Personal Trainer Marketing

Your Marketing Calendar

Your Marketing Calendar

Published by on June 9, 2010 | Leave a response

%image_alt%People are interesting creatures, like cats and children we all have an innate curiosity and the need to wonder and celebrate. In a previous coaching group I had a chance to meet with ultra successful Canadian Fitness Internet Marketer Craig Ballantyne. I didn’t know what to make of Craig at first; he comes across as a pretty ultra serious guy. It didn’t take me long though to realize though he’s not only a great guy he’s super passionate about business and totally brilliant. One of the things he talked about that afternoon was your Marketing Calendar.

If you haven’t caught on by now a contact list is critically important for your fitness business, or any business for that matter. The second thing is you need to be in regular contact with them, well that’s all fine but what the heck do you talk about this week?

Craig had a brilliant idea, pick yourself up a calendar today and start to write all the birthdays for you, your family, colleagues, friends, favourite superstars, your pets, your anniversaries etc. Its funny these all become great reasons to unveil your next crazy hair brained idea to your list.

It sounds ridiculous, but remember that innate curiosity, as people we all live vicariously through each other. You don’t need to look any further than Facebook to see how wrapped up we are in each others lives.

The marketing calendar becomes a fun way to bridge the gap between content, sincerity and offer to the prospects on your mailing list.

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How to get your old clients back

How to get your old clients back

Published by on June 7, 2010 | Leave a response

After over 19 years in the fitness industry personally I’ve had somewhere around 3000 one-on-one personal training clients. Sadly you will learn as I have that for most of your clients, even the ones that are really successful with the best of intentions, they will one day need you again. Now if you’ve provided a great experience they may remember you again, that is if a savy marketer doesn’t get to them first.

Your current and previous clients are what are known in sales as your “lowest hanging fruit.” Whether it’s now or in the past you have earned their trust and hopefully have a much stronger rapport than you would a complete stranger. Because of that rapport they are twice as likely to repeat buy from you than a brand new customer will be.

If you want a sure fire high conversion method of filling your training schedule today, call your old clients. However you need to have a solid high value offer to go with your call.

This is just one of many strategies my elite coaching clients use. Could a mentor help your business?

This is just one of many strategies my elite coaching clients use. Could a mentor help your business?

Here’s what we did that netted us a 75-85% conversion bringing our old clients back.

Our three year anniversary at One-to-1 Fitness was May 27; we used the idea of this celebratory day to encourage our old clients to come see us again. Rather than the normal celebratory drivel that costs you lot’s of money and gets you nothing we decided to instead invest in great people. I had my sales manager go through our old client files and pick out a whole pile of people he remembered, the ones he had the strongest rapport with. After looking at their previous goals we called them to “check up” on how they were doing maintaining their goals. Since most people slowly slip back we offered a solution, we gave them 2 weeks of training on us in our spiffy new small group training program. What’s important is we showed we genuinely cared because we contacted them and took the time to see what was important to them, we offered them something of high value, and created the appeal of a different experience than they previously had with us.

All of these people only previously knew us for our great one-on-one services. Now they had a select and limited opportunity to be part of a program that was a pile of fun in a small group setting and totally obligation free, they couldn’t lose; why not come and see some familiar faces? Of course we hyped all the new renos and such to, that never hurts. The best part is if you just provide the same killer service all the time, this program sells itself!

Bonus: The Insurance Policy

As always marketing is really about customer value, how you can provide over the top value and still find a way to make a little profit. For our conversion of this program we just sweetened the deal, gave everyone a nice short term price break (call it a signing bonus) and we used all the value adds from our partner businesses. (Each client received something like $500 in free bonuses, so much so it becomes a no brainer.)

Provide value, everyone wins! In summary remember these components:

  1. Always genuinely care, call and see how people are doing.
  2. Offer them something high value and have a reason for you offer, ours was our anniversary.
  3. Make the offer limited and provide scarcity, in our case we only had so many spots to fill and they were starting on a certain date. Push people to take immediate action.
  4. Don’t blow it by trying to convert too soon, provide real value.
  5. Have a high value conversion offer, make it a no brainer.
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How to get everything you want as a personal trainer

Published by on June 4, 2010 | 1 Response

I’d like to share a couple little tidbits of success from this week if you don’t mind. If you were at the Business Ignition Workshop you heard all about how to use a free weight loss program to rapidly launch your fitness business. Well this week two of my coaching clients nailed it big time. One of them explained how they recruited 40 new people for their results bootcamp and the other had over 65 training inquiries within 48 hours leaving their job to pursue their fitness business full time.

