Selling Personal Training





Why you shouldn't close anyone in sales..

Why you shouldn’t close anyone in sales..

unnamedIn my high school years, me and my friends would spend our weekends at malls and nightclubs picking up girls and getting numbers.

We were salesmen, selling the fact we were interesting, fun to be around and decent enough for us to have their phone number.

Then we would wait 3 days to call…(you don’t want to look desperate)

Eventually chat on the phone, maybe go out on a few dates and maybe after a few months get “lucky.”

I wish I knew how to sell better when I was younger because I could have shortened the process much more! (I’m married now to the same women I picked up 10 years ago BTW)

I believe sales and marketing is similar to dating.

Really, I got this idea from a book called “The Game” about pick-up artist (Great read). Whenever they would pick up someone from the club, they wouldn’t simply take them home right away.

Nope, they would take them to go eat and maybe to another club and then home.

Because by this time, it’s like they’ve been on 3 dates and seen each other in different circumstances and situations to know, like and trust each other.

The “closing” comes naturally.

This is exactly how I envision and orchestrate the sales process at our gym.

When a client walks in they have to like the place right away by meeting someone that can explain everything. Not only are they given a great experience, we give them a t-shirt, some goodies and even a bottle of water.

They are introduced to the coach right away, introduced to the group then after the workout given high fives by everyone.

They’ve seen us in so many different circumstances and situations, doing a fitness consult is just really a formality because they know by now if they want to join.

This is low-resistance selling that focuses less on techniques and tactics to ask for the sale.

You can hire less experienced sales people (which I prefer to experienced and ego driven ones)

And you create expectations of great service, which will differentiate yourself from the competition in a class of your own.

Here are some simple things you can implement right now to make the process seamless:

  • Do you have an email autoresponder sent out after someone visits your location?

  • Do you provide an amazing experience from hand-shakes to introductions on their first visit

  • Do you phone to confirm whether they can make it out to the scheduled consult

  • Do they get any swag on their first visit?

Constantly ask yourself “What can I do to make my sales process effortless and automatic?”

Good luck with creating a world class experience, all you single people out there can thank me later for this blog post.

 
Joseph “Joe Fight” Hsiung is a fitness business owner based out of Toronto, ON Canada. Along with running several boot camp locations his blog http://www.beinganinja.com shares secrets on health, wealth and being kick ass. Subscribe to his newsletter where he regularly interviews ninja entrepreneurs that are doing common things, un-commonly well.

5 tips on finding the right space

5 tips on finding the right space

10006807_10151998830822361_521350083_oOk so you’re training a few people and getting a taste for this idea of being “self-employed.” At some point you start thinking how great it would be to have your own space, one where you make the rules, where you control the environment. It seems like a grand plan, it feels as good as when you thought about moving out from mom’s house and taking control of your life once and for all. Then you start thinking about all the costs, get scared, keep doing what you’re doing and think to yourself, “those other trainers just got lucky…somehow.”

In the past sixteen months my coaching program has seen seventeen new studios open. People just like you, people that had the same fears as you the only difference being a little knowledge and a group of colleagues for support.

I may not be able to help you today with the support you need to overcome your fears about opening your own space but maybe I can help a little with the knowledge.

Here’s 5 tips that can help:

1)   Don’t be distracted by high traffic locations

You may not yet have figured out how to capture an audience through multiple marketing channels like social media, email and events to name a few. As a result you might think that it would be a massive benefit to be in a location that’s visible, that has a lot of immediate traffic or visitors. Though this is logical it’s one of the things I’ve seen sink new studios really fast. The premium you pay for these locations is never justified in the sales that are produced as a result. Look for locations that are 1-2 blocks off the main arteries, we’re a destination location. A fraction of the cost savings invested in efficient marketing campaigns will way out perform that high traffic location.

2)   The drive radius

The ideal location is really easy to access but off the beaten path. Next consider how far you can drive in 15 minutes at the worst time of day for traffic. Look at a city map and draw the boundary of how far you can go in those brutal 15 minutes; this will give you a very realistic idea of your real customer area. In fancy technical terms we call this your Isochrome.

3)   How far can I get with paint and mirrors?

Don’t look for perfect, look for usable potential. Does it have a small reception and/or an office space? Does it already have 1-2 bathrooms and a big open space? Is there ample parking? Look for the space that you can get started with just paint, mirrors and equipment. Don’t think it needs to be perfect or look like the million dollar facility; truth is that’s a prehistoric business philosophy. Today people want to be involved in the story of your growth and development; they want to experience it as it happens. Even more importantly people are looking for places that present that “down to earth culture” and not the big box “I’m a number” environment. Hence the success of the garage gym!

