Advice for Gym Owners...

(Cross-post because this is bullshit…)

Post your rates on your website. And if you don’t want to do that fine, but when I contact you asking specific questions, don’t tell me to come down and try a class, answer the fucking questions… I broke my neck in Afghanistan, I can’t roll anymore and I’m not looking for me. But I am looking for a place for my kids. When you refuse to answer the question it comes off like you don’t want your rates known openly so you can size me up and see if you can milk me for more money than others in your gym.

This isn’t 1995 anymore. Non-answers are going to get me to move on and look elsewhere. Do gym owners have any idea how many people they turn off by pulling this shit?

4 Likes

I disagree and I am not a gym owner. Just from my own personal experience, when I FIRST started bjj the idea of paying $150 a month would have been outrageous to me and I am confident I would have not bothered with the free trial. It wasn’t until after i tried a class and then negotiated the price a little lower that I [almost] reluctantly joined. I was paying $24,99 a month at my local LA Fitness at that point - bjj gym prices are some serious sticker shock to people unfamiliar to bjj.

Establishing value in person makes sense to me. It’s different from shopping for a product like a car or soap because the product [bjj] you’re shopping for is different everywhere it’s sold.

Every place has a free trial - why not just go try a bunch of free classes and see which one your kids felt most at home with? I have only been at my school but from what I understand, prices are negotiable almost everywhere.

^ agreed.

SpeedKing9 - I disagree and I am not a gym owner. Just from my own personal experience, when I FIRST started bjj the idea of paying $150 a month would have been outrageous to me and I am confident I would have not bothered with the free trial. It wasn't until after i tried a class and then negotiated the price a little lower that I [almost] reluctantly joined. I was paying $24,99 a month at my local LA Fitness at that point - bjj gym prices are some serious sticker shock to people unfamiliar to bjj.

Establishing value in person makes sense to me. It’s different from shopping for a product like a car or soap because the product [bjj] you’re shopping for is different everywhere it’s sold.

Every place has a free trial - why not just go try a bunch of free classes and see which one your kids felt most at home with? I have only been at my school but from what I understand, prices are negotiable almost everywhere.

Well as someone who has been involved in BJJ for years before my injury it’s not sticker shock, but avoiding the question is just irksome… And it’s not even about the price, it’s about evading a legitimate question that a business should be willing to answer.

In addition to my own BJJ/JKD/MMA gym, I've worked as a professional ballroom dancer and studio manager in multiple locations.

Some of those places don't want to give rates over the phone, because the sticker shock can send people running - we're talking over $100 per 45 minute private lesson, and in most cases you're taking a minimum of one of these per week.  Some people see the prices and take off running, but plenty of others are fine with it and sign up. I had one client who took six lessons with me every week.  

Some studios had no problem answering the question over the phone - if you asked, they'd give you the number with no evasion.  Their rationale was that they were gonna see the prices eventually, and if that was enough to make them faint, let's save everyone the hassle of doing it in person.  But there's a vast middle ground of potential client who could afford the rates if they really thought it was worthwhile, and those are the people that you want to have come down, see the value offered, and make the decision with a full appreciation for what they're receiving.  

Before all this, at my gym, I posted the rates for a long time. I thought it made me competitive, because my rates were in the middle for my area.  I learned later that my rates were actually on the low side compared to my competition.  But many, many people wanted to haggle and get free training (I learned later that this is a sign you're on the discount-end of the pricing spectrum).  Eventually I raised my rates and took them off the website.  I thought people would raise hell, but actually enrollment improved substantially. We had more people come down to check it out, and very little pushback when they learned the prices.  

Nowadays when I worry that BJJ costs too much, I like to remind myself just how many clients I had at the dance studio, and how many lessons per week they took My six-privates-per-week client was an outlier, but I had plenty of people taking 2-3 per week. These clients were paying $800-1200 per month on lessons (to say nothing of gear, studio swag, and special events).  And the primary studio was just a mile from where my BJJ gym was - so it's not like this was a different population.  

I say all that to say - clients have their own expectation built up for what a thing should cost and what they will get for their money.  Sometimes these track reality and sometimes they don't.  (Studio owners also have their own assumptions about these, and they're often mistaken.)  It can be very difficult to know whether to tell people the rates up front, because you don't know what a person thinks about those rates. You might miss out on plenty of good students who would actually pay what you're asking, if only they could experience the gym first. Knowing when to qualify and disqualify clients is a very tricky business with no right answer.

 

1 Like

Forget prices, now schools aren't even showing their schedule, you have to give your email just to see what time their classes are, that's stupid. 

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meatballcheeze -

Forget prices, now schools aren't even showing their schedule, you have to give your email just to see what time their classes are, that's stupid. 

THIS THIS THIS

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No schedule is stupid. How do I know if I can even attend?

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You guys just don't get it...

We don't list price, schedule or location online.

In fact, our website doesn't even mention jiu jitsu --It's just some abstract images of amorphous shapes and phone number... which is disconnected.

It's called "marketing", maybe you guys should look into it.

 

 

7 Likes

You’re all weird guys.  Run your business but it’s definitely gay to not provide prices after someone asks.

2 Likes

Price is on the front page of my site, always will be. 

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My problem was getting priced out of the gym i trained at. The rates were just constantly going up. Started at 100 a month then 125 then 150. Some guys are paying upwards of 200 a month now. I know it doesn't seem like that much of a change, but it adds up and I needed to put loot to other things.

3 Likes

I never list my prices until new people come and check out the gym

I dont give a shit if they dont like it, go somewhere else.  My academy is bursting at the seams its so full. 

