How You Can Diversify Your Income Streams

With all of the channels and technology available to personal trainers and fitness professionals via social media in particular; it has never been easier to find innovative ways to diversify your income streams.

By diversifying your cash flow sources, you make your business and income more stable and resilient to forces that aren't necessarily in your control, like seasons for example.

I've written about different income streams that you can look at in the past; things like:

• Starting a blog
• Creating products (a DVD for example)
• Affiliate sponsorships
• Writing a book
• Writing an ebook
• Producing a clothing line

One of the reasons I'm writing this article is that if you weren't already aware; I have VERY recently (this week in fact) launched a new business which is one that I've been considering for quite some time...several years in fact.

How To Make A Job Ad That Works!

As exciting as it is to be in the position that you need to hire new staff for your fitness business; for anyone that's had to endure the whole recruitment process at any level, knows how time consuming and nauseatingly painful it can be.

If you've ever seen the audition shows for American Idol and how excited the judges get when someone that actually can sing comes along, you can expect a similar reaction when a quality candidate walks through your door.

Love Personal Training Long Time

When you sign up a new client and they say things like "I want to lose 20lbs or (10kgs) in 2 weeks!" what would you say to them?

You're crazy, can't be done, not healthy, no problem? Probably one of the first three if you're being honest.

The same can be said about business, especially the fitness business. If you came to me and said "Ben, I want to retire in 6 months, let's rock!" I would probably say that "you came to the right place, give me a million dollars and we'll get right on that!"

An Apple A Day Keeps Your Competition At Bay

Do you set the trends in your market? Are you an authority in your niche? Are other personal trainers anonymously calling your business and stalking your online channels to find out what you're doing next?

It doesn't matter who your niche market is, whether it's elite athletes or overweight housewives; striving to become the best at what you do and recognised as such has to be what every fitness professional secretly aspires to be.

Ask Yourself These 8 Questions To Rediscover And Grow Your Fitness Business

If you're a personal trainer or fitness professional running your own business, you need to be able to answer the following 8 questions at the drop of a hat!

Can you?

1. What Is Your Unique Selling Point (USP)?

This is a very common question, but one that most people either aren't aware of or haven't revisited in some time. Knowing your USP helps you exploit it, be aware of it and use it confidently to your advantage.

Your USP is what makes your business yours.

2. Can You Define Your Business Objective In One Sentence?

Why are you in this crazy fitness game? I don't want to hear your life story I just want to know why. Don't pass me a 20 page business plan or marketing strategy...have a one sentence answer to this question memorized for not only your own clarity...but just in case someone asks you one day.

3. Who Is Your Target Market?

If you look at your list of clients, do you see a pattern? Are the majority in a similar age bracket, do they have other things in common?

While I was training, I enjoyed working with 40-50 year old males who were basically going through a midlife crisis. I didn't have that written on my client avatar, but that's probably the most accurate short answer.

How To Create A Marketing Avatar

4. How Much Profit Did You Make Last Year?

Why is this important? Well...isn't that what we're here for? If you don't know your financial situation, how can you manage it, let alone improve it?

5. Who Are Your Competitors?

You need to know who your competitors are because they know who you are. They're watching what promotions you're doing, they know who your clients are, they're waiting for you to slip up and steal your business.

Yes, you might have a shake with them from time to time and high five in the parking lot, but business is business so protect yours.

6. Can You Describe Your Service In In One Sentence?

Have you ever been in a social environment, or at an industry event and had someone ask you what you do? Did you say "Personal Trainer"...That's helpful.

You're a personal trainer with a vision, with passion, with drive and an unwavering desire to change lives and deliver a first class service, so project that in a brief, convincing spiel.

7. Why Did You Start Your Business In The First Place?

BOOM! Seriously...Why? Are you moving toward that outcome, did you forget about it? What was your dream, is it still your dream?

8. Does Your Branding Reflect Your Service?

Take another look at your branding. Open up your website or blog or take out a business card, close your eyes then open them with a clear head. What does it tell you, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

Does it scream at your clients/prospects:

"I ROCK, I believe in my service and you WILL achieve your goals!"

Or does it mumble something along the lines of:

"If you think you might want a personal trainer...I suppose you could call me if you like, I mean I am a personal trainer and stuff."

It doesn't hurt to ask yourself these questions OFTEN. If you're having a bad day; perfect, if your having a good day; make it BETTER!

Did any of your answers surprise you, or did they scare you? Were you able to answer them all as you read through or do you have some homework?

If you enjoyed this article, please share it on facebook by clicking the links at the top and I always love reading comments, so please leave one below.

Have a great day!

Ben

10 Things NOT To Do When Starting A Personal Training Business

Too many would-be entrepreneur personal trainers spend too much time talking about starting their own business and never take any action.

It's easy to talk and plan and strategize and forecast, but this industry affords us the opportunity to skip all that (at least initially) and get straight down to business training clients and making money.

Here's 10 things you don't need to fluff around with before you start focussing on what really makes a great personal trainer...training clients.

1. Don't Quit Your Day Job:

The busiest times for most personal trainers are early mornings and evenings, which conveniently compliment the 9-5 hours of most regular jobs. If you can't fit in 3-4 client sessions a day while holding down a full time job, you're not focused and should forget about thinking you have what it takes to run a business.

Build your client base, do the hard yards and the long hours and when the time is right, the transition from employee to entrepreneur will be as smooth as sweet spandex.

2. Don't Spend Money On Advertising:

There are enough avenues available to avoid making any large advertising investments, especially now. Instead of spending on advertising, talk to people, make phone calls, network, use social media...but save your money.

