THE FOUR GREATEST PROFIT SYSTEMS for FITNESS PROFESSIONALSBy Phil Kaplan

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For many years the personal trainer was held in a position of check. Trainers were a subset of

the health club field, relegated to conduct free sessions for new members. The strategy itself

was flawed. Trainers untrained in influence were to attempt to persuade members who saw

value in the membership and zero value in the free training session to purchase “paid sessions.”

The subtle message was, “I’m a throw-in and but maybe you’ll see enough value in something

being offered for free to pay me to train you.”

In that environment, I knew the real opportunities for committed fitness professionals would

exist outside of the conventions of the health club field, and I knew that waiting patiently for

health clubs to recognize the value in a fitness professional would keep me hungry and broke

for quite some time. Although years into my fitness career I became a club owner, it never

would have happened had I note initially found the opportunities elsewhere. I learned that if I

were to be a true entrepreneur I’d best be served by taking risks, by working to pave a path

that nobody had walked down before. I sought to discover opportunities that had not yet been

exploited and all those years ago it paid off.

Today I’m thrilled to see that things have changed.

Notably, there are two radical shifts.

Radical Shift #1: The opportunities in health clubs are widely available and career oriented

trainers can earn abundantly if deemed competent and confident, and

hooked into the right venue with the right organization utilizing the right

“share the wealth” strategy.

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Radical Shift #2: The paths I paved are now well carved and many of the elements of my

odyssey are now in existence with a wide body of evidence providing their

value

Of course there are limitless ways the 21st Century Fitness Professional can capitalize on the three ways

to make money in business originally outlined years ago in my book, Personal Training Profits and a

Secure Fitness Future.

A creative mind can uncover multitudes of strategies to capitalize on the simplicity of more clients, more

actions per client, and more $$ per client session. The list would include, but would not be limited to

small group training, 30-minute sessions, and charging a premium for specialty training.

I’ve spend some time examining all of the money-making strategies I’ve not only used, but taught others

to successfully replicate. I’d have to say there are four Profit Opportunities that top the list.

I’ll share them with you here.

❶

Sure, “Profit Monster” is an incredulous name, and when I

opened and operated mine, nobody knew I called it that. Well,

nobody except my staff, my students who were personal

trainers seeking to open their own, and me, but the truth is, the

name we used behind the scenes says it all. It was a money

maker, and it ONLY made money by serving clients. 100% in

line with precisely what we all entered this industry for . . .

helping people.

For reference, know that I owned, operated, and consulted with

clubs that were 25,000 square feet and up, each one servicing

between two thousand and thirty-five-hundred members.

While I know this is hard to believe, I was able to generate more money out of 800 square feet than I

threw off in profit with 25,000! The Profit Monster, when functioning on all cylinders, has an

insanely imbalanced profit margin when compared with facility operation in the fitness field. I’ll

share some numbers for reference.

THE THREE WAYS TO MAKE MONEY IN BUSINESS

More Clients

More Actions Per Client

More $$ Per Client Session

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My Profit Monster was unburdened with a total operating nut of $3,200 per month. There were

several revenue streams, and as I share the Profit Opportunities to follow, you’ll see how some of

them played into the Profit Monster.

My main “product” was a program delivered to groups of 12 people over the course of 12 weeks.

Each week, all 12 would sit in my studio for an educational session. One week was “metabolism

boosting.” Another was “Strength & Growth.” And so it went for 12 weeks, each week not only

giving them a life-changing lesson, but also delivering a modified routine integrating the principles

shared. For the entire program, 12 one-hour group sessions in all, they’d each pay $1200. I’d have at

least two groups in motion at any given time, sometimes as many as six, so in any given month, 24

people were enrolling in my TRANSFORM! Program.

24 people per month enrolling for 12 weeks at $1200 each would amount to a monthly collection of

over $28,000. Keep in mind, my total nut (not including payroll) was only $3,200, and the studio

wasn’t lacking in anything.

