Getting started in the fitness industry is not easy. And personal training can be one of the trickier types of fitness companies to make successful. As a service-oriented business, it can be tricky to find like-minded people and attract personal training clients who match with you.
However, this may be one of the most important things to get right as you start up.
How do you establish relationships with people, design a personal experience, and connect with ideal clients? How do you start building your client list so you can actually call yourself a working fitness professional?
I'm here to share how to get clients as a personal trainer and a newbie in the independent fitness sector. You're likely not a wealthy corporate gym owner but want to translate your experience on the gym floor into income. Before we explore how you can get your first few clients, let's chat about some of the challenges you may face. I'll also show you how you can tackle them head-on.
The Challenges of Starting a Personal Training Business
Suddenly you start to have all of these thoughts running through your head questioning whether this was such a good idea. Can you make this work for yourself? Offering personal training services is not a hobby and, if you're serious about it, can become a demanding full-time commitment.
It is a business after all!
It is a business after all!
A major challenge that comes up at this stage is that you may realize you've underestimated the workload. From the legal details like insurance, tax compliance, and business registration to the daily operations; there is a lot to consider.
Once people can say they 'legally' have a business, they're often suddenly (and to their terror) faced with the question of income. How am I going to make money? Where do I find clients?
At the core of this question is the challenge of marketing. A personal trainer marketing strategy can make or break your success. It determines potential and future clients, and the sustainability of your customer base.
The third challenge I've witnessed new personal trainers make is to relax after the initial startup push. You've got a few personal training sessions, a small client base, and hopes that will stay the same. Stay on the ball!
Create strategies for sustainability and longevity and ensure you maintain and grow your client base.
With my experience in helping people make their fitness business successful, I've written several articles that can guide you at this point.
Use them and our various resources and guides to help you set the tone for your professional fitness journey.
The Basics of a Marketing Campaign
As I said above, marketing is a key part of addressing the challenge of increasing personal training clients. Every single person I know starts out trying to market their fitness business but gets pulled in way too many directions. They want to try all kinds of trendy marketing approaches whether it helps them make sales immediately or not.
And that's the key word: immediately. You just started your business and you need potential clients now.
There are three ways to get a marketing campaign to result in a sale:
And that's the key word: immediately. You just started your business and you need potential clients now.
There are three 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
The second and third points are important and you should look at doing them, but not right away.
Spending six months building brand awareness requires a long wait for possible returns. It doesn't matter in the long term but you can't afford to wait that long when you're just starting out.
You need the first few clients to get some traction and earn a living. Then you can afford to think about long-term growth.
You can also only focus on the third point (nurturing relationships) when you have those regular clients coming in already.
When assessing different strategies for marketing at this stage of your business, speed is a priority. How quickly can it generate new business? The first technique is the best way to reach your target clients and convert them quickly.
Here's how you can do just that.
Step-By-Step Guide on How to Get Personal Trainer Clients Quickly & for Free!
You've got very little to no income. You haven't started training clients so you can't get client referrals. And there is no way to prove your capabilities.
What marketing efforts can you implement to get personal trainer clients on board swiftly and at little cost to you? We've compiled a list of nine classic marketing methods for personal trainers and fitness coaches starting from scratch.
What marketing efforts can you implement to get personal trainer clients on board swiftly and at little cost to you? We've compiled a list of nine classic marketing methods for personal trainers and fitness coaches starting from scratch.
1. Define Your Brand Early On
Having a defined and distinct personal training brand will set you apart from your competitors. It will also help you better connect with your target audience and other people in your network. Your brand choices serve as markers that differentiate you and make you memorable to others.
Some of the branding decisions you should make quite early on include:
Use these choices as drivers for your efforts to get new clients. When you know what your niche is and your unique qualities, you can show your ideal clients how you bring value to them. Your branding becomes a tool for sales and to connect to clients.
Some of the branding decisions you should make quite early on include:
- Your fitness niche and specialty
- The personal training services you offer vs your competitors (aka your unique selling proposition –USP)
- Your target audience: their needs, preferences, demographics, etc
Use these choices as drivers for your efforts to get new clients. When you know what your niche is and your unique qualities, you can show your ideal clients how you bring value to them. Your branding becomes a tool for sales and to connect to clients.
2. Get Yourself Out There
Visibility is essential for getting to the customers you want to work with. You need to get your business right in front of the people who are most likely to want to work with you. A great way to do this is to become known at your local gym or the fitness studios you go to.
Spend as much time as you can on the gym floor and approach other people there with your offering.
