What to Get Your Fitness Clients for the Holidays?

By BJ Gaddour, CSCS, YFS

It’s that time of year when all of us are busy deliberating what we should get our loved ones for the holidays.

But for us fitness professionals we are always further burdened with the decision regarding what we should get our clients for the holidays.

After all, these people pay our bills, something most of our loved ones don’t even do, right?

Well I am going to help make your life a bit easier here.

The number one rule in deciding what to get your clients for the holidays is:

“How much money did this person make me this year?”

Keep in mind that “how much money” not only includes how much they have personally paid you but also how much money they have made you indirectly through referrals, networking, etc. (if applicable).

Now, this might sound cold, but it’s not- it’s just smart business.

At the end of the day, we live in a what have you done for me lately society and you need to approach it this way as well otherwise you’ll soon find yourself in a position of losing money.

Let’s examine the case of the typical fitness bootcamp client since he/she is a mid-ranged fitness consumer who’s willing to pay more than a gym membership but wants to cut the costs of the more expensive personal training or semi-private training optiosn.

The typical bootcamp costs $100-200/month and let’s say this camper has been a member of your program for 6 months.

That means this camper has paid you $600-1200 in 2009… not too shabby!

A good, conservative rule of thumb is to provide either a financial gift that is 1% of the money they actually made you (gross profit) OR provide a service gift that is worth 2% of the money they actually made you.

Keep in mind this is intended for the fitness business owner, not an independent contractor or employee who is only seeing a small fraction of gross profit per session, month, etc.

Now, I am always more of a fan on providing a gift that costs me nothing but my time. It fosters a better relationship with the client without needing to shrink my bank account.

Plus, think about the people you love most in your life…

Are they the ones who give you the most expensive gift OR are they the ones that continually invest the most time into improving your quality of life?

Exactly

For this camper I’d most likely provide a bonus workout to show my appreciation.

If this camper was a superstar who had referred be lots of paying campers, then maybe I’d do something extra special for him/her.

The key is using your discretion on a case-by-case basis. You definitely want to make sure you top clients are taken care of.

Here’s a general holiday gifting breakdown for the various fitness services offered in today’s fitness market:

Annual Gym Membership- $250-500 Gross Profit: Provide a $5-10 financial gift or a service gift valued at $10-20

Annual Fitness Bootcamp Membership- $1200-2400 Gross Profit: Provide a $10-20 financial gift or a service gift valued at $25-50

Annual Personal Training Membership- $6,000-12,000 Gross Profit: Provide $50-100 financial gift or a service gift valued at $100-200

Here are a couple more suggestions for holiday gifting (and gifting in general):

1.) Approach any gift as a marketing tool to get more people into your gym, bootcamp, or personal training studio. Brand shaker bottles, t-shirts, equipment bags, foam rollers, etc. with your logo to spread the word about your services.

2.) Look to leverage your personal network when gifting to mitigate cost and further strengthen the professional and personal relationship. Maybe one of your campers owns or works at a t-shirt company?

3.) Be sure to provide a gift that your clients actually want. It’s important to remember that they are not like us fitness professionals who get our rocks off with anything and everything relating to fitness. In general, if your clients enjoy your services, they’ll most likely want more of that in the form a free or discounted session or sessions.

What am I going to do for my campers to thank them for a great 2009?

We’re going to hold a special bonus outdoor polar bear winter workout here in frigid Milwaukee, WI.

It will be cold as heck, but they’ll never forget this workout because it will be an unforgettable EXPERIENCE… not just a random token of my appreciation.

Keep it simple and over-deliver with your time and you will keep your clients happy during the holidays

Crank it!
BJ

BJ Gaddour, CSCS, YFS, along with Pat Rigsby, Jim Labadie, and Nick Berry, is the co-creator of The Boot Camp Blueprint, the fitness industry’s premier business coaching program to help you build a 5-figure per month boot camp. He is also the co-creator of Workout Muse which specializes is interval training workout music soundtracks made specifically for fitness boot camps and group exercise.

Filed under: Fitness

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