A Guide to Raising Your Prices for Personal Trainers

If you’re reading this then the chances are you know you need to raise your prices. If not now, soon.

Maybe you went in too low from the start and now you’re trying to pick up the slack. Or your business outgoings, plus the cost of living have outgrown your current business model.

Whatever the reason, you want to raise your prices without losing or upsetting your existing clients.

Raising the prices of your personal training services can be stomach churning but it’s just part of the business growth process. At some point or another, you’re going to have to get used to asking for what you’re worth.

Here’s how.

Step 1: Have a Great Reason

No good business owner raises their prices just for the sake of it. There's almost always a reason whether it's up skilling yourself, moving in to a new building, an increase in rent or even the cost of living for you and your team.

Whatever the reason, make sure you have one and come up with a way it enhances your service.

For example, your new studio:

• Costs more to rent
  
• Costs more for air conditioning
• Better location

But your clients don't care. What they do care about though is:

• More room for better equipment
  
• A cooler atmosphere to train
• More convenient for travel and parking
  

What's the reason for the price increase and how does this improve the service you're offering them? We'll be using this later in the Price Increase Letter template.

Step 2: Manage Expectations

The first step to raising your prices for your personal training business is to manage the expectations of the clients who will receive a price hike.

Nobody wants to pay more for stuff and unfortunately, as soon as you mention money, the friendly relationship you may have with clients can turn straight in to a business conversation.

If you were to announce the new price increase only a week before it was to take effect, it would not only surprise them but they wouldn’t have time to get used to the idea.

For some clients, this won’t be a big deal at all. They’ll understand you have bills to pay and that your service is worth it.

But some people will need to feel angry or upset about the whole thing and then calm down before having any rational thoughts.

To manage expectations, simply tell your clients as far in advance as you possibly can. If you plan to raise your prices in 6 months. Tell them.

Ideally, 3 months notice is more than enough time for clients, even new clients, to get used to the idea.

Don’t forget to let them know during sessions, via text, via email and any other way you might correspond with them and tell them at regular intervals all the way up to the day you raise your prices.

Step 3: Offer Current Clients a Loyalty Bonus

This is by far the best way to keep your current clients happy. Let them know you’re increasing your prices but they still get the best deal for being an existing client.

For example, if you wanted to raise your prices by $10/hour you can do this one of two ways:

1. If your main goal is to raise the prices for newer clients and keep your existing clients happy, raise the prices for NEW clients by $10/hour but only $7 for your existing clients. A loyalty bonus.
2. If your goal is to raise your prices for existing clients, because you might have a lot of them, raise your prices for new clients by $15/hour and offer your existing clients the $10 rate.
   

Either way, let them know that they are getting the best deal for sticking around.

Step 4: Download the Price Increase Template

What to write and in what order can often be a bit tricky, so we created a script you can copy and paste in to a Word doc or an email to send to your clients.

Be sure to edit the script for your business and make it as personal as possible.

Dear <client name>:

I've got some good news and some bad news!

Here’s the good news:
* We're adding more upgrades within the studio.  More equipment, more effective workouts, faster results.
* We're up-skilling myself and the rest of the team.  This improves your session quality with more knowledgeable coaches and a better transformation experiences. 
* More money will be invested into merchandise such as towels, drink bottles and protein powder so you will always be well equipped for your goals.
* Plus loads MORE to be revealed in the near future...

Here's the bad news:
Offering these amazing services and helping you accomplish great results has taken it's toll on the business and myself financially. With that said, in 8 weeks, the price of personal training with [YOUR BUSINESS] will increase by $10 per session.

But not for YOU!
Because you're already a valued client and I love working with you, your hourly rate will only increase by $5 per hour. You'll be paying less than any new member of [YOUR COMPANY] and that rate is locked in for at least 12 months.

Here are your new rates:
* [PACKAGE 1]
* [PACKAGE 2]
* [PACKAGE 3]

I understand price increases are never fun (I’m human too after all) but here’s how we can make it work:
* If you do 1 x session a week, it’s only 1 x less cafe bought cappuccino per week (and you save yourself 135 calories). 
* If you do 2 x sessions per week, it’s only 1 x less trip to the service station for a snack.
* If you do 3 x sessions per week, it’s only 1 x less lunch out per week so simply pack your own lunch and you’ve got your training covered.

Thank you for your understanding and I look forward to smashing more goals together. 

Step 5: Raise Your Prices

If you’ve managed your client expectations and made them aware of their preferential rates, the month you raise your prices should be a breeze.

Depending on how you bill your clients, you’ll now need to work out the new rates they’ll be paying and adjust the payment systems accordingly.

This can take a whole month because in most instances, you may not have all of your client payments come out on the same day

Don’t forget to adjust any marketing assets such as your website or leaflets to reflect the new pricing structure and have a system in place for any of the leads that come in during the transition.

Some leads may have read one price on your site and then be told another during a consult. That wouldn’t go down too well.

You can be sure that the top 20 personal trainers in New York wouldn't have second thoughts about raising prices when needed.