How To Get What You Want

This is probably one of the longer blog posts I’ve done. But its also one of the most content packed ever.

You and every single successful person you know are alike. In fact you have every capability that the most successful entrepreneur has. And you’ve got access to the same (if not better) information then many of the ultra successful people do.

So what does it take to succeed? I’m gonna tell you.

And I’m gonna tell you from first hand experience… and because I hang with some really well off people who have created their own success and freedom like I have I’m 100% sure that what I’m about to tell you Is. The. Formula.

If you know anything about me, you know that I don’t like to publicly flash and talk about how bad ass I am and the money I make. But because it’s going to serve a point and because I know it will help you better understand that ANYONE can become successful I’m gonna let you into my life.

In 1980 my folks brought the family to America from Armenia, then a communist country. I was five years old. We got here with two suitcases and less than $200 cash for a family of five. A month after arriving I turned six.

I didn’t know a lick of English. We were broke to levels you can’t even imagine. Well, just to help you get a better picture of what I’m about to share with you. I want you to imagine me, a chunky six year old kid with a funny hair cut, and found clothes being lifted into dumpsters behind supermarkets so I could pull out fruits, vegetables, breads, and other “expired” shit that hadn’t gone bad yet but couldn’t be sold.

(Let me just say that most food has different levels of “bad” and you’d be surprised how your body can tolerate “bad food”)

I’ve gone to three elementary schools, two junior high schools and two high schools. I’ve dropped out of college and at one point was evicted from my apartment and lived in a Toyota pick up truck because I had to.

But today, I own and live on an acre estate in southern California that cost seven figures.

In addition we have multiple rental homes that provide an additional income stream for us.

I own or co-own four corporations that collective generate multiple seven figures annually and the work load that it takes to run them is pretty manageable for the most part.

I have a watch collection that would require I have over a dozen arms just to wear them all.

I’ve owned and own practically every dream car I’ve ever wanted.

My family and I take vacations when we want where we want for as long as we want.

None of this is to brag… it’s to prove a point to you, that I, a foreign kid with more learning disabilities than the average bear am living the perfect life of freedom, abundance, and never having to be told what to do and when to do it.

In case you didn’t figure it out already, I despise authority.

And God know that if I can do it, anyone can - so long as you take action, have a burning desire and work your ass off.

Like I said, what I’m telling you about my life here is probably something I wouldn’t normally share, but I’m going to becuase it’s going to help me make a point. It’s not like I have anything to hide, because I don’t, I just don’t like to flash and I think its pretty retarded when people showboat about possessions and status.

The reason I’m telling you all this is because I’m also the guy who as A.D.D. And I’m pretty sure I have a learning disability or two because what takes most people an hour to do I get done in two hours. Like writing this blog post… it should take me no more than 60 minutes or so but instead it takes me two to three hours to write.

And what would take you maybe a day or two of studying to memorize your talking points for a speaking gig takes me a week and a half at studying and repeating 3-4 times per day…

…But I’m okay with that becuase, 1. I LOVE what I do, and 2. I’m a fuckin workhorse and NOTHING will stop me.

So in all reality YOU are better equipped than ME for success.

But the one thing that I and EVERY successful self made person has that the unsuccessful folk don’t have is heart.

Like I said earlier, we’re all the same in every way. We’ve got the same capabilities and the access to the same information, and the same number of hours in a day…

… but the thing that makes all the difference is HEART.

Heart to realize that you deserve more, even if you were brought up on crumbs like I was.

Heart to want to change your circumstances.

Heart to wanna step out of your comfort zone.

Heart to be willing to do whatever it take to get whatever you want.

Heart to realize that you are going to fail, and often and knowing that failure is the price that you gotta pay. But you’ve never really failed if you get back up and try again. It’s the folks who fall down and stay down that end up as failures for life.

And guess what? If you want to be a successful entrepreneur YOU’RE GOING TO FAIL AND PROBABLY MORE THAN ONCE BEFORE YOU MAKE IT.

Heart to make the HARD decisions that others won’t.

Heart take the actions you know you need to take even if it’s gonna hurt.

Heart to be willing to take a risk.

And heart to be willing to deal with fear, doubt, rejection and uncertainty.

Listen, if you’re sitting around waiting for some major secret to success then you’re probably feeling pretty let down by now. And anyone who says they have the ONE thing to make you successful is full of shit.

And if you’re waiting for permission to become successful. I give you permission. Better yet, look yourself in the mirror, man up and give yourself permission because no one is going to give it to you.

You’ve been given access to the tools, tactics, resources, action steps, systems, strategies and ideas to get your personal training or boot camp business to multiple six and even seven figures.

What I can’t give you is heart.

What I can’t do for you is the action taking.

What I can’t instill in you is the work ethic.

I don’t know where you are in your head space right now. But what I do know is that if you’re reading this blog post then you probably want more money, more clients, more security, more freedom, and a reliable fitness business, right?

