A Fitness Business That Runs Itself
This post is about one thing…
Getting your personal training or boot camp business organized, systemized and monetized to the fullest so that you can have more time, money and freedom to do what you want, when you want, as often as you want.
Here’s the deal, most industry trainers run their business like a job. In fact most trainers are actually running their business by the seat of their pants with no systems in place for marketing, selling, retaining, or referral generating.
I don’t know about you, but that’s not what I’d call a reliable and secure income. Know what I mean?
See, it’s all about having systems, because systems run your business and YOU run the systems. Ever wonder why the Starbucks in California runs identical to the one in Nevada, DC, Florida or Boston? It’s the systems they have in place that makes the product, service, and profit consistent across the board.
So here’s a 30,000 foot level view of the seven areas that you should systematize first in your business so you can have the freedom, lifestyle and money you deserve.
1. I’m surprised with the number of fitness trainers who still don’t have a niche market to serve. Look, if you think you can be everything to everybody then you’re gonna struggle for long time to come.
Serve a niche market that you enjoy working with, that you have passion for, who are easy to find in your area and who have the money to invest in your services. Be a specialist, not a generalist.
2. You gotta have specific and systemized lead generation tactics deployed at all times to get the kind of traffic you want for your business. If you don’t have a steady stream of leads coming in, calling and emailing you then you’re headed for disaster.
Here are some lead generation tactics that are working really good for many of my coaching clients.
- Run Facebook ads that drive traffic to targeted squeeze pages, then offer them a low barrier of entry to your program on the next page.
- Have lead boxes peppered throughout businesses in the community.
- Use direct mail postcards and letters targeting specific homes in the community who you know can afford your services.
- Run lead generation print ads that get people to call your number and ask for a free report, ebook, audio program, or DVD.
- Run pay per click ads on google, yahoo, and bing and drive the traffic to your squeeze page.
- Is your personal training website search engine optimized for the keyword that people in your area are searching for?
- Build an email list of prospects, clients, past clients, local businesses and media contacts and emailing them killer content and offers consistently.
3. This is where most small business owners (trainers included) drop the ball BIG TIME. Once you get your lead generation dialed in and prospects start calling and emailing, you gotta have two critical appointment scripts in place.
The fist is a script to set the appointment, consultation or free session(s). And the second is a script to call and confirm that they’re coming in the day before the appointment. I’ve seen these two scripts increase appointment “show rate” by as much as 50%.
4. This is another one of those big things that can easily double and even triple your business if you get it right. Learn to sell and have a sales system and script in place that’s crafted to convert prospects into paying clients.
You can get a complete done-for-you system for selling personal training here.
5. Create a “stick system” within your fitness business. There’s nothing more frustrating then losing clients because you don’t have a solid retention system in place.
Here are the top three ways to increase client retention:
- Make sure you clients are getting the results you promised and they want.
- Give your clients consistent recognition, appreciation and love.
- Reward your clients often, even with little things like tickets to the movies or a ball game, or a gift certificate to dinner, and just a starbucks gift card. Reward them for showing up, losing weight, getting fit, and giving referrals.
6. One of the most overlooked client getting tactics I know - and it just so happens to be THE most low cost way of getting new clients – is client referrals. But the problem is that most fitness trainers go about it all wrong from the get go.
Here’s how you get your clients to give you referrals…
First: Condition them from the beginning to give you referral. The minute you sign up a client say this: Mrs. Jones, as I help you get what you want from your fitness and fat loss program, can I count on you to help me get what I want which is to grow my business by training more people who are referred by you?
Second, have referral generation contests each month. People love a sense of competition.
And third, hook up your clients who give you referrals with really cool things like a free month or two of training or a dinner and a movie.
7. Finally, you gotta have business systems in place if you want to be able to go do what you want, when you want without having to worry about money running out or someone calling you all freaked out.
Automate your business as much as possible.
- Use EFT or auto debit to automatically bill your clients each month. Stop collecting checks and manually running credit cards. That’s just nuts!
- Create an operations manual with every system outlined and detailed so that all you’ll have to do is handing to an employee and they should pretty much.
- If you have a staff then make sure they’re dialed into your system and know your expectations.
So as you can see, it’s all about the systems if you want more time, money and freedom.
Best of all, the amount of effort it would take you to create these systems once is probably the same amount of effort you put out each month racking your brain for ideas on how to get more clients, keep more clients, and generate more referrals.
If you want more done-for-you scripts, marketing material, and systems that you can just plug and play then check out the program that thousands of fitness trainers have used to turn their business around >> http://TheArtOfSellingFitness.com
Be sure to leave a comment below and let me know what you think and what systems you have in your personal training or boot camp business.
Comments on A Fitness Business That Runs Itself »
Jaison Naiker @ 1:21 pm
What EFT system are people having the best results with (as far as customer service, ease of use, etc.)?
Great stuff Bedros. I’ve dialed in most of these tips over the 3 years my boot camps have been going and you’re always right on. Thanks for helping me take my boot camp biz to a level I actually never thought possible. Aaand, it’s still growing with your help, so thank you, thank you, thank you. Did I say thank you?
