One of our mentors has done 81 rate increases with clients over the years.
Guess how many businesses lost all their clients and went under.
The answer: zero.
Instead, all the clients who worked with mentor Greg Strauch took assertive, calculated steps to stabilize their gyms and provide for their families.
I’ll do some quick math for you: Let’s lowball it and suggest that each of those gyms increased rates by $20 a month on about 150 clients. (This is probably low: In just one case, Greg did a rate increase of about $25 in a gym with 300 members, and some of Greg’s clients increase rates every year as part of their annual plans.)
An additional $20 a month paid by 150 clients is $3,000 in new revenue in each gym, and that’s $243,000 across all 81 businesses. Multiply that by 12 months and you get $2.92 million in additional revenue in a year.
Greg’s been helping clients raise rates for six years, so let’s multiply $2.92 million by just three years. That’s $8.76 million in revenue tied to a rate increase—and the figure is growing with every month that passes.
Wow, right?
So what would happen if you took action to ensure your rates reflect your value?
$15 a Month Over Three Years
Think about this:
It’s June 2021, and one of Greg’s clients does a $15 increase on a monthly rate of $190. The new rate is $205 for 160 clients—$2,400 drops right to the bottom line every month, allowing the owner to cover some costs—including the cost of mentorship—and take $1,500 more in salary every month.
Over the next year, the business takes in $28,800 in gross revenue related just to the rate increase, with $18,000 of that directed to the owner as personal income.
Fast-forward to today, and the totals are $86,400 gross and $54,000 personal.
And here’s something else to remember: Greg’s clients didn’t bleed members when the increases went into place. Some didn’t lose any, and all owners more than covered the cost of departures with the increases.
In most cases, Greg’s clients started the process by adding new members at the increased rate before adjusting prices for current members—it wasn’t an increase for newbies; it was just “the rate,” and it reflected the value of coaching. That gave them more income right away and the confidence to address rates for existing members.
It should be obvious that a small increase becomes huge over time.
So if you know you’re due for a rate increase, you would be wise to address the issue now so you aren’t sitting here in a year and calculating how much money you could have taken in.
Get Help
Greg walks through all the steps of a great rate increase in an episode of “Run a Profitable Gym.”
All the info is there, with our compliments.
But here’s the key: Greg helped every single client implement a very precise plan, complete with checklists, templates, pre-written messaging and done-for-you resources. His clients followed the instructions, stuck to the timeline, leaned on him for support and got great results.
I want your rates to reflect your value, but I don’t want you to raise them without a plan. You can make very bad mistakes—such as raising rates more than 15 percent, failing to implement a clear communication plan with staff and clients, or announcing the increase too far away from the date it takes effect.
If you’re planning a rate increase, get help. (Two-Brain clients, your mentor can direct you to the resources you need in the Growth Toolkit and help you create a plan of action.)
If you don’t have someone in your corner, I’d advise you to proceed with great caution. I don’t want you to slip up; rate increases are very tricky if you don’t have a lot of experience with them.
The best thing you can do to avoid mistakes is book a call to talk about mentorship. A well-crafted rate increase can more than cover the cost of mentorship, and it can ensure the long-term success of your business.
One of the things a mentor will provide is accountability. You’ll get a plan and someone to hold you to it.
Try this right now: Add 5 to 10 percent to your current rates and multiply the dollar value of the increase by current client count. Then multiply by 12.
What’s the number? And would your business and your family be better of if that money were in your bank accounts in a year?
What happens if you don’t take action this year?
To find out more about the plan that’s worked for 100 percent of Greg Strauch’s clients and hundreds of additional gym owners around the world, click here.