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CrossFit isn’t expensive. In fact, it’s one of your cheapest bills.
A few months ago I had a question for my tax attorney. We chatted on the phone for 15 minutes and the next day I received a 4 paragraph email. A week later I received a bill for $900. $500 an hour. How on earth would someone charge $500 an hour? Easy – if they provide a value over $500 and hour, you come out ahead. That $900 will save me thousands.
I’m not going to give you the standard “prevention is less expensive than disease” spiel that we’ve heard a million times. While we know this to be true, most people don’t care.
I just wrapped up a course on the Hub Platform around setting your rates and prices. I get these types of questions a lot. After poring over the course I’ve come to the conclusion that every entrepreneur knows intuitively how to set their prices. You don’t need anyone to tell you how to do that. And anyone that says they have the exact formula is a liar.
So, what’s missing? Two, simple things: 1. Understanding Your Place in the Market and 2. Communicating that Value. Let’s get down to it.
Let’s start with #1. “CrossFit is expensive.” We’ve heard this hundreds of times.
Compared to what?
My guess is that when someone says this they’re referring to a $10, $20, or $30 gym membership they’re locked into for 12 months that they never use. If you’re new to the fitness industry, here’s the dirty not-so-secret: for every one person that goes to a $30 gym, the 10 (or 15 or 20) that don’t go subsidize the 1 user. You run a gym. You know it is very expensive – both in time and cash – to actually service a membership.
Compared to what?
Compared to Personal (1-on-1) Training? My guess is that if someone comes to you from a personal training background, they’re accustomed to paying around $75/hour and knocking on the door of $1,000/month.
CrossFit is cheap!!!
Historically the only scenario where someone could walk into a gym and have a coach know their name, know their lifts, know their goals, and know their areas of weakness was 1-on-1, or Personal Training. CrossFit has turned that on its head. We’re providing comparable value at a fraction of the cost.
Let’s break it down even further. Let’s say I go to CrossFit XYZ and pay $175/month. I average 4 classes per week and attend 1 monthly community event for a couple hours. That’s roughly 18 hours of engagement, or $9.72 PER HOUR. Where on Earth can I receive professional fitness, health, and community services for $9.72/hour?
Let’s say I go out to a decent dinner with a friend or significant other. Apps, mains, and desserts – $80. Fair to midland bottle of vino – $50. Let’s even say we enjoy the experience over 2 hours. I’m a good tipper, so we’ll call this evening $78/hour.
Maybe McDonalds is more your speed. Right now a Big Mac value meal is $5.99. I’ll gobble that thing up in 20 minutes. That’s a rate of $17.97/hour.
Massage? $80/hour. Personal Training? $75/hour Nutritional Services from an RD? $125/hour.
I think you get where I’m heading. $9.72/hour is a freaking steal for professional fitness services. Hell, it’s a steal for any service. So why are we always stuck with the “CrossFit is so expensive” comments?
Honestly? It’s our fault.
What’s your answer to this question? My gut tells me it includes one or all of the following: Community, coaching, and/or programming. In a hail-mary effort to try and talk people UP from their $30 membership, you use words that they don’t understand…yet.
What if we met price objections with more concrete examples? What if everytime someone asked “what are your rates?” we simply responded with: “Well, 1-on-1 training is $___ per hour and Group training is $___ – which is works out to about $___ per hour if you come 4 times a week .” No need to go into a 15 minute soliloquy about community and programming – just simple terms that place your product in the marketplace.
It’s time to start thinking of ourselves as a wildly valuable, inexpensive solution to personal training instead of a really expensive “gym” membership. I’m guessing you didn’t get into this to charge 19 people dues so 1 person can attend. Let’s get ourselves out of that category. Understand where you are in the market and communicate that value.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]