This is an important read for any PT's who are new to the industry, or do not yet have a thriving business that is consistently bringing you the income and lifestyle freedom that you desire.
We all get in to the fitness industry because we love it. We are gym-junkies who lead a healthy lifestyle, perhaps having been through our own transformation and re-invented our body and life. We want to tell everyone about it, to help others live a great lifestyle. Going through PT school cutting our teethh we learn the ins and outs of anatomy and physiology, a bit about nutrition and hormones...
But we are never taught anything of use about business!
This is outrageous when you consider that a huge percentage of our industry are self-employed. We're a group of small business owners with very little knowledge of business. Is it any wonder the drop-out rate in fitness is so high?
We just want to help people, to be in the gym doing the stuff that we love and to make a good living doing it. Instead, for many life is a constant struggle of trying to make ends meet, cover the bills, gym rent and hopefully have a little left over for ourselves.
Where will clients come from?
Will I ever be able to take time away for a holiday?
Is it always so inconsistent?
Thankfully with the help of some great mentors, lots of study and years of trying and (sometimes) succeeding we have been able to build successful PT businesses and we know what works. In recent times having worked with over 1400 PT's on their marketing and business, we have got this distilled in to a pretty efficient system.
Here's what we know from experience. If you're making any of these (super common) 10 mistakes it will be costing you clients, money and security...
This is outrageous when you consider that a huge percentage of our industry are self-employed. We're a group of small business owners with very little knowledge of business. Is it any wonder the drop-out rate in fitness is so high?
We just want to help people, to be in the gym doing the stuff that we love and to make a good living doing it. Instead, for many life is a constant struggle of trying to make ends meet, cover the bills, gym rent and hopefully have a little left over for ourselves.
Where will clients come from?
Will I ever be able to take time away for a holiday?
Is it always so inconsistent?
Thankfully with the help of some great mentors, lots of study and years of trying and (sometimes) succeeding we have been able to build successful PT businesses and we know what works. In recent times having worked with over 1400 PT's on their marketing and business, we have got this distilled in to a pretty efficient system.
Here's what we know from experience. If you're making any of these (super common) 10 mistakes it will be costing you clients, money and security...
The 10 Mistakes That Almost All New PT's Make...
1. Not having set goals and defined structure:
When a client starts with you, the first thing you do is probably talk about their goals and what they hope to achieve right? You make them be specific and put measurable numbers to their goal and check in at regular intervals to see how they are progressing. Are you doing the same in your business? Do you know what you should be measuring and realistic targets to aim for?
2. Being a generalist:
What is your speciality, that you are an expert and leader in the field at? Clients will pay a premium and actively seek you out if they think you are the best at what you do. Being a generalist, training anybody and everybody leaves you competing on price with all of the other trainers in your area who will undercut you in a race to the bottom. Be different, become an expert and business will thrive.
3. Selling 'sessions':
This is just bad business and for some unknown reason is the standard in the fitness industry. Selling sessions or even blocks of sessions is a terrible business strategy and responsible for hurting your income, losing clients and creating untold stress in your life. There is a better way.
4. Speaking over your clients head:
You know when you speak to an insurance company or the bank and it seems like their intention is to completely bamboozle you with technical speak that you don't understand...how does that feel? That's what it's like for a potential client when they see lists of qualifications and technical expertise. To connect with potential clients you need to meet them on their level, empathize and show them that you understand how they feel. When you do, it is like gold dust and they cannot wait to buy from you.
5. Wasting time online:
Online is great; it's kind of our 'thing' after all. However most people are wasting their time on a bunch of different social media sites that are not bringing them clients and possibly even laying out large sums for a website that hasn't brought them any clients back in. Online is important in 2015, but you need a strategy and to be investing your time, money and effort in the right places.
