Getting started in the fitness industry is not easy. You're very much thrown in at the deep end of running your own business, quickly realising that you don't actually have a clue where the next client is going to come from.
Before you started, when you decided to get in to fitness and throughout your qualification, you probably just assumed the clients would be there. Never really giving it too much thought. You chose to eschew the big corporate gym route, instead going out alone. This is when that anxiety hits you in the chest like you just dropped your max bench press on yourself:
I actually have no idea where my clients are going to come from or how I will generate business and pay the bills."
Shi... Shoot!
Suddenly you have all of these thoughts running through your head and start to question whether this was such a good idea. Can you make this work for yourself?
Let me tell you some of the things that I felt, when I was in this position.
Let me tell you some of the things that I felt, when I was in this position.
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Man, that's not even the half of it. These are just the tamer ones that I don't mind disclosing to the world wide webernet.
It sucks being in this position so you have a few options.
- If you're lucky enough to stumble upon a mentor or someone who can guide you, then you will probably find the way.
- Or maybe you're just a hustler and you will work your ass off. Throw shit at the wall every day and eventually something is going to stick.
- Or the third option. You toil and struggle, but nothing really works out. You're left broke, scared and your confidence shattered. At this point you will probably seek safety in employment and punching the clock in some miserable job you never wanted.
I want To Be Your Mentor...
I know the position that you're in and so I want to help you shortcut some of the struggle that I went through with a couple of options.
Here we go...
- If you want to ask me for help directly join the Fitness Marketing Lab and get in touch through there.
- If you simply want to be given a step by step strategy that you can take away and implement, then read on.
Here we go...
1. Forget Almost Everything You Know
Every single person I know that starts out trying to market their fitness business ends up getting pulled in way too many directions by the latest shiny new marketing platform and the next guru's system. Fact is, they all work if you do them properly and when appropriate.
Problem is, most of them are not appropriate when you are very first starting and have no money to invest. Here's why...
There are 3 ways to get a marketing campaign to result in a sale;
You can see, of the 3 strategies, only the first one is going to bring you quick returns. Numbers 2 and 3 are important and you should look at doing them, but not right away.
Spending 6 months building an Instagram following, commenting on everyone else's pictures, while never making an offer for any of them to buy something from you is not going to feed you and keep a roof over your head next week.
You can't afford to wait when you are starting out. You need the first few clients to get some traction and be able to live. Then you can afford to think about long term growth.
When assessing different strategies for marketing at this stage of your business, when you are in desperate need of clients you should only be concerned with speed. How quickly can it generate new business? I'll tell you the quickest and easiest way below.
Problem is, most of them are not appropriate when you are very first starting and have no money to invest. Here's why...
There are 3 ways to get a marketing campaign to result in a sale;
- Find the people ready to buy and offer them your services
- Build your brand awareness and reputation so people come and seek you out
- Build relationships with 'maybe' buyers and nurture them over the medium-long term
You can see, of the 3 strategies, only the first one is going to bring you quick returns. Numbers 2 and 3 are important and you should look at doing them, but not right away.
Spending 6 months building an Instagram following, commenting on everyone else's pictures, while never making an offer for any of them to buy something from you is not going to feed you and keep a roof over your head next week.
You can't afford to wait when you are starting out. You need the first few clients to get some traction and be able to live. Then you can afford to think about long term growth.
When assessing different strategies for marketing at this stage of your business, when you are in desperate need of clients you should only be concerned with speed. How quickly can it generate new business? I'll tell you the quickest and easiest way below.
How To Get Clients Quickly & For Free!
This is exactly what you can do to get your first few clients quickly and for free.
- Collate an email list. Make a list of everybody you have in your email contacts on Gmail, Hotmail, etc. Go through your phone book and if you have been in a previous career - your work account if it's possible and not totally inappropriate.
Set up an email sending service such as Mailchimp (Join the Fitness Marketing Lab for a step by step guide), add all of the emails you can scrape together to a list. Send an email out to everyone, telling them that you have recently qualified as a PT and would love if they could spare just 2 minutes to help you do some research.
It's a good idea to know what sort of people you want to work with already. For example, weight loss/muscle building/sports performance, men/women, newbies/experienced trainees. It depends on your passion and experience. Ask them which of 3 options related to the type of people you most want to work with they most need help with. For example:
- What to eat for weight loss
- The best way to train to burn fat
- How to overcome a weight loss plateau
Then ask them the single biggest challenge they face in their fitness right now.
Add that you will be sending out content to this email list, to help them overcome their biggest fitness problems and if they do not want to receive it, they should unsubscribe now.