I’ve got really good new for you. The information on this blog alone can easily get your personal training business to six figures. And my products and mastermind programs can quickly and easily take you to multiple six and even seven figures IF YOU PUT THE INFORMATION TO WORK… more on that in a minute.

All you need to bring to the table is a burring desire for more out of your life and heart.

Now that you know what it takes to get where you want to be, here are 11 things you SHOULD BE DOING to get more clients, profits, retention and have a kick ass lifestyle…

… cuz after all, the purpose of having a business is to feed and fund your lifestyle and not just be a place where you go and work.

Know what I mean?

# 1. Sell once and never sell again. If you’re not using EFT (electronic fund transfer) or auto debit in your fitness boot camp then you’re really gonna hate life when you have to go and resign and re-sell the same people over and over again every 4-6 weeks. Plus, no EFT means no legs. Who’s gonna buy your business from you if you don’t have PREDICTABLE money scheduled to come in each month?

# 2. Sell the big package first. It’s just as easy to sell a 12 month commitment as it is to sell a month to month program if you know how to structure an offer the right way.

You get the peace of mind of reliable income and your clients gets to commit to a program that gets them results AND teaches them to make it a lifestyle. PLUS clients who commit to 12 month programs are three times more likely to say with you for multiple years.

# 4. Don’t chase your dreams… chase your goals. Start your business off by setting goals for yourself. How many new members do you want within the first 30, 60, 90, and 120 days? What are you gonna do to get them?

How much do you want to earn each month? How much of that do you want to take home? What do you have to do to make that happen?

Are you going to phase yourself out and get a trainer to run your camp so you can work ON your business and not IN it?

How are you going to find the right trainer? How much should you pay them? How will you phase them out? How long after opening do you plan to do that?

Set goals… and work them.

# 5. Have multiple poles in the water all all times so you never run out of leads and prospects:

== Offline Marketing ==

Human billboards
Lead boxes
Body fat table
Direct mail
Print ads
Charity drives
Free Saturday camps
Bring a friend week
21 day rapid fat loss promo
6 week transformation programs
Small group seminars
Grocery store tours
Client referral systems
Plastic gift cards
Past client reactivation system

== Online Marketing ==

Facebook ads
Craigs list posts
Deal of the day sites promotions (these have given many Fit Body Boot Camp owners 250 or more clients in a single day)
Search Engine Optimization
Direct response websites
Squeeze pages
Email marketing
Pay per click ads
Endorsed email mailing by local businesses

# 6. Don’t be a bottom feeder. The number one solution I see most trainers turn to when business is slow is they lower their prices. One trainer posted right here on this blog “So how is my boot camp going to compete with the gyms that charge $49/month?” My reply way: “Are you really completing with gyms, that’s the level of value that you feel you deliver? Are you seriously telling me that you can’t find 42 people to pay you $197/month to give you that $100K/year income?”

JUST. 42. PEOPLE.

Look, I don’t want tire kickers in my camps. I don’t want people stressing over money and who can or can’t make their payment next month. I want action takers… folks who have the time, money, and BURNING DESIRE to want to lose fat and get in shape.

# 7. Don’t be an order taker… be a CLOSER. I can teach you a thousand ways to get people to call you, email you, and ask you about your boot camp… all of that is MARKETING. But if you don’t know SELLING, if you can’t close them. If you can’t convert a prospect into a paying client. If you don’t have a selling script and system that’s predictable and proven to sell then you are gonna struggle NO MATTER how many leads you can get in front of you.

# 8. Be a kick ass client keeper. Hey, what’s the point of all the marketing and selling in the world if you can’t retain a client?

Imagine having this giant bathtub and three really big faucets pouring water into it… that water is money or clients.

… but there’s one BIG problem…

YOUR BATHTUB HAS FOUR DRAINS and they’re sucking all the water out of it faster than you can pour. Pretty shitty, right?

You have a retention problem. And even though you want to blame the economy… the problem is probably YOU.

Here are the three best tactics to retaining your clients.

1. Give them results. It doesn’t matter how much they like you, and how highly they think of you. They signed up for one reason and that’s to lose weight and keep it off. If you don’t deliver MEASURABLE and QUANTIFIABLE results then they’re out!

2. Give them LOVE. Most people these days don’t get appreciation, love, attention, and enthusiasm in their life. They don’t get at the the job, they don’t get it from the spouse or kids, and they don’t even get it from themselves.

Come with the love and deliver the energy!

3. Reward your clients. Look, profit margins are really high in the boot camp business (specially when you run it like we teach our Fit Body Boot Camp owners) so be cool and treat your clients to a movie from time to time. Or give them a $15 Starbucks or health food store gift card. Or take throw a client appreciation party.

DON’T YOU LIKE BEING APPRECIATED?