The great thing about this approach is that the gym and fitness studios are filled with clients who are already on their fitness journey. When you make yourself a more visible and conscious member of the gym, you can learn how to help each person out.
Maybe you notice a newbie struggling with equipment. Introducing yourself and how you can help them acclimate is a fantastic opportunity to convert a new client.
Gyms are great spaces but you can also think about other pro-fitness places where clients may be more readily open to you. These might include fitness events, health and nutrition markets, marathons, or weight loss clubs.
Spend as much time as you can on the gym floor and approach other people there with your offering.
The great thing about this approach is that the gym and fitness studios are filled with clients who are already on their fitness journey. When you make yourself a more visible and conscious member of the gym, you can learn how to help each person out.
Maybe you notice a newbie struggling with equipment. Introducing yourself and how you can help them acclimate is a fantastic opportunity to convert a new client.
Gyms are great spaces but you can also think about other pro-fitness places where clients may be more readily open to you. These might include fitness events, health and nutrition markets, marathons, or weight loss clubs.
3. Offer Incentives
Reel potential clients in with discount offers and incentives. You're a new trainer so you can't tell them to check out your reviews or give client recommendations. You also can't quite rely on client referrals.
To get people into your sessions and give them first-hand experience of your service, offer them a discount. This can be 50% off their first session, a two-for-one package if they bring a friend, or a free initial consultation, amongst others. This is a great way to bring people in and showcase your skills.
To get people into your sessions and give them first-hand experience of your service, offer them a discount. This can be 50% off their first session, a two-for-one package if they bring a friend, or a free initial consultation, amongst others. This is a great way to bring people in and showcase your skills.
4. Grow Your Email List
Email marketing is a fantastic tool that makes quality leads available to your business immediately. That's if you reach out to people who know you already.
Make a list of everybody you have in your email contacts on Gmail, Hotmail, etc. Go through your phone book and networks and compile a list of relevant email addresses. These don't have to be people you can obviously see as clients.
You never know who could contribute meaningfully to your growth so add every contact you can find.
Use email marketing software like the one included in our platform and add all the email addresses you can scrape together to a list. The key to sales is to not just jump into the money part or oversell. Rather, use the first email you send as an authentic opportunity to share your new business venture with your network.
Make a list of everybody you have in your email contacts on Gmail, Hotmail, etc. Go through your phone book and networks and compile a list of relevant email addresses. These don't have to be people you can obviously see as clients.
You never know who could contribute meaningfully to your growth so add every contact you can find.
Use email marketing software like the one included in our platform and add all the email addresses you can scrape together to a list. The key to sales is to not just jump into the money part or oversell. Rather, use the first email you send as an authentic opportunity to share your new business venture with your network.
Template for Initial Personal Trainer Marketing Email
"Hey [FIRST NAME],
You may know that 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 it if you could spare 30 seconds. Let me know by writing in your reply which of the following you would need the most help with from a personal trainer:
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."
Sending this as an initial email establishes your relationship with your email audience. Some may respond by seeking your services directly. Others may just respond with the letter that fits them.
A few may ask for you not to contact them if at all.
The responses here will segment your email list and tell you more about your audience and how to approach each of them via email campaigns.
Consistently Add to the Email List
Once you have your list, seek to grow it constantly and send out information to them regularly. Anyone you speak to, in the gym, in public, at networking events, or 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 ask them if it's ok to add them?
Never add people who don't want to be 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 make yourself more visible.
5. Use Your Personal Social Media Presence
Social media is your rocket fuel right now. Yes, the thing you spend half of your life staring at is actually a hotbed 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 you can influence, who will do you a favor, simply because you ask them to. Use the same formula as the email to survey your friends:
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 you can influence, who will do you a favor, simply because you ask them to. Use the same formula as the email to survey your friends:
"Hey Friends,
You may know that 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 it if you could spare 30 seconds. Let me know by writing in your reply which of the following you would need the most help with from a personal trainer:
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."
DM me if you want to keep it private.
Thanks so much and it would really help if you could share this on TL/Story/Wall/Page/etc."
You may know that 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 it if you could spare 30 seconds. Let me know by writing in your reply which of the following you would need the most help with from a personal trainer:
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."
DM me if you want to keep it private.
Thanks so much and it would really help if you could share this on TL/Story/Wall/Page/etc."
As with email, social media is a great way to leverage your existing networks. Plus, you can turn your followers into clients and endorsers to their own followers. With a simple post using the template above, or a couple of direct messages, you can immediately multiply your reach into the thousands, completely free.
