8 Overlooked Realities of Fitness Marketing

​Being a Personal Trainer is an awesome and rewarding job, which allows us to make a living from one of our passions.

That said, it is not always roses. Unfortunately, sometimes we are sold the dream of being self-employed and ‘just training people’ all day.

Overlooking the fact that you are running a business and the realities that come with that.

One of the biggest and most challenging being; business generation and fitness marketing.

After coming through the qualification course and opting to go out on your own as a freelance Personal Trainer, be it in a small studio or at a big box gym like Fitness First, many of us come in for a rude awakening.

Namely; the realities of fitness marketing that nobody has told us about.

Luckily, we are here to tell you about these 8 overlooked realities of fitness marketing and help you to build a thriving business that you love, AND that pays you well.

​1. You Are Running a Fitness Business

You are running a business & a business must sell. For a business to work, it must generate profits. To generate profits you need clients and to get clients you must sell. I know most people get in to personal training to train people and be in the gym - not to be a sales person. Let's face it, commissions selling cars or houses will pay better than Personal Training packages.

If you are self-employed, you are running your own business. If you are running your own business you must be constantly selling, to make the business work. It's a steep learning curve and the vast, vast majority of small businesses ultimately fail.

In a service business like Personal Training, we have no large overheads such as premises (unless you own a gym) or inventory. This makes it a low risk business with a high percentage of income being profit. The biggest reason Personal Trainers are not raking the money in and helping hundreds of people transform their body, is an aversion to, or lack of knowledge in sales and marketing. Let me tell you this....

2. Selling Is In The Best Interest Of The Client

If a client is searching Google and finds your website, walks in to your gym, contacts you or expresses any sort of interest or interaction in your marketing THEY WANT TO BE SOLD WHAT YOU OFFER.

Many people have a negative association with the word sales and can't see beyond the stereotypical 'sleazy used car salesman'. The reality is, people want to buy what you are offering, the process of 'closing the sale' is facilitating them doing what is in their best interests.

Just like we have an aversion to selling, many people have an aversion to buying. Especially something like Personal Training. Think about it, they are paying to work, on an endeavour (weight loss, etc.) that they have likely tried and failed to achieve before. Even though they desperately want the outcomes that come with it (better body, health, more confidence, etc.) they still need to get over their fears and limiting beliefs that cause them to not to action toward their goals. 

If someone is having the conversation with you about training - in person or through interaction with your online presence - they want to be sold your services. The act of selling to them is really just making them feel comfortable that they have made the right decision and giving them confidence that they will achieve their goals. It's the first step in helping them.

3. The Market is Stretched

The market is big & people's attention is stretched; you must MAKE people come to you. We live in an age where we are connected to media at all times and the marketing messages being thrown at us are non-stop and overwhelming.

Ask the average person how many companies they are aware of who offer weight loss and I'm sure they could name dozens, if not hundreds. From you, from the next Personal Trainer. From Virgin Active and the local community gym. From Weight Watchers and Slimming World. From the infomercials on TV and thousands of diet books on Amazon. From plastic surgeons and SlenderTone. The list goes on and on.

You must stand out and MAKE people come to you. After all, your service is a damn site more effective, more ethical and more friendly than those mentioned above. You do this through your marketing efforts. Shying away in the corner of the gym and expecting people to come to you is simply not going to work.

People need to know WHY they are coming to you, above all other options. You need to consistently be communicating with people, to show them that you are an expert, that you can help people like them and that you care. This is why effective marketing is so important; both for your business AND for the client.

4. People Buy People

People buy people. Widgets and gadgets are all well and good, but we all crave human connection. We are social animals and we will buy from people that we know, like and trust.

The average person is fairly uneducated when it comes to fitness. They don't know how to differentiate who has the best qualifications, which person has the most knowledge or greatest understanding. If they knew all of that, they would know as much as you and not need your help!

While it is common for people to rationalise why they make a decisions based on logic and facts, the reality is a purchasing decision is mostly emotional. They cannot differentiate between the qualifications,  but they can understand the visceral feelings that you impart. They can feel trust, belief and empathy, even if they're not aware of their influence.

So the aim of your marketing is to become someone that they know, like and trust. You do this by offering them consistent value and regular communication via content marketing. Nothing sleazy or pushy, just being helpful.

5. Return On Investment

It's ALL about return on investment. Running a small business can be hard. Especially starting out. It's tempting to hoard away the money that you make and be wary of spending anything.

While we don't recommend throwing money down the drain uselessly, there comes a point where you have to spend money to make money. Doing lots of leg work and hustle will take you only so far, at which point, you need to invest to grow.

Your marketing efforts should be measured purely on return on investment. If I spend £10 or £10,000 on marketing doesn't matter - if it increases profitability, it is a success. Indeed, as an example; if you spend £10 and make £20, you have £10 profit. Spend £10,000 and make £20,000, you have £10,000 profit. Which would you prefer? To not spend £10,000 because it seems like too much money, or to have an extra £9,990 in your pocket?

6. Fitness Marketing Takes Time & Consistency

Fitness Marketing takes time & consistency. For too many Personal Trainers marketing is something of an after thought. Something they will have a go at for a few days and then forget about. 

Throwing a few Facebook posts up, writing a blog or two and expecting to have a stream of inbox messages and dominate Google search is not realistic. It takes time and it takes consistency. Most people will not respond to your marketing message the first time. Nor the second, third or fourth.

When they respond on the 72nd, it was all worth it. Some people will respond quickly, some will take longer. Regardless, you only need to create every marketing message once and it will hit all of those people. 

Keep consistent, give it time and measure growth.

7. Fitness Marketing Is a Skill

Marketing is a skill-set people get paid millions to do for successful companies; let specialists help you. In 2010 the marketing industry did $21 Billion revenue. That is a heck of a lot of money. Are we really going to learn it by reading a couple of books?

Personally it took me 5 years before I really got a marketing campaign right on purpose. I'd had success before, but I couldn't pin point why and I couldn't replicate it. Incidentally, I also sought expert help with someone proven successful. That is what really turned my marketing around.

With a proven system and a little expert guidance, it can be easy. Without, it can be the most frustrating thing in the world. You're scared to invest in marketing, because you worry about losing the money, and business never grows. You're stuck with the same problems you have always had; of working long hours, not knowing where your next client is coming from and hardly ever getting chance to step away and go on holiday. 

You might have seen a new tab appear on the menu of this site; 'The Fitness Marketing Lab'. We have personally invested over £35,000 in research and helped 1,400 personal trainers with their website, SEO and marketing. The Fitness Marketing Lab is going to give you a proven formula for successful Personal Trainer Marketing - without the 'earn 6 figures in 3 months if you invest £XXXX now' bullshit. 

Real, honest marketing that works for Personal Trainers to grow their business.

If you want to find out more, get on our e-mail list now. We will be sending exclusive information out to the list within the next week.

8. Systemise Your Fitness Marketing ASAP

8. Systemize your marketing ASAP if you want to focus on training people. Marketing is the lifeblood of any business, it brings the money in and keeps the doors open. That is all well and good, but if you're not a 'marketing guy', you probably don't like doing it all that much. You want to focus on the things you do enjoy, like being in the gym and helping people with their goals. 
You can create a systematic approach to marketing that will bring leads consistently to your business and allow you to focus on the good stuff. It will take some time and effort up front and won't happen by itself, but with the right guidance and concerted effort, it is definitely easier than you think. You just need the blueprint to get there. 

Personal Trainer marketing can be simple and rewarding, but it needs to be given the attention, investment and expertise required to make it so.