Notes from a Trainer
Dallas Cowboy cheerleader bootcamp. Sadly not the one Joe attended.
"Pick what you're going to do and get it done," said Pat Rigsby to the crowd at the first ever Boot Camp Boot Camp. (No, that's not a typo.) It was a simple statement, but one that resonated with the crowd of trainers.
I was in Louisville, Kentucky for the seminar hosted by Pat, Nick Berry and Jim Labadie - the masterminds of the fitness industry who've sold millions of dollars of personal training amongst themselves - to pick up some tips on how to run my personal training and bootcamp business better. I'm hoping their tips can help you, too.
The Top Three Things I Learned:
Put systems in place for everything
What happens with first contact with a new client?
Cold call script
Power speech or elevator pitch
Lead generation
Client retention
Client referrals
Pricing
Systems will help organize your business and make you feel more confident when prospecting and selling clients, rather then guessing what you did last time or changing your pitch to make the customer happy.
Focus on two things at once and dominate them.
Since starting my business in June, I have tried to do everything that came to my mind, which left me spread too thin. Moving forward, once I get my systems in place I'm going to focus on two things and master them. Like client retention and up-selling. Then I'll make the appropriate changes and find another tactic to perfect.
Be selective with your clients while not under-selling yourself
When I first started my business, I was so concerned with getting as many clients as possible and too willing to charge low rates. I am confident of my value and my rates should reflect that. Also I do not want clients who are going make my life annoying. Rather I want to focus more energy on my rock star clients, up-sell them, and tap into their network.
Attending the seminar was something that I couldn't afford since I just started my training business. So I flew over on credit.
While it was a bit scary, it was also an opportunity to learn the techniques I needed to triple my income and build a whole new network of business professionals throughout the US and into Canada.
To my way of thinking, why go through the long process of making all mistakes everyone else has already made? Learn from the best, invest in informational products that can help you, and attend seminars even if you "can't afford it."
It'll quickly pay for itself.
A note from Nate
Be sure to check out Joe's blog. And if you're in the fitness business, make sure to post a comment below with your number one personal training tip.
Comments for This Entry
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Never undersell your training! It kills our profession and devalues the hours of dedication required to obtain personal training certifications. Command professional respect and charge professional rates!
Jim -
My thoughts for new trainers, create your systems BEFORE you open a training business. Read "The E-Myth Revisited" before you even think about opening your doors.
Trying to do everything at once and planning to go back and address things later when things are chaotic sounds good, but rarely happens because things never slow down. -
1. Get Results.
This is by far the number one tip I can offer. If you are getting people results, others will be able to look at them or watch their performance and tell.
That alone will keep clients knocking down your door to train with you. Hell, you may even end up with a waiting list which isn't bad at all.
If you can't or aren't getting results then all the marketing, advertising, etc. won't do shit for you.
If you are getting results then you may realize there isn't that much need for the marketing, advertising, etc. -
Very good posts, guys. Thanks.
-Nate -
Be sure you know what you're getting yourself into, before you go and think something asinine like, "training is soooo eeeasy, you just get to like workout all day."
To be a great trainer I think a person should have a solid grasp on the following areas of study:
Physics(bio mechanics)
Trigonometry
Anatomy
Physiology
Biology
Chemistry
Nutrition
and probably in that order...
On top of that, to be successful trainer you should also
be ethical
be a motivator
be a role model
be a teacher
be personable
be proactive
have a desire to keep getting better
Not in any particular order.
If every trainer out there would be held to those standards, we would never be selling ourselves short -
@Blake All those areas of study are extremely useful for trainers. However, there is also the "salesman" aspect. Trainers have to get clients, and to get clients, Language Composition is a great all in one subject. It covers advertising, convincing arguments, and anything in between. If one could cover all of these disciplines, they would be a training machine ;)
-
Do you have more pics of that brunette in front? K, thanks.
-
I think a genuine desire to help people is the most important thing a trainer can project.
Too many trainers are so obviously just in it for the money that it turns people off and gives the profession a bad name.
-Jess -
Nate,
great meeting you and great post. It is about being a professional both as a trainer and as a business person and to have a successful business you need to be able to do both. Yes the trainers need to have a genuine desire to help people but that doesn't mean then shouldn't learn how to run a business, be an effective salesperson, manage their staff as they grow and be an amazing trainer that changes peoples lives.
what are you going to do this week/month to be a Fitness Professional? -
I so agree with not underselling yourself! Also if you charge too low rates in the beginning, you can't raise them much! And Chase is absolutely spot on with the importance of results. I am a 21 year old business grad living in India. I started out in May 2008 as a personal trainer as a sort of hobby, training a few friends at my place with just some free weights, a bench, a heavy bag, kickpads, a treadmill and a tiny mirror all in a room! But I got results and I haven't had to advertise to maintain a certain number of clients!
And Blake, I found out soon that being a 'great' trainer isn't easy! So I enrolled in ISSA's CFT program in August 08.
As a newbie trainer, I look up to guys like you Nate. Appreciate all your info.
Thanks and regards from India,
Deep -
As Health is wealth but i think money is wealth and world so we need to become social with the people as doctor serve the patient similarly we can serve the people by participating in social benefits to provide the treatment to people like hospitals therefore i read the article and found the nice tips which are useful for us
i used this post at night when i think about my friends and family so i really thankful for providing very knowledgeable information for further help
If you want to see more interested and sweet funny clips then you have to visit on phantoo.com -
Food and Health is basic part of life we must care for it therefore i read the article and found the nice tips which are useful for us
i used this post at night when i think about my friends and family so i really thankful for providing very knowledgeable information for further help
If you want to see more interested and sweet funny clips then you have to visit on phantoo.com
Phantoo
Funny Clips
funny videos
http://www.phantoo.com/ -
Aside from all of the business "personal training" and usual quallity business reading material....
Train.. Train yourself. If you are a weak as pathetic deush your clients will eventually find this out. Do something besides a body part workout.
I picked up Muscle and Fitness because a friend was featured in it last month. I was shocked at how they've gone with workouts and writers that are more training based instead of body building based. Much in the same direction of how Men's Health and Men's Fitness have gone.
A non bodybuilding client doesn't need to train like a body builder. Alwyn Cosgrove uses a model much different from the typical trainer/gym. It isn't a mistake why he has one of the most successful gyms and personal training businesses in the country. -
I have one which comes in handy after the first few sessions are gone, and you see some clients give in, mentally:
Always make sure when setting goals with a client that the person is so emotionally attached to their goals, that there is no earthly way for them to even consider giving up, or losing faith as time goes on, and it almost hurts when they think about not achieving their desired outcome.
Emotion is the single most powerful tool to getting what you want, or getting others to do something you want, period. -
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COMMENT RULES: Critical posts are fine, but if you're rude I'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your personal name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. But most of all, have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Tim Ferriss for the inspiration.)
Jim 10:10am Sep 18, 2009