A Fitness Business and Marketing Guest Post by Ben Greenfield

2008 Personal Trainer of the Year, National Strength and Conditioning Association

The Hunter vs. The Farmer

Hey there, Ben Greenfield here

Not sure if you know me but I’m a triathlete and Director of Sports Performance for Champions Sports Medicine and Human Wellness Solutions in Spokane, WA and Coeur D’ Alene, ID.

My specialties are Ironman triathlon coaching, metabolic-based weight loss, bicycle fitting, open water swim coaching, running gait analysis, swim stroke analysis, VO2 max testing, blood lactate testing, metabolic testing, sports nutrition, and other cutting-edge procedures for weight loss and performance.

I’m writing this post exclusively for readers of Big Chris McCombs’s blog, he’s probably off doing deadlifts, riding his Harley, hanging out with his wife and kids or scheming another product launch

I can just see him now…

Ok, now…

Imagine a hunter.

Each day, in order to survive, the hunter has to lace up his boots, grab his weapon, and head out into the wilderness, trekking many miles to track down sustenance.

Now, imagine a farmer.

Each day, the farmer steps out into his backyard and tenderly cares for his crops and his farm animals. As a result, he has everything he needs right there at home.

So what kind of fitness professional are you -  a hunter or a farmer?

A hunter is constantly cold-calling, advertising, searching, list-building and marketing – always on the go to find a new prospect. Meanwhile, the farmer focuses on the needs and wants of current customers and clients, nurturing, sustaining and building trust from their list.

Since it is quite rare to inherit a farm, there is always a time when every fitness professional must be a hunter.

But is there value in eventually giving up the hunt and staying on the homestead to till the crops?

You bet, especially when you consider that the cost of finding new customers can be five to eight times higher than that of repeat or additional sales to current customers!

Think about this…

If you analyze your finances and monthly income, and see that you’re falling short of your goals, is your gut response to look for new clients? Or is your gut response to find more value in your current clients?

While looking for new clients will cost you time and resources, finding more value in your current clients is often free, and far more rewarding to both you and them.

Here are several ways you can find value in your current clients…

Nutrition Products – Whether online or offline, affiliate or direct sales of dietary and nutrition supplements can increase your bottom line significantly, and enhance your client’s results. Experience has taught me that forming a relationship with a nutrition company always results in higher royalties and commission than using a generic affiliate link or wholesale-resale structure.

The best place to begin looking for companies with which to build a relationship is your own community. They will often provide you with free samples for your clients or free coupon codes for your list, then allow you to resell product from your studio or gym, or sell for affiliate income from your website. Contrary to popular belief, you do NOT need to be a registered dietitian to engage in this practice (I talk about this more in Chapter 6 of my book “Personal Trainers’ Guide to Earning Top Dollar“)

Clothing – If you use a wholesale website for clothing, combined with a local or online screen printer, the cost of custom clothing can be dirt cheap, and marked up to nearly twice your cost with surprisingly little purchase resistance from your customers.

Not only do clothing sales provide you with strong branding and well-clothed, walking testimonials, but your clients who are wearing your branded clothing will always be more committed to continuing with your services, so that they don’t look like a hypocrite! Once again, by forming a relationship with a local screen printer, you may find that they can wholesale order hats and t-shirts far less expensively than you can find on your own, and give you package deals on clothing orders combined with screen printing.

Equipment – Like nutrition supplements, equipment from kettlebells to stability balls to yoga mats can all be purchased wholesale, stocked and sold to your current customers, or sold online for affiliate income and drop-shipped for you. By including the use of this equipment as “highly recommended” or “required” in the exercise programs that you write for your clients, you will enhance the value of your programs and make your clients more likely to purchase those ancillary items.

Books, DVD’s and Membership Sites – Whether you’re selling your own information products or recommending other products for affiliate income, you may be very surprised at the amount of trust your current clients place in your “book recommendations”, “must-see video recommendations” or exercise and nutrition-based membership websites.

While you do need to be careful to not recommend products that would directly replace or compete with your services (i.e. do not be the personal trainer recommending the “Personal Trainer in A Box” to your current clients), there are a variety of nutrition plans, digital books on yoga or lifestyle, membership websites and at-home exercise videos and DVD’s that you can push to your customers for extra income. ( BTW – If you’re stuck for ideas, I’ve probably got a few good fits for you – here’s a good place to start: Ben’s Affiliate Program )

So do you want an example of how farming practically works?

Imagine that your current customer, Mrs. Jones, is paying you an average of $150 per month for personal training. Rather than rushing out to find 5 more clients that will also pay you $150 per month, you:

-Begin Mrs. Jones on a meal replacement powder that will make it more convenient for her to eat healthy meals on the go. You average $1/day in affiliate income on her daily meal replacement.

-You sell Mrs. Jones your branded t-shirt for $20 (which cost you $7 to purchase and print).

-Mrs. Jones purchases elastic bands for home exercise via your affiliate link ($8 affiliate income) and joins an online cooking membership site via your affiliate link ($25 monthly income).

-Mrs. Jones purchases two yoga e-books/video programs from your affiliate links, for a royalty payment of $27 to you.

-Your total profit: $103 for the first month, and $25 for each additional month on the membership website.

If you use this same system for 10 clients just like Mrs. Jones, you’ve automatically given yourself a hefty raise, without having to hunt for more clients and with very minimal added time investments on your part.

If you use this system for a small e-mail list of 1000 individuals who trust and hang on your every word because you send them lots of value, then you’re suddenly looking at a six figure income – again with very little additional work and time.

While nutrition products, clothing, information products and equipment will likely form the core of your recommendations as a fitness professional, ancillary affiliate services with tanning salons, spas, health food stores, and gyms can also easily be arranged.

So now that you’d read this article, close your eyes and imagine your list, your clients and your customers, then ask yourself…

How Can I Be A Better Farmer?

I’d love to here your comments below

Cheers,

Ben Greenfield

2008 Personal Trainer of the Year, National Strength and Conditioning Association

Train For Top Dollar