No, that's not a gimmick or some dodgy advertisement.
I mean it.
I'll explain more in a second but first a little background....
(Imagine wavy 'dream wiggles' here) : )
4 years ago, I became the first coach in the UK to offer a money back guarantee on the results I attained with my clients.
My industry were stunned and amazed by such a 'daring move'. In truth, it wasn't daring at all, I felt it was what EVERY trainer should do.
3 Years ago, I extended the guarantee to every member of my team and vowed that if they could not acieve a dramatic physique transformation with their client in the promised time then we'd refund.
The industry thought I was nuts!
2 Years ago I dropped our timeline for achieving the guaranteed loss of at least 1 clothing size from 6 weeks, to 4 and shook the industry.
They started to hate me.
Last year I pushed the envelope again and promised we could get the same result in 21 days and I was laughed at.
They stopped laughing at me this year when I promised a 21 day guaranteed result or a refund of double your investment back.
Then they just got plain scared.
Now, here's the thing.
Well, 2 things actually.
First, why should any professional (and especially one that's charging you upward of £40 an hour) feel that it's ok to charge so much purely for an hour of their time rather than for a result?
The truth is, no-one even want's a trainer for training's sake; they want them for the results they're supposed to be able to get, yet the public often spend months or even years pursuing their goals whilst the trainer rakes in the cash...
Second, why would YOU go on paying so much money for a workout, albeit in friendly, motivational environments, if the results are not guaranteed?
Worth thinking about.
Anyway, so here I am having just posted to my industry about what they should be doing about this http://personaltrainersuccess.blogspot.com/2008/10/do-you-have-balls-for-this.html when I thought to myself 'Why not take this up a notch... or ten?'
So I did and I am.
If my old guarantees scared the industry, this will petrify them : )
I'm going to promiise each and every client who works with me that they'll lose AT LEAST one clothing size in 21 days or they'll get 10 times their money back.
That's without being forced to count calories, follow stupid dietary regimes or living in the gym.
That's simply following what I already do with my existing clients.
This will change the face of this profession if enough trainers and gyms
take the same approach, don't you think?
Please leave me a comment on this... I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Dax Moy
www.daxmoy.com
P.S - As I told you yesterday, I have 2 client slots to fill at my Islington studios. If you'd like to meet with me for a consult to discuss your suitability to take one of them then email daxmoypts@aol.com today.
Remember though, I only take those who're serious about their results and, as I stad to lose £1500 for every hour I work with you if you're not, you can be sure my selection criteria will be even higher than normal : )
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18 comments:
Very interesting move, i wouldn't say you are nuts though. 10x their money back - that tells me that you believe in your program and training skills enough to put that amount of money on the line. Through this i think they will believe in you.
Personally i think more trainers/fitness professionals should take this approach of what can be seen as believing in your own abilities so that others believe in you.
I think a lot of people will think they do not have the money to make this sort of committment. But then if what you do actually works then why are you worried?
When i am qualified this is the sort of aproach i will take.
good post,
Sean Ryan
sar.fitness@yahoo.co.uk
I think it is a long overdue idea. Too few trainers care about the whole person, and about achieving any result.
I am tired of throwing money away on people who really don't think about what I need, but rather just put me through their standard program.
I find many trainers aren't even educated enough to know if their program is right. Many are low income earners and don't feel they can invest in continuing education. A shame!
Absolutely love it!!!!!
As a fellow PT and one of you interns it's time to raise the standard of our industry and introduce the one thing that is lacking in our area; accountability!
This will hit most of the industry where it hurts, financially. SO WHAT!!!!
After the initall outcry, those that can take a step back will realise this is actually an opportunity for trainers to provide results and instill confidence in the client that their money is not misplaced. It will leave only excellent trainers that the clients can then actually have some fairth and bellief in.
Maybe you'll get a few scammers but i feel the benefits far outweigh the risks...
Dave Elcoate
www.backpain2leanframe.com
My trainer actually wants to guarantee results to his clients.. He believes wholeheartedly in what he does, he has a passion for it. His approach is low key, and honest.. I get the best of both worlds because I have been able to get to know him as a friend and have been able to participate in his group classes and meet other likeminded individuals (who were helpful as we all did the elimination diet)
I guess I am fortunate because my trainer does care about me as a whole person and that helps to motivate me and listen to what he is suggesting. He hasnt steered me wrong yet...
My body is a changin'...
