premise was built on a flawed understanding of how we move.
Now let’s talk about how one client like Annie can literally pay for your entire Program Design Mentorship…
The Price Issue
A few days after that eval, I took Annie through her first workout.
Now I’m telling you – this stuff is not rocket science.
In this workout I only tried to do two things:
- NOT exacerbate her symptoms (ie not doing stupid stuff), and
- Help UNLOCK her neck, shoulders and upper back so she would feel better when she walked out of the gym.
Everything I did in this workout, you can learn how to do yourself.
It’s understanding anatomy.
Programming safe and effective exercises.
And meeting the client where they’re at.
But here’s the kicker…
Annie has been with us ever since.
So let’s do some math and see what that one client is really worth.
Let’s say she comes in two times per week, and pays $335 per month to train.
- $335/month x 12 months = $4,020 per year
- $4,020/year x 4 years = $16,080 total client value (so far)
You see, one of the biggest hang-ups coaches have with the Program Design Mentorship is the price.
And while we could talk about the difference between a cost and an investment, let’s just leave it at this:
If you can successfully help ONE CLIENT get better results after going through the mentorship, it will literally pay for itself.
In the case of Annie, that one client has paid for the mentorship 5x over.
But because I’m such a swell guy, I’m actually going to give you 3 strategies you can use right now, TODAY, to help pay for the mentorship.
Let’s dive in!
#1 – Increase Your Rates
I’ve mentored tons of business owners over the years.
I’ve sat in the mastermind groups.
And I’ve owned and operated both online and offline businesses for close to 20 years now.
And if there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to invoke fear and anxiety in trainers and coaches, it’s this:
Asking them to raise their rates!
They immediately catastrophize and assume every client they work with is going to leave.
But in my experience, if you’re truly delivering at a high-level, almost no one bats an eye.
When we were still running IFAST with employees, we had language in all of our membership agreements that stated our rates would go up between $5-$10/month every year.
This did a few things for us:
- We didn’t have to have that awkward conversation every year of “hey rates are probably going up”
- It was baked into the agreement from the start – so we set the expectation that rates WILL go up every year. And
- It made sure we were getting compensated fairly for our work! After all, we were going to level up as a team, so it only made sense that we would charge more for our services as a result.
It might sound simple, but how much more could you take home every month if you increase your rates by $5? $10?
Seriously – play around with the math because the number might shock you.
And then stop playing around with numbers and actually do it. You can thank me later!
(PS – the people that DO leave are doing you a favor. With 99% confidence I’ll guarantee these are the clients who are also your biggest headache. You can thank me again when they leave!)
#2 – Create an “Elite” Program
If you’ve been doing this for any extended period of time, you have a key demographic in your business that you might not even be aware of.
The “Elite” group.
Now for starters, let me be clear – I’m not necessarily referring to the highest performers.
I’m talking about people that view themselves as being “Elite” in some way, shape, or form – and are willing to pay for it.
Think about it like this – you have three people that want a new car:
- One wantsa Kia.
- One wants a GMC.
- And the last one only wants a Ferrari.
If all you offer are Kia’s and GMC’s, what happens to the person that wants the Ferrari?
They go somewhere else.
So what I’d consider developing (if you don’t have it already) is a top-tier program that only 10-15% of your clientele might be interested in.
Maybe it’s 5x/week training.
Maybe it’s daily accountability check-ins to make sure they’re on track.
Maybe it’s planning EVERYTHING for them – training + nutrition + recovery.
To conceptualize this, think about what your highest-end client might be willing to spend on training if you offered them the right product or service.
A few examples from my own business:
- Standard online coaching is $500/month, but I have a premium/elite level that’s $1,000 if someone really wants me to text and check in with them daily.
- I have a concierge program for NBA-level clients that want me to oversee all their training/development and actually go see them in-market throughout the year.
You know your business better than I do, but you could be leaving a ton of cash on the table if you haven’t developed some premium programming.
And if nothing else, having this on your rate sheet anchors the rest of your pricing and makes your standard programs/services look likea steal!
#3 – Develop a Distance Client Program
Last but not least, a low-friction revenue stream you can create right now is a Distance Client Coaching Program.
Here’s the premise:
Not everyone lives close enough geographically to see you on a weekly basis, so you create programming they can do remotely while seeing you 1x/month for check-ins.
This is actually something Bill and I developed right out of the gate at IFAST in 2008, and early-on it probably constituted 20-25% of our total income at the gym.
Back then, we had clients that were coming in from:
- Chicago (3 hours away),
- Lexington (3 hours away),
- Cincinnati (2 hours away), and
- St. Louis (4.5 hours away)
Just to see and work with us every month!
I’ve actually gotten back to doing this recently, as I have hoopers that want custom workouts but who can’t see me regularly because they live 2.5-3 hours away.
So if I can see them once per month to check in, update their programs, and make sure they’re on the right track, we can get the best of both worlds.
Plus, these are typically some of my best clients to work with, because they’re intrinsically motivated to get the work done. It’s a win-win for everyone!
Summary
So there you have it friend – 3 revenue streams you can start building right now, TODAY, to help pay for the Program Design Mentorship.
But remember – all you really have to do is get great results with ONE CLIENT and this things pays for itself.
So what are you waiting for? Apply today for the Program Design Mentorship.
I hope to see you in there!
PS – Now for my side note on posture…
I know people love to debate on whether issues like rounded/kyphotic shoulders, anterior pelvic tilt, or head forward postures are the causes of pain.
And it gets to be a slippery slope – because I don’t want clients hyper-fixated on if there body alignment is driving pain or dysfunction.
But I’ll leave you with this…the further someone skews from what we’d describe as “within normal limits,” the more likely they are to have some issues.
The goal isn’t to give someone “perfect posture,” but if someone does have those exaggerated those alignment issues, you ignore them at your own risk.