6. Make Fitness Professional Friends
If you don't already, you'll want to make fast friends with local fitness professionals and business owners. This includes the gym manager or fitness studio owner at the space where you'll be trying to gain clients (see step two). Beyond this, you should also seek to network with GPs, nutritionists, and other healthcare professionals.
Show them how your training services can work for their clients and ask them to refer you.
A GP or nutritionist, for example, can prescribe more or targeted exercise to clients for their health needs. They could suggest you as a personal trainer who can help the client.
Working with another professional opens you up to a valuable business relationship where they can give you referrals. This immediately boosts your reputation, expands your reach, and nurtures trusting client relationships. It also presents holistic, high-value partnerships to clients, helping them approach their health in a more well-rounded way.
This is a great method for how to get personal training clients for your new business. These potential clients already have a trusted referral and a need for your service.
Show them how your training services can work for their clients and ask them to refer you.
A GP or nutritionist, for example, can prescribe more or targeted exercise to clients for their health needs. They could suggest you as a personal trainer who can help the client.
Working with another professional opens you up to a valuable business relationship where they can give you referrals. This immediately boosts your reputation, expands your reach, and nurtures trusting client relationships. It also presents holistic, high-value partnerships to clients, helping them approach their health in a more well-rounded way.
This is a great method for how to get personal training clients for your new business. These potential clients already have a trusted referral and a need for your service.
7. Target Local Communities & Organizations
Group community spaces offer an opportunity to nurture multiple leads at one go. In a communal climate, people tend to enjoy doing new things together. This means if one person were to sign up, you may convince quite a few more to as well.
It's a group mindset that can work to the advantage of your business.
It's a group mindset that can work to the advantage of your business.
Think about community spaces that might buy into group fitness classes or personal training sessions. Create group discounts and incentives to encourage group experiences. Examples of organizations you can target include colleges and schools, hobby clubs, school PTAs, churches, and more.
You could even approach local businesses and offer group sessions for employees.
Groups are an opportunity for high returns. You can make more money and you also get more individuals interested and aware of your business.
8. Follow Up
You've done all of the above but it hasn't brought you any clients yet. Where's the trick? Simply follow up!
Answer those who have responded with interest in your services by noting their response and offering a consultation where you can talk. For those on the fence or showing little possibility of conversion, share more about your business and your services. Also, share valuable fitness information that you think may interest them.
You want to get them thinking about their fitness goals and how you can help achieve them.
Finally, you also want to have a follow-on process for people who don't respond or those who respond negatively. This can be as simple as keeping them in your newsletter list or sharing updates with them. Just because they're not ready to convert now, it doesn't mean they couldn't become future clients.
Answer those who have responded with interest in your services by noting their response and offering a consultation where you can talk. For those on the fence or showing little possibility of conversion, share more about your business and your services. Also, share valuable fitness information that you think may interest them.
You want to get them thinking about their fitness goals and how you can help achieve them.
Finally, you also want to have a follow-on process for people who don't respond or those who respond negatively. This can be as simple as keeping them in your newsletter list or sharing updates with them. Just because they're not ready to convert now, it doesn't mean they couldn't become future clients.
9. Rinse & Repeat
Once you've tried these techniques, ensure you keep at them. Results may not be immediate especially if you haven't ever been in the fitness space before. Repeat this strategy every couple of weeks with different variations.
For example, change your social media and email questions. Here are a few alternate questions to use:
Really you can ask people about anything. You're simply looking to grow your understanding of the market whilst baiting people to identify themselves as interested, potential clients.
For example, change your social media and email questions. Here are a few alternate questions to use:
- What is your biggest challenge?
- What is your health and fitness goal right now?
- What do you wish you knew more about in the fitness world?
- Which celebrity has your ideal physique?
- Do you like/love/hate the gym?
Really you can ask people about anything. You're simply looking to grow your understanding of the market whilst baiting people to identify themselves as interested, potential clients.
Conclusion
As you start your business, you'll be surprised to learn how many potential clients may be at your fingertips. You already have your warmest leads and the people most willing and able to help you right in front of you. For free!
These nine steps will help you tap into these networks so you can bring in much-needed clients to your business. If you need more advice or an extra push from the starting line, join our Institute of Personal Trainers Community to ask your questions, interact with other trainers from all over the world and get access to regular Q and A sessions.
These nine steps will help you tap into these networks so you can bring in much-needed clients to your business. If you need more advice or an extra push from the starting line, join our Institute of Personal Trainers Community to ask your questions, interact with other trainers from all over the world and get access to regular Q and A sessions.