Given this is a free weight loss program you may not be impressed you might think it is easy to recruit people if you are willing to train them for free, and in a sense you would be right. Now on the other side of this equation I have had some people from the workshop contact me with questions as to why their programs weren’t working, in every single case they had try to cut corners somehow whether it was shortening the program, eliminating components of the offer or some other element, you can’t cut corners, but do you understand why?

Times are tough; people are tighter with their money than ever. The only way you are going to get them to give you their precious dollars is to make them feel like they would be silly not to and to make them feel as though they owe it to you, it’s this second point that my coaching clients really understand.

You see most personal trainers are starving, broke and barely hanging on so every new client is a must sell situation. Clients pick up on this, they can detect desperation like a dog can smell fear, it’s a sure fire way to go broke in no time.

Now the smart trainer understands the Law of Reciprocity. You must always go with a giving hand and be willing to give in a way none of your competitors are. When it comes to a free weight loss program pull out all the stops, always give them all your best stuff and never worry about anything in return. If you execute this fully then it’s a simple conversion process. How much does it cost will become how do I make sure I get a spot? Seriously the higher the quality of service you give people in an extended trial program you will never have to worry about selling them anything, they will sell themselves.  Zig Zigler says, “Help enough people get what they want and you will get what you want.”

In an extended trial you earn massive amounts of trust because people get to see the value and experience it for themselves before they ever commit to anything, if they find value in what you do why wouldn’t they stay? Just think of this approach as an aggressive deferred payment plan.

Now the second aspect of getting everything you want as a personal trainer is a little different. Let me ask you, have you asked your clients to write out their goals for you? Probably, but now let me ask you, why have you not written out your own goals? Very few people actually write down their goals. As a trainer if you have not written your own goals for this year, month and week then I can guarantee you are not holding your clients accountable fully to theirs. This accountability is one of your primary roles as a trainer, trust me it’s not to count reps. A funny thing happens when you write down your goals, believe it or not they will come true whether you think you are actively pursuing them or not you simply will. Trust me.

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What’s in a name anyways?

Published by on May 31, 2010 | Leave a response

Quite often I receive questions from new personal trainers wondering how to decide on a name for their fitness and personal training business. The truth is when it comes to fitness marketing and selling personal training a catchy name means very little. I learned this the hard way so you don’t have to.

When I began personal training I went through the same dilemma, and for some reason I loved the name Fitness F/X, which naturally was taken so I had to settle for Cabel’s Fitness F/X. I was fortunate that at the time people were just really getting online and one of my first few clients insisted I need a website and as luck would have it www.fitnessfx.com was available.

Now here’s the thing, you and I, we’re not Nike, we’re never going to have a swoosh of our own. We simply do not have the millions upon millions of dollars to spend to develop a known, recognizable symbol like the swoosh. You and I we have to work smarter, we have to think about what exactly Average Joe and Jane are doing right now.

Average Joe and Jane likely just got home from work or are relaxing after dinner after a long day of office duties, running after the kids and chores. A thought crosses Jane’s mind, she came across what used to be her favourite pair of jeans in the closet this morning and they didn’t fit when she tried them on. She just never lost all the baby weight she gained during her pregnancy and tonight she’s feeling a bit down on herself about it. Joe well he’s being working 50 hours a week trying to do the best for his family, after years in the office he’s finally moved into that new position and is home to his family at a reasonable time. Life is good financially they are comfortable and can enjoy some of the finer things, one problem though, his belly sticks out further than his chest and his wife just never looks at him the same way much anymore.

Jane and Joe respectively grab their laptop or iPhone and not wanting their partner to really know their insecurities think maybe it’s time to figure what they could do to get back into shape. What do they do?

The go to Google and they begin typing in things like, “fastest way to lose weight” “best weight loss diet” “workout program for weight loss” and of course “personal trainers in (insert your city name).”

Do you happen to see Cabel’s Fitness F/X anywhere in there? Nope, me either. So neither Joe or Jane ever found my website or me, but I bet quite likely they would have found LA Weight Loss, Jenny Craig or a Profitable Personal Trainer that really understood how to attract clients. If only I had named my business Personal Training in Red Deer…..hmm you may notice now in spite of my studio being named One-to-1 Fitness our website is built on www.PersonalTrainingRedDeer.com and you will never ever hear me refer to www.Oneto1Fitness.com even though I do own it.

So by now you should see the actual name of your business doesn’t really mean much when it comes to selling personal training, fitness marketing and putting yourself in the place people will actually find you.

Now it’s not bad at all to have a catchy name, I would suggest one that is gender neutral and leans toward the first thing you think most people think of when they think of getting in shape. This was how we selected One-to-1 Fitness; it was our idea of a catchy way to instantly describe what we wanted to be known for.