3. Don't Lease A Premises:

You don't have any clients, why do you need office or a training space? Train people in the park, make a deal with your local gym but don't get ahead of yourself and over commit.

4. Don't Spend Money On A Logo:

If you must, make something on your computer at home; you can update your branding later as you build your business, for now, you are your brand and that's all you need to sell.

5. Don't Buy Any Equipment:

You probably own most of the equipment you will need to get started. If you're going mobile; Got an exercise ball, couple of dumbbells and a football and you got a gym. Use your environment, get creative and again save your money for now.

6. Don't Hire Anyone:

If you need help, ask your friends. In the beginning, take on EVERY responsibility and learn EVERYTHING about your business.

7. Don't Take Out A Loan:

You're not spending money on advertising, branding, staff, equipment or premises and you have a full time job, so why do you need to borrow money?

8. Don't Waste Time Coming Up With A Business Name:

For now, you are your business and your direction may change once you become more established; so just focus on important things like finding clients.

9. Don't Invest In A Company Phone/Phone Number:

You have a mobile phone, use it. Fix your voicemail to something professional, "Hi, this is {You}, please leave a message" works fine for friends, clients and prospects.

10. Don't Buy A Website:

You can set up a free blog in 15 minutes and instantly, all of your details are online. Set up a facebook page and you're live.

What I hope to emphasize is that instead of fumbling around with every little detail, you should really be focusing your time on getting your first clients and giving them the most amazing training experience of their lives.

All of the things I've mentioned will come in time, but for now, at the very beginning they're expenses and time wasters that are more like excuses for not getting off your ass, making some calls and doing some hours.

Anyone who's started a personal training business from scratch will agree that it's hard, long, exhausting work to get off the ground...but damn does it feel good.

Are you considering starting a personal training business? Do you have a story about when you started yours? Always great to read your comments and if you enjoyed this article, please share it on facebook and twitter by clicking the links at the top!

What are you waiting for?

Ben

How Tony Montana Made A Fortune And You Can Too!

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article titled 4 Business Qualities Personal Trainers Could Learn From Quentin Tarantino, which focused on QT's drive and passion for the film industry and how any fitness professional with that same level of passion is practically guaranteed success.

Today I thought I'd explore the business model of one of films most notorious businessmen, Tony Montana; from the 1983 Brian De Palma film; Scarface.

In case you're not familiar with the film, Al Pacino plays Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee who 'escaped' Cuba in 1980 when Fidel Castro 'relaxed the laws on Mariel harbor and around 125,000 Cubans fled by boat to the U.S.

Fidel is quoted as saying that Cuba "flushed it's toilets on the U.S" as it's reported that a large percentage of the refugees were criminals and convicts.

Tony was one of these refugees and without a penny to his name, went on to become a multi millionairre in a very short time selling cocaine.

Say what you like about Tony, but this short, angry Cuban guy with a penchant for the 'F' word had a crystal clear vision; he knew exactly what he wanted and was motivated to do, well, whatever it would take to get there.

For Tony, his goal was simple; get to the top no matter what. His systems were at times...well most of the time unorthodox with a splash of the criminally insane; however, there were some solid and qualified business methods to his madness.

A popular mantra and one that I find very valuable is 'Begin With The End In Mind' and nobody has grabbed this by the balls quite like our Scarface character.

Tony had a list of what he wanted:

• Bengal tiger (of course)
• Mansion (why not?)
• Fast cars (bullet proof...just in case)
• Elvira (Seemed like a good idea at the time)
• And of course; money, power and women (in that order)

To attain possessions like these, Tony would obviously require money, a LOT of money, so he went into business for himself with a hot commodity.

Using street smarts, here's what Tony did right:

• He had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve (see above)
• He acquainted and surrounded himself with successful people in his 'niche'
• He invested in technology that would help his business (guns and things)
• He went where the action is, which was Miami Florida at the time
• He outsourced portions of his business
• He expanded and diversified his income streams (invested in real estate, bought a restaurant and a few other things)
• Found a product that was in demand

Do you want your business to meet the same amazingly entertaining climax that found Tony face down in the fountain at the 170th minute? Then you should apply all of these principles to your personal training and fitness businesses.

Do you think that Tony's business methods could be applied to a personal training business? Are you already the Tony Montana of the Fitness world? Take a minute to let us know as comments are always appreciated!

If you enjoyed this article, please share on facebook and twitter by clicking the icons at the top of the post!

Have a dream and then create it, because the world really is yours.

Ben

Related Articles:

4 Business Qualities Personal Trainers Can Learn From Quentin Tarantino
10 Proven Personal Training Business Tips
How To Increase Your Personal Training Income With Outsourcing

Are You Delivering World Class Customer Service? Trust Me; If You're Not, You Should Start

When most people think of customer service in the fitness business, what usually comes to mind? Remembering names, a friendly greeting on arrival and a sweet high five from time to time.

This sure is neat, but customer service is so much more than a smile; it's about exceeding your clients expectations in every aspect of their professional dealings with you as an individual and with your business every single day.

Today's article is about why now more than ever, it's absolutely imperative that you provide customer service comparable to Adam Sandler's butler in the movie Mr. Deeds instead of the bumper car operator at the county fair.

"If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends." - Jeff Bezos

Think about a time you stopped by a gym to check it out. You mention to the reception that you're interested to find out more about the club and instantly, you're the most special person in the world (sometimes, if I'm having a bad day I'll just go into a gym and pretend to want to join to get some attention and talk about myself for 20 minutes...OK, I've never done that, but what a great idea!).

