Three Steps to a Money Making Boot Camp
by Dexter Tenison
The beautiful thing about a boot camp business model is that it isn’t the most complicated of business models. It is easy to look at the 10,000 foot level and realize that all you have to do is attract people to want to attend your boot camp, give them the results that make them thrilled, and always be working to get new clients into the door. Don’t underestimate simplicity.
The Money Making Boot Camp Formula:
- Attract clients
- Get clients results
- Never forget steps two AND one.
Attract Clients
If you are a fitness trainer who thinks that if you build it, they will come, you are living in an alternative reality in some corn field in Iowa seeing ghosts play baseball. Wake up! Just because you open a boot camp doesn’t mean that people will come. You must market to people in order to get them into your boot camp! Here are just a few ways you can market to your local area:
- Daily deals sites.
- Write articles in a local newspaper or magazine showing expertise.
- Create a Facebook fan page and invite people to like your fan page.
- Build an email list of people who inquire about your boot camp, people who are currently in your boot camp, and people who were a part of your boot camp. You will market to each of them differently.
- Yellow Pages. People still use the Yellow Pages and their website pulls good ranking.
- Referral systems.
- Charity events and drives.
- Flyers still work when done correctly.
- Getting clients into the newspaper to show off their success (while working with you).
- Create low barrier entry methods for people to come try your boot camp.
- A website that makes people want to take action with their fitness desires (and it must be found easily!)
Of course, there are many, many more ways to attract clients to walk through the doors. You must think about more than must one way to get clients. Sure, some work better than others, but that requires testing and retesting on your part and in your own market.
Get Clients Results
The next phase of the formula is to get clients results. So, how DO you get clients results? You could put them on a cabbage soup diet and then have them do cardio for hours and hours when they are not at boot camp. Obviously, people will not do this and even if they did, they wouldn’t stick with you for very long. However, people do know that they need to establish a consistent exercise routine in order to get results and they know it is healthy to do so. With that knowledge, create an inviting environment so that people will want to stay at your boot camp past their initial trial. The longer they stay with you, the more likely something will click and results will begin to occur.
We create that needed attraction that creates long term clients, which gives results through creating a boot camp that is always different and always fun. We have butt kicking days, use different equipment on different days, do whole body workouts using a game theme, and virtually anything that makes people talk about our boot camp and (basically) give them an addiction to what it is we offer. The general population usually does not associate exercise with being fun and entertaining, so when you get that, you know you are on to something.
Just do me a favor and don’t be boring. There are some authorities that promote a very bland approach to boot camps – repeating the same things over and over, using only body weight exercises, only format, etc. This will zap all your efforts of attracting clients, and then they will not be able to get results. Use resources available to you and study people who have made an impact in the fitness industry such as Jillian Michaels, Tony Horton, Richard Simmons, and others that you really want to emulate to fit your own style and needs.
Also, create competitions in your boot camp. There are two types of competitions you want to implement. One can be done on a weekly basis such as a workout that has a friendly competition element to it. You can give small prizes and recognize boot campers in their efforts. The other is through longer term fitness contests such as a six week transformation competition or a 21 Day Fat Burner. Both variations give you the perfect opportunity to record testimonials through video. You are recognizing their fitness results!
Never Forget Steps Two AND One.
As a fitness trainer, we get caught up the program design, the training, and all the things we like to do. It was the reason we got into fitness in the first place: to help people! However, you must realize in a boot camp people will not stay with you forever, no matter how dedicated you think they are. You have dedicated clients, somewhat dedicated clients, and lost-and-not-yet-found-their-way-yet clients. Nurture them all but don’t ever forget about your fourth kind of client: your potential clients. Whenever you aren’t training and nurturing current clients, your focus must be on getting new ones to walk through the door. If you don’t, you’ll be in a heap of trouble very soon. Keep doing the things I listed above and your boot camp will do well for you for years to come!
Dexter Tenison is a master trainer and has a master’s degree in sports science from the United States Sports Academy. He has mentored under Juan Carlos Santana and Fred Hatfield for exercise science and Phil Kaplan, Pat Rigsby, Steve Hochman, Sam Bakhtiar and others for fitness business. He owns a successful boot camp, Memphis Adventure Boot Camp, and is a “behind-the-scenes” consultant for other boot camp owners and personal trainers, elevating their businesses to new heights.
Dexter has just come out with a unique way to install fun into your bootcamps with Boot Camp Game Day!
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