Why in the world would someone ever buy YOUR training? Or any personal training, for that matter?
If your answer to this sounds anything like “to lose weight” then we’ve got some problems and you need to keep reading.
Listen, there are plenty of compelling reasons to buy your training, but they aren’t ever as simple as “I want to lose weight.”
I mean, sh!t, everyone wants to lose weight! They all want to drop a few pounds. They’re thinking about how they want to drop those pounds all day— as they shove 3,000 calories of carbs down their throats, drink 3 sodas, and some cake, they’re still thinking about how they want to lose a few pounds… that reason obviously isn’t strong enough to force change.
So what reason is going to be so compelling, so powerful, that those thoughts transition from “I need to lose a few pounds” to “I’m willing to spend thousands of dollars a year to get help with my weight loss?”
That’s not an easy question to answer, is it? I mean… there’s a lot that needs to be going on inside the mind of someone who pulls the trigger and makes this kind of decision.
They need to feel good about you, first of all. You need to fill them with encouragement, motivation and energy that makes them feel warm and fuzzy about this purchase rather than afraid and insecure.
Plus, this is a rather sensitive subject. You’re calling them out on their poor diet, their lack of exercise, and the state (usually a pretty poor one, at that) of their body.
You’re examining all their problem areas with a microscope! It’s revealing, exposing, embarrassing… it takes a whole lot of careful work and attention from you to keep them cool, comfortable, and ready to buy.
But did you notice the one thing that all of those thoughts and feelings have in common? There is very little logic or reason in that kind of thinking but there is a whole lot of emotion. Hopefully you realized this a long time ago but personal training is an extremely emotional purchase.
And THAT is why “I need to lose a few pounds” is not a good enough reason to make anyone buy! You’ve got to dig a whole lot deeper than that and excess those deep seated emotional reasons for getting training.
They’re finally considering buying your training because yesterday they looked in the mirror and didn’t even recognize themselves, because their best friend asked them if they had been tested for diabetes, because a picture was posted on Facebook and someone commented saying, “who’s that fat girl?”
These are powerful, no joke, painful, and emotional reasons. You can’t take this stuff lightly but you’ve got to use it because it’s the real reason why they’ve come to see you.
So how are you going to use this? How are you going to use their pain to help them decide on your training and eventually, transform that pain into happiness?
Simple: Ask.
You just… well, you just ask why they’re there. I know I set this up as some huge complicated secret but really, that’s all it takes.
And sure, they’re going to give you lame answers like “I need to lose weight,” or, “my husband said I should come in,” or, “I came to check out your promotion.” But you’ve got to dig deeper than that– and you’ll dig deeper simply by asking another question.
Say, “What do you mean by that?” or “But why now? What made you decide that now is the time to come in and make a change?” And you keep asking those kinds of questions until they say something like “I can’t button the up a single pair of jeans” or “I can’t keep up with my kids anymore” or even, “my father just died of a heart attack.”
That’s real pain. And as difficult and awkward as it can be to get someone to admit that, you need it. Because as soon as you find that central emotion that made them seek you out you instantly pump them full of positivity, motivation, and encouragement.
You remind them how incredible they are going to feel once they’re able to button up those jeans and have room to spare, how wonderful it will be to outrun their kids or grandkids and play with them all afternoon, or how reassuring it will feel to have a healthy heart and healthy body.
See, we need to access that pain so that we can emphasize our ability to relieve it. Not only does it make you feel great about what you’re doing to help them but it instantly convinces them to buy your training.
So from now on, whenever you begin a sales consultation, you’re going to do these three things:
#1 – Ask them why they’ve come and don’t stop until you get the real emotional reason for their visit. There is a genuine reason why today, of all days, is the day they came to see you. Find out what that is and capitalize on it.
#2 – Fill your sales conversation with emotion and emotional imagery. Emotions are what make people buy personal training, not logic, reason, or incentive.
So that means, it has nothing to do with how great your machines are or how many years you studied biceps, all that matters is how they’re going to feel emotionally once they look great and live a healthy lifestyle.
#3 – Finally, remember how important your service really is for the people who seek you out. They come to you because they suffer from a pain. And you seek out that pain not to exploit it but to reassure them that you will be able to make it go away.
Think about your training like this and you’ll find that selling it becomes a whole lot easier.
Oh, and one last thing, if you liked this tip on selling and think you could use more like this than I’ve got something for you to check out.
I’ve got a whole system absolutely full of sales tips and systems just like this one. In fact, it’s a comprehensive training course where you can discover the secrets to selling personal training like a friggen champ.
It’s actually the same system I used to build 5 multimillion dollar personal training facilities a few years back so, as you might imagine, it’s pretty dang powerful.
Consistently Sell 9 out of 10 Clients on Your Personal Training
Thanks for reading and, as always,
Committed to your success,
Bedros
P.S. – Do me a favor and leave a comment below with your clients’ most emotional reasons for buying. Give everyone some reasons and emotions to look out for so we can all get better sales. Thanks!