4)   Don’t sign a long lease

Now this might be more my opinion then sound advice, but then heck so are all the others tips in this column. I’ve signed a long lease and I’d never do it again. I believe the key to success in our industry is to be continually evolving. You never know how fast your business is going to grow (I outgrew my initial space in just 5 months), or the challenges you may face in dealing with a building owner (just ask me about unpredictable building operating costs.) I’d never want to be this restricted again I’d much rather face the risk of renegotiating costs every 3-5 years in an effort to keep my options open. Additionally here is where risk is a consideration, what can you carry for an extended period of time?

5)   The secret sauce of where to look

Here’s the real gem of how to find that right space. Start by looking for all the dance and martial arts studios in your area of interest. Generally where these types of businesses are located you will find spaces in the appropriate price range for your business. They are often just off the beaten path and yet within realistic drive reach of people you wish to cater to. Additionally, sad but true, a number of these types of businesses often fail. This is important because their space is 90% setup for what you need; they’ve done the work and absorbed the cost for you!

Map out your plan, getting into your own space isn’t as difficult or as expensive as you first believed. The old adage of business was it cost a lot of money to get started, that you weren’t profitable for months or years. I don’t subscribe to this philosophy, if you’ve done your homework you can be breakeven or cash flow positive either by the time you open or soon after. Remember fortune favors the bold!


The importance of selling your personal training services

Most personal trainers that are new to the business are excited about their new business venture, however it is very important to understand the significance of self-promotion and marketing. Many personal trainers fail in business, as they don’t do enough promotion and marketing.

 

You should always keep in mind that marketing your personal training business is the same as marketing yourself. You need to be confident in your services, skill and what you can offer. You need to be forward in telling people what you have to offer them and how you are able to help them. Once you go into business as a personal trainer, you cannot afford to be humble. This will result in a lack of clients and can result in the end of your business.

 

In order to succeed in any business, you need to be comfortable with promoting yourself. For many people, this involves getting outside their comfort zone. When you first begin with your personal training marketing, you might not be confident enough in the way you sell yourself. This is something that you need to overcome very quickly. The easiest way to do this is by simply offering high quality training services that you are proud of. When you know that you can help people and offer them great benefits you will be proud to charge high prices and demand the best from people. You will also be happy to turn people down if they don’t meet your criteria.

 

As there are so many ways to market your personal training business on the Internet, you need to be confident in every marketing message that you give out. If you are writing blog posts, social media replies, articles or forum posts, you must show that you are confident in your business and in what you can offer clients. What you say will come across to the people reading, so you need to promote yourself.

 

If you don’t promote yourself, then you will be passed over for someone else. You must have a strong belief in yourself and your service. You should also be very professional in your manner, but clearly show that what you have to offer is superior to the rest of the marketplace. Running a business is all about self-promotion. There are many ways that you can promote yourself online, but you need to come across as confident. If you are not able to show your confidence, then people will not trust you (or they will choose another personal trainer).

 

Selling and marketing is as vital as knowing the skills involved in training a client. Without the selling and marketing aspects, you will not have a business to run. You should take the time to learn and apply the top marketing tactics to your business. Remember that you need to have confidence when marketing your personal training services. You can build this confidence by making promises and then delivering on them with the clients that you train.


How-to Easily Attract Clients Even if You Hate Sales and Marketing

I would say nearly every trainer I’ve met, including myself, started their career because they enjoyed working out. In my case in particular my career began because people just kept asking questions whenever I was in the gym. They seemed to think because I was frequently in the gym and appeared to be in good shape that I must have useful advice. Eventually desperation set in; I needed to raise money for my next college term my personal training business was born.

 

I only mention these humble beginnings because I think that this likely similar story is shared by many of you. It also has a correlation to the struggles many trainers have to continually attract new clients. I could easily share with you some of the most cutting edge marketing tactics or my latest harebrained idea to generate dozens of leads but there would still be some that would struggle and ultimately fail, and it’s that which I want to focus on today.

 

We truly are our own worst enemy. More often than not we get in our own way or are simply paralyzed by traditional thinking. Let’s discuss this as it pertains to lead generation and client attraction.

 

It doesn’t take most new trainers long to figure out that there just isn’t going to be enough people beating down your door to not have to learn about sales and marketing. Most trainers shudder at the thought of ‘selling’ their clients anything this becomes one of a series of serious roadblocks.

