Chapter 477 - Let Me Change This Industry Then! (1/2)

The mysterious question stumped Guo Licheng at that moment. Pei Qian continued speaking. “What’s your base salary now?”

Guo Licheng answered honestly, “1,500 yuan.” Pei Qian asked, “How do you earn commission?”

Guo Licheng: “It varies from trainer to trainer. On average, we get thirty percent as commission and two hundred yuan per personal training session.”

The personal training sessions cost as much as Pei Qian remembered. That was the price he was paying for his employees’ personal training as well. Of course, in ten years, this would look cheap. In fact, it looked like peanuts.

Pei Qian quickly calculated in his head. “If you teach three sessions per day on average and don’t rest for the entire month, you would earn 5,400 yuan from commission. In addition to your basic salary, that would be 6,900 yuan.”

At the moment, that income was not considered bad in Jingzhou.

Guo Licheng hesitated. “In reality, I don’t earn that much. Many customers that I teach were transferred to me by other trainers. That means I have to split my commission with them. Each month, I only earn about five to six thousand yuan.”

Pei Qian nodded. The man lived up to his name. He was very forthcoming and honest with all of his answers.

For personal trainers, the main competition was in selling training sessions. The more one sold, the more commission one earned. Many personal trainers in large cities could earn thirty to forty thousand yuan per month from selling training sessions alone. However, those kinds of marketing geniuses were rare.

Naturally, personal trainers like Guo Lichengwho were inarticulate, quiet, honest, and forthcoming-would not be able to bluff many students into buying his training sessions. On the other hand, personal trainers who were good at sales and bluffing sold more personal training sessions than they could handle. Thus, they could transfer some customers to trainers with more time on their hands, like Guo Licheng.

However, they would not have transferred customers over for free, unless they were extremely close.

Pei Qian nodded. “I’ll give you a basic salary of eight thousand yuan. There’ll be no commission, but we’ll provide food and lodging allowance and various other benefits like regular physical examinations.”

Guo Licheng was shocked. “Er, Boss Pei… it’s not the basic salary that’s the problem. I want to leave the industry because—”.

“I’ll make it ten thousand yuan and give you more benefits, but there still won’t be commission.”

Guo Licheng, “…”

He was moved. A basic salary of ten thousand yuan… even if he left the fitness industry, he would not be able to draw a salary like that.

What’s more, Guo Licheng really liked the fitness industry. He had only wanted to leave because he felt disappointed in its current situation. A basic salary of ten thousand yuan was ridiculously high, but the words ‘no commission’ were even more shocking.

Boss Pei’s sincerity had moved him.

However, it also caused Guo Licheng to worry about Boss Pei. He did not want such a genuine man to become a pushover in the industry and end up losing everything after taking over the gym.

Guo Licheng hesitated and then asked, “Boss Pei, you don’t understand the fitness industry very well, do you?” Pei Qian answered frankly, “No.”

Guo Licheng looked like he had expected the answer. “To tell you the truth, you have an overly simplistic view. Your proposal sounds very tempting to me, and having ‘no commission’ is a good thing. However, it would not be in the gym’s interests!

“Trainers would only try to sell memberships and training sessions if they would be paid a commission. That’s how the gym would generate revenue and profit. If you don’t pay your trainers commission, they would not make sales enthusiastically. Who would pay the gym, then?”

Pei Qian laughed. “Nobody has to. Our gym can just do away with personal training.”

Guo Licheng, “Huh?” Pei Qian found Guo Licheng’s confused expression very interesting. He briefly explained various aspects of his plan for Deposit Fitness to the latter.

Guo Licheng’s expression changed from confusion to shock, to doubt, to bewilderment, and then to pity. Once Pei Qian was done speaking, Guo Licheng sighed softly. “Boss Pei, I can now confirm that you don’t understand the fitness industry at all! Honestly, gyms with a conscience would not last long in this industry.

“If you want to run your gym this way, you would not achieve either of your goals. You would neither have a good reputation nor be able to generate profits.”

Oh?

Pei Qian was elated. It seemed like his own plan had been validated by an experienced insider of the industry! It was a good sign.

Still, he had to bury his joy deep in his heart as he asked, “What do you mean?”

Guo Licheng cleared his throat and then glanced at Assistant Xin and Branch Manager Wei who were negotiating the contract at that moment. He whispered, “I’ll tell you the truth, Boss Pei. The fitness industry is now a gambling den. “The trainees are betting that they would go to the gym every day upon signing a membership, while the gym is betting that they would not.

“Often, the gym wins.

“Still, local gyms are closing down and winding up in batches. Some people don’t visit the gym for several months, even after signing up for a membership. When they finally decide to go, they realize that the gym has closed down. That’s very common.

“That’s why I say that this is an industry where bad money drives out the good. It’s… very similar to other industries that eagerly push people to sign up for things and then run away.

“You can only earn profits if you have a dark heart. Those who survive based on their good hearts or good foresight are few and far between.”

Guo Licheng sounded very upset, but Pei Qian was over the moon.

If what you’re saying is true, then the situation is much better than I thought!

Pei Qian inwardly celebrated what he was hearing

“Tell me more about it in detail,” said Pei Qian, his expression unchanging.

It looked like Guo Licheng had a strong desire to diss the industry more as well. In a low voice, he said, “Boss Pei, honestly, pricing usage of the gym at fifty yuan per day would not please either side.