It's so awesome; within a few minutes someone who specializes in memberships is there to talk to you, all the necessary paperwork is on hand, the pens work, you can get started straight away, nothing could be smoother!

Now think about when you wanted to cancel (I apologise if that image conjures fury). There's no smiles; no one is there to talk to you so you have to make an appointment and find time to come back again, you can't do anything for however many days, you need to provide proof if you're moving or have left town...brutal.

It seems that the fitness industry culture (and of course this does not apply to everyone, I've had many fantastic experiences) is designed to put you on top of a customer service slide; from being on the very top at the beginning until you inevitably end up with your ass in the mud at the end.

It's human nature; no one remembers how special you made them feel when they joined up, all they remember is how they were treated when they left.

This will determine two things:

1. If things change and they ever want to train with you again, whether your business is the first choice for them.

2. How many people they describe their experience; good or bad to (thanks to social media it could literally be thousands).

Focusing on the latter; their friends may not be leaving town, their connections may in fact be looking for a gym or personal trainer. How would you like them to describe their experience with you or your business?

All it takes is one facebook update or one tweet to potentially put your fitness business into damage control. I actually googled bad customer service and there were literally thousands of hits, even entire blogs dedicated to condemning poor experiences.

Scared?

Your clients don't expect you to be perfect, but they do expect you to fix things if they go wrong; because it's not what you put into customer service; it's what your customers take from the experience.

Just quickly; here is an example of incredible customer service that I experienced and tell people about and has kept me a customer of Arnet sunglasses for almost 10 years.

Back in 2001 I was driving across Canada. The morning before I left Toronto, pretty much right at the beginning of the trip, I stood on my sunglasses and broke off the arm. I couldn't believe it and didn't budget to buy more shades as I needed it for fuel, accommodation and fireworks.

I taped them up and off I went. I called Arnet from my hotel in a small town called Kamloops in British Columbia to find out where to get parts and got their rep on the phone. Right off the bat he was helpful. Asked me what shades, what color and where I was staying and said he would come by with spare parts.

Within an hour the Arnet rep was knocking on my hotel room door with a bag of sunglasses parts and replaced the broken arm.

As he galloped off into the sunset I thought to myself, "wow, I should stop drinking so early in the afternoon" and then I thought, if every company gave customer service like that, the world would be a better, less squinty place to live in.

Thanks again mystery Arnet guy; thank you customer service.

Have you ever had a truly outstanding customer experience? What was it that stuck in your mind? Did you tell anyone about it? Please leave a comment below and if you liked this article, awesome people share it on facebook and twitter by clicking the icons at the top of this post!

Keep smiling!

Ben

Additional Reading:

I'm The World's Best Personal Trainer
4 Ways To Sell Yourself And Not Sell Out

The Four Fundamentals To Growing Your Fitness Business

Did you know that there are only four ways to grow your fitness business?

Forget all the hype, forget about all of the confusing 'fool proof' business building guarantee's shoved down your throat; every single business objective can somehow be categorised under the following four headlines:

1. Increase the number of clients and customers (of the type you want)

2. Increase the number of transactions within your business

3. Increase the transaction value or "average sale"

4. Increase the effectiveness of each process in your business

I know there's a multitude of strategies you could put under each of those headings, though ultimately, no matter what your goals are, you can somehow relate the desired outcome into those four categories.

"Perhaps the very best question that you can memorize and repeat, over and over, is, 'what is the most valuable use of my time right now?'" - Brian Tracy

Increase The Number Of Clients:

This is at number one because if you're like most people, that's the first strategy that springs to mind when you're planning business growth.

"I need more leads", "I need more inquiries" and then off we go doing what we've always done and achieving the same result.

I also noted 'customers that you want' and again I want to focus your attention back to your client marketing avatar. Targeted marketing at the clients you want to attract based on their goals, values, motivation etc.

In my experience; the finding more clients strategy is the most popular because of the four, it's the most accepted and easiest route.

How To Create A Client Avatar

Increase The Number Of Transactions In Your Business:

This can be interpreted into client retention; essentially it's about getting more sales into your business out of the same number of customers.

• More appointments
• Generating more income avenues

Coffee shops have made this into an art form with their loyalty cards and these same principles can be associated into any fitness business. Your customers are the most important aspect of your business and if you treat them that way, they will continue to buy from you.

Client retention is 100% your responsibility and is achieved by nurturing your customers and delivering value.

Increase The Transaction Value:

There are two obvious ways to increase the average sale or transaction value in your business:

• Add on or up selling
• Increasing your rates

As I mentioned, most people think about number one (getting more personal training clients) as the easiest way to build their business. I tend to believe in this strategy as the easiest, most cost effective and measurable way to develop fast growth.

How To Write A Rate Increase Letter

Increase the effectiveness of each process in your fitness business:

Commonly referred to in our industry as 'business systems'; it's about structuring your business in a way that it operates at it's most effective.

Again referring to number one; it's not always about getting more leads or inquiries, but converting more of the ones you're already attracting. This is a sales system that you may need to work on for example.

A business is essentially people doing a series of activities to make money, so doesn't it make perfectly good sense that those activities operate as efficiently as possible?

So what do you think?

I genuinely appreciate your feedback, so please leave me a comment down below with any questions, thoughts, or feedback. And please share this post with your Twitter and Facebook friends by clicking on the share buttons at the top of the post.

Have an awesome day!

Ben

10 Stupid Mistakes You Made When Starting Your Personal Training Business

Todays article is a guest post by my good friend Rick Watson; author of another great personal training business blog PT Business In A Box.