If you are just starting your business though, don’t spend a lot of time or money on this endeavour it’s just not time for that if you are determined to become and ultra-successful Profitable Personal Trainer.

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What The Alarm Salesman Did Wrong...

What The Alarm Salesman Did Wrong…

Published by on May 27, 2010 | 1 Response

Does your personal training business secure?

Is your personal training business secure?

Yesterday an interesting thing happened it has nothing and everything to do with selling personal training and fitness marketing. The doorbell rang. I was in my home office intently concentrating when this noise distracted me. Seriously these days you know when the doorbell rings unexpectedly it’s a sales call. Funny, I like sales calls now, it’s like they just unexpectedly walked into a practical exam for sales and marketing. The poor alarm guy, though he was nice enough, he failed miserably.

He opened with a, do you have a security system now? Terrible! As terrible as these following personal training headlines:

  • Get in Shape for Summer
  • A Personal Trainer Can Get You Better Results
  • Spring and Summer Boot Camps – Spots available, start today!

His question though seemingly valid wasn’t, you see the answer doesn’t matter, in that split second he disconnected with me and put me on the defensive as I knew his primary objective was to sell me on his new alarm system.

You Have to Get Them Emotional…

A much better approach would have been to introduce himself, and tell me something like, “Did you know that 50-100 break and enters occur in Red Deer every month? (Real number easily found on google.) Did you know that means that X# of people in this neighbourhood had their house broken into last month? (Divide number of neighbourhoods by total per month.) Your house is being targeted and here’s why…(high perceived value item, maybe like the 10 things you are doing every day that will make your house a target for serious theft. Like not locking your garage door to your home, like leaving your registration and garage door opener in your vehicle, like not quickly picking up the newspaper on the front step showing that you aren’t home or don’t pay attention, like not displaying alarm signage as a deterrent, gee and I am a personal trainer.)

Now let me ask you, do you feel comfortable knowing your house is a target? Do you do some of those above things I mentioned? Does that make you worry in the slightest?

About a year ago my neighbour had his vehicle broken into on the exact weekend we were away, that easily could have been our house. Similarly my wife’s poor co-worker had her house completely emptied in broad daylight. I bet you have or have heard a similar story, does thinking about that raise your level of paranoia?

We are hardwired to become emotional when we use the right language, as a successful coach you need to understand that attracting clients (and more importantly having them commit and comply with your instructions) will be much more successful if you can generate a vested emotional interest within them.

The point is just by changing your approach you now have a prospect that may naturally have been on the defensive and resilient to sales now defenceless because they are emotionally invested. Even though we have a security system in our home, between this failed sales visit and writing this post even I think we need to be more careful with our home, the power of emotions.

The same is true of personal training. The headlines above can be more powerful, here are some examples:

  • ·         Get in Shape for Summer Good news, there is a simple way you can lose 10-15lbs before July.
  • ·         A Personal Trainer Can Get You Better Results Your gym membership failed you, Jenny Craig failed you, this won’t!
  • ·         Spring and Summer Boot Camps – Spots available, start today! Do you qualify for this weight loss program? 5 spots available.

You know what? As a Canadian personal trainer trying to learn the ins and outs of fitness marketing strategies you have a serious problem. You are too nice, too plain, and don’t use enough emotional language, it’s time to start! You will thank me later, adjust your headlines, your ad copy, brochures and even your conversation, every little step will drastically improve your results, I guarantee it!

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8 Steps to Becoming a Profitable Personal Trainer

8 Steps to Becoming a Profitable Personal Trainer

Published by on May 25, 2010 | Leave a response

If you want to become a member of the elite, a fitness marketing specialist, someone who can sell personal training with ease, a truly profitable personal trainer than you best pay attention to the following:

1)      Stop doing 60 min sessions, switch to abbreviated training either a 45 min session or better yet a 30 min. If you think you can’t get a client an effective workout in 30 minutes you are not alone, I felt that way too but just trust me and do it. 60 minute personal training sessions are counselling sessions that will burn you out fast and keep you broke. 30 minute sessions allow you to appear to be cheaper than your competition while in reality you can be more expensive on a per hour basis. Your clients will find them easier to schedule and will be able to afford more of them which overall means their results will be better.

2)      Don’t sell packages of personal training sessions, sell the lifestyle. No one loses 40lbs, corrects hypoglycaemia or lowers blood pressure in 10 sessions. You want clients that are serious about adopting a new lifestyle and the need you more than ever. Do yourself and them a favour and make it easy, sell ongoing monthly training packages not packages of sessions. (Ideally using EFT.)

