Why the Highest Value Client Demographic is the MOST Overlooked Demographic in Fitness
What if I told you that between the year 2014 and 2015 we added 152 annual members to our client list AND that close to 100 of those were over the age of 50? We almost doubled our membership in one year primarily because of targeting a demographic that most trainers turn a blind eye to.
Yep, I’m talking about baby boomers.
There are 80 million of them and they have tremendous purchasing power that won’t see a decline for the next 5-7 years.
I love this demographic because of three reasons I’ve seen time and again in our business:
1.They are motivated. They have aches and pains that hold them back from living their best lives. They have grandkids that want to play with them. They have fun social events they want to continue to participate in. They have also decades of sacrificing their health and wellness to provide comfortable lives for their families and they are finally ready to spend some money on themselves. They have finally started to acknowledge the signs of aging and they will do whatever it takes to feel young as long as possible.
2. They are willing to spend money to feel safe and successful in their training. They are the least likely to nickel and dime or haggle for membership rates. It’s all about trust for them. They don’t need an appealing intro offer. We have tested and tried out so many intro offers and ultimately we don’t offer anything less then $99 to get started, because we continue to see the only people jumping for FREE or $50 promotions are millennials who jump from gym to gym with no loyalty and no money to invest in their training.
3. LOYAL – They don’t blink at 12 month training contracts. If they love you and your services, they are in it for the long haul. This demographic is the reason we don’t experience the traditional lulls in memberships during the summer or during the holidays. In fact we have VERY consistent sales each month which means peace of mind for me as the business owner. It’s worth its weight in gold to build a year long membership that ensures you will have steady income.
While they’re starting to retire, they are also thinking about how to maximize their final season in life. But the window of opportunity is starting to close, as they will start curbing their spending and become more fiscally conservative the older they get. So in my opinion, NOW is the time to act if you want to attract this demographic. If you can create success with this demographic it will literally be one of the most unfair advantages you’ll have over your competition.
So why don’t more trainers take advantage of this?
Most trainers I know miss this opportunity for one HUGE reason: they are scared that they won’t know what to do if they train a baby boomer and they get injured. This is a major insecurity I see in personal trainers. And honestly, one I completely relate to because I used to share this fear.
All we have as trainers are our reputations. We know word of mouth marketing is the most valuable kind by far and because of this we can be afraid of ever creating a negative experience that could tarnish our reputation. We don’t think we can afford to have someone get injured when working with us and then blame us for their pain publicly. So most of us play it safe and try to avoid working with higher risk clients.
This insecurity is ultimately what drove me to invest a tremendous amount of time and money gaining advanced knowledge about rehabilitation. I learned and implemented. I built skills and applied it right then on live clients and over the past decade I’ve been testing my skills, honing my strategies and ultimately building a strong reputation with clients and in the medical community here. But I did what few are willing to do. I invested in my education. I knew I didn’t know enough to get the results I wanted. So I wrote the check and put in the hours to gain skills. I actually learned from leading Physical Therapists on this subject because I was so insecure about my lack of knowledge. I now have such a deep understanding about restoration and recovering from injuries that I have a list of local medical professionals who will actually refer post- op patients to me directly, bypassing the physical therapists in our area. It’s so humbling for me to think back to the days when I trained with more heart than intelligence.
If there is one thing I’m passionate about it’s getting the right information into the hands of trainers like me who have passion for fitness and a heart to serve. They say happy people are those who have found their unique strengths and found how to serve others with it. If that’s you, know that I am in your corner cheering for you and I want to partner with you to help you build the life and business of your dreams. We need more trainers out there changing lives that are doing it for more than money. We need more trainers who can actually create impact and aren’t just trading on their physique or personality. We need big hearted gurus out there changing lives.
If you want to learn more about how to level up as a trainer and build a business around your passion that gives you the lifestyle and impact you crave, reserve your spot at my upcoming webinar.
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