How to make More from Less as a Personal Trainer

How can a personal trainer make more money while their clients pay less?

It sounds like a conundrum; however, it is possible for you as a personal trainer to take less money from each of your clients, and yet increase your own revenue. Do you know how to make more from less?

You’ll need to understand how the systems at your club work, embrace the technology (that scares some PTs) and put in a little extra time on communication strategies. But it could easily bring in another £24k per annum, so it’s worth it!

Let’s say as a PT you see 5 clients per day, 5 days per week for £50 per 1-hour session (to keep the maths simple). That’s 25 sessions per week, making £1,250 each week, or £5k per month.

Here’s how to make up to another £500 each week. Firstly, you need to find out more about the systems in the gym, work out how to monitor your members performance, and how to send messages to members from those systems.

The Secret

The ‘secret’ is to see each client less often, but contact them more regularly with feedback on their workouts, and charge them a little more.

Starting with 5 weekly clients, explain that you’ll see them every two weeks instead of every week. However, in-between PT sessions, you’ll monitor their workouts and send them a motivational mail, tips, and inspiration. Charge £70 per session with the value-added feedback included. Each client is now paying £70 every 2 weeks, instead of £100.

Now you can gradually double your client base, and increase the value of your PT, while your clients pay less. Eventually, you could have 50 clients every 2 weeks, charging £70 per session, making £1,750 each week, or £7k per month!

Communication is Key

Note that the communication is the most important part and something that you should set time aside for (probably at the start of the day). Think of it as a physical activity statement, or status update, with a personal commentary from you, their PT. You’ll spend a few minutes each morning looking at a client report and adding a personal note to your template. Make sure that the client gets your message. Take time to reply to every message they send to you as well, and refer to the conversations you’ve been having when you see them for their physical appointment.

The better the system you work with, the more feedback you can give, and the more you can charge. This could range from “You’ve worked out 4 times this week, well done” to “You’ve improved your Performance Index on cardio by 5%, and lifted an extra 1,500kgs with your legs today, keep up the great work!”

Identify your early adopters

There will be some clients who are unwilling to go for a 2-week gap, or don’t want to pay more at first. That’s fine; focus on ‘high-rollers’ first. But once you’re halfway into your new strategy, you get to choose which clients you still want to work with, and offload the lower value clients to another PT, who will be glad of the introduction or referral.

You can use this strategy to work less hours and make the same money, if you wish. Use it to make more time for yourself, your family, or to focus on your next business venture… it’s not all about the money!

Boutique clubs like Fitness Space use the Technogym mywellness system for programming and to monitor member performance, class attendance, outdoor exercise, and body measurements. Their PTs (Coaches) regularly message clients with words of encouragement; it’s a key part of their member engagement strategy that not only retains members but also upsells more sessions and other products.

System features

Whatever system you use, find out what’s possible to monitor and motivate your members. Understand the system, get some training, read the documentation, ask an expert, and test it on colleagues or friendly clients. Find out how to link other activity trackers (exercise outside the club is often critical), Body Composition Monitors, and anything else that measures effort or progress. Then work out how you will know when to congratulate or encourage your clients.

You may also need to ‘sell’ the system to your clients for this to work well. If they’re just going to be receiving a message, check their comms preferences if that’s an option (it should be). Make sure they’re receiving your message (or is it going to their spam folder?) You might need to get them to download your club app, to connect their running or cycling app. It’s all for their benefit at the end of the day, but some will need convincing, or showing what to do. This is all part of what they’re paying you for.

These systems are there to help you to do your job and serve your clients better, not to replace you. The better they get, the better you can be! So, embrace the technology and use it to grow your client base, grow your business, and help more people to achieve their fitness goals.


This article was originally published in the December issue of PT Monthly Magazine.