5 Steps to Start & Build a Hybrid Model- In Person & Online Personal Training

5 Steps to Start & Build a Hybrid Model- In Person & Online Personal Training

Today, we are going to touch on a very serious debate that is floating around the fitness realm…

Just kidding it’s not that serious we promise you but there are some heavy opinions on whether IN-PERSON PERSONAL TRAINING IS BETTER THAN ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING and vice versa.

Since we have done both, have been Fitness Coaches for a decade now, and teaching our inner circle students how to build successful online fitness coaching businesses we figured we would shed some light on this subject and give you our two cents 😉

Let’s get straight to the point here because time is money and ain’t nobody got time for a bunch of fluff, attention spans are no joke these days.

Neither IN-PERSON PERSONAL TRAINING IS BETTER THAN ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING and vice versa.

Say whaaaa???

Yes, you heard it right the first time, neither is more superior than the other. The reason why is each one has it’s time and place, PRO’s and CON’s, and should be a personal preference as to what the client desires most and the personal trainer.

Want to know what the best route to go is if you are a personal trainer?

We will let you in on a little secret here and that is to do both IN-PERSON PERSONAL TRAINING AND ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING TOGETHER.

We call this a “HYBRID MODEL” with all caps!!!!

If this term is new to you, get used to it because you will be hearing more of it soon and especially from us twins because this is the model that we saw work for us when we first started out way back when and this is the model that is working now for our Dynamic Inner Circle students and their fitness coaching businesses.

(Here’s a pic of our beautiful home gym we built and did the hybrid model with)

We have many of our personal trainer students making great money, building some awesome businesses with a HYBRID MODEL, impacting more lives than ever, and they are happy campers 😊

Here are all the PRO’s to building a HYBRID MODEL OF IN-PERSON PERSONAL TRAINING AND ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING:

  • You automatically have two revenue streams (Mo Money, Mo Money!)
  • You can work remotely with your online clients
  • You can work in person with your clients and have that face to face communication which is awesome
  • You can set your own prices, packages, and billing cycles within each coaching busines
  • You can stack your offers and use value ladders to charge a premium for both in person and online
  • You can set your own hours with in-person clients now that time is freed up with remote clients
  • You can take on as many clients as you want remotely to make a greater impact
  • You can do group training both in person and online
  • You can port over your in-person clients to your online coaching later down the road
  • You will get more referrals from both coaching businesses
  • You will develop an in-person and online community of people
  • You stay sharp on both skillsets as a personal trainer (online & in-person)
  • You can later build more automated-digital and scalable fitness products since you have a base of hot buyers now from both in person and online training
  • You have the best of both worlds so you can help and impact more lives all together

We were going to list the CONS but, in all honesty, we can’t think of any.

By creating a HYBRID MODEL OF IN-PERSON PERSONAL TRAINING AND ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING you seriously have the best of both worlds as a Personal Trainer.

Now, you might think, this is too good to be true TWINS??? What’s the catch?

We are honest guys and terrible liars, so we must be honest here, there is one drawback but it’s very minor 😉

The best way for this HYBRID MODEL to work in your favor is if you train clients in-person as an “INDEPENDENT PERSONAL TRAINER.”

Why as an INDEPENDENT TRAINER you ask?

  • You are not an employee for a corporate/commercial gym
  • You don’t get robbed with what you make revenue wise
  • You set your own prices, memberships, packages, billing cycle, etc
  • You pay a monthly rent and keep the rest of your profits
  • You have to hustle to get your own clients thus having you learn sales and marketing skills
  • You set your own schedule
  • You build a community of your own
  • Clients feel more comfortable in smaller gyms
  • You can control the outcomes of your clients once they are done with your services
  • Oh, yea you don’t have a boss or head trainer trying to steal the spotlight

Now, don’t get discouraged if you are not an INDEPENDENT PERSONAL TRAINER yet….

We have many of our personal trainer students that are training their clients from an LA Fitness, Equinox, 24 Hour Fitness, Gold’s Gym, Crunch, and can’t think of any other ones but you get it.

And still building a HYBRID MODEL OF IN-PERSON PERSONAL TRAINING AND ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING Businesses until they find another gig as an INDEPENDENT PERSONAL TRAINER.

So, if you are in the same boat, it is totally fine, you can still start building out this POWERFUL HYBRID MODEL and play the long game with it…Don’t use this as an excuse!

“But Chris and Eric, I Don’t Know How or Where to Start with Building a Hybrid Model?”

It’s not rocket science to do this but there definitely is some strategy that needs to be implemented to do this right and this what we do with our Dynamic Inner Circle Students to help put them in a position to succeed with their fitness coaching businesses.

Get Started Today by Doing the Following:

  • Start by getting very clear as to who you want to work with, your ideal client
  • Figure out your UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION as a personal trainer (what makes your skill-set different and what specific problems do you solve)
  • Create Bad Ass content that is VALUABLE, INTENTIONAL, AND SHAREABLE so you can get social media followers to KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST you and hire you
  • Create an online coaching application that is tailored to both in-person and online coaching leads so you can separate yourself from other trainers
  • Start creating a buzz to your social media following, current clients, newsletter, community, that you are doing a HYBRID MODEL this way they can have a choice as to how they want to work with you
  • Start porting over your in-person clients to your online coaching business if they no longer need you for in-person or are planning to travel
  • Ask you in person clients for referrals to build your online platform
  • Get good at omni channel strategies meaning, start reaching out to leads, referrals, and prospects through various channels (social media, email, text software, local events, chat bots, etc)
  • Work Hard, Play Hard and Enjoy the benefits of a HYBRID MODEL!

We could go on with the list above as to how to get started with building a HYBRID MODEL, but we are pretty sure we got your wheels spinning.

The hard truth is, none of it matters if you DON’T TAKE ACTION!

At the end of the day as we said at the start of this article neither IN-PERSON PERSONAL TRAINING IS BETTER THAN ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING and vice versa.

It all comes down to what fulfills you as a personal trainer, what your vision is, and all of the above.

We hope this was helpful and gave you some light bulb moments. Make sure to send us a DM on IG or FB if this was helpful @ChrisandEricMartinez or if you have any additional questions pertaining to building out a HYRID MODEL in your Coaching Business 😊

Keep making an impact on your clients lives whether it’s in-person or online our fellow Dynamic Fitness Coaches!

-Chris and Eric

Are You A Personal Trainer Who Wants to Take Your Career to The Next Level But Feel Stuck, Alone, Lack Clarity and Don’t Know Where to Get Started?

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