This document provides an overview of a business and marketing course for fitness professionals. It discusses setting up a personal training business, including the benefits and pitfalls of self-employment. It also covers developing a marketing strategy using concepts like the 4 P's (product, price, place, promotion). The course teaches how to analyze customer needs and competitors, develop a unique value proposition, and promote business through strategic and tactical marketing plans. Students will complete a case study and business/marketing plan to demonstrate their learning.

1. Business & Marketing For the Fitness Professional Session 1 Self Employment – The Benefits & Pitfalls Types of Marketing

2. Outcomes Business Planning – How to set up your business and legal factors. Marketing for Personal Trainers – Understanding the wants and needs of the customer and various methods of marketing. Situation Analysis – demonstrate how to analyse the market using SWOT analysis.

3. Outcomes Consumer Behaviour - Recognise the various factors that influence client buying behaviour. Defining your Business – Mission statements and unique selling points Promoting your Business - Price setting, advertising strategies.

4. Outcomes 7. Pricing Policies & Strategies - Explore and decide on pricing objectives, relevant to life cycle of business. 8. Location of business - Discuss the distribution options available to personal trainers and the implications of cost positioning.

5. Assessment The assessment will be in the form of a case study, you will be given the criteria at the end of the course and the plan will be produced using the knowledge gained from this unit. You will produce a business and marketing plan for your own business. This plan could be used when applying to banks in the future, (if passed)

6. Personal Trainers are Loaded! As a personal trainer many feel they can use their fitness skills and knowledge to make a good living training a handful of clients. Some may be lucky enough, but unless you have equipped yourself with the necessary tools to run as a business you may not be as successful as you could be.

7. Why Set Up Your Own Business? Motivating Factors There are many reasons why someone may want to start a business, however, freedom and control are the likely to be the driving forces. Most self employed people have 3 common personality traits. TASK - In Pairs think of 3 words that might describe these people? Think of 3 people with these traits!

8. Why Set Up Your Own Business? Motivating Factors – Are you any of these? Enthusiastic with high energy levels Highly self motivated with a desire to succeed Determined to achieve success

9. Benefits & Pitfalls Self Employment Pitfalls? Benefits?

10. Benefits & Pitfalls Self Employment Can be lonely – need to be self motivated Book keeping and financial monitoring Pressure – bank manager, self, family, clients Irregular income No holiday pay No sick pay No pension/retirement provision. Freedom to accept/decline work Control over the hours worked Control of types of work undertaken Personal satisfaction Business expenses can be claimed Lower levels of national insurance Tax is paid every six months Pitfalls Benefits

11. Why Do Businesses Fail? Statistics illustrate that over 50% of new businesses fail to succeed. TASK In Pairs come up with as many reasons that you can think of what factors could cause a business to fail?

12. Why do businesses fail? The Statistics Explanation Cause

13. Why do businesses fail? The Statistics Lack of motivation, intelligence and energy Little knowledge of product and basic business skills Not well covered in necessary areas Insufficient knowledge of the service provided No attention to detail No knowledge of legal factors and Insufficient financial planning INCOMPETENCE LACK OF EXPERIENCE UNBALANCED EXPERIENCE LACK OF PRODUCT EXPERIENCE NEGLECT FRAUD/ FINANCIAL DISASTER Explanation Cause

14. MARKETING – A Definition The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines marketing as: “ The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customers needs profitably” http://www.cim.co.uk/home.aspx

15. What is Marketing? Scenario: Imagine you start up in business as a personal trainer. You have taken all the right courses, have all the latest equipment, and you strike a deal with a popular health club which gives you access to 10,000 people, a percentage of whom may be interested in being personal trained.

16. What is Marketing? You may think the next step would be to ‘market’ your services by placing business cards around, posters, leaflets and talking to club members. BUT – this is ‘Promotion ’ which is often confused with the broader term of marketing.

17. Marketing Marketing starts much earlier in the plan if the business is to reap the rewards in the later stages. Marketing is finding out: What the customers want? What the customers need? Who the competitors are? Efficient delivery of the service

18. Strategic V Tactical Marketing. Strategic – What markets should we be in, what products or services should we be offering, how much should we be charging? Tactical – To achieve the objectives of the business, price promotions, advertising, direct mail etc

19. Forming a Strategy 1 . Who are our customers? – (the target market) How will we reach them? What tasks need to be done to achieve this? What are our competitors doing?

20. The 4 ‘P’s – Marketing Mix

21. Marketing Task Complete the worksheet. Define the 4 P’s for your business i.e. What will your product/ service be? How much will it cost? Where will it be distributed? How will you promote it?

22. Summary of Session Explained the module outcomes Aware of assessment procedures Identified benefits and pitfalls of self employment Marketing: Strategic marketing Tactical marketing Marketing strategy The Marketing Mix (4 P’s)