Hey! I’m a massage therapist just starting out on my own. A personal trainer friend of mine referred me to your blogs and I try daily to use your advice, but it seems so difficult to implement them at the right time and the right place.. understand?
Anywho, thank you for the advice!
Megan
Jesse Davis @ 2:51 pm
You’re the man bedros. Your fitness business course and close clients dvd have literally changed my life. I started as a assistant manager at a globo gym, I always wondered what genius came up with that preso!
Anyway, thanks for everything you do. I’m making good money now but with your help I’m ready to take it to the next level.
Thanks Bedros!
Priceless information. Something to print and put on your wall.
Steve Hochman @ 3:21 pm
Listen to this man and do EXACTLY what he says cuz he’s brilliant!
S
Thanks Bedros…needed that one today, my thoughts were scattered!
Temecula Personal Trainer @ 6:23 pm
Great post Bedros. Good, usefull info, as always.
Karate Arlington TX @ 8:49 pm
Great Systems. How do you go about hiring appointment setters?
Hobart Boot Camp @ 10:14 pm
Thanks mate,
I have the close clients dvd and need to re watch them. I’ll do that while I wait for the FBS ones to arrive!
Norman Graham @ 5:13 am
Great Stuff!
Monty @ 6:40 am
Bedros-
I have most of these implemented thanks to you, Steve and Big Chris. The one I am really just getting going are FB ads. I have a squeeze page and now need to have some ideas for copy, got any?
Thanks Monty
PS-If you don’t own the Art of Selling Fitness then you are missing out on a business changing tool. Get it and you won’t be disappointed!
Nathan Cragg @ 5:52 pm
Hey Bedros! During FBS10 you told me to make sure I was calling to confirm appointments the night before and I can attest to a significant increase in show rate. Not quite where I’d like it, but better.
Now I just gotta work retention on these 231 new Groupoon members
Nathan, 231 new members… Killer!
I agree 100% with point 6.
It’s not just about asking your clients for referrals, but making them aware that your business relys on organic referral growth.
Thanks for the great ideas!
Ben
Jesse @ 12:54 pm
Awesome content as always Bedros.
Christian @ 3:33 pm
I agree that your business has to run on systems or it will fall apart eventually. I just came back from the 7 Figure Sam Mastermind Group a couple of weeks ago and learned his client retention, referral, & sales system. I applied his system on reactivating past clients and I added a lot more income to my monthly eft’s that weren’t there before. And the best part is that it didn’t cost me anything. Thanks Sam & Bedros for putting that weekend together.
awesome article!
it is very useful for me!
thanks
Ben Greenfield @ 3:17 pm
Word, Bedros.
I’m always amazed at how many people just shrug their shoulders and say “OK!” when you tell them they can’t pay you with a check and you only take credit/debit cards…
I disagree with the 6th part. It’s a good business model for many businesses, but the point where you want to drill this in is when the client starts to get results. This is just from personal experience. I am not a personal trainer.
You will fail at times to help a clients and the problem here is not always the business, but the client who is looking for results. He thinks that if he just works out that he’ll get ripped, but many times many people don’t change their lifestyle of food and portions. They are so brainwashed that they don’t understand what carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are doing to them. Once you get into this deeper you’re basically just a scientist to them and they won’t understand. They can do it, but it’s easier if they understand the simple make up of it without getting to deep into it at the start.
Now the problem I see with it is that it’s a good/bad business model. I’m not arguing that here, but if you want them to help build reputation for the business there’s still other ways. You can always ask for it, but it sounds desperate and puts the client on the spot. This is bad for people who are very low on self - almost everything. If you do fail they are going to go to the other side and make negative comments about the business and this isn’t usually your fault. You can only give them the help and information they need, but they need the self - motivation or whatever it be to actually keep it since your not watching them at 24/7.
It can work for your business, but negative people tend to talk about it more than positive people do. When someone finds a new body they will share how they got it, but would rather do other things with their new body. Negative people don’t have this, so all they can do is get revenge by talking about how horrible your company is.
I think once you start to give them the information and help to see results and they actually see it themselves you can start to talk about this. You don’t want to be so blunt or direct forward about it. It’s better to say (in my opinion) something along the lines of well Mr/mrs I’m glad your seeing the results and your happy with them, but is there anyone in your life that you could share this with and help them along the way? We believe that there’s other people that may benefit from this information or help and when they see your results maybe they will believe that they can do it to.
This isn’t perfect, but being so direct at the start can make it hard for the client when they just want to focus on losing the weight or getting healthier. They had a hard enough time stressing and thinking about going to a gym for the information worrying that maybe they’re not going to be taken serious or that they are too fat to start. Your clients worry very much about this.
It may not always be like that, but it’s better in my opinion to wait until they are more stable not just physically, but mentally as well. I know it’s annoying you can’t just saying toughen up ***** and do some squats, but emotions can make working out very hard.
My source is mostly hear say and studying business on the side while I get my degree in food science. I am only 21, so my opinion is not the end all opinion and it doesn’t hold much weight, but it does have truth behind it from seeing how other businesses have failed.
TL DR I can hear it now, but just saying.
Loving this post! as usual, you’ve hit the nail right on the head! Then again, i expect nothing less!