|
Top 10
Mistakes Personal Trainers Should Avoid
Feb
6, 2006
Author: Tom Perkins - Business Solutions Coach and Certified Personal Trainer
Whether
you work as a personal trainer in a health club or own your own private
training studio, finding and maintaining clients can be a big challenge. Find out if you're inadvertently making
these top ten mistakes and how to correct them.
1.
Passive Marketing - Not Marketing Yourself Adequately.
You've
printed up professional looking business cards or flyers and proudly display
them at your club or at a nearby business.
So why isn't your phone flooded with calls from excited
prospects? To get a response you have
to practice active marketing. If
you work in a health club, greet every fifth person and ask them what they'll
be working on. Your input can help
turn that member or their friends into clients. If you display your business cards or flyers at a supplement
store, offer to give a free fitness talk over the weekend. This brings you face to face with people
who may have been too intimidated to call you but are ready to hire you.
You may be shy, scared of sales, or overwhelmed
by marketing. Not to worry, there are
many easy ways to get yourself and your products and services known to the
public. The key is to find ways that
work for you, and then stick to them.
If you are a writer, get published - not just once, but on a regular
basis to create a regular reader base and confirm your credibility. If you are a good organizer, volunteer
yourself to your local trade association or networking group. Allow yourself to stretch and grow.
2.
Lack of Confidence
You're
extremely knowledgeable and passionate about what you do, but you feel
reluctant charging $60 an hour or asking someone to pay $1500 for a package
of sessions. In order to gain a
prospect's trust and turn them into a client, you have to be confident
about your abilities and strengths.
Make a list of all you have to offer as a trainer and why people will
benefit from working with you.
Mention these qualities during your presentation and you're client
base will double if not triple.
3.
Being Non-Interactive - Poor Customer Service
You
take people through great workouts, make sure they utilize proper form, and
you're always on time but your clients hardly ever buy more training. The key to maintaining clients is to be
interactive. Talk to your client
about their life, use manual resistance and assisted stretching to create a
bond, coach their breathing, use visualization techniques, and try innovative
moves. The more involved you are the
more attached they become to you and the longer they will stay with you.
4.
Not Adding Value
Are you doing all of the above and still having
difficulty obtaining and maintaining clients? The best way to build a steady client base is to add value
to your service. Go the extra mile by
handing out customized diets or grocery lists. Call your clients just to see how they're doing or email them
weekly motivational quotes. Provide
guidance about what to do when they're not training with you. The more value you provide the more
valuable and indispensable you become.
Your present clients are worth a lot of money
and energy to you. If a client has a
concern or complaint, handle it! And
if they haven't come to see you in a while, find out why, and listen with
open ears. There may be great
feedback for you! It is much less
expensive to offer a free session and satisfy your customer, than have to
deal with the ramifications of an unhappy client.
5. Forgetting About Your
Present Client Base - Not Understanding Where Your Clients Come From -
Passing On Referrals
It is said that 80% of your business comes from
your present client base. Take care
of them! Make them happy. Offer multiple session discounts. Thank them. Ask for referrals.
Ask your present client base how they first
heard about you. Networking? Radio
shows? Volunteering from the library?
Maybe you'll find another of your clients is responsible for referring
many of your present clients.
Understanding which marketing efforts work will help you concentrate
on those areas in the future. And
don't forget to give thanks when appropriate!
You often listen to your clients or friends talk
about other people who need a trainer but nothing ever comes of it. The most successful trainers in the
business ask for referrals from their existing clients and
friends. If you feel this is too
aggressive establish a referral rewards program. If a client presently training refers another client they
receive 2 free sessions, a diet e-book, or an inexpensive piece of workout
equipment. Be creative with your
rewards and word of mouth about what a great trainer you are will spread like
wildfire.
6. Time Management - NOT!
Schedule time in the week to market yourself.
Use the time between clients to return phone calls. Use a time
management calendar if necessary and remember to take time to rest, relax and
rejuvenate!
7. Trying To Do It All Yourself
Learn what tasks need to be done, and understand
the principals of running your business, but don't try to do it all
yourself. If you need help with
bookkeeping, taxes or cleaning, get the help. Being disorganized and leaving
tasks undone shows when clients come to visit. We can all feel a disorganized
office and it leaves us with a feeling of uncertainty.
8. Bad Cash Management Skills
Learn to manage your cash. Balance
your checkbook, get your taxes done.
Living in Abundance means being able to handle the abundance wisely,
and allows more to flow in to you.
9. Inability To Clearly Explain What You Do
Can you give a 10 second introduction
that clearly defines what you specialize in and why clients should come to
see you? If not, take some time now
to write out and practice your introduction.
10. Not
Focusing On Your Mission
Know your competition, but focus on your self. Where we put our energy is where we will
see results. Don't worry too much about
what other people say or do, write out your goals for the week, month and
year. Get a support system that will
help keep you accountable, and then focus!
In closing, if you take the time to instill these simple
- but important - principles into your mindset and daily actions, in a matter
of time your business will double or even triple.
Tom
Perkins is eFitnessTracker's Business Coach, a business solutions coach and a certified personal
trainer who leads fitness professionals to profitability.
|
