“OK, how much does it cost?”
Whenever I got this question at my gym, I would take a few seconds to answer.
The reasons were many: feeling less than confident, projecting my own budget onto my client, feeling that asking for money amounted to greed.
Sensing my discomfort, many potential clients lost faith in my service—if I didn’t believe in it, why should they?—and they delayed starting their fitness journeys. Some didn’t start at all.
I didn’t know it at the time, but one action would have saved me from all of those feelings, helped me make thousands more per month and helped dozens of people find fitness faster.
That action?
Taking the money conversation out of my head and putting it onto paper.
Gym owners still harm themselves when talking about money:
- They underprice their service, usually by over 40 percent.
- They project their budget (very low) onto every potential client.
- They hate asking for money, so they look for ways to discount their too-low price.
- They prescribe what they think a client can afford instead of what a client actually needs.
- They push people into group classes too fast because they don’t want to “sell” a proper onboarding.
- They sell what they like instead of finding out what the client likes.
I’m sure you could add to that list, right? I know I’m guilty of committing a dozen additional errors.
Below, I’ll tell you how to solve all your problems.
Create a Simple Pricing Binder
Start with your most effective package—the training plan that will get a client the fastest results. This is also going to be your all-in, most-expensive, let-me-solve-your-problem-for-you offer.
Write that on one piece of paper—just the price and the value stack. This isn’t a brochure.
Next, write down your personal-training rates on one page. Put the most expensive option at the top. Limit yourself to three options, max.
Then do the same for group classes. Same rules: most expensive option at the top for price anchoring, with a maximum of three options. (Protip: Don’t offer an “unlimited” option—it’s too vague and confusing.)
Finally, if you have a specialty revenue stream—like kids or legends—write those rates down on a separate page.
You don’t want every price on one page; you want a maximum of three things per page. Use big type for clarity.
Put your pages all together in a binder.
When a client comes in, take some time to understand the person’s goals and motivation. Then make a prescription: If money were no object, what would you recommend?
Then ask, “How does that sound?”
They’ll ask for the price or just say “sounds good.”
Flip to the relevant page in the binder. Avoid the temptation to present every possible option—that will overwhelm the client and kill momentum.
Show the price: “Here we are. Our rate for your best option is $459 per month.”
Sign them up and begin onboarding.
Keep It Simple, Then Start Training
The pricing binder can also be presented on an iPad, but don’t worry about being super slick or professional. I still personally use printed pages, Arial font, and black text on white paper.
At this point, the client already wants your service—your job is to get out of the way. Remove barriers such as overwhelm, too much information and too much choice, and just get the transaction out of the way so you can start changing the person’s life.
The sales binder is a massive roadblock remover for the client–and usually for the coach, too.