I get the privilege of hanging out with a bunch of personal trainers on a regular basis and because of this I hear some gruesome horror stories about how they completely stuffed up the launch of their fitness business.

I was having one of these conversations just yesterday with a guy and he was telling me that he thought he made every mistake in the book when he first started basically because he knew no different. So that got me thinking that I should put together this list of mistakes so you can either avoid them or laugh at them because you have made them as well.

Check it out…

Mistake #1: Your service has no focus

If I was to ask you who you aimed your service at and you said “people who want to lose weight and get fit” be prepared for me to punch you in the nose. EVERYBODY wants to lose weight and get fit; it’s a no-brainer. In this competitive market you must focus your service on a specific niche and provide them a specialised service (if your not sure how to do this check out my last post) – How To Uncover The Perfect Niche Market For Your Fitness Business.

Mistake #2: You think you’re better than the competition

The ego is a funny thing. Because we live and breathe our service we fall into the trap of thinking that our service is obviously the best and clients are crazy if they don’t train with. Hey, don’t get me wrong. I am all for a little confidence, but it is essential that you heavily research your direct competition and find out what they offer and how much. It is impossible to provide a specialist service when you are exactly the same as everyone else (even if you think you are better).

Mistake #3: You tried to stand out from your competition by being cheaper

If I was thinking about using a personal trainer and one guy was $30 per hour and the other was $70 I would automatically think that the more expensive trainer provides a more effective and valuable service. If you go cheap, you present your business as a cheap option and you will attract cheap clients who stop training at the drop of a hat. Respect yourself and your business, charge well and provide a bucket-load of value.

Mistake #4: You had business cards and flyers done up straight away

I am not sure when there was ever a time when this was an effective way to launch a business. With the cost of both design and printing totalling between one and two thousand dollars, these two are putting you behind the eight ball straight away. Flyers generally have a conversion rate of only 1-4% if they are compelling and business cards are good to have but not essential from day one.

Mistake #5: You didn’t build your business from within your business

In this day and age, consumers are savvy purchasers. In our industry, impulse buying and large scale traditional marketing (newspaper ads, direct mail, even radio) are left in the hands of the big chain gyms. Small business owners need to focus on building relationships and developing a network of people who rave about their business. I have seen trainers build their business from scratch just using effective referral techniques on the first client to get the second client and so on.

Mistake #6: You focused on the money and not on the person

Starting your own business can be a very stressful if you are doing for the first time. Putting enough capitol together, maybe getting a loan from the bank and using the house as security. Every new potential personal training client that walk through your doors now changes from being someone you want to help but another dollar closer to your business being successful.

STOP – slap yourself over the head. Clients can clearly see if you are money-focused, just as they can see if you are service-focused. Concentrate on getting great results and the cash will follow.

Mistake #7: You had a business website built but you don’t know how to market it

Firstly, kudos for getting butt online and making the most of the opportunities available to everyone there. But a website without any traffic is like a wet t-shirt competition without the water – it just doesn’t work. So I recommend up-skilling yourself in a little bit of SEO, social media and maybe even dip your toe into the world of blogging to ensure you get all the targeted traffic your business needs.

Note: Stay tuned to My Business Is Fitness because Ben has a bunch of information about this coming up.

Mistake #8: You stopped marketing when things didn’t work

• I tried referral cards but they didn’t work…
• I tried business alliances but they didn’t work…
• I tried flyers but they didn’t work…
• I tried social media but it didn’t work….

EVERYTHING WORKS – you just have to discover how it works for your business and the people that you are focusing on. Test, measure and refine but never stop. Natural attrition is a fact of our industry no matter who you are so have a plan and always be refining it.

Mistake #9: You suck

I know that’s harsh, but you know what it is so true. Way too many people think that getting certified and having a background in sports is a golden ticket to being a great trainer (and obviously a great business owner as well). Providing an amazing personal training service that gets results involves much more than knowing 37 different varieties of push-ups.

Before you make the commitment to run your own business, serve your time, train lots of people and try not to suck. Your business will thank you.

Mistake #10: You didn’t have a mentor

As a fitness business coach, I am obviously a massive advocate for having someone who has done what you are trying to do help you out. Now this doesn’t have to take the shape of a business coach; it can be someone from your local gym, a family member or another fitness business owner. Support is essential when going out on your own.

Which of these ten mistakes did you make in your business?

Cheers.

Rick

About the author: Rick Watson is the surfing, smiling personal training business guy who tells it like it is. He blogs, coaches and writes books about how to start a personal training business but most of all he is a father and husband (with a healthy respect for road trips). If you like what you read, subscribe to his blog here or for more daily banter you can follow him on Twitter @PTBusiness or Facebook

How To Write A Rate Increase Letter

After bills, the least favorite letter I receive in the mail would have to be rate increases.

Most of them are brief and to the point and I deal with it; I mean, what else can I do? But from time to time I do question my decision to stay with a particular brand or service, especially if I feel that something is not quite right or they're being sneaky.

Unfortunately, unlike utility companies or increases in rent where you just grin and bare it, service providers like personal trainers have to supply their customers with a bit more subtlety as we're in a very volatile and price driven market.

The most common fear that fitness professionals have when increasing their rates is that their clients or members will be frightened off. And while that may be true, it's normally in far fewer numbers than you would expect and the ones left behind are more profitable to offset the difference.

Here's a few reasons that personal trainers and fitness professionals may increase their rates:

• You're booked solid and need to weed out some clients
• Your rent or other expenses have gone up (meaning you probably received a rate increase letter yourself)
• You're expanding your services
• It's the end of a predetermined promotional period
• Everyone else is raising their prices (this is the best time to do it)
• Clients don't complain about your rates
• You're attracting too many price driven clients.