When a client starts with you, the first thing you do is probably talk about their goals and what they hope to achieve right? You make them be specific and put measurable numbers to their goal and check in at regular intervals to see how they are progressing. Are you doing the same in your business? Do you know what you should be measuring and realistic targets to aim for?
2. Being a generalist:
What is your speciality, that you are an expert and leader in the field at? Clients will pay a premium and actively seek you out if they think you are the best at what you do. Being a generalist, training anybody and everybody leaves you competing on price with all of the other trainers in your area who will undercut you in a race to the bottom. Be different, become an expert and business will thrive.
3. Selling 'sessions':
This is just bad business and for some unknown reason is the standard in the fitness industry. Selling sessions or even blocks of sessions is a terrible business strategy and responsible for hurting your income, losing clients and creating untold stress in your life. There is a better way.
4. Speaking over your clients head:
You know when you speak to an insurance company or the bank and it seems like their intention is to completely bamboozle you with technical speak that you don't understand...how does that feel? That's what it's like for a potential client when they see lists of qualifications and technical expertise. To connect with potential clients you need to meet them on their level, empathize and show them that you understand how they feel. When you do, it is like gold dust and they cannot wait to buy from you.
5. Wasting time online:
Online is great; it's kind of our 'thing' after all. However most people are wasting their time on a bunch of different social media sites that are not bringing them clients and possibly even laying out large sums for a website that hasn't brought them any clients back in. Online is important in 2015, but you need a strategy and to be investing your time, money and effort in the right places.
Identifying the mistakes in your business is the first stage in building the kind of lifestyle and income that you want. Next, you need to learn and implement exactly what to do instead. To help with this we are running an exclusive FREE live online training this Saturday 5th September to go over the 10 mistakes in detail and what to do to put it right.
6. Inconsistent lead generation:
Do you have a consistent stream of leads approaching you about training or do you have to scrap and hustle in desperation when you need a new client? This is where online can work for you, when you use the right strategies. If you are not having people come in to your business on a regular basis, you will never be able to grow and achieve the security of knowing that if one client leaves it will not jeopardize your financial stability.
7. Not keeping in touch with people:
If someone inquires about your business or expresses some sort of interest, they are a very hot lead. However, up to 85% will not do business with you right now (yes, that's a real statistic - surprising isn't it?). If you keep in touch with these people, a large percentage of them will buy from you in the future. The best thing is, we can leverage an email list to simply and easily keep in touch with a large number of people with very little effort; warming them up until they are ready to buy.
8. No sales technique and lacking confidence:
Sales is a skill that takes some getting used to. Much of it is counter-intuitive and it can be difficult to come across as confident and assured when you are desperate for the new business. Learning to sell is one of the most important things any business person can do. Without being able to sell, you will not successfully convert all of the people that need your help in to clients. This is doing them a grave disservice, as well as obviously impacting your own business.
9. Low confidence and not thinking big:
Fitness is a small industry and we all tend to work alongside our competitors in the same gyms. This leads to us comparing ourselves to those near us - but is that really all you want? To be the person working the most hours in the local commercial gym? People can and do make 6,7, even 8 figures in the fitness industry, It's definitely not common and it's certainly not easy, but if you don't aim high, you will never reach your potential. Think how many people you could be helping if you leveraged group programs to have thousands of clients, or you had a couple of studios with dozens of PT's working for you, all with a healthy client base. What do you dream of for the future?
10. No big vision of what's next:
Having a dream is great but you need to have a plan to manifest it in reality. A vision is a dream with a concrete plan to take you there. Do you know the business strategies required for a successful business? How to leverage and grow beyond selling your time when you run out of hours in the day?
What should I do..?
If you are making any of these mistakes you need to identify the problem and implement changes that will transform your business. Bringing more income, more consistency in attracting and keeping clients and have a business that works for you instead of stressing you out.
Comment below or email us with any fitness, personal trainer or health club marketing questions you might have!
Comment below or email us with any fitness, personal trainer or health club marketing questions you might have!
