Is it time to stop charging ‘pay as you go’?

Are you currently charging ‘pay as you go’? Do you never know from week to week what your income is going to be? Does nice weather, bad weather, Christmas and school holidays fill you with dread in case no one comes to your classes?

So… is it time to stop charging ‘pay as you go’? There are arguments on both sides, however I honestly believe that no business can become really successful purely on pay as you go, and I also believe that it is not the best way to serve your clients. Our clients are why we do what we do, so be sure to do all that you can to motivate them to improve their health and wellbeing.

The problems with charging pay as you go are:

1. You have no idea from week to week how busy you’re going to be. You haven’t got a clue if a class is going to be busy or not. You can’t plan, project or guarantee your monthly income.

2. Your clients do not benefit from pay as you go. All pay as you go allows them to do is not commit to their health, fitness or wellbeing. There’s no incentive whatsoever for them when life gets in the way one day and the cat throws up on the carpet and little Jonny is sick, or work gets in the way, there is no incentive for them to actually find a way to get a babysitter or whatever they may need to do to still turn up to your class.

Isn’t the reason they’re turning up to your class because they want to feel better? They want to be slimmer, more toned or they want to do something for them, their ‘me-time’? But by charging pay as you go you are not holding them to task with that by just letting them drop in and treat you like a drop in centre, it doesn’t benefit them at all. I don’t know any health, fitness or wellbeing business – literally none – that has got outstanding results for their clients that charges pay as you go. Pay as you go just allows people to be lazy and take the easy road and take the easy option. So, in short, pay as you go doesn’t serve you and it certainly doesn’t serve your clients! It is important to have a guaranteed monthly income that will serve both you and your clients.

TIP. If you charge for a package or a block which they have paid upfront for then they will do anything that they can do to be there. It’s about adding value and creating a consistent package. This is not only for yourself so that you know where you’re at each month financially, but so that you are serving your clients to the best of your ability. By charging pay as you go you’re not solving their problems or helping them, they’ve got to have skin in the game in order to come to your classes. When it snowed for us last year we had clients putting on their walking boots and trudging through the snow in order to be there because they paid in advance and didn’t want to miss out. Create something that makes people not want to miss out no matter what is going on in their life. Charging up front for something is a good way to do that.

So, is it about time you stopped charging pay as you go?

Katy x