u/Legal_Arachnid_3865

I'm a private personal trainer in a large city (train in my home gym) and could use some advice from other trainers/business owners.

I have two long-term clients who have been with me for several years, essentially since I first started my business. Over the years we've built a great relationship and they're honestly some of my favorite clients to work with. They know each other, I started working with one of them years ago and she recommended me to the other client shortly after we started working together.

The challenge is that their rates have remained the same while my business, pricing, and payment structure have evolved significantly. They pay $460 and $620/month (one of them trains more frequently). New clients now pay substantially more
than these long-term clients ($890 and $1190 for those same exact training packages), and I've also moved to a package-based system with automatic payments, while these clients are still on an older arrangement.

Lately there have also been some delays with payments, which has made me realize I need to revisit the overall setup.

I'm considering offering a solution where they would train together for part of the week, allowing them to keep their grandfathered pricing while making the schedule more sustainable on my end. They know each other well and are now at similar training levels, so from a coaching perspective it could work.

My concern is preserving the relationship. I don't want them to feel like I'm taking something away from them or that this is purely about money. At the same time, I know I can't keep operating indefinitely under the original arrangement.

For trainers who have been in business for a while:
How have you handled clients who have been paying legacy rates for years?
Did you eventually increase their rates, move them to a new structure, or continue honoring the original agreement?
If you proposed partner training to long-term clients, how did you present it?
Is there anything you wish you had done differently?

Would appreciate any advice from people who have been through something similar.

I'm a private personal trainer in a large city (train in my home gym) and could use some advice from other trainers/business owners.

I have two long-term clients who have been with me for several years, essentially since I first started my business. Over the years we've built a great relationship and they're honestly some of my favorite clients to work with. They know each other, I started working with one of them years ago and she recommended me to the other client shortly after we started working together.

The challenge is that their rates have remained the same while my business, pricing, and payment structure have evolved significantly. They pay $460 and $620/month (one of them trains more frequently). New clients now pay substantially more
than these long-term clients ($890 and $1190 for those same exact training packages), and I've also moved to a package-based system with automatic payments, while these clients are still on an older arrangement.

Lately there have also been some delays with payments, which has made me realize I need to revisit the overall setup.

I'm considering offering a solution where they would train together for part of the week, allowing them to keep their grandfathered pricing while making the schedule more sustainable on my end. They know each other well and are now at similar training levels, so from a coaching perspective it could work.

My concern is preserving the relationship. I don't want them to feel like I'm taking something away from them or that this is purely about money. At the same time, I know I can't keep operating indefinitely under the original arrangement.

For trainers who have been in business for a while:
How have you handled clients who have been paying legacy rates for years?
Did you eventually increase their rates, move them to a new structure, or continue honoring the original agreement?
If you proposed partner training to long-term clients, how did you present it?
Is there anything you wish you had done differently?

Would appreciate any advice from people who have been through something similar.

I'm a private personal trainer in a large city (train in my home gym) and could use some advice from other trainers/business owners.

I have two long-term clients who have been with me for several years, essentially since I first started my business. Over the years we've built a great relationship and they're honestly some of my favorite clients to work with. They know each other, I started working with one of them years ago and she recommended me to the other client shortly after we started working together.

The challenge is that their rates have remained the same while my business, pricing, and payment structure have evolved significantly. They pay $460 and $620/month (one of them trains more frequently). New clients now pay substantially more
than these long-term clients ($890 and $1190 for those same exact training packages), and I've also moved to a package-based system with automatic payments, while these clients are still on an older arrangement.

Lately there have also been some delays with payments, which has made me realize I need to revisit the overall setup.

I'm considering offering a solution where they would train together for part of the week, allowing them to keep their grandfathered pricing while making the schedule more sustainable on my end. They know each other well and are now at similar training levels, so from a coaching perspective it could work.

My concern is preserving the relationship. I don't want them to feel like I'm taking something away from them or that this is purely about money. At the same time, I know I can't keep operating indefinitely under the original arrangement.

For trainers who have been in business for a while:
How have you handled clients who have been paying legacy rates for years?
Did you eventually increase their rates, move them to a new structure, or continue honoring the original agreement?
If you proposed partner training to long-term clients, how did you present it?
Is there anything you wish you had done differently?

Would appreciate any advice from people who have been through something similar.

I'm a private personal trainer in a large city (train in my home gym) and could use some advice from other trainers/business owners.

I have two long-term clients who have been with me for several years, essentially since I first started my business. Over the years we've built a great relationship and they're honestly some of my favorite clients to work with. They know each other, I started working with one of them years ago and she recommended me to the other client shortly after we started working together.

The challenge is that their rates have remained the same while my business, pricing, and payment structure have evolved significantly. They pay $460 and $620/month (one of them trains more frequently). New clients now pay substantially more
than these long-term clients ($890 and $1190 for those same exact training packages), and I've also moved to a package-based system with automatic payments, while these clients are still on an older arrangement.

Lately there have also been some delays with payments, which has made me realize I need to revisit the overall setup.

I'm considering offering a solution where they would train together for part of the week, allowing them to keep their grandfathered pricing while making the schedule more sustainable on my end. They know each other well and are now at similar training levels, so from a coaching perspective it could work.

My concern is preserving the relationship. I don't want them to feel like I'm taking something away from them or that this is purely about money. At the same time, I know I can't keep operating indefinitely under the original arrangement.

For trainers who have been in business for a while:
How have you handled clients who have been paying legacy rates for years?
Did you eventually increase their rates, move them to a new structure, or continue honoring the original agreement?
If you proposed partner training to long-term clients, how did you present it?
Is there anything you wish you had done differently?

Would appreciate any advice from people who have been through something similar.