How to build a corporate wellness offering. Anna Martin shares nine steps to get you started
The corporate wellness market is huge. More than ever, businesses understand the importance of keeping their workforce mentally and physically healthy. Partly because they genuinely want employees to feel valued and partly because healthy staff tend to be more productive and take fewer sick days.
While there are large companies dedicated solely to workplace wellbeing, there is also a huge opportunity for independent fitness professionals. If you’re already coaching clients, teaching classes or delivering workshops, chances are you already have skills that businesses are willing to pay for. Here are my nine steps to get you started.
Step 1: Let people know you offer corporate wellness
One of the biggest mistakes fit pros make is assuming people know they offer corporate wellness services.
Most of my bookings come from two places:
- My website
- My existing client base
A simple webpage outlining the sessions you offer can go a long way. Mine isn’t complicated. It simply explains the types of corporate wellness sessions available and links to a sports therapist I collaborate with.
The second source is my current clients. A couple of times a year I send an email reminding people that corporate wellness is something I offer and to feel free to reach out if the company they work for ever has a need for this kind of service.
In terms of social media, LinkedIn is often more effective than Instagram for corporate enquiries.
Step 2: Start with companies where someone already knows you
If you’ve never delivered a workplace wellness event before, start with organisations where someone already knows you. Existing clients can become your biggest advocates. They know what you need in terms of speakers, music and plug sockets. They know how much junk you have to lug in and out of the hall to turn it into the class they turn up for each week. They will look after you on the day and often make sure you get the best room possible. They’ll often take time out of their day to help set up your lights and laptop or move tables around between sessions.
This is the best-case scenario if you’re starting from scratch and have never done corporate wellness before, as it gives you the chance to find your feet with support from someone who knows both you and the company you’re going into.
That said, I’ve also delivered some brilliantly organised events for people who found me through my website, both online and in person. A lot of it comes down to communication, particularly from your side, to make sure you have everything you need and can meet the client’s expectations.
Step 3: Get crystal clear on logistics
Before every event, confirm the following:
- Number of attendees
- Room size
- Sound system – Are they providing the sound system or are you? What is the input on the sound system? Do you have spare cables and extension leads for every eventuality?
- Microphone availability – What is the option for a head mic? Do you have one you can provide?
- Presentation screen/projector
- Parking
- Access arrangements – Is there a stage-door scenario or are you likely to have to lug all your equipment up three flights of stairs? Will there be someone to help you? If there is someone to help you, are they allowed to lift things under the business’ health and safety policy?
- Set-up time
- Equipment requirements
- Contact person on the day
The most stressful thing is arriving expecting a professional sound set-up and they’ve brought a boombox you’d have in your kitchen. It’s just something to bear in mind, so make sure you find out exactly what you are turning up to before you get there.
Why not have a pre-event checklist that gets sent to every organiser? It avoids surprises and makes you look professional.
Step 4: Decide what you actually want to deliver
Start with what you already know. You don’t need to invent a completely new service. Think about what you’re already delivering successfully to clients.
Over time, my qualifications and experience have grown and, with that, so have the sessions I offer but I stick to what I like and what I’m good at – dance fitness, nutrition and resistance training. That being said, I am politely unwilling to lug all the kit from my resistance classes across the country, so I make sure I only suggest what is logistically possible without hiring a removal truck!
Here are some of the other sessions outside of Zumba or Clubbercise that I have run this year. Hopefully, it sparks some ideas in your own mind of what you’d love to deliver or talk to people about (within your own scope of practice of course!):
- Low-impact dance fitness focused on step count
- Improving productivity with nutrition and movement
- Staying mobile and flexible at your desk
- The non-bodybuilder seminar on eating for strength
- Strong in 20: Bodyweight resistance training for complete beginners
- Energise your day: The five pillars of realistic wellbeing
- Recharge sessions for mobility and mind
- Stronger body, stronger mind
It might sound like a lot but these are all things I either teach or deliver to my PT clients anyway, so the prep time is not too extensive. I’d recommend sitting down and thinking about all the things you are qualified to deliver (and what you enjoy) and then how you could conceptualise them for a corporate client. Corporate clients are looking for things their staff are going to be interested in. They want them to come away buzzing and feeling like the business they work for is really looking after them by putting this on. Our job is to find something that we are passionate/knowledgeable about and work out how that could be attractive to a business … and then we can put together a plan on how best to deliver it.
Some popular corporate wellness topics you could adapt:
- Desk posture and mobility
- Energy and productivity
- Stress management
- Exercise for beginners
- Strength training for busy professionals
- Nutrition for shift workers
- Menopause awareness
- Workplace movement breaks
- Sleep and recovery
Step 5: Package your services
Some people have a specific topic they want to talk about or a session they want to deliver. They will put that package together and go to different places delivering that session. It’s a great way to do all the prep once and then just slightly adapt the delivery depending on who is in front of you.