So now that you've decided that your reasons to increase your rate are justified and appropriate, it's time to let your clients know and the best way to do this is by sending them a carefully drafted rate increase letter.

What to consider before sending your increase letter

You should thoroughly evaluate your business prior to increasing your prices. What are your relationships with clients like at the moment, calculate a worst case scenario and prepare for it.

Always notify your clients or members of rate increases. Do not let them find out by invoice as this will lead to phone calls from probably all of them and that's time and effort you could have easily avoided.

Send your rate increase notification my regular mail, not email or text message and preferably printed on letterhead stationary.

Your letter should be sent with at least 30 days notice to give them an opportunity to respond and consider their options; think how you would like to be treated as a consumer.

How you write your rate increase letter is equally important as when you send it to your clients.

Below, I've provided an example of how you can professionally word your rate increase letter.

Dear [Client/members name] (Do not bulk print this letter)

Due to increases in [reason], I/we must unfortunately raise the cost of our personal training service/membership rates to you.

I/We have avoided raising our prices for as long as possible, but I/we can no longer prolong the inevitable.

Please find enclosed our new price list for your review which goes into effect on [date].

Any memberships or services purchased between now and [date of increase] will be honored at the current prices.

I/We understand that as a consumer, you have choices and wish to thank you for choosing [your business name] to help you achieve your goals and know that you will understand the necessity for this price increase.

Sincerely.

[You]

Raising your rates can also be a great marketing strategy to turn the situation into an opportunity for your clients to save money by purchasing before the increase..

Many companies that offer products and services will encourage clients and customers to purchase within a specified time frame in order to receive their regular rate prior to the increase.

This can often lead to a spike in sales which is fantastic, but may hurt the following months bottom line, so don't go spending all that loot on new rims or a new LCD television.

Rate increases are inevitable and people are use to them and this is definitely one of those rare opportunities where if everyone else is doing it, you should to.

When was the last time you increased your rates? Are you nervous about increasing your service or membership rates?

If you enjoyed this article, please share on facebook and twitter by clicking the icons at the top of the post and to never miss an update; enter your email address below!

Additional Reading:
How To Increase Your Personal Training Rate

How I Turned Two Hours Work Into Ten New Clients

In my article 6 Reasons You're Not Making Six Figures; I briefly mentioned an advertisement that I'd placed in veterinary clinics and how it was the most profitable piece of A5 paper I'd every produced. After several emails asking me for more information about this promotion, I thought I'd give you more details about how and why it worked so well for my personal training business.

There's an obscure and rarely used saying that goes along the lines of location, location, location (you may have heard it). Most people immediately relate this to the physical location of their personal training business or fitness centre, while in reality, this mantra should be applied to all of your marketing and promotional activities as well.

Whenever it's time to design a new marketing or promotion strategy, I create an avatar of who my material will be targeted towards before I decide where I will be presenting it. I decide if they're male, female or if I'm targeting both, their approximate age, income, goals etc. etc.

Once you have this information you're in a much better position to find locations to present your marketing materials.

I decided to design a promotion targeted at wealthy pet owners. My avatar was female, aged between 30-45 years, that was doing some basic exercise a few days a week, but is not achieving their desired goals due to perceived time constraints. This may seem quite broad on the surface, but that's when advertisement positioning comes into play.

My strategy was simple; get my ad in front of wealthy women that love their pets more than themselves.

I called several veterinary clinics in my area and made appointments to speak with the owners or managers. I brought along my sales material (advertisement, testimonials, qualifications etc.) and pitched my idea. Most were open to the venture and in return I offered them free training sessions.

I made a simple flyer with the headline:

Your Pets Health Is Vitally Important To You...

When Was The Last Time You Invested In Your Own?

They loved the concept and the confrontational nature of my advertisement and in turn we created a similar, reverse targeted advertisement for them which I displayed in my training studio.

What else was on the poster?

• The flyer had a before and after image: I chose one of my clients who was quite overweight sitting on the couch as the before and the after shot was them much leaner, healthier and happily walking their dog in the park.
• I had two testimonials, both of which mentioned their busy lifestyles, families and pets and how they are now able to enjoy more social activities than BEFORE they began personal training with me.
• My contact details and a picture of me with my friends dog.

I also offered the potential of a service where we could train as a group in the park WITH their dogs on Saturdays and it was just about socializing the pets, throwing balls and things like that (very simple).

This was a very successful promotion for me and I ran it from time to time, generally in the beginning of Spring when my target market was most vulnerable to this kind of advertising.

Give it a try and let me know how you go!

Ben

Related Articles:
10 Personal Training Business Tips
Personal Training Brainstorming
Half A Tonne Of Fat And Counting!
Six Reasons You're Not Making Six Figures

Target Marketing for 'Kids Fitness'

I've noticed a lucrative trend in the Australian fitness industry lately that revolves around the not so new concept of kid's fitness. The most proactive personal trainers are taking advantage of this opportunity and developing their knowledge and therefore their business to market towards a wider audience and ultimately increase their client roster and earning potential.

As I mentioned, there is nothing new to the concept of kid's fitness. Many trainers have added programs for mums and dads to train with their children and are becoming accredited with specific kids fitness qualifications to take advantage of the growing group fitness market for children like kiddie bootcamps and other kid friendly circuit type classes.

So once you have the credentials, what next?