This is great for the customer as well as a driving force for the trainer to deliver real results. Such pressure will keep any trainer on his toes! From a trainer's point-of-view you are always putting your reputation on the line when promising such incentives. A reputation for delivering results takes months, if not years to build, but can be ruined within days. Therefore, if the trainer is successful it's obviously a huge boost to his credibility and a confirmation of his professionalism.
Just out of interest, Dax, do you ever get anyone abusing of your generosity?? After all this is gambling with 10:1 odds in favour of the customer, and a guarantee to win if he/she keeps downing those chocolate bars and pints of beer!
How to make a lot of money from Dax: Sign up for his programme, pay him some money, do the workout, go home and stuff myself silly on donuts and crisps. 21 days later, Dax gives me lots of money. Okay, I'm being silly, but the point is that as a trainer, I have little control over what my clients are actually eating and drinking, nor do I control how hard they work out on the days they don't see me.
This point was brought home to me when I encountered a couple who were clients of another trainer at the gym where I worked while out shopping. I knew what work they were doing in the gym (and it was a sound programme that should have been stripping body fat off them), but had also noticed they looked any different. Then I saw their shopping cart: fruit, veggies and lean protein was conspicuous by their absence; the main food groups were Coke, Smiths (crisps), White Bread, Ice Cream... I spoke to the trainer, and he had repeatedly told them the changes they needed to make, but they weren't prepared to give up their high sugar and fat diet.
So before I say "great idea", I want to know how you, as a trainer, are protecting yourself from clients who aren't prepared to do what it takes to get the results.
Good point!
How DO I stop myself from being ripped off?
Well, several ways.
I have what is arguably the toughest gatekeeper strategy in the business where I weed out undesirables or uncommitted.
I also have a stringent results focused training and support structure in place that ensures that clients record everything they do, everything they eat and what time they sleep.
I also have a contract relating to all of this too. No small print, just pretty straightforward stuff.
Finally, I have experience and and faith on my side. I've been offering money back for years, then double money back and have NEVER had to refund.
The systems I use work 100% of the time so being conned doesn't even factor into the program.
Dax
Also, to be honest, in the example given I'd have to say that the trainer wasn't doing their job.
No offence.
To have 'spoken to them numerous times' and never gotten them to engage in the ownership of their stated aims shows a lack of coaching ability that is, sadly, all too common in the industry.
There are many great TRAINERS who can train their clients perfectly, but few COACHES who will help their clients to win the 'big game'.
I'm a coach : )
Great effort Dax, also a GREAT way to make your clients feel positive that they are going to achieve some real results.
I am a PT myself and I certainly agree with all of the positive comments, but just to add a different perspective - when you are offering these money back guarantees does this mean any client you take on has to be overweight?
Also, is this not putting 'over'emphasis on losing weight...my personal opinion is that losing weight is not the be-all and end-all of healthy vitality. I certainly know some healthy looking skinny people who can't run to catch the bus, and some 'fatter' people who certainly have reasonable fitness.
Some more recent studies have also suggested that health is not so much related to weight as it is to fitness. Although I do realise that in general being overweight = unhealthy.
Also, I certainly believe that the elimination diet is the way to go - I've done it myself to good effect. In fact, I am pretty much on it permanently, bar the odd flapjack. However, I never lost more than probably 2-3 lbs as I was never interested in the weight loss, just the health benefits. So this is my next point...do you not think that for some people it may be more productive in the long run to lose the weight more gradually (i.e. for people who ate more healthily or didn't need to lose too much weight in the first place).
Ok, prob a few more things I want to say, but I'm going to shut up now!
Just some food for thought, my intentions / motives here are purely from a knowledge / interest base.
Chris
Great points Chris : )
Actually, unless a client is obese we put very little emphasis on WEIGHT loss at all within my company, we focus far more on health achievement including, of course, achieving a decent level of bodyfat.
So our programs relate more to losing a clothing size, for example, than to losing 20lbs.
In fact, when our clients join the company, they often think they have one kind of goal and soon find the combination of corrective, postural and genuine health and mood benefits far outweigh the aesthetic goals.
That said, few if any people will set out to 'purchase' the health benefits of what we do, they have to be coached into that thinking.
The company is really about all three primary desires.
Looking, feeling and performing better.
We guarantee all three : )
Hey, Dax,
Bravo.
Any trainer worth his mettle should be able to put his service on the line.
Think I'll update my boot camp guarantee policy...
Good on ya, mate.
