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"Personal Trainers are Independent Business People and Not Just Employees"
I'm continually shocked by the number of personal trainers who say they want to make more money, but completely ignore the skill that will enable them to do so. I'm talking about the skill that always separates the "haves" from the "have-nots." That skill, of course, is marketing: everything you do to get and keep clients for the life of your business. And make no mistake, you are in business. If you perceive yourself as an "employee" of your
club and not as an independent businessperson, that's the first and most important obstacle you must overcome else it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your "employee" self-image is sabotaging your ability to earn what you're worth.
You Must Take Responsibility For Your Marketing
If you're not taking control over the marketing of your "business", i.e. the acquisition of clients, then you are abdicating control of your financial future. Given the increased emphasis clubs are placing on personal trainers acquiring their own clients, this lack of initiative on your part will not only affect your earnings, it will also make you expendable. If you want to control your ability to earn the money you deserve, you must take responsibility for your marketing - period. Consider all the time, effort and money you've invested in learning and developing your technical training skills so that you can efficiently and proficiently deliver results and value to those in need of health and fitness solutions. Isn't it true that those skills, in and of themselves, will make you no money whatsoever if you have no one to train? One of the biggest myths of business is that "if you build it, they will come." Countless individuals who have supreme technical ability erroneously believe they can "set up shop" and customers will beat a path to their door. That's Just Flat Out Wrong
Competition in America is what makes our economy so strong. And if you want to compete, you simply must develop the skill that will put clients in front of you, because it's your clients who pay for your food, clothing, car, house, vacations and retirement. The number of clients you have, not the number of degrees and certifications you have, will dictate your quality of life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not implying you should forego your technical training and desire to be the best personal trainer you can be, I'm simply stating the fact that without a steady, predictable stream of clients, you will languish in financial mediocrity or fail altogether.
"Even the greatest personal trainer in the world will starve without clients."
There's Hope
But here's the good news - if you embrace this six-step marketing plan and apply it to your "business" as a club trainer - you will stand head and shoulders above the other trainers in your club and quickly command the role of top producer. Because most of your fellow trainers will continue to rely on the scraps the club is tossing them, while you are out there generating your own clientele. With that in mind, let's discuss the six-step plan that will ensure your ability to put food on your plate and money - lots of it - in your bank account. How to be the top producing personal trainer in your club - a six-step marketing plan: - Locate suspects (people you suspect will be interested in your services)
- Convert suspects to prospects (people who have indicated an interest in your services)
- Make offers to prospects
- Follow up with prospects
- Close sales
- Capitalize on the "back-end" (the unlimited and lucrative opportunities in each client relationship: referrals, up-sells, cross-sells, re-sells)
#1: Locate Suspects
 You are surrounded by suspects each and every day when you're at the club. Each club member is a viable suspect for your services. This is one of the greatest benefits of being a club trainer. I'm assuming your club understands the importance of internal marketing and will support your efforts, else your focus will have to be on locating external suspects. Whether internal or external, lead generation marketing such as publicity, presentations (public speaking), advertising (email and postcards are the most cost efficient and easily targeted) and writing articles for local publications are the best ways to locate suspects.
#2: Convert Suspects To Prospects
Whether internal or external, your marketing should focus on just one step: getting suspects to raise their hand to you indicating an interest in a better solution. You are not attempting to sell your services in this step - you are merely offering something of specific interest to your suspects. The best way to do this is with information marketing. Some form of special report has proven to work well to magnetically attract high quality prospects, i.e. 9 Tips For Getting Maximum Results In Minimum Time From Your [club name] Membership, or [club name's] Top Personal Trainer Reveals Jealously Guarded Fitness Secrets. The report content could also be used as a 30-minute live presentation that could be advertised internally and/or externally. This is how you convert suspects to prospects. Anyone requesting your report or attending the presentation is basically saying, "Yes, I want to know how to get the best results from my membership - or I want to know what the top personal trainer has to say about how I can get fit."
#3: Make Offers To Prospects
When you deliver your report or presentation (via mail, email or in person) to the prospect, you should also include an offer. The best offer is generally a low-cost or free consultation including value added services. If you just say "consultation" people are conditioned to believe that means "sales pitch" so you must build value into the consultation by explaining everything the prospect will learn and/or get as a result of availing themselves of your offer. You may want to bundle 1-3 half-priced personal training sessions with your consultation offer. This gives the prospect a low-risk way to "sample" your services. The key is to create compelling, irresistible offers which cause prospects to think, "Gee, I'd be a fool not to take advantage of this!"
#4: Follow-Up With Prospects
This is the step where most people drop the ball. You simply must understand that regardless of how good your information and offers are, the majority of prospects simply will not take the next step - when you want them to. Everyone is on their own timeline and will not, unfortunately, conform to yours. Just because you may need a client right now, does not mean your prospects will comply - and buy. That's why it's critical you capture contact information for each and every prospect who requests your report or attends your presentation, and then professionally and consistently follow-up with additional, helpful, educational and motivating information coupled with irresistible offers for your services.
#5: Close Sales
The more prospects you bring into your marketing pipeline, the more hot, ready-to-act individuals you will find. It's a numbers game. Marketing can be distilled to two fundamental ingredients: psychology and math. If your marketing message is put in front of enough qualified prospects and your marketing psychology is sound, e.g. you empathize with your prospects; then getting clients becomes automatic. With basic testing, you will soon discover that for every five prospects, you generate one client (or whatever your ratio may be). When you market correctly, prospects come to you 90% pre-sold on your solution and "closing" simply means outlining your program, getting a signature and getting a check.
"Don't chase clients, build relationships"
#6: Capitalize On The Back-End
The real money comes from the back-end. You have marketing and time costs involved in acquiring new clients. But when you can get them to buy more services or products at the point of sale (up-sell), buy more products or services after the point of sale (cross-sell), or buy more products or services at the end of the initial agreement (re-sell), then there is a much higher profit margin in those sales. But it gets better. Each client relationship can be leveraged in many ways. You can obtain glowing testimonials that can be used to acquire additional clients. You can obtain referrals, the greatest of all marketing methods. You can have the client endorse you to his or her sphere of influence, thereby exponentially growing your sphere of influence (those who know you or know of you). And the list goes on. Each client can open the door to a new client or multiple new clients. Don't chase clients, build relationships. An entire book could be written on each step in this marketing plan, so what I've only provided for you here today, but it's a start. I encourage you to get educated as thoroughly and completely as possible about how to market your services (and products - yes, you should be creating and/or re-selling health and fitness products). As this industry grows, there are more and more educational resources available to you. Position yourself to be a leader and top producer by acquiring the marketing knowledge you need to excel.
To receive a free primer entitled "101 Personal Trainer Publicity Secrets" also by Eric Ruth
Click here.
Absolutely free, no obligation.
|
About Eric Ruth
Eric Ruth is the President of Fitness Marketing Systems in Reston, Virginia. He is an in-the-trenches marketing expert with over twelve years of hands-on, real-world application of direct marketing principles, strategies and systems. Since 1998 Eric has been helping personal trainers implement results-accountable, smart marketing to build their businesses. Over 630 personal trainers own and use his Ultimate Personal Trainer Marketing Program For Fast Profits And Serious Net Worth. He has relationships with, and is endorsed by many of the leading experts in this industry. Eric writes the compelling and critically acclaimed email newsletter, Personal Trainer Profits,
Visit the Author's website at: www.howtosellfitness.com
Email:
eric@howtosellfitness.com
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