I had a staff of up to four trainers. As clients finished their 12-week program, upwards of 75% rolled

into training sessions. We had at least 10 training sessions a day during the week with a few

scattered sessions on weekends. At $75 per session we’d collect over $20,000 per month in session

revenue. Trainers were paid $37.50 per session so even after paying trainers, the studio brought

near $10,000 in training revenue to the bottom line. In a month.

There were other revenue streams. I offered a comprehensive “intake” including a full assessment

for $150. That drove at least another $3,000 per month.

When you total up the revenues, you’ll find we drove in over $50,000 per month.

In a large well-run multi-purpose health club I might gross $200,000 in a month, with 10% going to

the bottom line for a $20,000 net.

In a Profit Monster I’d throw of $50,000+ and keep upwards of $40,000, and these were conservative

numbers before bringing on ancillary staff.

I paid an assistant $40,000 and a trainer 50% of generated revenues for ½ of the training sessions, so

even pulling that out of gross, with the conservative numbers I used, it still throws of over $30,000 in

profit. It’s a machine, and honestly, if it were my only business, I could have thrown off well over

$1,000,000 annually in a Profit Monster with 40% or more going to pure unadulterated profit.

Remember, you won’t call it a Profit Monster. You’ll call it Superman training center, or Starbodies,

or Power and Passion, Fitness for Today, or Jake’s Personal Training (if your name is Jake), or

Marianne’s Personal Training (if your name is Donna but you always liked the name Marianne) or

virtually whatever you want. Call it ___________’s Personal Training Studio and we’ll quietly share in

a little secret. It’s your Profit Monster.

❷

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One of the limitations personal trainers historically face in income

potential is the number of hours in a day. When you identify the

limits on your revenue, you’re suddenly in a position to re-

examine them, and that’s precisely what I did. I’ll share with you,

right now, the primary strategy that released me from the limit of

one-client-one-payment-one session. It’s really the key strategy

that took me from struggle to security, from question to certainty

that this could, in fact, be a lucrative career.

There was a time I strove to be busy. I wished for busy. I dreamed of busy. Then something

happened. I found “busy” and I longed for freedom. I’ll explain.

When struggle subsided, I was building up a clientele, developing a reputation, and learning to

incorporate marketing, planning, and client tracking into my “work week.” I found myself with a full

book of appointments and lots of new interest, but it wasn’t long before “busy” started to wear on

me. What at first felt like a long-awaited blessing began to feel like a burden. I was “burdened” by

New Client Consults.

Clearly I needed an initial meeting with each prospect before he or she became a client. In the early

days I did the consultations for free. Why? Because that’s what the health club industry taught me

to do. It wasn’t long before I came to understand why I was broke.

At the time I was charging $50 per session. If my time was in fact worth $50 for an hour of my time, I

was literally losing $50 for every free session I did. I wised up. I started charging for the consults, but

offering a money back guarantee, and suddenly, at only $50 per session, with 7 consults per week, I

increased my income by $1500 per month. 20 weekly sessions fast became 35 weekly sessions and it

gave me the confidence to bump things up to $75 and $100 per consult / session shortly thereafter.

Clearly that had a major impact upon income, but that’s not the profit opportunity.

The profit opportunity came when I realized, instead of devoting one-hour to one person who I had

to convince to pay me $50, $75, or ultimately $100, I could see 8 or 12 in an hour and charge them

each only $20 with the same money back guarantee. Yes, I realized I could conduct a sort of “class”

in a classroom setting and charge people to “learn.” It gave them a chance to meet me, to hear

enough to determine whether I had enough knowledge and experience to get them to their desired

outcomes, and . . . it prevented me from having to devote an hour to any non-client.

Unlike the $50 or more that I asked for a consultation, the fact that this “class” was “only $20” made

it an irresistible offer.