I've spoken to several successful personal trainers that have added kids fitness activities to their day to day schedule. They find that one of the most convenient and financially beneficial features about instructing kids fitness is that a lot of the classes can be held in the middle of the day, when other personal trainers are sipping lattes and trying to figure out how to monetize that down time.

In order to generate clients in this fitness market, you must first appeal to the parents. They are going to be paying for the service so how you present your promotional material is going to depend upon the medium. However, if you can sell it to the kids, they will sell it to their parents for you.

Your marketing material should be bright and inviting for the kids, yet informative and explain your expertise and credentials to the parents.

Many of your existing adult clients probably have children, so cross promoting to them is probably the easiest sale. They trust you and may be able to coordinate their training with their children's.

Approach schools to offer talks and demonstrations to students about the importance of health, fitness and good nutrition.

Talk to your gym about using the quiet times of the day to utilize their facilities to hold kids group fitness activities, they will generally aid in the marketing and promotion.

At the end of the day, adding more strings to your bow will ultimately increase your earning potential and with the popularity of kids fitness developing every day this is an opportunity you should not miss!

Here is a video about kids fitness by lilcommandos.com



Some accreditation bodies that offer kids fitness qualifications and training:

ISSA and Mini Moves are two Australian companies that offer kids fitness training programs.

I encourage you to visit their sites and speak with the staff and assess weather kids fitness is for you.

My Business Is Fitness

Why You Need A Personal Training Client Liability Waiver

The most important signature your new personal training client will give you is not the one on the bottom of the cheque for forty sessions (as wonderful as that signature is), no, but the one on the bottom of a fully completed personal trainer liability waiver.

Before you have your client perform ANY recommended exercise or ANY kind of physical activity, you need this form to be completed. You need to protect yourself, your career and your possesions from being taken from you because you failed to have one form filled out and filed.

The liability waiver is an agreement between you and your personal training client that they understand that there are risks involved with exercising and that you have made them aware of these risks and recommended that the client get an all clear from a qualified physician. Their signature confirms that you have expressed this information.

You must also realise, a signature on a liability waiver does not give you free rein to have your clients perform any ridiculous training regime like, you must always assume a duty of care with all of your clients and provide training pertinent to your clients abilities and goals.

DISCLAIMER: My Business Is Fitness does not offer legal advice. You should seek qualified legal representatives for advice on legal matters, either in Australia or Internationally. My Business Is Fitness.com is not liable for any damages from the use of any information or forms available on this site.

Client Activity Log Template

Documenting every facet of your client’s personal training session is one of the most important things you can do for your fitness business.

By doing this small task, you’re not only monitoring their progress or lack thereof, but also to monitor your progress and growth as a professional trainer.

The Client Activity Log that I’ve attached to this post is very basic but I’ve found that’s what’s important when going over dozens of them each day. You need to be able to at a glance notice how your client is performing, and prepare for their next session.

Client Name and Date: Sometimes, innocently neglecting to write a clients name thinking you will do it later can leave you with a desk or folder full of activity logs that you don’t know who they belong to. Always write the name down first, even while preparing for the session as soon as you clip it onto your folder. The date needs to be accurate to file accordingly and also for proof of session purchase which I will discuss further in a moment.

Resistance Activity: For example: bench press, then the weight lifted and the number of repetitions performed. I also like to have an indicator of how tough the set was by simply giving it a number out of ten. For example, a number two if the set was easy or a seven if they only performed four or five quality reps at a certain weight. How you document is purely up to you, but you will develop your own system over time. If you prefer notes, simply flip the page over.

Cardio Activity: What machine they’re using or activity they are performing, for example: Treadmill, then document the client’s heart rate after one, five and ten minutes along with the client’s intensity. It can help to ask the client where they believe their intensity level is and compare with your own estimation.

Clients Signature: Getting the client to sign each activity log at the end of the session is another way to monitor how many appointments they have had. If they disagree with your invoicing you simply need to provide your activity logs as a backup.

Click on image to enlarge or click the link to download a copy of the Personal Training Client Activity Log Template in word format.

Being prepared for each session with a blank client activity log, you’re able to accurately report every move and every feeling that your client is experiencing and have a solid platform to review while preparing for their next personal training appointment.

Ben

Personal Training Business Cards

For this post I’m going to assume that you don’t have a professional business card made up for your personal training business, so it’s going back to the basics of what information you should have on there.

How extravagant you get with your card is a personal choice, as long as it is good quality, in good condition, easy to read and has all of your contact details, then you can’t go wrong.

The order you present your information on the card is also up to you. Unlike the Japanese, who not only have a ritual on how to present their business cards, their Meishi have a set format of company name in largest font, job title and then their name. Since there are no preconceptions in western countries, you can pretty much put what you want, where you want on yours.

Regardless how you design your card, it should contain the following:

• Business name: If you have a logo then you want to display this to increase your brand awareness.

• Name and qualifications: Your name, or what you prefer to go by. Also, have the initials of any degrees you have after your name, this always looks impressive and you worked hard to achieve them so celebrate that.

• Phone number: Your best contact number. Unless you live alone, never put your home number. There is nothing worse than calling someone for business and getting their mum or flat mate and through no fault of their own, is unhelpful, not to mention pretty much useless at turning a phone enquiry into an appointment. The number you put on the card; even if it is your personal mobile should be treated as a business line. Set up a brief and concise voicemail and answer calls professionally.

• Email: Register a professional email name. If you have a business website, link your email. If you don’t, then I would suggest a gmail account and try and register your business or personal name. Hotlovin69@hotmail.com, is not an appropriate business contact.

• Website or Blog: Your website or blog address. These days it is not uncommon for people to 'cyber stalk' before employing someone, so make sure if you have your web address listed on your card that it is finished and looks presentable.

