You know that feeling of dread, knowing that your pain in the @55 (<-- that's cool speak for "ass") client is next in your diary? The energy sappers and complainers who never do what you ask them, and then blame you when they don't see results? Yeh, it sucks and we've all had clients like them.
If only you could have more of the dream clients. The ones that you bond with immediately, who are fun and easy to get along with, look up to you and respect your knowledge, while implementing your plan and seeing amazing results.
Well, you can. All you have to do is choose to.
Ok, that makes it sound too easy, there's going to be some work involved, and it will probably be uncomfortable initially. Maybe you will even lose out on some income. Still, all you have to do is choose the perfect clients, and then implement strategies based on that choice and pretty soon you will have plenty of perfect clients.
Well, you can. All you have to do is choose to.
Ok, that makes it sound too easy, there's going to be some work involved, and it will probably be uncomfortable initially. Maybe you will even lose out on some income. Still, all you have to do is choose the perfect clients, and then implement strategies based on that choice and pretty soon you will have plenty of perfect clients.
The Myth of "The Perfect Client"
The perfect client is not a person, but rather a set of traits and behaviours - a demographic or 'niche'. There are billions of the people in the world, a percentage of them will be exactly the people you want to work with and are best suited to help.
Too many personal trainers operate from a mindset of scarcity; of believing that there is a finite and strictly limited number of clients available and that they must take whatever they can get. They can't try and attract the perfect client, because they think being too specific will turn off many potential clients.
Too many personal trainers operate from a mindset of scarcity; of believing that there is a finite and strictly limited number of clients available and that they must take whatever they can get. They can't try and attract the perfect client, because they think being too specific will turn off many potential clients.
What ends up happening is you are in a dog fight with every other personal trainer in your gym, town or online, who are all fighting for every client available and it becomes a race to the bottom, in who can undercut prices the most and still manage to feed themselves.
Benefits of Choosing a Fitness Niche
In reality, no matter how small your town, there is enough of a market to make a great living working only with the ideal people that you want to help. Let me tell you a few of the benefits of creating a niche for yourself.
- You get really good at helping that specific niche. Everyone has the same problems, goals and values and you become a true expert in your clients
- You get known as the go-to guy and build a reputation of excellence
- You can charge more, because you offer the exact solution to the clients problem
- Because all of your clients are similar and you have a great reputation it's much easier to network with other health professionals and build referral networks and complimentary services
- Marketing is a whole lot easier and cheaper because you are talking to a very specific person
- Sales is easy because the client recognises you as the solution to their very specific problem
- You start to build a tribe of followers. All of your clients are very similar to each other and in love with you, so they naturally become friends, walking billboards for your business and are always happy to help you out where possible
- Life is less stressful, because you are dealing with people who you get on with, who value your service and respect you as an expert
- You can systemise your business because everyone is doing similar things, freeing up energy for dedicating to clients and time for yourself
- There is greater growth potential, because you know your market so well, are perceived as an expert and can network easily, you can sell products and services that do not require your time to deliver
How To Find Your Choose Your Niche
Start by asking yourself a few questions and you will be able to narrow down your perfect niche. Spend some time on this. Go sit outside in nature, with a notebook and a pen. Turn your phone off and introspect. Brainstorm and answer the questions honestly.
You'll notice, these are all about you. Whatever you want to do, there will probably be a market for it. Something that you are passionate about, that you view as your mission in life, and means to serve the greatest number of people, will always succeed. Something where you 'turn up' and 'punch the clock' to earn a paycheck will always fail.
Maybe not straight away, but it will eventually. Probably because you lose interest and fall out of love with the idea all together.
- Of my current clients - who do I most enjoy working with and get best results with?
- What are the commonalities shared by these people?
- What am I passionate about studying and working on when I have free time?
- What am I excited to talk about with other like minded PT's?
- What do I love helping clients do?
- What do I not like helping clients do?
- What do I currently do with some clients that doesn't interest me?
- What am I good at?
- What am I not good at?
- What do I do myself?
- Where am I a role model?
- If I won the lottery tomorrow, what client, or what service would make me get out of bed Monday morning, excited to get in the gym and help them?
You'll notice, these are all about you. Whatever you want to do, there will probably be a market for it. Something that you are passionate about, that you view as your mission in life, and means to serve the greatest number of people, will always succeed. Something where you 'turn up' and 'punch the clock' to earn a paycheck will always fail.
Maybe not straight away, but it will eventually. Probably because you lose interest and fall out of love with the idea all together.