You could also structure different packages rather than individual sessions. For example, the first level could be one 45-minute workshop. The next tier up could be the workshop plus a nutrition seminar (if you are qualified to teach this). The top tier could be a half- or full-day wellbeing event. You could even pitch to deliver multiple sessions across an entire wellbeing week.
Step 6: Tailor the content to the audience
The content isn’t always what changes. The framing does.
I often use AI to help tailor things for corporate clients. I haven’t worked in a corporate environment for over 15 years, so sometimes I need a bit of prompting to put myself back into that headspace. I usually know what I want to talk about and what I want to deliver; I just need help refining the approach to make sure it’s as relevant and beneficial as possible for the employees attending.
That’s where AI comes in. I can give it my subject matter and it’ll come back with 20 alternative seminar titles or suggestions for restructuring a session so it flows better for the audience. I don’t use it to create the actual content because I feel my approach is part of my USP, but it’s useful for helping with planning, organisation and structure.
Step 7: Price for the entire job, not just the session
Another thing to consider is your pricing, which I know can be tricky but it’s really important to remember that businesses have a wellness budget. It isn’t the same as a gym. This is you going in with your specialist knowledge and completely tailoring it to a particular client. You could have five or 50 people in a session.
The length of bookings can also vary. Sometimes you might be booked for a single 30-minute session, or 6am sessions, or both. When you’re pricing your sessions, you need to bear in mind everything involved: you have to prep the session, you might be providing equipment and you’re definitely providing your skill, expertise and knowledge. Whether you’re delivering a one-hour or 30-minute session, you’ll still have the same travel time.
You may also need to do a site visit, have video calls or reply to a lot of emails to get everything organised. Keep that in the forefront of your mind when quoting for a job. I’d also suggest having a Google to see what others are charging locally and working from there.
When pricing, factor in:
- delivery time
- travel time
- preparation
- equipment
- meetings
- site visits
- administration
- early starts or unsociable hours.
I was approached recently to do early-morning sessions before a conference for three days in a row and they only wanted 30 minutes each day. I did not want to get up at 4:45am – I am not good at that time. When I was teaching 6am bootcamp, I used to cry on the way there because I was so tired, no joke!
I did, however, want the job, so I took a punt on what I was going to charge to make it worth the early mornings. They said yes with no questions asked.
The worst thing you can do is underquote and then end up hating the job because you feel like you’re being underpaid. I like to feel excited about everything I’m doing and I don’t feel that way if the workload outweighs what I’m getting paid.
A business can come back and say you’re out of budget and then you can drop your price – but it’s much harder to increase your quote after the fact.
Step 8: Follow up and turn one event into more work
While I always ask if I can take a photo or two, that’s not usually possible due to the sharing of sensitive information. Instead, I ask if their photographer would be OK to send me over a couple of session photos once they have checked the images through. Or I rely on a good old selfie before I head out for the day. You can, however, ask the question and touch base after the session to see if you’d be able to get a testimonial or recommendation to help you get more events going forward.
After every event, ask for:
- a testimonial
- photos (if permitted)
- feedback
- a LinkedIn recommendation.
These become valuable proof for future bookings.
Step 9: Keep showing up
Email everyone you know and let them know you’re offering corporate wellness sessions. Most likely, you won’t hear anything straight away. Corporate wellness events are often planned months in advance. The goal isn’t necessarily to get an instant booking. It’s to be remembered when planning starts. Wellness days are usually planned in the same week every year and they may simply put you in their little black ‘event day’ book and reach out in a few months’ time.
That’s fine – you just need to keep reminding people what you can offer.
In the meantime, think about how else people might find you, whether that’s through social media or a website, and start building out your web page or adding more content to your social channels.
You already have what you need
Running corporate sessions is honestly one of the most fun things to do and a great way to make money from things you’ve already created. It’s easy to forget you have knowledge that your average person doesn’t. The way you talk to your clients and deliver information or workouts in a way that relates to them is something pretty special.
You have people skills, you’re used to being in front of people and you’re probably pretty good at learning how to use tools like Canva to create presentations and so on. Your transferable skills are huge and corporate wellness is a great way to put them to good use.
Good luck!
Read Anna Martin’s piece on the FitPro blog on nine ways to supplement your income as a fitness instructor.
Anna Martin
Anna Martin is a Personal Trainer, Nutrition Coach and Group Exercise Instructor with over 15 years’ experience helping people become stronger, fitter and healthier. She is a Choreographer, Master Trainer and Presenter for Clubbercise, one of the UK’s leading fitness brands, where she develops instructor education, social media and training content. Alongside her work with Clubbercise, Anna is the founder of AMF World, an online choreography and business support platform designed to help fitness instructors deliver engaging classes while growing sustainable businesses. She also runs Anna Martin Fitness, delivering community fitness classes, corporate wellbeing and 1-2-1 coaching.
