Selling Programs
Key Point: I would only sell something I would buy and would only sell something that the market is missing. I don’t think the world needs any more cookie cutter programs.
One of the easiest ways for a trainer to make money is to sell what are generally referred to as “cookie cutter” programs. These are programs that will generally work for a lot of people who have a specific goal in mind. I’ve seen a lot in my time and most of them are, frankly, terrible. I used to be heavily involved in various fitness forums/communities and usually beginners would buy a program that was just a list of exercises. No guidance of how to do them, no progression scheme, seemingly no reason behind the choices, and generally just total junk. That doesn’t mean that all programs out there are bad. There are some fantastic ones. John Meadows (RIP), for example, sells programs that a number of my friends with specific bodybuilding goals have had success with and I’ve had my greatest success following DC (Dante Trudel style) training (although I was also absolutely miserable when I did it) . There are plenty of Powerlifting programs from guys like Jim Wendler and Alexander Bromley out there that a lot of people have had great success with. There are plenty of running programs out there, especially for beginners like Couch to 5k. If you want to do Crossfit you can do the WOD on their site or if you want “tactical” style training I have friends who swear by Tactical Barbell. I’m currently doing a heavily modified (see below) version of a Jordan Peters program.
At the end of the day, if you want a cookie cutter program, a lot of these are great options and I just don’t think I have anything to add to the huge stack of programs that already exist and will generally work fine for most people with a particular goal. Most of my friends suggested I just sell programs and be fully remote, but there was something about it that bothered me. There’s just something about being right there with a client that allows me to see the minor details that can make or break a program. I can’t count the number of times I’d stopped a client mid-set to re-adjust something that I’d only be able to catch on the back-end if they sent me a video of it.
If I were to create a cookie cutter program, I’d be willing to bet it would also be fine for the vast majority of people. The problem is that I’ve done a lot of cookie cutter programs and have never, not once, been able to follow one to the letter. I either lack a specific piece of equipment it calls for, have an old injury that makes one of the exercises impossible, I have multiple goals that the program doesn’t cover, or there is a disagreement I have with something in the program that makes me decide to do a part of it differently. In fact, I often modify these programs so much that I can barely call it the original program at all.
My biggest strength is that I can take what I like from various methodologies and programs and combine them with things I like from other methodologies and programs to achieve multiple goals at once in a way that works for me or a client. This requires getting to understand a client’s specific goals, history, and preferences. A cookie cutter program I sell wouldn’t be able to do that.
With all that in mind, I haven’t ruled out selling programs and coaching remotely eventually. For now though, I simply don’t think I could provide a product that would really add to what so many others have already done. Many of my clients enjoy the hybrid program that allows them personalized coaching that doesn’t break the bank, but fully remote coaching makes me uncomfortable.