Cheers,
Daniel
www.WeightLossRoadblocks.com
You answered that quick!
Thanks for the answer Dax, I like your approach.
Keep up the good work!
Chris
I find it a very interesting approach. However is it possible to promise all clients that they will loose one size in 21-days? I would assume that this is easier the heavier the client is? I don't think I would be too impressed if you got somebody to go down from a size 18 to a size 16. There is a lot of spare to take from. Or is this my ignorance talking. I'm a size 12 for tops/shirts and size 10 for trousers...could you really make me a trouser size 8 in 3 weeks? I would love to sign up and see if you could. But then I am one of these skinny fat people so maybe it would be easy? Just having had the question posted makes me think and challange my assumptions. So what are the criteria to join Dax?
Hi Dax,
I couldnt agree more with your strategy albeit a very ballsy one. I my self have a small but busy stongman and martial arts/boxing/grappling training studio and guarantee that my client will achieve their goals provided they play by the rules (in bed before 11pm, 5-6 nutritious meals every day, no crap calories, plenty of water and no booze for the duration of the program) and guess what every one of them has achieved what they set out to achieve. I have one young boxer (18) who couldnt even finish his first session and is now beating all of his p.b.s every week. Plus in one month he lost 13lbs of fat, is exponentially stronger than when he first shuffled in and all without doing a single steady state aerobic session. At the same time in my town a personal trainer has written an editorial stating that you wont notice any strength or physique changes for around 12 weeks of starting a training program. This is eronious bull poopy cos all of my clients get stronger from session to session and lean up in mere weeks. It just goes to show that the mainstream of the industry dont want to scare off their clients by making them break a sweat or start to braeth hard so they come up with a bunch of pseudo-scientific pap to ensure that their unsuspecting clients keep on coming back and digging deep each week. Plus they dont tend to know why their clients postures are slowly degenerating into chronic injury states because they can't be bothered to find out. After all why would you spend money doing couses and attending lectures that are boring and full of complicated facts and stuff when you could do a high energy aeroba-yoga-lates spin session.
Rant over Brother. Its good to see there are some sane and dedicated people left in an industry that whilst expanding is also becoming devalued by sharks and charlatans.
Your Friend
Guy Jones
wantageboxer.blogspot.com
Wow, I admire your forward thinking, heres hoping all Personal Trainers/Gyms will follow the idea. Many think of PT as a way to make 'Loadsa Money'. without commitment it will soon fail.
My gym is pretty good, I pay monthly for membership, just recently they started running Personal Training as well (pay a monthly fee, Private Consultancy basis). I am agood advert for the Elimination diet, my P/Trainer gave me the printout, and he explained he has tried it before. I am the type of person to finish what I started, followed the examples, and am sticking to it, 30 Days very soon.
It clearly shows how my body has changed, becoming more sculpted (or Buff as they say :-) I seem to be stuck between 15 stone 2 and 15 stone 4. Next stage, stop worrying about weight, and enjoy the results. Healthier body, more energy, exersises are becoming more fluid, (I won't say 'easier' to do).
It wasn't so hard, I found that my diet was already balanced (biased towards protein), stopped eating unhealthy/processed foods (the little remaining in my diet), a return to my childhood diet. (I am 46 in November).
Thanks guys, I'm glad so many people are onboard with upping the standards of the profession I love so much.
Dax
Hi Dax
That's exactly been one of my principles, that it's not just looking better because of fat loss but to feel and perform better at home, work and in the hobbies that we are all involved in.
Weight and measurements are very important and can be measured and equated within the guarantee.
Others are just as important and will be documented in their goal setting exercises. Sometimes the guarantee will be modified for an individual, we are all unique!
We are not hired to train, we are hired to get goals, to win!
See you soon
Michael Bach
The Body Planner
www.thebodyplanner.com
Well I would have lost out on that one.
Although my weight has gone down a few pounds, I went to buy some new trousers, its out with the old 40" and I comfortably fit into a 38"
34 days ago I started the diet, when my weight 'stuck' at 16 stones, now down to 15 stone 6.6pounds, (and 15 stones 5pounds)
Fastest weight loss so far about 18 months ago I was over 17 Stone, with just diet changes and exersise
Elimination Diet removed wheat/whole milk/and especially 'Low Fat Spreads' although reduced fats, full of 'hydrogonised' fats in disguise and chemicals/colourings/more E numbers than an Edinburg Phonebook.
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