I just got back from an outdoor training session with one of my Personal Training clients.
We train outside by choice all year around.
This morning I had to reach for my jacket. Now I understand that 50 degrees is not cold, but on the heels of weeks of intense heat, it felt cold. Reminded me of our fall and winter training sessions.
That of course, led my mind to the realization that the sun starts is journey south next week!
Labor Day, back to school rituals and the energy of the fall season is only 12 weeks away.
While I fully intent to immerse myself in summer activities for the next three months, there are a lot of things we can, and should do now, to be ready for the fall season.
At the top of your list is raising your rates. Yes, we need to start the process now as you will see below.
Stay with me. I know this is not a comfortable thing to think about, much less put in place. 🙂
If you haven’t raised your rates in a while, you really need to do it. If you raised them last year, great, but you need to again. If you don’t you are leaving revenue on the table – not a good business strategy.
We are closing in on the longest period of economic growth in this country ever. Times don’t get much better than this.
With rare exceptions, prices go up every year for products and fitness products should not be an exception. Small yearly incremental increases are easier all the way around.
People always ask me how much prices should increase and there are many answers to that question, but generally at least 3-5% has worked well with me over three decades.
Here’s how to begin the process of raising your rates.
- Identify the last three times you raised your rates and make a list of the dates and amounts (%) of increase.
- Make a list of all the complaints you received with each increase and how many members you lost and how much money you lost. (only real numbers and dollars here – no guessing)
- Gather copies of how you notified people of your rate increases.
- Make a list of what you did to prepare your clients and members for the rate increase.
- Research your hard costs for the last couple of years so you know exactly how your expenses have been increasing each year.
We can use this information to create a strategy to raise your rates after the summer.
Why am I recommending that we wait until the end of the summer? First, to get our heads and attitude in the right place.
Then to put a multi-week strategy in place to build up to the rate increase announcement.Â
This may sound like a lot of work. If you have never done it before, it will seem that way. However, we are building a repeatable plan that you can use every year after this. Get the pattern together now and use it over and over again for years.
Of course, I am going to recommend that you get help with this process. I always reached out for help on this. It’s stressful and your best resource is someone who has gone through the process multiple times and can guide you through your situation.
And of course (shameless plug coming) I recommend 6 Figure Trainers.