• Studio or gym address: This is important, though can be in a smaller font to allow space for your logo. A small map on the back of the card is always a nice touch.

Some other information you could include:

• Your mobile personal training region: If you are a mobile trainer, perhaps on the back of the card you could have a list of regions that you service.

• Picture: I have seen cards with pictures of the trainers on them and frankly, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It has nothing to do with how attractive the person is, but recall that this image is on a tiny card and it is generally the first piece of promotional material that you will supply a potential client, so you may want to use the space for more appropriate information. Cards with images of relevant equipment, like a dumbbell for example, have a much wider appeal and look great.

• Specialties: You could have a brief list of your specialties either on the back or side. I saw a card once and the personal trainer had listed theirs transparently behind the rest of the text information, it added a nice effect.

The colours, fonts and the layout are entirely up to you.

Make sure your card reflects your individuality and spend some time considering the layout so you’re proud of them, then hand cards out ruthlessly.

Here are some links to popular sites that make good quality, inexpensive business cards:

The Gymhouse specialize in fitness printing solutions and will ship all over the world.
Click Business Cards is a great site with a very affordable range of cards.
Personal Trainer Business Cards is another printing company that specialize in the fitness business.

What Do I Need To Be A Successful Personal Trainer?

Like any other profession, personal trainers require specific tools and equipment to perform their job at the highest level.

Forget about certifications for a moment, for the sake of this article I'm assuming you have the minimum and are qualified. I want you to think about all the small things that you use daily or weekly to make sure things run smoothly in your business and takes the stress out of being prepared for your next client.

Maybe it’s because I’m male, who knows, but it’s embarrassing to say it took me about two years as a personal trainer to figure out that there were things that I should have with me at all times.

Here's a quick checklist of items that I feel are vital to run a professional personal training business:

• Equipment: You should have a small variety of exercise equipment with you at all times. Personal items like a generic but good quality pair of boxing gloves and strike pads, clean glove inserts, a variety of resistance bands and a skipping rope are necessities. Another good idea is to have a pair of half kilo dumbbells as well because fitness centres usually don’t have these on hand. You can go even further and buy a small stack of witches hats or cones; you’d be surprised how handy these can be.

• Mobile phone: Make sure you have a professional voicemail set up in case you miss calls while you are training clients. Make time to call back any enquiries as soon as possible.

• Your client files: You may have a personal drawer for your files at the gym you work out of or maybe you prefer a concertina type filing system so it’s more portable for working at home. Either way, this needs to be accessible while ever you are on the clock in case you need to review client files before or so you can update after each session.

• Good quality sales presentation folder: Invest some money in this. I’ve seen nicely finished folders in large stationary outlets and department stores for around $40. This should contain all of your certifications, testimonials and a brief personal profile. A nice touch is to have your business name and logo printed on the cover.

• Diary and compendium: Your diary is your best friend. Write down every appointment you have and if you have a phone inquiry, write the appointment in immediately. If you are a computer person and use Outlook, still keep a diary and simply transfer all of your appointments when you get home or you are in the office.

• Health and fitness questionnaires: There is no excuse for running out of these. You should have them everywhere, you never know when you get a walk in client or you need to update an existing client. There is nothing less professional than running out of something so important.

• Spare shorts and t-shirt: Not for you, for your clients! You would be surprised how often clients forget their gym bags or workout clothes. You can get around them not having runners, but it’s tough to train in business clothes.

• Spare work clothes and shoes: This one is for you. Have a complete set of work clothes and shoes on hand in case of emergencies like rain or animal attack. You may also want to consider a spare can of deodorant, toothbrush and hair product or accessories. If you’re in the gym for a long stretch, your clients will appreciate you not smelling like it.

• Business cards: Make sure you have a stash of them everywhere! In your car, your wallet, your presentation folders, at home, everywhere! There are opportunities to hand cards out all day long if you stay alert.

• Promotional materials: Get something like a nice 2 fold information sheet made up. These are not incredibly expensive but they will add a lot of value to your business. Don’t be scared to hand these out, but at the same time they do cost money so choose who you give them to wisely. If you think there is zero chance of ever seeing an enquiry again, they can just have a business card and a smile.

• Clipboard, notebook and pens: It doesn’t hurt to have spares of these. I’ve worked in gyms where my colleagues saw pens and clipboards as public property and they always seemed to grow legs and disappear.

You may have all of this covered, or maybe you just took off out the door to go shopping, if you have more helpful suggestions or things you use that I've missed, it would be great to read your comments.

Ben

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10 Reasons Why You Should Become A Contract Personal Trainer

“You can’t get rich working for someone else.”

For a few professions that statement is not 100% correct, unfortunately for personal trainers it almost certainly is.

As an employee personal trainer there is a limit to how much you can earn, sure there are advantages in having the ‘security’ of a weekly pay cheque and benefits like paid holidays but the real action is when you go it alone as a contract personal trainer!

I’ve put together a list of 10 advantages to becoming a contract personal trainer and paying rent to use a fitness centres facilities.

1. You have unlimited earning potential:

Since you’re not working for an hourly rate or salary, you have the ability to earn much more than an employee.

2. You can choose your hours:

Work as often or as little as you like. Train clients 12 hours or day or work part time to suit your lifestyle; it is completely up to you.

3. You can choose your clients:

In the beginning you may not have this luxury as there is rent to pay, but at least you can decide who and when you want to train.

4. You are free to promote your business as you see fit:

Name your business whatever you like, advertise how you like and run any kind of promotion that you see fit. To me, that’s the fun stuff!

