How To Ask For Referrals: Your First Week Of Work

On any day on any employment website, there are generally dozens of advertised positions for membership consultants and personal trainers and I can assure you, that’s not because there aren’t enough ‘qualified’ people out there and it’s not because most can’t sell; it’s simply because they don’t generate enough people to sell to!

One of the problems people face when starting out in the fitness industry is gathering referrals. No matter how good a trainer or sales person you are, you need to realise that this is a relationship based business, simply put, the more connections and networks you have, the more successful you can be.


I thought I’d start this series of referral technique posts with the basics and one of the easiest ways to get the ball rolling is to gather referrals from walk-ins. Walk-ins will be your bread and butter business in the beginning and with careful nurturing and some open questions you can build a very successful business for yourself.

I have mentioned in a previous post that the gym tour is the perfect time to gather referrals by talking to the prospect about their training history, what they’re training for, who with etc. etc. This is a great technique to gather some names to jot down and to pursue down the track in conversation with your new member.

Imagine this, while on the tour portion of the membership sales process, you noted that Irene’s best friend Shawanda needs to get off her backside and do some exercise. A week later you see Irene on the treadmill and strike up a conversation, during which you casually ask how Shawanda is doing. From there ask if you think it would be ok to give her a call on your behalf.

A referred phone call is so much more pleasant that a cold call.

This technique can work as easily as it sounds and is a great way to generate new business, which will inturn, provide you with greater commissions and secure a long and successful fitness career.