I chose not to call it a class, not to call it a consult. I chose to call it my Orientation, a group

empowerment session teaching people to gain control of their bodies and metabolisms. I’d “sell it

out” with 8 prospective clients each week, and I and my eventual team sold it out for years. Because,

each week, 8 people paid $20 each, I generated a consistent $160 for that hour (if my trainers

conducted the sessions we’d share 50%-50% so they’d get $80 for the hour), but more importantly I

didn’t come out with 1 new client, I came out with up to 8, and for a long stretch I had a 100% close

rate. It allowed me to quickly hire a team (in my Be Better project, a course for health practitioners

and fitness professionals, I call that my spillover as having a team to replicate my services allows

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revenues to grow from the spillover of my offering). Revenues continued to increase, and rather

than the greater volume adding complexity or complication, my business became simplified. There

were three elements and only three.

The Reach, the Funnel, and the Spillover.

The Reach is marketing. The Funnel was the paid group Orientation. The Spillover was my web of

revenue builders.

The Orientation grew to larger groups of 50 people once per month, and ultimately to doing

seminars for 1,000 people every 8 weeks.

The concept is powerful. “Funnel” all your prospects into a paid introductory session and use it as

the bridge between “I’m interested” and “I’m committed.” This alone has generated millions of

dollars over the 7 year span that personal training was my primary revenue stream. It can do the

same for any personal trainer willing to step outside of the mold and tap into the limitless potential

that is far more accessible than most are willing to recognize.

❸

This opportunity couldn’t exist in an earlier time. It is a 21st Century

opportunity that has led me to much of what I do today.

Unlike the first two Profit Opportunities I share, this is not as much a

strategy as it is the initiation of a perception shift, one that elevates

you to an entirely new level virtually eliminating your competition

completely. Invest some time and energy into building yourself up in

the manner I’m about to describe and at this moment I’d say you’re

in the ½ of 1% of Personal Trainers who are able to even play in this

arena. Don’t let that intimidate you. Let it inspire you! It simply

requires some courage, discipline, and acquired experience which

you can start to amass right this very minute.

Before I share the details of being “a Health Catalyst,” or what I’m

calling the “Pivotal Player,” there are some important boundaries to

discuss. It’s vitally important that you don’t step out of your scope of

practice. With that said, know that within your ability to safely

prescribe exercise, there’s lots of untapped room. I conduct 3-day

long workshops (as well us a webinar series) on this topic so for the sake of being brief, I’ll stay away

from details. I want you to simply recognize the opportunity conceptually.

We live in a society where the majority of our adult population has been diagnosed with at least one

chronic disease by the time they hit 45 years of age. They do as they’re programmed. They seek

advice and guidance from a medical professional.

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For various reasons, the medical system is prohibitive in terms of its ability to allow a conventional

physician in an insurance-based practice to spend any quality time with an unwell patient. The

human connection is almost absent from the doctor-patient paradigm. This is the open door.

When I refer to the “’unwell” I’m not referring to sick people who need hospitalization. I’m talking

about the people in your neighborhood, gassing up their cars, dropping their kids at school, and

commuting to work. I’m referring to people who are functional but medicated, who are moving

slowly along the continuum of disease. This is the most opportune market for the personal trainer

with an enhanced skill set and a willingness to understand the mindset of the “I’m not better but I’m

medicated” reality so many people live with.

This is the market that has allowed me to charge $6,000 for an 8-week relationship with a client, and

take a genuine interest in the betterment of his or her health. I become the pivotal player in their

health care team. I conduct a 3-hour intake. I send them for labs. It is outside of our scope of

practice to examine lab results for the purpose of diagnoses, or to claim to treat a condition. I never

do either. I simply get them the answers they need and track what I’ve learned to call “their health

trending.”

I am in contact with their physician(s) and associated medical practitioners. I help them understand

the meds they’ve been prescribed. I might even have them order some genetic testing (which again

is a course in itself). The bottom line is, the client / patient craves the human connection, the caring

ear, the guide who doesn’t prescribe anything other than lifestyle shifts and exercise protocols

(usually unorthodox but within scope of practice) and it’s that human craving that creates an

immense perception of value.

After the 3-hour intake, the client has one 40-minute appointment every week for 8 weeks, an

additional one-hour food review, and a one-hour exercise instruction and coaching session. I’ll

expect to spend a total of 3 hours additional contacting people, researching, and speaking with the

client. My total time investment is a 3-hour intake, eight (8) 40-mintue sessions, one exercise hour,

one nutrition hour, three support hours, and a closing 90-minute session.

