The Fitness Selling Expert - Ryan McKenzie

Ryan McKenzie is a Fitness Business Consultant from Orlando, Florida, where he has worked with some of the best trainers, gyms, and corporations in the world. He is also an author, speaker, and industry leader. Ryan is a certified personal trainer (NASM-CPT; PES; FMS 1 & 2; TRX; Parisi; TFW; RMT; MBF) and owns Training with Ryan.

Ryan, give us a backstory on who you are and how you got to where you are now? (1.13)

• Ryan was born in Orlando, Florida, and started in the fitness industry as a personal trainer right out of college.
• He started working at a gym in Orlando RDV Sportsplex Athletic Club. He says it is the best gym that he has ever been to in his life and that he learned a lot from them.

How did you make a transition from personal training into where you are now? How did that whole thing go? (4.40)

• Ryan says he slowly got better at what he was doing and start to get certified.
• He realized at that point that he was just doing a sales job, and that was not what he wanted. He preferred to work out with people and have fun with people.
• Ryan grew his one on one training to the point where he realized that he needed to start group training to be able to spend time with his family, so he spoke to his manager, and they initiated group training with groups of up to 8 people.

How do you define small group training? (12.00)

• Ryan's sweet spot for small groups is 3 to 8, although he could probably make it work with 10. Less than three is a private group.
• Ryan and Eric discuss the disadvantages for the client who does one on one training as opposed to small group training.
• He noticed that other trainers were having the same problem as he was with one one one sessions being canceled and realized that if you put them in a group, there's a different level of accountability. It is now between peers rather than financial.

Where do you think most trainers go wrong in selling small group training? (16.10)

• Most trainers lead with the benefits of the value of small business training, this being a lower price, which is not necessarily the best thing that they can offer.
• Ryan notes that where most trainers go wrong with training is that they position their small group training as the cheapest option as opposed to the best choice, and an additional bonus is that it is more affordable.
• Training at a good gym with a higher price per small group session is an investment most people are willing to make. 

How big do you think small group training is going to be in the next ten years as health clubs and boutique gyms grow? (33.13)

• Ryan talks about the fact that large groups and media groups are on the downturn and that small groups will be resurgent from the social point of view. People are saturated with technology and want to go back to small groups or one on one.
• Eric and Ryan then discuss the social aspect of small groups.

Where do people find you and where they go to get your courses and your book? (41.20)

• Ihatesellingbook.com is the landing page to pick up my book for free.
• All my courses are on trainingwithryan.thinkific.com.
• My other website is trainingwithryan.com.

Ryan's Book Recommendations: 

I Hate Selling

Resources:

Connect with Ryan Linkedin

Check out Training with Ryan  Website

Check out Ryan's Courses Website