It is tempting to offer special deals, introductory offers and bargains to entice new clients to train with you.

However, there is a fine line between attracting more clients and devaluing your services.

Below are three quick tips to approach specials.

1. Should I Offer anything for Free?

A free trial or training session is sure to hook in new prospective clients, but it is not guaranteed to retain them when the time comes for them to start paying for your services.

It can be useful to have a front end offer in place so prospective clients can try out your services before fully committing to a plan, but at the same time, it is important that a prospect has some ‘buy-in’, even if it is just offering the first fitness session at a reduced rate, instead of for free.

This way it creates a bit more value and means you have got someone willing to pay for your services, rather than just wanting to pick up a freebie.

2. Should I Discount, and by How Much?

Your competition might be offering heavily discounted training packs and memberships, but undercutting them will not aid your aim of creating a sustainable and, importantly, profitable business.

Offering three training sessions for $40 when you would normally charge $60 for a session is not going to work – this is because you need to ensure that the clients you are bringing into your business can afford your services at the full rate.

As a general rule, for discounting, offer your services at approximately 80% of what you would normally charge.

3. Pre-qualifying Clients

To ensure you are not just attracting bargain-hunters who disappear the moment a promotion expires, pre-qualify new clients first.

This means you need a few hoops for new clients to jump through, otherwise you end up offering free trials to those who are not looking to commit long-term.

It is advisable to have an initial conversation with a new client, where you ‘pre-qualify’ them based on, for example:

• The price of your services and whether it is in their budget;
• If they are the decision maker of the family (and can therefore pay for training); and
• Whether they are really committed to achieving their health and fitness goals.

If it turns out that someone cannot afford your full rate, ask them what their budget is and refer them to a training provider that charges that rate. Do not reduce your pricing to suit them.