Hey, Callie Durbrow here and I just wanted to hook you up with some knowledge that has really transformed my business. I’ve gotten so much support and guidance from 7 Figure Sam; we were just out in San Diego at our mastermind and every time I come back from one of those I’m more and more focused and ready to take it to the next level.

Today what I want to share with you is how you can separate your business from the average boot camp using the small group training model. I now train exclusively small groups at my gym and it’s evolved into a great business and lifestyle for me.

1. Charge more money. This is one of the coolest parts about small group training. You can charge a bit less than personal training so that means people will likely stay with you longer, but you can charge a lot more than the average boot camp. You’re offering a higher value of service and charging more money (as long as you’re good) will show that you’re not the same as what they get at the local gym or at the park.
With small group training your average per hour rate is going to be between $200-$300.

2. Create your tribe. This takes a little bit of work but you have to lay the foundation by just being a cool person. Take the time to care about your clients and make them feel special. You want people that are going to support your message, get you referrals and stay with you for life. Do cool things for them like appreciation parties, transformation contests with prizes, send cards when they hit milestones and give them shout-outs on Facebook.

3. Know all of your clients. This goes along with the point that I made in #2. Even if you aren’t doing all of the training, make it a point to know all of the clients in your program. With smaller group models you can really learn about people on a personal level and that’s what counts. So many people are unappreciated in their lives so if you can make them feel special and give them some genuine compliments along with asking about them and really caring, that is worth so much more than any advertising.

4. Have small groups. With small group training you can train between 5-12 people, depending on your preference. I like the 8-12 range for my gym but you can always do less. This allows for scalable workouts for folks that are at different strength levels and also allows them to get to know you and each other. When they form a bond with their fellow trainees, that’s awesome. People don’t want to miss out on training with their friends. I’ve had clients who miss a session and they are so bummed because they feel like they’re missing out on something that everyone else is doing.

5. Give your clients an amazing experience. This relates to both the training sessions and the extra things that you do. Make sure the workouts are awesome, fun and challenging (but safe). If they love the way they feel after a session and you’re giving them great energy and confidence, they’ll stay with you for life. In addition to the workouts, be sure to give them things that no one else does. I mentioned parties, contests and shout outs. Other cool things are to have something tangible to give them. Every new client that comes in with us gets a water bottle at the time of sale, then for every 6, 12 or 24 months that a client is with us they get a bracelet with our company name on it (like the Livestrong bracelets). There is a different color for each level and they love showing those off at the gym. We also do a Client of the Month and we spotlight client successes on my blog.

6. Track progress and get results. In small group training programs you can track results really easily and this is critical. Make sure you’re doing some type of assessment. I recommend inches, body fat and weight and we’ll do that every 6 weeks along with progress photos. If you’re not tracking, you have no basis of what’s going on and people will feel a bit lost. Use the tracking to re-assess goals and keep people motivated.

7. Offer complementary services. Don’t water down your money making service (your training) but offer things like supplements, nutritional coaching, accountability seminars, extra learning seminars (things like kettlebells, stretching, massage, etc). Give your clients the entire package because I guarantee if you don’t, they’ll find someone else to get that service from. Don’t let them run off to GNC to buy supplements when you can offer them.

So there you go, 7 tactics you can implement right away to start setting yourself apart from boot camps and rock it in the small group training niche. The number one thing is take action. Don’t sit on these, just go out and do it.

By: Callie Durbrow