In this series, I’ve been telling you how to literally make money by increasing value to your clients.
It all comes down to this: You own a coaching business, not a gym.
The last three months have proven it: Your business is more about client relationships than space or equipment.
Covid didn’t change the industry; the pandemic merely increased the speed of its natural evolution. We leaned on different technology, we learned new things, and we compressed years of growth into months. Covid just brought the future to us faster than planned.
And the future of fitness coaching is more than just exercise.
Here’s how to incorporate sleep, nutrition and mindfulness training into your coaching business.
What Is the SEMM Model?
“SEMM” is short for “sleep, eat, move, manage.” The SEMM model is a way to incorporate those four elements into your coaching business.
Every client should have an individual coaching prescription, even if he or she exercises in a group.
Group classes are sometimes even more effective than 1:1 coaching because of the motivation and collaborative competition effect. However, selling a client access to classes won’t create long-term engagement or address unique needs.
The SEMM model allows coaches to personalize parts of a client’s fitness journey as required.
With coaching in four areas (sleep, eat, move and manage) instead of just one (usually exercise), clients get better results from the coach, and the coach has the opportunity to customize a client’s experience while still running group classes.
Each client receiving a SEMM prescription will receive some coaching 1:1; many clients will do part of their prescription in a group.
For example, a client might receive a personalized sleep plan, a personalized nutrition plan, exercise in a group and meditation in another group. Or a client might participate in solo meditation online, receive nutrition coaching through a Zoom call, show up at the gym two or three times per week for a personal training session, and track sleep through an app.
Any mix of these will work—it’s up to the coach to prescribe the best solution for the client.
The Virtuosity Challenge
SEMM programming is common to online coaching, but it might be new to owners of bricks-and-mortar gyms or in-person personal trainers. However, because SEMM can be delivered largely online most of the time, the plan makes it easy to move clients fully online when necessary.
SEMM programming also adds value and context for the client.
The purpose of the Virtuosity Plan is to give coaches a model to follow. It’s an illustration of how the pieces work together. The purpose of the 28-Day Virtuosity Challenge is twofold:
1. To give you, the coach, some practice in putting SEMM together for your clients.
2. To give your clients some exposure to whole-life improvement through habits coaching.
If your gym is closed during this challenge, the purpose is to create some extra revenue for you and keep your clients engaged until you can reopen.
The challenge: Program four areas of your client’s fitness (sleep, eat, move and manage) for 28 days.
Download the guide below for sample programming, a tracking sheet, instructions on delivery, tips for selling and marketing the challenge, and an exercise to complete when you’re finished.
Download: 28-Day Virtuosity Challenge Guide
Other Media in This Series
How to Literally Make Money in Fitness
How to Sell Your True Value
How to Increase Your Value
