Is Your Club Primed for Growth with Personal Training?

Club Solutions - January, 2007

Software for personal trainers is gaining attention as a critical component of club management software for improving the operational processes that impact your club’s growth on a daily basis. How well your club streamlines its operations; improves trainer productivity; reduces costs, and increases profits will be a determining factor in your facility’s overall future success. With the popularity and revenue gains that club owners have seen with their personal training business in recent years, implementing club management software which includes a personal trainer scheduling and management tool has become that critical “must have” for a club of almost any size.

If you haven’t yet implemented club management software within your club, there are a variety of key items for you to consider as you begin the selection process:

• Is it user friendly – i.e., can it be used by staff with just novice computer experience?
• Does it offer detailed management of training packages and other service offerings?
• Does it allow for detailed tracking of trainer payroll, commissions and varying pay rates?
• Does it provide personal training specific management reports for club performance and financial analysis?
• Can it be accessed from any Web-connected computer – both inside your club or out?

A good club software system focuses on these sets of issues with an eye on executing and managing them more efficiently on a daily basis. This attention to detail can result in improved operational control; better visibility into your business; improved customer service, and more consistent employee performance.

Outlined below I have identified what we consider four key reasons for implementing a new club management software solution with trainer scheduling and management:

Improved operational control

The software system selected should provide club owners and trainers with an instantaneous view into daily processes to make sure operations are proceeding smoothly. Is a certain trainer available at a specific time today? Does my 2 p.m. appointment have any pre-existing medical conditions, or owe a balance for a prior session or package? These are all questions that should be able to be answered by the new system with a quick glance at the screen, or with one click of your mouse. By spotting trouble early each day, small problems can be dealt with, or eliminated completely, before they have a chance to accumulate and become large ones.

Consistent performance reports and financial analysis

A good club Membership Management system enables a realtime view at how your business is performing, which yields reports that are more consistent and accurate in nature. Traditional reports are often out-of-date by the time they arrive on your manager’s desk, and usually after unexpected problems have already cropped up. A good system should provide customizable reports covering a variety of critical areas such as: daily schedules and rosters; invoices; payments and customer statements; payroll reports for export to third-party payroll providers, and management reports for club performance and financial analysis.

Enhanced visibility into your business

Good club management systems will provide the ability to view departmental performance in real-time, yet the power lies in its ability to uncover inefficiencies and provide insight. Creative fitnes club owners armed with this information can see how to better monetize facility resources and staff, and help to improve the overall profitability of their club. This information can help to uncover inefficiencies in the use of a trainer’s time each day, as well as help to more quickly and accurately determine when another trainer should be added to the days scheduled, etc. It can also help to identify which trainers are consistently converting free trials into revenue generating customers, and which trainers are struggling with this extremely critical aspect of their jobs. All of this various information should help gym and club owners and managers answer the key questions that will help them streamline the operations of their personal training business and improve the revenues derived as a result.

Improved customer service

Real-time visibility into your health club or personal training studio's daily processes also translates into improved customer service for your members. For example, when clients call in to check on trainer availability; find out about payments owed, or change an appointment, a good club management system will provide these answers right at your fingertips – giving the member the answers they need, when they need them. A growing number of club owners are realizing that a powerful trainer scheduling and management system is an ongoing way to deliver enhanced business performance and in turn, significantly improve customer service.

Hopefully the four reasons I have outlined above will help to show why researching and implementing a powerful club management solution with trainer scheduling and management is an important process for your facility – and it will help to prime your gym, health club or fitness center for long-term growth and success.

For a free evaluation of your existing club-wide scheduling and management process, please contact me directly at any time.

Adam Zeitsiff is the CEO of EZFacility.com, Inc. He can be contacted at 866.498.EASY (3279), or visit www.ezfacility.com