The A To Z Of Being A Successful Personal Trainer

Let's get straight into it!

Attitude:

Your attitude toward your work, your clients, your colleagues, in fact, your attitude toward EVERYTHING will be a huge determining factor in the progression of not only your personal training business, but your personal brand as well.

If you're not positive about what you're doing, stop doing it because your clients deserve a trainer that gives a damn.

Balance:

I'm not talking about your mad bosu skills; I'm talking about how you balance your time between work, life, family and of course spending QUALITY time on your own personal development.

Yes, small business takes up a lot of time; expect to be working late, missing your favorite TV shows and eating cold food, but don't miss out on spending quality time with those that deserve it, especially yourself.

Commitment:

The average career lifespan of a Personal trainer is 18 months. Are you committed to making personal training a career?

It's not easy, but it is possible for every single trainer out there to make something of themselves. Give it time, commit to your goals and you will succeed.

Deliver:

My favorite - Deliver what you say you're going to deliver!

If you tell a client that you will prepare a meal plan for them, prepare it; if you tell your boss that you're going to show up some where, show up.

The secret to success can be as simple as doing what you say you're going to do.

Education:

As a PT, you're required to accumulate a certain amount of continued education credit points. This can be expensive and time consuming, so make it worth your while.

Do a variety of courses, challenge yourself. Don't leave it to the last minute and end up choosing a bunch of courses that really won't benefit you personally or your business; like a majority of trainers do.

Finances:

Manage your finances people. Make budgets, prepare for the worst and get yourself income protection insurance. Make yourself a 'shit happens' savings account because you might have a bumper spring, but don't go spending all that loot on a fancy record player!

Pay yourself a wage and live on it. Get a good accountant who will show you all of the ways you can manipulate your business to be the most efficient for taxation.

Goals:

EVERY successful business person has goals! Make them as wild as you like, but set them. Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly...Ten yearly, set them and read them OFTEN!

"You may not always achieve your goals, but you need something to aim at" - Bruce Lee

Honesty:

They say that honesty is the best policy and I can't agree more. You don't have to be as honest as Kramer from Seinfeld, but tell your clients the truth, especially regarding what they can expect.

You may lose some clients to trainers that promise the world, but the clients that do stay WILL STAY.

Inspiring:

How hard could it be to be inspiring to those around you? After all; you're living your dream - you get paid to play, change lives and wear shorts while you're doing it!

"Live your brand" as Rob Dyrdek would say. Follow your dreams, run a marathon and tell the world you did it, people love to be inspired.

Juice:

Yes JUICE! You have to be juiced to take action, to want to change lives to make a difference in the world and look awesome doing it!

Get up in the morning like your house is on fire!

Let it energize you and I can tell you right now; if you're juiced your clients will feel it, respond, get results, pay you AND tell all their friends.

Knowledge:

When you combine all of your education and experiences you create knowledge. Knowledge is what you get when you combine theory and practical and every single day you're learning something new and developing your knowledge.

Use it, write it down but most importantly; share it.

Leadership:

A personal trainer is a leader. Your clients look to you for answers, sometimes even about exercise (that was a little joke)!

Be the leader, take charge of your clients goals; after all, that's what they're paying you for.

Marketing:

If personal trainers spent as much time learning about and implementing marketing strategies on ways to build their business as they do leaning on the reception counter complaining about not having any, the world would be a fitter, healthier place.

Market every single day!

This could be as simple as wearing a branded t-shirt to the golf course on Sunday, it doesn't matter as long as you are somehow spreading your message.

Networking:

Networking can be a scary concept for many people, for others it comes completely natural; in fact for those people, they probably don't even realise they're networking.

Social media has made networking available and non confrontational for almost everyone and with that being said, with social media, your potential network is the entire world.

Organisation:

Being organised is more than making sure your phone is charged and that your alarm is set for the morning. Organisation means having up to date business cards, pens that work, exercise balls are pumped up, voicemail is current and your marketing plans are done.

As anyone in business knows, it's these (amongst about 100 others) small tasks that take minutes a day to perform, but keep things running smoothly. So put together your chores, break it up into daily checklist that way you can make sure they get done.

Passion:

Some things that I've already mentioned could come under the passion umbrella, but passion deserves it's own letter because without it, you can forget about giving a damn about any of the other 26 or 23 words in this article.

Passion is a transparent emotion and if you're more passionate about the cute guy or girl on the hack squat than you are about your client, you can unpassionately kiss their business goodbye.

Qualified

I'm sure you're qualified to be a personal trainer, but are you a qualified nutritionist or physiotherapist?

I see so many trainers think that they know EVERYTHING about everything; here's a wake up call YOU DON'T!

Sorry, but there is a BIG difference between nutritional guidance than a nutritional plan. What works for you or your cousin Lester, will not necessarily work for your client.

Point them in the right direction, but if somethings not working, send them to someone who is qualified to draw conclusions and prescribe solutions.

Further to this; building a solid referral business with related health professionals will only build your brand.

Referrals:

Oh, what a coincidence!

When most people think of referrals, they get cold sweats, fearing that they're going to have to ask their clients for their friends phone numbers or something.

But if that's not your thing, there are dozens of other ways you can generate qualified leads.

The one I just mentioned using related health professionals. If a physiotherapist tells his client to call you, that's a golden referral. If your clients babysitters second cousin needs to lose a few kilos and she passes you her phone number, you know that's not going to be a fun call to make...I call that a reFEARal!

Broaden your network, do the hard yards on the phone early in your career and network and make connections and you won't have to ask for a phone number again.

Systems:

Systemize EVERYTHING! Learn your sales presentation off by heart and have tools available at a moments notice. Organise your administration duties, your payment scheduling, your own exercise and eating.

Creating systems will keep you sane and moving forward. If your constantly improvising or chasing your tail your 10 hour day quickly becomes 14 and you have no one to blame but yourself.

Time management:

In conjunction with your systems, you should allocate a certain amount of time to your responsibilities. Take notes, make lists and set goals.

If you can see what has to be done, then it can be done.

Time management has to be one of the most important considerations in your fitness business as there are only so many clients you can train each day. Make every hour count, make it your mission to get through your lists and when you do, reward yourself.

Understanding:

All people are not the same, so never assume that you know what your clients want to achieve.

Be very specific with your questions and learn to understand your clients and why they've REALLY come to you.

Volunteer:

Spending time helping people is how you pay your rent, but using some of your time to help others and not get paid is what will buy you a house.

Book in a charity event at least every other month and give some of your magic to your community. As fitness professionals, we are looked at as authorities on all things good and healthful and your influence to those who may be less fortunate is a gift that I implore you to share.

Work Ethic:

Some people have work ethic and some don't; I hope you do. A strong work ethic will ensure your success in so many ways; not only will you get things done; others notice and respond to someone that goes the extra mile.

If your work ethic is less than desirable, then maybe you need to consider another career, but if you can apply yourself and stay off facebook long enough to make some calls and fold some flyer's...you'll go places.

X is for EXERCISE:

You have to exercise! Not only to stay in shape for the benefit of your brand, but to manage the stress of every day life.

People who workout are more productive, more emotionally stable and more intelligent! So even though you spend all day telling this to everyone else...make sure you're doing it yourself!

You:

Just be you.

Zeal:

I would have liked to have stopped at 'Just Be You', but then there's old Z to ruin everything! Luckily Zeal is such an awesome word!

ZEAL BABY! That zest for life, that drive to succeed and LOVE seeing those around you succeeding; that's why we do this, that's the secret to success and that's why we're fitness professionals!

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