5. You may be viewed as more professional:

A lot of your clients will be professionals and sometimes they prefer to deal with like minded pro active people.

6. You can specialize in a particular field of personal training:

Maybe you are an athletic conditioning specialist and that is the reputation that you want within the industry. You won’t get that recognition just training people for fat loss.

7. There are tax advantages:

Speak to an Accountant, you may be able to claim work related expenses, including rent, courses, clothing and equipment.

8. You are not restricted to training clients on gym premises:

As an employee, insurance reasons may stop you taking a client for a run in the park on a gorgeous day, not so for a contractor.

9. You are not as restricted by gym guidelines:

Many gyms have protocols for their employee trainers that they must adhere to. This is especially relevant to large chains. You are able to individualize client programs specifically to their needs which some fitness centre generalised system may not recognise.

10. You can set your own rates:

You can determine how much to charge people based on your experience and relevant education, rather than the gyms pre determined half hourly or hourly rate.

Some clubs will even let you pay rent in kind by doing gym floor hours, which is perfect in slower seasons of the year or in the middle of the day when it’s quiet.

When deciding which type of personal trainer you want to be you should seriously consider both avenues and which will best suit your needs and personality.

Talk to trainers from both sides of the fence and be honest with yourself when making your decision, if you are a terrible business person but a fantastic trainer then being employed is probably better for you.

Additional Reading:
No Place Like An At Home Personal Trainer Business

How Much Should Personal Trainers Charge?

I'm often asked by personal trainers how much they should charge their clients.

For the most part your fee should reflect your relevant experience and qualifications, but there are many other considerations you should factor into fixing your rate.

What you should consider when calculating your personal training rate.

Your relevant experience:

How long have you been a registered personal trainer? How long have you been training yourself, with weights or any other type of formal exercise? Are you a recognised athlete of any kind, like a respected competitive bodybuilder for example? What is your background in terms of instructing or guiding others?

Your relevant education:

What tertiary qualifications do you have? What courses have you completed? Are you constantly investing above and beyond what is required to remain registered? Do you have any specialist qualifications like nutrition or physiotherapy?

Expenses:

Are you paying rent to a fitness centre? How much are your annual fees to remain registered? Insurance? CEC courses? Stationary etc.

Geographic location of where you are working:

Are you in an affluent or more conservative income area? What are your competitors charging?

Facilities and equipment:

Though this can be debated, equipment should play a part of how much you charge. Are you working in a specialist fitness centre? Will you be doing any mobile personal training, if so how much have you personally invested in equipment?

Demand:

Supply and demand determine pricing in most industries. Are you booked out or are you finding it difficult to find any clients?

Industry profile:

Are you considered an expert in your field, like a course presenter or article contributor to relevant fitness publications?

As you can see, it’s not as simple as doing an eight week course and charging a recommended rate. For newly accredited trainers I suggest spending some time researching and setting your rate accordingly. For seasoned trainers, perhaps this list has inspired you to review your rate, more or less.

Obviously I’ve only touched on this subject and not really given any specific rate breakdown and that’s simply because there isn’t one. A lot of the time, no matter how good a personal trainer you are, negotiation and sales skills will determine what you can charge, so spend some time updating your presentation and selling techniques.

Ben

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10 Things You Can Do Today To Build Your Personal Training Business

Today I thought I'd share some easy, proven methods to easily generate business, re-motivate yourself and hopefully inspire exsisting, past or future clients to train with you.

This is a basic list of ten ideas that I've used over the years, not only in my personal training business but some are relevant to membership sales, lead generation, club management and even supplement sales.

There are many different ways to grow your business and I will post more in the future, though for today here are ten to get you started:

1. Call 10 of your ex-clients and find out what they’re up to. Are they still training, are they still living in the area? You should have plenty to talk about if you got to know them as a client, show them you care and see if they want to come in for a session, maybe they want to bring a friend.

2. Call 10 of your existing clients and ask them to come in 15 minutes early to their next session to sit down and quickly discuss how things are going etc. You never know, after speaking to you, they may hang up and start talking about how great you are to a friend or colleague that has been thinking about getting a personal trainer.

3. Hand out business cards, along with a brief profile containing client testimonials at the gym reception. Hand out 20 or 30 of them and in the next few days, casually go up to the people you gave them to, introduce yourself and ask if they had a chance to browse over your information. Have some more with you in case they didn’t.

4. Arrange a brief sit down with your fitness centre manager to discuss upcoming gym promotions. Most proactive clubs will have a 3 to 6 month marketing strategy in place, so why not find out if there is anything you can offer your services to.

5. Help 10 people on the gym floor. Be sure to choose them carefully though as you don’t want to offend anyone. A subtle way is to simply help someone unload a machine or offer a spot. Don’t stick around too long if you get a bad vibe, but still introduce yourself and be on your way. The next time you see them I guarantee they won’t be hostile.

6. Arrange a promotion with a similar business, such as a health food store or gym equipment retailer. This may take longer than a day to organise, but call a few stores and see if it’s something they might be interested in.

7. Take one of your colleagues for a free session. Again choose carefully. Perhaps someone you don’t really know or one of the more successful membership consultants. This is a great way to get to know someone and you’d be surprised how many fitness centre employees have never had a personal training session!

8. Sign up for a further education course. Maybe you have been thinking of a particular one for sometime, or you need to do some quick research. Either way, get off your backside and sign up!

9. Reread your business mission statement, or if you don’t have one, write one! Again, a fitness professional is an entrepreneur. You should have targets and plans for your business in place.

10. SMILE

Ben

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