Thank them for their time and encourage them to share the email with friends. Explain that you're starting from scratch and how much any information or forwarding it on would help you. People do like to help people out and you'll be surprised at the response you get.
Here's an example:
"Hey [FIRST NAME]
Some of you will know, I recently qualified as a Personal Trainer and have started my own business. I'm looking to do a little market research and would love if you could spare 30 seconds.
Let me know by writing the letter in a reply which of the following you most need help with:
A) What to eat for weight loss
B) The best way to train for fat loss
C) How to overcome a weight loss plateau
It would also be amazing if you could tell me your single biggest fitness challenge right now in the email.
Thanks so much and it would really help if you could share this with your friends."
P.S. Some people might email you back telling you they don't wanna receive emails - if they do, just unsubscribe them. - Always be adding people to this list and send out information to them regularly, while offering a consultation at the end of the email if they would like some help with their fitness goals. Anyone you speak to, in the gym, in public, at networking events, on social media - add them to the list (but ask permission first). Tell them you will send them some valuable info about their fitness and is it ok to add them?
Never add people who don't want to be on there. If this is your first 'career' you might not have anyone much to add to start with, but still start a list. It will grow as you get out there and speak to people in your business. - Go to your personal Facebook profile. This is your rocket fuel right now. Yes, the thing you spend half of your life staring at is actually a hot bed of untapped business potential, right under your nose.
You have a list of probably hundreds of people who (vaguely) know you, (mostly) like you and (perhaps) trust you. Of course, you also have your real friends, family and people close to you on there. These are the people who can help you grow your business. They are the people that you can influence, who will do you a favour, simply because you ask them to.
Use the same formula as the email to survey your friends. Here is the template again:
"Some of you will know, I recently qualified as a Personal Trainer and have started my own business. I'm looking to do a little market research and would love if you could spare 30 seconds.
Let me know by writing the letter in the comments which of the following you most need help with:
A) What to eat for weight loss
B) The best way to train for fat loss
C) How to overcome a weight loss plateau
It would also be amazing if you could tell me your single biggest fitness challenge right now. PM me if you want to keep it private.
Thanks so much and it would really help if you could share this on your wall."
Now this is where Facebook is great. You can sweet talk/cajole/bully/bribe your closest friends and family in to sharing it on their wall and writing a quick note to endorse you. They will do this as a favour and you have immediately multiplied your reach in to the thousands, completely free. - Follow up. You've done lots of surveying, but it hasn't brought you any clients yet. Where's the trick? Simply follow up everyone who responds, if its Facebook and they're not a friend, then add them.
Send them all a message thanking them for taking the time and helping you out. Note their response and offer a little of your time to talk/show them what to do to overcome it. In other words, get everyone who has responded in for a free trial or consultation.
Now, some people who are close to you will respond just because you posted a status and they are gonna comment on it. You will know who is responding because it's you versus who is responding because of what you said. These people are raising their hand and identifying that they are interested in that. They are a hot lead and a potential client. - If you've been in a previous career and have a LinkedIn profile you can do the same strategy there. You won't get the exposure and people sharing that you do on Facebook, but you might find these are some of your best leads. If you were in the same/complimentary industry, you know what they go through and they are probably envious that you have got out and started your dream job. This makes them interested in working with you and potentially changing their own life for the better too.
- You can repeat this strategy every couple of weeks with different variations. For example:
- What is your biggest challenge?
- What is your goal right now?
- What do you wish you knew?
- Which celebrity has your ideal physique?
- Do you like/love/hate the gym? why?
Really you can ask people about anything. You're simply looking to grow your understanding of the market and baiting people to identify themselves as interested and thus a potential client.
Conclusion
You already have your warmest leads and the people most willing and able to help you right in front of you, for free.
Every time you do a mini-survey you are learning more about your market and then can mirror what they tell you in the communication and offers that you make to them. They will tell you what they want and then you can offer them it. There really is no need to guess.
Every time you do a mini-survey you are learning more about your market and then can mirror what they tell you in the communication and offers that you make to them. They will tell you what they want and then you can offer them it. There really is no need to guess.
To get things off the ground you're probably going to have to hustle, to influence the people around you to help you out and to keep trying things and see what people respond to. It's all part of the journey and the sooner you get on your feet with a few clients under your belt, the soon you have the security to focus on finding new clients outside your network and growing your business with some of the dozens of different marketing strategies you are itching to learn about. |
Join the Fitness Marketing Lab for all the resources and help you need to grow your fitness business quickly.