A Fitness Business Systems Blog Post – By Bedros Keuilian
When I started my personal training business, I made a lot of mistakes. Some were outright embarrassing, while others were, well, not ‘mistakes’ per say, but things I wouldn’t do again if I were to start my business over. Don’t they say hindsight is 20/20?
Now that I’ve gained some experience, I see a lot of fitness professionals making the same mistakes that I made, that will ultimately end up costing them money, clients, and a lot of frustration.
So without further ado… here are some tips to improve your fitness business systems and keep you from making the same mistakes I did.
- More money spent DOES NOT equal more clients gained
Sure, there’s no denying that expensive marketing will get you clients. However, it is a load of BS that the more you spend, the more clients you get. In my experience, 9 times out of 10 the inexpensive or even free marketing tactics work just as well as the pricey ones.
For example, one of the most powerful and free fitness business systems for getting clients is Steve Hochman’s human billboard strategy has been proven to build you a lead generation that can make you six figures in as little as 3 months.
Unfamiliar with the human billboard system? Here’s a quick low-down:
Don’t make a billboard to sling over your shoulders – that isn’t the type of ‘human billboard’ I’m talking about. The type of marketing I’m talking about is a way of getting referrals.
The first thing you need to do is find some of your most enthusiastic clients that have seen significant results while working with you. I would suggest aiming for 15-30 people. Tell these clients that they can continue training with you at a discounted rate (I would suggest 70%) if they refer your training business to friends, family, coworkers, etc. They are a walking, talking, advertisement exemplifying the benefits of your business. Although they get a discounted rate, they have to pay for 6 months upfront.
So let’s say you have 15-30 campers working for you as human billboards, and with the discounted rate they each pay $50/month for 6 months. That already puts you ahead $4500-$9000 ahead. Not bad hey?
Another example is my 21 day rapid fast loss program. Getting 10-33 new clients is as easy as sending two emails to your list, and you will have a waiting list.
- No one cares how ‘pretty’ your website is
Although you do need an aesthetically stimulating site, no matter how many colors and fancy music your site has, it won’t generate you any leads if it doesn’t have valuable info. The things you need to include on your site include:
- A benefit rich headline
- An irresistible offer
- Proof of success (before and after pictures)
- Not everyone is your market
You need to learn to specialize – find a specific niche and stick to it. When I started off, I made the mistake of thinking everyone was my potential client, I even had a flyer (which failed miserably might I add) that read, “We train clients from eight to eighty.” Yeah, I realize now that sounds just a wee bit unrealistic. This was one of the outright embarrassing things I was talking about. I learned that you need to be okay with the prospect that not everyone is going to be interested in your business – and that’s okay. Focus on marketing to your niche. Part of creating solid systems for your fitness business is knowing who your market is and what they want to achieve.
- Forget branding
If you’re mailing out ads that contain no compelling headline, and just a snazzy picture of yourself with your logo, you might as well flush your wallet down the toilet.
At the end of the day, your prospective clients don’t care how fancy the lettering of your logo is, or how catchy your tag line is. At the end of the day, your prospective clients are really only interested in one thing: how you can help them achieve their fitness goals. Basically, you want your advertising to decipher the suspects from your prospects – like I mentioned before, not everyone is your market. Here’s a few ways to do so:
- You need an attention-grabbing headline so your prospect doesn’t get rid of your mail out with the rest of the junk mail
- Advertise an irresistible offer
- Include testimonials and before/after pictures of past or current clients to prove your program works
- Use the two step system: offer a free audio book or report in order for a prospect’s contact info
By avoiding these common mistakes, I can guarantee your fitness business systems will be more successful, and you will save yourself a lot of unnecessary frustration.