Studios often associate December with low attendance and slow business. But with consumers spending more money throughout the holiday season, it’s a great time to highlight your bigger investment packages–and provide an irresistible call to action for people to buy.

The right pricing and positioning is what will make December your top revenue month for the year.

Here’s a quick one-two punch to finish 2016 strong.

CAPITALIZE ON BLACK FRIDAY WEEKEND
A Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, or Cyber Monday class package sale will drum up business–especially if you allow people to purchase the sale for a friend. (This allows clients on monthly membership to buy if they don’t have a bring-a-buddy-for-free perk. Always have a way for members to engage–they’re your biggest fans.)

This sale targets clients who gravitate toward a lower, smaller investment. (We’ll address your heavy hitters in step two.) A five-class pack works best in my experience.

Here’s your play-by-play:

  • Tease this sale with a Thanksgiving-week announcement. A short email or post announcing your sale prior to the actual start date plants the seed in clients’ minds. The Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving is usually the sweet spot.
  • Have your sale run throughout the weekend. I suggest starting on Friday and running it through Monday. (You can send a brief reminder email to your list on Cyber Monday reminding them that it’s the last day to purchase.)
  • Cap the number of transactions at 2 per person–one for themselves, and one for someone else. More than 2 may drum up further revenue, but consider adding an expiration date of 3-6 months if this is the case. Otherwise you risk clients cancelling their membership and skating by using their new gold mine of drop-in classes.
  • This sale can go to your entire list, or you can get specific and target your ClassPass users that have come throughout the year using the export feature on your Dashboard.

INCENTIVIZE BIG-COMMITMENT PACKAGES
You’ve used Black Friday to engage your clients that like flexibility–now it’s time to offer a deal to your sweataholics by featuring your big-ticket membership option.

Enter the one-year membership–your access to frontloading huge amounts of revenue. December is the best time of year to feature this package because of consumer patterns.

Here’s your play-by-play:

  • If you have a membership-model business, and don’t have a one-year membership option that is paid upfront, I strongly encourage you to create one.
  • If you already have a one-year membership, you’ll be incentivizing this option further with sweet perks and a fast-action discount. Consider tacking on two to four of the following perks to give this option a premium feel:
    • A private lesson with an instructor
    • A swag bag of studio-branded retail
    • Gift certificates from local restaurants and cafes (you may be able to have these donated–point out to prospective partners that these gifts will be given to your highest-spending clients).
    • A discount on workshops
    • Buddy passes for them to bring a friend
    • A student feature in your next blog or facebook ad
    • Tickets to a VIP social or party
  • When you announce this special, you’ll create your call to action with two price points.
    Your first price has a number of “early bird spots” and is reduced from the normal price. (How much? I find that an extra $50 or $75 off your one-year unlimited package gets people in action.)
  • Do a max of 10 early bird spots per location you have–you want to intentionally create scarcity here.
  • The second price is your normal price for this membership.

It’s up to you whether you honor the early bird spot price for people who act and aren’t one of the first ten. Remember, the early bird spot isn’t about the number of spots, it’s about creating urgency. People tend to procrastinate on investments, even if they really want to make the jump–the early bird spot gives them a reason to pull the trigger now rather than later.

With a well-written announcement of this package, you can pull up huge amounts of revenue, which can then be invested into growing your business. With these two strategies, you’ll have the extra cash flow you need to start off 2017 strong.

Nick Wolny is a marginally flexible yoga instructor and a studio business coach in Houston, Texas. Visit him at www.six-figurefitness.com.