RnR is an important part of being a Profitable Personal Trainer, Wendy and I like to get away any chance we get, our May long weekend was spent at Radium in BC.

RnR is an important part of being a Profitable Personal Trainer, Wendy and I like to get away any chance we get, our May long weekend was spent at Radium in BC.

3)      Utilize sincere selling. Care about your clients and prospects, when you meet a new client use an extended meeting to get to know them, to learn about their goals, fears and pain. Ask them questions that stir emotions about why the need to make lifestyle changes. Your job is to make them feel as though you are saving their life because potentially you are. The more focused and aware you become about their needs the more they will fulfil your financial needs and with far less resistance.

4)      Increase the value. Your job description when it comes to client appointments can be summarized in two words: service and value. Provide killer service and always find ways to provide more value: ie. Valuable additional content in the form of articles, newsletters, strategic business partnerships and discounts, tele-seminars, paper system materials.

5)      Ask everyone for a testimonial, social proof will be better than any advertisement you can ever dream up, take before and after photos and videos and ask for testimonials often from every single client.

6)      Always be building your list. Use public speaking, opt-ins, Facebook ads, classifieds and special free programs to constantly create an influx of new leads.

7)      For each new step document the system. Longevity becomes about time and task management. As each new spoke of the wheel begins to turn document the system so it may become a repeat process. If you do not have anyone in your network to delegate to you will eventually but only if you have systems to teach. Take it from me, I failed to duplicate 4 times before I succeeded because I didn’t have documented systems.

8)      Don’t forget to take time off and relax, get away from the business of personal training and do something fun. I hope you had a great long weekend!

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5 Easy Ways to Massively Grow Your Prospect List

5 Easy Ways to Massively Grow Your Prospect List

Published by on May 20, 2010 | Leave a response

Hmmmm....do you have those TPS reports finished?

Hmmmm....do you have those TPS reports finished?

As an expert trainer you possess a lot of great knowledge, as an expert human being you are compelled to share that knowledge with others. By now we surely have those two things established. Now why haven’t you written your free report yet?

Seriously, I am assigning you home work. I realize we are heading into the long weekend so I don’t necessarily expect you to do it this weekend but I want you to spend a little time this weekend thinking about what you are an absolute expert on and what you are going to write about. There is a variety of things you can write on, it might be:

  • Your X# most important secrets for guaranteed weight loss.
  • The X# things you need to know about posture and why you are in pain.
  • A practical guide to improving your eating to feel better tomorrow.
  • What one thing you can do today to feel 100% better in 72 hours. (Yes, the magic of hydration.)
  • What is the one exercise you need to do to live longer and feel better.
  • How to get in great shape and quickly even if you don’t like exercise.

There, I’ve already done a whole bunch of the work for you, now get to work and write between 10-15 pages of your best information, even double spaced is ok. This free report can make you a superstar in mere days and earn you tens of thousands of dollars, here’s five different ways to use it:

1)      Post it on your website as an opt-in, people exchange their email address for a free copy of the report, add them to your marketing funnel provide more content for them and once in a while give them an offer to try your services.

2)      Use free classifieds such as Craigslist and Kijiji, offer this valuable info free to the world, just simply ask them to email you for this info and supply it in return. Add their contact info to your marketing funnel as above. The best places to post are: fitness trainer, classes, lessons, and therapeutic services. (One of my coaching clients is getting dozens of new contacts every week using this method.)

3)      Post this to your Facebook and Twitter status regularly. Email to find out why (report subject, then send them your report and add their info to your prospect list. (Have you noticed my weekly updates?)

4)      Create a Facebook ad that directs people to your website where they can opt-in for your free report, you can completely target this ad and manage your budget to never spend more than you designate. (We use this ongoing to generate new consult appointments.)

5)      Last but not least this even crosses over to other industries. One of my coaching clients is working in the financial services industry. They do a lot of cold calling, and with little success with their typical methods. However using your free report call conversion is much higher using a script something like this. “Hi I am Joe Bean, I am a local fitness expert and I just wanted to give you something today, don’t worry this is not a sales call. Because I believe in helping people I am sending people in my community this free guide on how to easily get in the best shape of your life even if you don’t like exercising. Would you like the email version or the hardcopy?” Get their email or mailing address and follow through. At the end of the report include your bio and website information, but no pitch. You will earn a tonne of credibility and can easily gain dozens of contacts per day. (Brand new and very cutting edge, this has potential to completely crush any competition.)

Once people are on your list you are compelled to keep educating them. The more you educate them the more they will trust you. A couple times a month if you begin to offer attractive trial programs you will be amazed at how predictable and easy it becomes to acquire new paying clients.

Get to your homework, and enjoy the long weekend!

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