Avoid These 3 Mistakes When Going Virtual

Implementing an asynchronous virtual management option, what we call a Prescriptive Exercise Program, can be an absolute game-changer for coaches and rehab professionals. 

When implemented correctly, this process is meant to give you freedom from a physical facility, flexibility to generate revenue in a recurring fashion, so you don’t feel the hit when you travel, and has the potential to double the lifetime value of your client! 

But… if you don’t implement a solid foundation, or structure it in an inefficient way, it can end up costing you money… yikes. 

“I’m going to try and implement this myself”. Raise your hand if you’ve said this? I’m guilty as well. 

Maybe you’ve struggled to implement a virtual management process for your coaching or rehab business, let me highlight the top three mistakes I see people make when they try to implement this strategy on their own.

1. Adding lengthy check-ins to the digital management process. It’s not uncommon for people to want to add value to their virtual process by leveraging the value of time. The moment you do this to your digital process, you’ve effectively gone back to your old habit of trading time for money. Let’s say you’re charging $400/month for a digital client management offer, and you have a 1-hour check-in per month as part of your experience. In addition, it’s taking you 30 minutes per week to manage the client program. In this case, we have 1 hour + 0.5 hours x 4.3 (avg # of weeks in a month) = 3.15 hours of management per month which equates to around $127/hour. Not bad, but not great if you’re charging more per hour for your in-person sessions. Remove that 1-hour check-in, and you’re at $187/hour - better. Now, halve the time to manage the program, 15 minutes per week, $372/hour - THERE IT IS!
2. The digital management offer simply turns into a fully encompassed “fitness” program. Now, this isn’t bad, so long as you’re charging for the addition of fitness, which would likely send the cost of this offer north of $500/month, but most people simply equate “programming” to “fitness programming,” and that’s really not the point here. By adding the fitness component, I’ve found it takes about 3x the amount of time required to manage the client per week. So take what you’re currently making and times it by 3, the difference there is your lost opportunity per month. 
3. They have no system to make the program construction simple, easy, and effective. Oftentimes it’s throwing exercises at a wall and hoping it sticks. I want your assessment to seamlessly turn into a program that expands all the way to return to activity! What are the areas of opportunity that you’re going to target? What are the reassessment processes so you can show change? What are the metrics you’re looking for to return to activity? When you have this dialed in, the entire process is sped up. Generally, for me, it takes about 20 minutes to create a program after the data collection process and 4-6 minutes per week to manage. This is how you create freedom for yourself while you deliver results to your clients. 

If you’re looking to make a shift to have more flexibility in your life, adding a Prescriptive Exercise Program can be an excellent solution. 

You don’t have to do things the way they’ve always been done… the consumer is evolving. Is your process?