Mike Wazowski - 

You’re all weird guys.  Run your business but it’s definitely gay to not provide prices after someone asks.

+1

Frankly, any sort of marketing shit makes me lose interest immediately but of course people can run their gyms however they like and plenty of people seem to think it works.

However not answering a direct question just makes you an asshole.

1 Like
Bukabuki - 
amadeus - (Cross-post because this is bullshit...)

Post your rates on your website. And if you don’t want to do that fine, but when I contact you asking specific questions, don’t tell me to come down and try a class, answer the fucking questions… I broke my neck in Afghanistan, I can’t roll anymore and I’m not looking for me. But I am looking for a place for my kids. When you refuse to answer the question it comes off like you don’t want your rates known openly so you can size me up and see if you can milk me for more money than others in your gym.

This isn’t 1995 anymore. Non-answers are going to get me to move on and look elsewhere. Do gym owners have any idea how many people they turn off by pulling this shit?

I always wonder about you calling snow hazel a tranny many years ago when you got butt hurt. Was that true? Plot twist…the kids are snowhazels? Trannybkids?

Never called Hazelin a tranny. Never been butthurt over her… We’ve been friends for over 20 years and I can’t recall either of us ever getting mad at the other.

You sure you’re talking about me?

You should be able to answer basic questions within reason. I’ve helped run programs and sorry, giving prices over the phone in general just diminishes getting sign ups. It is what it is so no use in bitching about it. MOST people need to see something in person to get actual perceived value and if you are one of the ones that don’t well kudos but you don’t operate like everyone else. Add in its a VERY common thing for competition to call around asking about your specials for the season and package rates so they can undercut you if possible (stupid but I have def seen it happen). And for people trying to run a business sorry but these are the sorts of things you will try to go against as its the nature of the fitness industry.

Now I will say you should always give out some basic info and those that don’t are a bit naive. Class schedule, types of classes, mini bio on the lineage of the teacher, etc. are all perfectly normal questions to have answered over the phone. So there is no reason to act clandestine. Prices however you do have to talk about in person and thats that. As it does help to weed out those w legitimate interest vs those who really won’t commit anyways.

twinkletoesCT - 

In addition to my own BJJ/JKD/MMA gym, I've worked as a professional ballroom dancer and studio manager in multiple locations.

Some of those places don't want to give rates over the phone, because the sticker shock can send people running - we're talking over $100 per 45 minute private lesson, and in most cases you're taking a minimum of one of these per week.  Some people see the prices and take off running, but plenty of others are fine with it and sign up. I had one client who took six lessons with me every week.  

Some studios had no problem answering the question over the phone - if you asked, they'd give you the number with no evasion.  Their rationale was that they were gonna see the prices eventually, and if that was enough to make them faint, let's save everyone the hassle of doing it in person.  But there's a vast middle ground of potential client who could afford the rates if they really thought it was worthwhile, and those are the people that you want to have come down, see the value offered, and make the decision with a full appreciation for what they're receiving.  

Before all this, at my gym, I posted the rates for a long time. I thought it made me competitive, because my rates were in the middle for my area.  I learned later that my rates were actually on the low side compared to my competition.  But many, many people wanted to haggle and get free training (I learned later that this is a sign you're on the discount-end of the pricing spectrum).  Eventually I raised my rates and took them off the website.  I thought people would raise hell, but actually enrollment improved substantially. We had more people come down to check it out, and very little pushback when they learned the prices.  

Nowadays when I worry that BJJ costs too much, I like to remind myself just how many clients I had at the dance studio, and how many lessons per week they took My six-privates-per-week client was an outlier, but I had plenty of people taking 2-3 per week. These clients were paying $800-1200 per month on lessons (to say nothing of gear, studio swag, and special events).  And the primary studio was just a mile from where my BJJ gym was - so it's not like this was a different population.  

I say all that to say - clients have their own expectation built up for what a thing should cost and what they will get for their money.  Sometimes these track reality and sometimes they don't.  (Studio owners also have their own assumptions about these, and they're often mistaken.)  It can be very difficult to know whether to tell people the rates up front, because you don't know what a person thinks about those rates. You might miss out on plenty of good students who would actually pay what you're asking, if only they could experience the gym first. Knowing when to qualify and disqualify clients is a very tricky business with no right answer.

 

agreed

Bukabuki -
amadeus -
Bukabuki - 
amadeus - (Cross-post because this is bullshit...)

Post your rates on your website. And if you don’t want to do that fine, but when I contact you asking specific questions, don’t tell me to come down and try a class, answer the fucking questions… I broke my neck in Afghanistan, I can’t roll anymore and I’m not looking for me. But I am looking for a place for my kids. When you refuse to answer the question it comes off like you don’t want your rates known openly so you can size me up and see if you can milk me for more money than others in your gym.

This isn’t 1995 anymore. Non-answers are going to get me to move on and look elsewhere. Do gym owners have any idea how many people they turn off by pulling this shit?

I always wonder about you calling snow hazel a tranny many years ago when you got butt hurt. Was that true? Plot twist…the kids are snowhazels? Trannybkids?

Never called Hazelin a tranny. Never been butthurt over her… We’ve been friends for over 20 years and I can’t recall either of us ever getting mad at the other.

You sure you’re talking about me?

Now you are a liar. I know it. You know it. 

Uh… Ok.

Do you maybe wanna go take your meds before posting?

Some really decent and some really crappy advice on here.

Giving your price without showing your value first doesnt make any sense, anybody who has experience knows that. It’s fine if you only want athletes but if you want people with no experience, you need to show them what they are getting before you tell them how much it is.