So, you're a qualified personal trainer and you have no idea who you want to train or who you should train?
You have a product to sell but you don't know who you're supposed to sell it to?
You have skills but you don't have a product, you need to know what to sell to appeal to your local demographic?
How to Identify Your Target Market
Your target market is the group of potential clients that share characteristics related to your service or product. For example, people interested in improving their health might purchase a nutritional programme or a personal trainer.
It's important to identify your target market so that you don't waste your time by marketing your products to thousands of non-targeted followers on social media links and other expensive marketing techniques.
OK, so if your target market is determined by a group of characteristics as opposed to a single person, you can define your target market by creating your very own perfect client and seeing what their characteristics are. To define this perfect client you will need to dive deep in to their world and discover everything about them.
Now remember, there is no right or wrong answer here. Just try to keep it as realistic as possible. Think about things like their gender, age, relationship status, location, hobbies, their needs and their problems. If you know what your clients you will know where they hang out on social media networks and what their problems are. You can then offer yourself as the solution to that problem.
Try using this target market worksheet template from Brenda Lavell of Etsy.com.
It's important to identify your target market so that you don't waste your time by marketing your products to thousands of non-targeted followers on social media links and other expensive marketing techniques.
OK, so if your target market is determined by a group of characteristics as opposed to a single person, you can define your target market by creating your very own perfect client and seeing what their characteristics are. To define this perfect client you will need to dive deep in to their world and discover everything about them.
Now remember, there is no right or wrong answer here. Just try to keep it as realistic as possible. Think about things like their gender, age, relationship status, location, hobbies, their needs and their problems. If you know what your clients you will know where they hang out on social media networks and what their problems are. You can then offer yourself as the solution to that problem.
Try using this target market worksheet template from Brenda Lavell of Etsy.com.
People don’t know what they want until you give it to them. - Steve Jobs [Tweet This].
How to Talk to Your Target Market
Now that you fully understand where your clients hang our and what their problems are, you will be able to portray yourself (the product) as the solution to their problems a lot better. But this only works if you know how to talk to your ideal clients. In other words, what language are they speaking?
There are multiple solutions to any single problem and you can't be all of them. So, how do you find out how people want to be helped? Easy:
The secret to becoming a successful personal trainer... make it personal! Get off your ass and go talk to people. Anyone! Everyone! Speak to the guy behind the checkout. Speak to the women who cuts your hair. Speak to everyone and listen to them. Ask them what they're having trouble with. If you make it your job to be the solution to their problem you will not have to sell them anything. Know your services and your product so well that it sells itself.
Example: I was approached via my online contact form, Vcita, by a women hoping to lose weight. She explained to me that she had seen my product, the 21 Day Fat Blaster Extreme and she was thinking about purchasing it. After a long conversation on the phone I told her that the product wasn't for her. She didn't need it. I put her in touch with a personal trainer who worked specifically with middle aged women and told her he would do a better job than my product.
Despite training with another personal trainer every week, I'm still getting clients through the door who have been recommended by her. Why? I was the solution to her problem.
There are multiple solutions to any single problem and you can't be all of them. So, how do you find out how people want to be helped? Easy:
- You know where they hang out online so just read and listen in to how they describe their problems.
- Hopefully, you're already training these types of people so just ask them
The secret to becoming a successful personal trainer... make it personal! Get off your ass and go talk to people. Anyone! Everyone! Speak to the guy behind the checkout. Speak to the women who cuts your hair. Speak to everyone and listen to them. Ask them what they're having trouble with. If you make it your job to be the solution to their problem you will not have to sell them anything. Know your services and your product so well that it sells itself.
Example: I was approached via my online contact form, Vcita, by a women hoping to lose weight. She explained to me that she had seen my product, the 21 Day Fat Blaster Extreme and she was thinking about purchasing it. After a long conversation on the phone I told her that the product wasn't for her. She didn't need it. I put her in touch with a personal trainer who worked specifically with middle aged women and told her he would do a better job than my product.
Despite training with another personal trainer every week, I'm still getting clients through the door who have been recommended by her. Why? I was the solution to her problem.
Listen and Respond
Now that you know how to talk to your target market and you're getting valuable information to improve your fitness business, just be sure to listen to them. Respond to everything! If you ask someone if they're having trouble with something, it's a personal question, not replying will make you look like an ass!
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