How to Instantly Give Yourself a 33% Pay Rise!

Everyone wonders how I’m able to pull in more than 50K a month in a small fitness studio when most private facilities (and even entire gyms) are doing less than half that. There’s ONE major thing I did that instantly gave myself, my trainers, and my studio a 33% pay increase and skyrocketed our monthly income. Here’s what I did to make that happen: All of our sessions used to be 60 minutes in length. Our small group, semi-private, private, corporate, and even our bootcamps all lasted 60 minutes even though we knew that the last 10 minutes or so was just filler work that could be done by the client on their own time. We felt there was any reason why our clients wouldn’t foam roll or stretch on their own after a session (at home), so we decided to act upon that. We informed all of our clients that we would not be raising our training rates this year (this was 10 years ago), but that our new policy was to switch over our training format to 45 minute sessions instead of 60 minute sessions. We let them know that there would be NO drop in results and that if there were we would go right back to 60 minute sessions with them. We told them it would be a trial and this would assure them they would still get just as good of results, if not better. We would then explain the testosterone-cortisol relationship that states testosterone peaks after 20 minutes and then begins to dip after 40 minutes. Cortisol then begins to rise and your risk of overtraining increases. To this day we haven’t had a single client ask to switch back to 60 minute sessions and they’re happy because we didn’t raise their rates. BUT, here’s what happened on our end: We are now able to train 1.33 sessions per 60 minutes instead of just 1 session. That means if you were making $70/hr you are now bringing in almost $94/hr training back to back clients!!! Can you see the implications that this can have on your business? It doesn’t matter if you’re training groups or singles, you can use the same formula. Plus, this is where it gets REALLY good! Typically, you could only fit in 2-3 peak morning and evening clients (before 9AM and after 5PM), but when you switch over to 45 minute sessions you can now add 4 peak morning and 4 peak evening sessions!!! My trainers love it because they’re making 33% more an hour than their colleagues and I like it because they’re happy, my studio clients are happy, and I’m making 33% more too! It’s a true win-win-win and if a new client ever says I’d really like 60 minute sessions since that’s what I’ve done in the past we just say “well, at least try our 45 minute session format and if you still want 60 minute sessions in 2 weeks from now we’ll be happy to extend that time.” You should also charge a premium for the 60 minute sessions… 33% more . To be honest, we just crank the intensity up, and believe me, no one is asking for another 15 minutes to be added on to their session! With athletes you may need the extra 15 minutes for warm-up, etc, but that doesn’t mean they can be taught some specific moves and then they can do it on their own. The bottom line is when a client knows they are getting a great workout and they are saving money by not choosing a 60 minute session they are more than receptive. Plus, everyone’s adult clients have super busy schedules and it turns out they actually want the shorter workout time frame! So, if you’re currently doing 60 minute sessions professionally write to all of your clients and then tell them in person that you will be keeping the rates the same but adjusting the format based on new research you’ve uncovered. I hope this instant pay raise got your mind going and will give you a new surge in peak time session openings and more money coming into your bank account at the end of the month!
Committed to your success

Ben Dulhunty
Owner & Founder
Smart Studio Solutions