 

I had a real problem taking people’s money at first, even though I was dead broke. I felt what I was sharing was common knowledge, that was easy to acquire, and that everyone should know this stuff. The reality is, that statement is entirely true, yet trainers are needed more than ever because of the demands of a North American lifestyle. We can’t afford to be experts in many things or we wouldn’t be effective at anything. If your neighbours took the time to understand the advanced strategies of effective fitness and nutrition in an effort to better look after themselves there would be a severe labour shortage in many other industries, or the quality of work would be horrendous. In an effort to better manage all the goals and responsibilities of their chosen lifestyle people rely on you to ensure their health and longevity is protected in the most efficient manner possible. Consider that for a moment, if that makes sense to you imagine sitting across from your next prospective client and explaining the same thing to them. Imagine if it made sense to them. At no point were you ‘selling’ them anything but rather establishing valid position for why they might benefit from considering the services that you offer. You are an expert, use your skills to educate others and you will be rewarded with their loyalty and support.

 

Let’s move forward and consider this same concept when it comes to marketing. Trainers don’t usually have a lot of money to spend on advertising or marketing, yet once we realize we are in business for ourselves we acknowledge that this is part of what we must do. Logically we take note of the things much larger businesses are doing and attempt to emulate. I’m sure you’ve quickly spent more than you could afford on a variety of things like print ads, radio campaigns, direct mail campaigns, road signs and more. Some may have yielded some result and many just made you reluctant to continue to spend money on advertising at all. You may have heard someone like me discuss the value of strategic business alliances or using leadboxes and other marketing tools in other businesses. Only to be discouraged when 19 of 20 businesses you asked simply said, “no.” Nobody starts a business to help another business, even a non-competitive one, succeed (unless you are business coach that is.) So you shouldn’t be surprised when other businesses say no to helping you when it comes to displaying anything from posters, to business cards or leadboxes; but you shouldn’t take no for an answer. If you believe in what you do you must be filled with conviction to spread your message, after all people’s long-term health and well being depend on it. When a strategic partner says no they’re really saying the same thing as you are when you turn away the pushy salesman. They’re saying they don’t know or trust you and they see no immediate benefit to them in that which you are offering. The next time you talk with a strategic partner and they seem less than interested thank them and reassure them that you understand. Then offer them an extended trial of your services at no-charge. If you believe in your message you have a responsibility to help them be more successful by improving their health and well-being with your expert skills. Winning their favour could have long term positive benefits and what better way to do it than to invest in them and make a difference in their lives? Stick to what made you become a trainer in the first place, remember that people first told you that you were an expert even before you decided you would be one. Don’t sell or pitch but rather use your unique talents to better others and suddenly my hare-brained lead generation tactics will begin to work like magic.


How-to Get Your Clients to PAY YOU to Send Their Referrals

How-to Get Your Clients to PAY YOU to Send Their Referrals

fitness-marketing-plastic-cardBy now I think we’ve all heard of the plastic gift card but just in case you haven’t let me first briefly explain what they are and how they’ve been used.

There are a number of manufacturer’s online that can produce a plastic gift card for you that looks and feels like something you would buy at any local chain store. Many savvy fitness pros may first have heard about this from guys like Steve Hochman and Bedros Keuilian. Using a high value amount like $100 having these cards made in the image of your business has proven to be a sound awareness and lead generation tool. The key is to give plenty away through any channel you can. Lead boxes, silent auctions, gift bags at events, in addition to your business cards, with partner businesses as a way to appreciate their customers with a thank you gift and so on. We’ve even seen our cards become a traded commodity in classifieds and on Facebook, talk about free awareness and branding!

While attending a mastermind weekend an idea was born on how to take this whole plastic card marketing tool a whole lot further. A method that not only practically guaranteed redemption but also allows you to generate revenue from them directly. Let’s have your clients refer their friends and family and pay you to do it!

Let’s face it our services are expensive, no matter how good you are you are going to face the resistance of price at times and even if you don’t we can both surely agree that everyone likes an opportunity to save money and get a deal.

When you sign up a new client I’d suggest the following strategy. Immediately give them a thank you card with your gift card inside, explain how it’s used. Next explain that today they can buy one additional card for a nominal amount and if it’s redeemed in the next 30 days in addition to the person they refer they will also receive the full amount of the gift card credited against their account. In addition explain if they meet this in the next 30 days you will add them to your VIP referral list meaning they can continue to buy cards at a nominal rate for anyone they wish to refer and basically get their own training free!

You’ve now incentivized a whole new sales team for pennies compared to traditional marketing channels. By simply paying even a few dollars for the gift card it’s almost guaranteed to be redeemed because we’re all pre-programmed to try to avoid wasting money. Additionally if I can get my own training for free I’m first wondering what the catch is, yet buy buying the card you eliminate this natural defense mechanism because I have now made an active decision to invest in an opportunity to earn my own training for free.

Now this may not appeal to everyone but it absolutely can predictably and repeatedly generate a few more quality referrals each month and that is the whole name of the game. Eliminate the need for a crystal ball with multiple predictable strategies that make reaching your business goals simply a product of execution.