Personal training businesses are commonplace in today’s fitness culture. Clients are offered structured workouts tailored to meet their specific needs and goals. This ongoing strategy provides a constant value for clients.

While a personal training business has the potential to be lucrative, it can be lacking in management.

The following is a summarization of an education session from the 2015 IHRSA Convention, produced with full permission from IHRSA. The full-length video is available for purchase at ihrsastore.com.

About the Speaker

Tim Keightley is an experienced health and fitness business developer, as well as a highly sought after speaker. He served on the Fitness First UK Board of Directors, and played a key role in the expansion of Gold’s Gym International as the Executive Vice President of Operations. He was responsible for designing Fitness First, the largest personal training business in Europe, in addition to leading the success and growth of the largest personal training business on the east coast of America. He currently occupies the roles of Senior Advisor and Business Consultant with the Fitmarc and Integerus Organizations.

When devising a personal training program for their health club, an operator should first establish achievable business goals that address deficiencies and include steps essential for success. Create a business vision that includes development for personal trainers to hone their craft. It is impossible to motivate your staff to accomplish more than revenue goals without a clear vision.

Be people focused and numbers driven when making business decisions. By focusing on people – valuing clients in conjunction with developing your staff – you create a thriving business. Trainers’ compensation should reflect their success, so align your bonus compensation programs with goal-driven behavior. For example, personal trainers can receive a percentage of their total service revenue goal once they attain stated goals. You should also compensate personal trainers on the basis of their client numbers rather than sales made.

Team building is essential to reach your business' goals and increase revenue. Be a leader, not just a manager.

What Is a Metric and a KPI?

A business metric is a quantitative measure used to monitor and appraise the status of a specific business operation. Fitness businesses employ metrics to track program statistics, monitor client penetration and trends, as well as assess the larger financial state of the business. These metrics are useful when assessing the state of your personal training business plus forecasting finances and client trends.

A key performance indicator (KPI) is a business metric used to assess factors or statistics essential to the success of a business. KPIs may be used to evaluate revenue gains or track client usage metrics in your personal training business. It is a value measured to determine whether a business’ goals are being achieved, or to build and use metrics that affect your business and clarify your achievements. Take a proactive stance in determining your business goals.

For example, to meet a specific year-end revenue goal, determine how many personal trainers are required, how many sessions must be serviced, and at what price. A well-thought-out business plan can have a direct impact on your revenue goals. Use this information to develop reporting facilities, exemplify your strategy, and identify how you intend to acquire personal trainers and clients.

Workable Metrics and KPIs for Personal Training Businesses

The following are examples of how a club might use metrics and KPIs to determine the best course of action for their business.

Example: Focusing on gaining new clients vs. retaining current clients

Consider a fitness club with a $720,000 revenue goal.

The average client spends approximately $3,000 but, due to client loss, the average spend is reduced to approximately $1,500. The club loses a client for each it gains. In this situation, in order to achieve the revenue goal at $1,500 per member, the club would need 504 clients per year, which is 7.75 percent average client penetration.

If the club retains its active members, to reach its revenue goal at $3,000 per member, it would need 252 active clients per year, which is about 3.88 percent average client penetration. As a fitness manager at the club that retains its clients, if you were to lose a client each week, you would make 79.5 percent of your goal, and receive $0 in bonuses. Whereas, if you were to gain just one client a week, you would make 121 percent of your goal, and take $43,502 as bonuses, including the ACP multiplier.

This example demonstrates the importance of being people focused, rather than number focused.

Consider a fitness club with a $760,000 revenue goal.

$760,000 divided by 52 weeks equals $14,616 in sessions serviced per week. $14,616 divided by $65 per session equals 225 sessions serviced per week. The average personal trainer services 15 sessions per week.

Your business will need 15 personal trainers to achieve your goal. As a fitness-services manager, you receive $38,000 in bonuses.

Example: Team development

• A club has 15 personal trainers, ranked from one to four. The revenue goal is $760,000.
• An Elite Personal Trainer works 25 hours a week at $75 per hour with 50 clients.
• A Specialist One Trainer works 20 hours a week at $65 per hour with 50 clients.
• A Specialist Two Trainer worked 15 hours a week at $65 per hour with 50 clients.
• A Coach-Trainer works 10 hours a week at $65 per hour with 50 clients.

With this method, you can forecast how many trainers your club will need, and train them accordingly. The development of your team is essential for growth.

Using metrics and KPIs, you can forecast how many trainers your club will need, and train them accordingly.

As can be seen in the above examples, strategically analyzing your metric and KPI data can greatly increase the revenue and growth of your personal training business. If you use data wisely, invest in your team members, and make outcome-based decisions, you should see excellent results in your club's performance.