It’s a total of about 15 hours. It amounts to $400 per working hour. The value is extreme. The

opportunity to move the client forward Is almost a guarantee. The key is screening the clients to

make sure you are compatible and aligned. I’ve been highly selective after telephone or skype

conversation ($150 consultation), as to the clients I’ll accept the $6,000 from, and with an

assessment of what I’ve learned to call Human Betterment Potential (I’ve developed a screening

sheet), the right ones provide a very rewarding win. You get paid, they get better and their life

moves forward with new potential.

If you opt to bring on 2 new “intensive” clients each month, and you can “manage” 4 at a time, you

generate $12,000 monthly for a handful of client relationships and a minimal investment of time.

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❹

Consider the Profit Monster opportunity, and the Orientation, and imagine the ability to bring them

together without need to pay rent or build an audience. Bringing them under someone else’s roof, a

roof that sits over a living office environment made up of people in need of betterment creates what

we might call an ideal scenario. There are people in need, a ready-made audience, and . . . it doesn’t

cost you a cent! That’s the beauty of the opportunity that connects you with companies, progressive

companies that operate with a recognition of the importance of keeping their employees well.

Once you grasp the potential of this opportunity and begin to connect the dots, you’ll feel capable of

picking and choosing how many and what companies you work with. I’m not suggesting they’ll fall at

your feet, but I am insisting that when you match the need with the solution, magic happens. There

is a need in the corporate marketplace and you have the solution.

Let’s begin by forgetting the term “Corporate Fitness.” Forget the word, “wellness.” These

commonly used words and phrases are all but impotent. They’re overused, undervalued, and rarely

serve to excite any executive, manager, assistant, or laborer. Think of a corporation, not as an

intimidating arsenal with protective gatekeepers and disinterested HR managers, but rather as an

assemblage of people, many in need of and in want of better health, fitness, and well-being.

With a single agreement you gain access to face time (not the app but actual face time), a complete

database, emails, venues, publications and promotional vehicles that will not cost you a cent. While

I’ve had hundreds of corporate relationships over the years, this didn’t crystallize for me until I

formed a relationship with a hospital. The short version of the story is, the facility had a training

theater that held 300 people. I was going to do a public for-fee seminar there. Per their policy, we

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offered it to their employees first and sold it out at $20 per seat within one hour . . . with hospital

employees!

I realized, the key to the corporate program, at least as far as profit is concerned, isn’t to come in

with the same jargon about reducing health care costs and building camaraderie as everyone else

targeting that market displays as they brandish slick brochures and pitch books. They key is to speak

to each employee as an individual.

Within the corporation’s walls, using the Orientation concept (you don’t need 300 people in a room

you can do it with 8 or 12) sell an 8-week program for a fee. At times the company will subsidize it,

but if they’re resistant, you can still make it happen. You can position the offering as if the

corporation is subsidizing half. In other words, put a value on it of $1200 and collect $600. The

upper execs are thrilled that you’re elevating them and the employees see yet another perk or virtue

of being a part of this group.

Although, by all appearances, your relationship is casual, this should not be a causal relationship with

the entity. It should be backed by a clear contract, ideally two-years with a reasonable early

termination clause. With a solid agreement, your strength in nurturing the relationship will come

from your relationships with the employees and execs.

SUMMARY

This report is nothing more than a snapshot, a microcosm of the Not-Quite-in-the-Box-But-Proven-and-

Legitimate opportunities that exist for those who have opted to pursue the noble and rewarding field of

personal training as the arena in which they’ll earn their livings.

I’m privileged to stand alongside you. Take it seriously, and commit to being “better” than what is usual

or expected. Be a true catalyst adding some human betterment to every life you touch and the rewards

will fall in your path with every successive step you take.

This information is based upon an extensive volume of strategies and principles shared in Phil Kaplan’s Be Better

Program. For more information or to register go to bebetteracademy.com or email Phil directly at

phil@philkaplan.com