I'm a big believer that your mind is the greatest tool at your disposal. Greater than any training course or book. If you are working in alignment with your highest values, toward a life mission that inspires and fulfills you, you will be successful and happy in the process. You will be in a state of flow, and mastery becomes effortless. You cannot fail because you will never give up. You will seek the resources, the help, the learning and whatever else you need to succeed.
A setback is just par for the course, it will not stop you. It's just a slight hold up. So what if a client leaves? If you're in debt? If your gym closes down? None of it matters, because when you have this level of alignment in your life, you will always find the right answer. The solution is at your disposal, just waiting for you to act on it.
Building Your Buyer Persona
So you've answered the questions and you have an idea of what you want, but it's rather abstract. "How does this help my business?", you wonder...
Now, you use the picture that you have drawn from the questions above to make your client avatar - the demographics, traits and behaviours of your perfect client.
Demographics:
Traits:
Behaviours:
Now you are going to have a very clear picture of your perfect client avatar.
It's important to mention that it's unlikely anybody will perfectly align with everything you write here. The point is, when you communicate to this ideal person, the people that is resonates with and are attracted to it, will share most of those traits and behaviours. The important things will be the same or similar and while everyone has unique differences, they're more similar than not.
Think about it, if I say 'heavy metal fan' - you have an image in your mind right? Not everyone who likes heavy metal is exactly the same, but as a group they're much more similar to each other than to someone who likes jazz, hip hop or classical music. They all share a bond that attracts them to the same niche group of artists.
Now, you use the picture that you have drawn from the questions above to make your client avatar - the demographics, traits and behaviours of your perfect client.
Demographics:
- Gender?
- Age?
- Training experience?
- Career area?
- Lifestyle?
Traits:
- Personality type?
- Core values?
- Goals, dreams, wishes?
- Biggest problems?
- Beliefs?
Behaviours:
- Working out? Enjoy it?
- Social life?
- Eating habits?
- Self image? Way they talk to themselves?
- People around them?
Now you are going to have a very clear picture of your perfect client avatar.
It's important to mention that it's unlikely anybody will perfectly align with everything you write here. The point is, when you communicate to this ideal person, the people that is resonates with and are attracted to it, will share most of those traits and behaviours. The important things will be the same or similar and while everyone has unique differences, they're more similar than not.
Think about it, if I say 'heavy metal fan' - you have an image in your mind right? Not everyone who likes heavy metal is exactly the same, but as a group they're much more similar to each other than to someone who likes jazz, hip hop or classical music. They all share a bond that attracts them to the same niche group of artists.
Become an Expert at Solving Your Clients' Problems
Now you've got who you are working with nailed down, you need to create an enticing proposition for them working with you. They need to be shown why you are the perfect solution for them. How you understand exactly what they're going through, what they want and what they need to achieve that.
You need to become an expert in your client's problems.
You should know them better than they know themselves. When you reach this level, your communication is so enticing, it draws in the perfect clients with ease, sales and marketing is not something you ever need stress about again.
Becoming an expert in your client's problems comes with experience and by asking them what their problems are. See, nobody listens to people nowadays; we're all too busy with our noses in the surface of everyone else's lives on Facebook and Instagram to ever get any depth by actually listening. If you listen, from a place of caring, people will very quickly open up to you.
This has many benefits; first of all, it gets to the root of their problem and allows you to get better results with them. Secondly, they will LOVE you and probably never leave, while happily referring you people. Finally, you are finding out exactly how to communicate to your potential clients, by mirroring back what they say to you.
This is personal trainer marketing advice, but it also makes you a much better trainer, who achieves significantly better results with your clients and changes more lives for many of the reasons mentioned above.
You need to become an expert in your client's problems.
You should know them better than they know themselves. When you reach this level, your communication is so enticing, it draws in the perfect clients with ease, sales and marketing is not something you ever need stress about again.
Becoming an expert in your client's problems comes with experience and by asking them what their problems are. See, nobody listens to people nowadays; we're all too busy with our noses in the surface of everyone else's lives on Facebook and Instagram to ever get any depth by actually listening. If you listen, from a place of caring, people will very quickly open up to you.
This has many benefits; first of all, it gets to the root of their problem and allows you to get better results with them. Secondly, they will LOVE you and probably never leave, while happily referring you people. Finally, you are finding out exactly how to communicate to your potential clients, by mirroring back what they say to you.
This is personal trainer marketing advice, but it also makes you a much better trainer, who achieves significantly better results with your clients and changes more lives for many of the reasons mentioned above.
