Advice from Real-Word Fitness Professionals

This will be my final article on the topic of ‘Real-World Advice’ for a while. I’m feeling a flip back to something more scientific to make me feel cleverer (or is it more clever?). Well, to be honest, it may not be.

As a new company, it was great to see so many people asking us questions. Anything you do see on any article we write, please don’t hesitate to ping us a message with your questions. We want to do what we can to help you grow your business, your skills and gain clients. Always happy to share the love…

Anyway keeping it PG, onward to the article.

If you managed to read the last two articles, ‘Tips & Tricks to help you break into the Fitness Industry – Part 1‘ and ‘Part 2’, you’d have seen many awesome ways that’ll give you an edge getting through the recruitment process and landing yourself a bad-ass position in the fitness world.

This article will focus on what to do as a Personal Trainer once you’re through the door.

Now variations will occur depending on where you gain your first position. But as a current Head Coach in one of the UK’s leading fitness organisations, I’ll be happy to share my thoughts. Now, this will help not only smash your cash generation if you’re self-employed but even more so if you are lucky enough to gain a position in a ‘health club’. As you will be required to hit targets.

So without further ado:

Coach Sale’s top 10 ways to gain clients and smash your first 6 months as a Personal Trainer:

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1 – Understand your KPIs (key performance indicators), which simply means understand your targets.

These will be set in the club by your management, and you will be held accountable to these. If you’re not, then you should be. Now, the trick here is to not to see them as a target. They are simply a number you will surpass as you are shooting for more. If one of the targets you are set is to gain 4 New Clients a month, your personal target is 8. If you aim and push for 8, you will always beat 4!

2 – Put a plan together to enable you to smash your targets.

Set smaller goals to hit throughout each month – weekly targets work well.

Plan meticulously, plan your day, plan your training, plan what you will do and when you will do it. This doesn’t have to be set in stone, but don’t be the idiot that turns up to work for 12 hours ‘just to be there’ and walks away having done nothing, having achieved nothing. You would be better off going in for 6 hours, having a productive plan, and achieving that 1 goal for the day!

3 – Be organised – One of the biggest issues I see with new PTs is their lack of planning and organisation. If you cannot be organised and plan your week when you have only a few clients, how will you be able to diary-manage when you have 30 or more of them!

Get a diary. Get a folder.

Have blank templates, consultation forms, price lists, sign-up sheets and evaluation forms in your folder at all times, ready to go – have them individually spaced in your folder and always have them to hand. If you sit down with a client and you pull out a booklet, and then a professionally made consultation form, you look like a pro. Do not underestimate the importance of this!! The client’s perception is their reality, making it a valuable tool in your arsenal.

Picking Up Clients

Now we have the targets set and your organisation nailed, it’s time to move on to picking up clients. Although all of the above will facilitate your “game” with clients due to understanding and your level of perceived professionalism through your organisation, the following will help you pick up the actual clientele:

4 – Understand your clients.

Now, I have to assume that you are new to the industry. So if you are, do not be the numpty who thinks he knows everything. You will come across as arrogant when you simply do not have the hands-on knowledge and have not earnt the right to be so confident. Understand the needs of the client first and foremost in an empathetic manner. This taps into the emotional side, as the connection is important. Whether you like it or not, you will have to build this to establish trust. Remember, no matter the company you work for, the clients buy off of you.

Side note:

Chances are as newly qualified PT you have blown through a 6-week qualification and plunged into the fitness world. On each of these courses, you learn the basics. Chest day Bruh, arms day, back day. Occasionally, if ever, leg day. Here I need you to understand that even IF you train like this, like most younger PT’s do. 99% of clientele out there WILL NOT. However, if you are self-employed at some sort of meathead dungeon gym, then (a) that’s bad-ass (b) you are most likely a bodybuilder and the clientele in the gym are bodybuilders. Now there is nothing wrong with this. One of my good friends and fellow coaches at Graspp Fitness, Coach Fletch, is a washed-up meathead (sure I’ll take some punishment for that later). I make this point as Bodybuilding is a very one-dimensional style of training. For Mr and Mrs Every-day Gym Goer this style of training is simply not what they will do, and certainly not what they have time for. They will be more focused on general health and fitness, weight loss, strength, fixing injuries, niggles, aches and pains – becoming a bodybuilder is NOT what they want. Always put the client’s goals before your own.

5 – Just be there. 

This is one of the most basic mistakes I see. PTs are simply not there. The more you’re there, the more clients you will pick up. This is important as you will usually have a set time period where you can make the job work.

1. You will be in a probation period. If you haven’t performed in this period you will be FIRED (in the Lord Sugar voice)
2. You are not earning until you build a business.

Due to these reasons, it is crucial you put everything into the first 6 months of your PT career.

6 – Whilst you are there, there are a thousand ways to pick up, interact, book in, advise potential clients. Use all of these methods, and repeatedly use them.

Do not take your foot off the pedal for 6 months. Examples include:

1. Floor walking – correctional
2. Activity ideas – gym floor challenges, win a prize methods

7 – Spend more time under the bar yourself. Set an example.

Here I mean most new PT’s have never really achieved anything in the fitness world, and certainly don’t practice what they preach. I want to be involved in ‘Strength and Conditioning’; unfortunately, this has become a buzz term these days. But the coach can’t squat double bodyweight. Then you’re not strong, bro. You don’t know what it feels like to hit a 1RM whilst your eyes pop out your head. So how can you describe that to a client. PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH.

8 – It’s not all about training – it’s the Customer Service that counts.

It’s brilliant bringing in new clients, but a successful PT business also retains clients. If you lose as many as you gain, you don’t go anywhere.

1. Clients will talk about anything and everything in-between sets – it’s good to chat and engage with them.
2. Support them outside the gym if they need you.
3. An understanding of their calendar, and the occasional need for flexibility.
4. Check-in before the session and a well done after will go a long way.
5. Constant testing and re-testing to show progression.
6. Small gestures – birthdays, remembering events.

9 – Get a good pitch.

We definitely aren’t slippery salespeople, like your back-alley car salesman. However, tidying up your sales pitch is a must. Get comfortable with the price presentation, what you’re willing to do for them and the cost it incurs to do that. The more confidently you present, the more likely you are to make the sale. People do not like handing over money, so we must make them see value in the product we provide.

10 – BE ACCOUNTABLE – this is by far the biggest point!! If you take one thing away, make it this.

Too many people in life, as well as in business, have an excuse for everything. “I’m not being successful because there wasn’t enough support, because I couldn’t use my marketing, because nobody wants PT”, when there are 10 other PT’s who are being successful in the same club. These are excuses. They are rubbish. At the end of the day, you need to make it happen yourself and stop relying on anyone else. If you can go in with this mindset, all the other help you get is just a bonus and you’ll knock it out the park.

So there you have it – my top 10 tips for smashing your first 6 months as a PT and gaining clients.

Be ready for anything.

Coach Sale.

Author - Luke Sale - Head Coach & Mentor

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