ACE CPT Chapter 18 – Personal-training Business Fundamentals

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ACE study guide, ACE practice test/quiz and ACE flashcards for chapter 18.

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The direct employee model

  • This is working under an employer such as in a corporate gym, commercial setting or private gym
  • Advantages
    1. No overhead costs for the facility, equipment etc.
    2. Benefits such as healthcare
    3. Opportunities to move up (promotions)
  • Disadvantages
    1. Often times it can be high-pressure sales environment

Independent contractor

  • Advantages
    1. You typically have the freedom to choose your pay scale based on what type of market you are
  • Disadvantages
    1. Marketing costs are typically your responsibility
    2. Traveling to the home of your client
    3. Possibly have to rent out space to train
    4. Taxes

Business planning

  • Executive summary
    1. The concept of the business
      • The description of the business
    2. Financial information
      • First-year startup costs
      • The sources of capital
      • The potential for profits and sales revenue
      • ROI (return on investment)
    3. Current business position
      • Information about the owners of the business
    4. Major achievements
  • Business description
    1. Competitors
    2. Operating model
    3. Management team
    4. The fitness market locally
  • Marketing plan
    1. Find your target audience
    2. Learning to communicate why your services are valuable to your clients
  • Operational plan
    1. Organizational chart
  • Risk analysis
    1. Barriers to starting – Employees, marketing costs, equipment cost, renting space
    2. Financial risks – The capital needed in order to begin and expand
    3. Competition
    4. Employees – Staffing and payroll
    5. The SWOT analysis – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
  • The criteria for decision-making

Brand creation

  • Finding your target market and demographic

Being able to communicate the benefits

Client retention marketing

  • Using periodization programs

General communication marketing

Picking a business structure

Necessary services for beginning a business

  • An attorney
  • An accountant
  • Graphic designer/web developer
  • Insurance broker
  • Real estate broker
  • Contractors

Financial plan

  • Goal setting with SMART
  • Closing ratio – If you get one paying client for every 10 you talk to, you have a 10% closing ratio
    1. Use this to find new goals of how many prospective clients you need to talk to weekly

Managing time

  • Client management
  • Working with clients
  • Prospecting potential clients
  • Building advertising and marketing materials
  • Additional job duties
  • Exercise
  • Homelife/personal life

How to sell training

  • How to market to potential clients
  • How to ask for the sale
    1. Identifying the emotional needs of the client
    2. Address those needs effectively with potential client
    3. You need to be genuinely interested