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Epicenter Training

💲 To Present or Not to Present Pricing

Published 17 days ago • 4 min read

Hi there,

Boh here and today we're talking about pricing transparency, and whether, why, and how personal trainers should communicate their rates to prospective clients before a consultation session.

The thinking goes:

  • Not displaying rates allows you to schedule more consultations overall
  • Displaying rates results in fewer, but better-qualified consultations

As I've been building my new personal training company, and documenting every step and decision inside Epicenter Training's Online Academy, I've decided to post my rates publicly on my website.

Here's an excerpt from the discussion inside the academy:

I don't intend to negotiate on price with prospective clients. So, to be respectful of their time and mine, and not to waste either in hosting orientation or consultation sessions, where we wouldn't be able to "walk down the financial aisle together," it's important to me to be publicly transparent about my rates.
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For those website visitors who see my rates, and are unable to meet them, I'll do my best to add value for them with the free content on my website and in lower-cost, "trust tripwires" like ebooks, email or video tutorials, and other resources that are of quality while also being better-fitting financially. And, I'll do my best to guide them to these options through my website copy.
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Your time is valuable. And, if your marketing and messaging is hitting on all cylinders, there can come a time when your schedule is packed with consultations. It's fun to meet new people and hear directly from prospective clients, yet if those prospects are not financially-qualified, you may find yourself having the same conversation, over-and-over, without new clients to show for it, and wishing you'd been more efficient in your process and transparent with your rates ahead of time, so you're not sacrificing time with family, friends, or in session delivery with paying clients.

As we mentioned this topic on social media, Nick Bolio, friend of Epicenter Training and Founder of B3 Strength & Conditioning, shared his perspective on not sharing rates before a consult:

I love the grind. Love doing as many consults as possible because I like to understand people, see where they are coming from and try to offer a solution or an alternative solution - even if it's not training with me. You learn about the client but you also learn about yourself - how you can get better, what questions I can ask better, can I reframe anything, can I make my consult better, am I missing anything? Things like that. I take every consult as a learning experience. Every client is different and every client is coming from a million different angles - you learn so much in a 30 minute to hour long convo with someone so I just thoroughly enjoy doing it. Idk, I'm just built different haha. 10 years ago, this was not my thinking. I've evolved, grown and gotten so much better, especially over the last 4 years being on my own (as an independent personal trainer).

I was glad for Nick's insight, because it gave me pause to consider the unique stages of business building and experience in which each trainer finds themselves.

If you feel like reserving your rates for discussion in the consultation will earn you more orientation sessions overall as prospects haven't self-qualified themselves out of scheduling, there's no harm for a seasoned trainer to stick with this strategy, unless:

  1. They feel like they can't attend to other business-building items they've committed to
  2. They feel out-of-harmony with being able to enjoy life and not just work

There's also strong value for a new trainer in dedicating time to as many consults as possible, no matter a prospect's financial position, because there's lots of learning in those convos regardless of the outcome.

No matter which you choose, you'll want to be sure you'll enjoy the type of activity you've committed yourself to as a result.

So, which is it for you?

  1. Display your rates publicly?
  2. Reserve them until the orientation session?

Want to share this issue of Inside Epicenter Training via text, social, or email? Just copy and paste this link:

​Read this edition on the web!​

We'll see you on our virtual, fitness floor soon!

Yours in fitness,

Laura, Mike, and Boh

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Whenever you're ready, here's how we can help you:

  1. ​The Online Academy: Our exclusive community helps simplify growth so you can build a profitable training business. We share 50 years of expertise, proven methods, and actionable strategies. Interaction with co-founders and members is the foundation for your continuous learning and significant advantage.
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  2. ​The Strategy Session: A 1:1 call to get expert opinion, refocus your efforts, and open your eyes to fresh perspective. Schedule a virtual, strategy session to put together a personalized fitness business action plan.
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Epicenter Training

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