Mail them a hand written note. Send them a personalized text message. Call them at their job and puff them up. But be consistent when you do this stuff. a random call and a set of movie tickets four months later is not gonna get you the results you want.

Be cool.

# 9. Decompress often. Life’s not about working. We work becuase we want to live a certain type of lifestyle or freedom, but sometimes you get lost in all the stuff to do and end up a slave to your job or business. Get out for the weekend, go away, clear your head and get back into it with a new sense of clarity.

# 10. Reward yourself. Having big goals is awesome. But you gotta set smaller “milestone” goals too, goals that you can reach and reward yourself for by doing something cool. And then when we hit that big goal – get yourself that prize. Savor the moment and THEN set the next big goal to achieve.

# 11. The OLD way of making money is no longer the RIGHT way. You don’t have to trade time for dollars anymore. Leverage your business by using systems and people to make money even while you’re on vacation. If you don’t have a high converting website that can easily be found on search engines and can proccess orders online – get one. If you’re your best employee then get a trainer to deliver the training so you can have time to sleep in, go on vacation, hang with your family and even get sick and not have to go and train people.

Forget about linear income or trading time for dollars. Think multiple income streams, think leverage where you can have two, four, even six boot camps run by other trainers. That’s REAL SECURITY and it gives YOU the time and freedom to live the life that you want.

Here’s a bonus for you…

These are seven more tips that I shared with one of my 7 Figure Formula Mastermind clients about six weeks ago and since that conversation he’s increased his monthly revenue by another $9,300. That’s like ‘FINDING’ another $112,000 this year in your business.

#1 Raise your rates and your value perception. Most trainers think that they can’t raise their rates because the competition is charging less and so they gotta keep their prices competitive.

Actually the biggest mistake you can make is to compete on price.

Eventually what’s going to happen is you and your competitors are going to drop your prices so low that you’re gonna have to work a TON of hours to make any money at all. And you’re going to end up with deadbeat clients who aren’t serious about getting in shape and just want to pay “gym membership” fees for personal training or boot camp. You know these clients… they’re flaky, never get results, always complain and never refer.

Position your business so that you can’t be compared “apples to apples” and in stead the other trainers are apples and you’re the egg because you offer additional features, benefits, and services INCLUDED in your pricing that others don’t.

#2. Craft your up-sell funnel. People who buy from you are seven times more likely to buy from you again and again. And the moment they buy is when they’re most likely to buy again.

Have up sell offers like a monthly nutrition seminar and group tele coaching for an additional monthly fee. Or access to your member’s only site packed with ton of content (video, audio, and copy) for an additional $19/month.

The list of up sells are endless and can easily add several thousand dollars a month in additional profits.

#3 Systematically sell PAID IN FULL programs. If you’re selling 6 and 12 month programs anyway. Start offering paid in full specials and blow up your bank account.

Here’s the deal…

If Mrs. Jones is gonna buy a 12 month program and has agreed to pay you $299/month for the next 12 month. Why not ask her right then and there if she wants to save 10% and get an extra month free by paying the program off in full right now?

Here’s are three BIG reason’s why PIFs are so awesome.

1. Cash is king. And I’d rather get it all now then over 12 months.

2. It increases client retention because when a client has paid for 12 months up front, they’re gonna stay for all 12 months.

3. Reduces headaches like collection when clients card is over drawn, lost or expired.

#4 Create a culture of referrals. Getting clients from “traditional marketing takes time, effort, and money. Sure, you gotta do it in the beginning when you first start up, but the most successful trainers don’t spend much on marketing because eventually they get tons of referrals.

Getting clients from referrals is way easier because it doesn’t cost you any money and it’s easier to convert referrals into paying clients because they come to you pre-sold.

But you’re clients aren’t gonna give you referrals just because. You gotta condition them, you gotta create a culture for referrals.

The minute a clients signs up with you, you should be saying this: Mrs. Jones, as I help you get what you want and help you lose weight, get in shape and have my energy. Can I count on you to help me get what I want which is to refer your friends, family and co-workers to me to help me reach more clients?

In addition to that, each month you should do something really cool for your clients and show them love and recognition like, sending them a hand written “thank you” card with a $10 starbucks gift card in it.

Or send a gift basket of some fruits to their work along with your $100 gift cards in them. Or send each client a weekly puff up text message or Facebook wall message letting them know how awesome they are.

These are things that get people to love you and want to refer you clients.

# 5. Plan your promotions six months in advance. Almost every trainer in my 7 Figure Formula Mastermind group is generating six or seven figures (and a couple are generating multiple seven figures) and every single one of them know what they’re going to be promoting or offering the next month.

If you’re running your business by the seat of your pants then you’re probably pretty stressed and feel like your business in unpredictable right? You won’t feel that way if you know that each month you have at least two promotions you can run that can bring you a predicable number of new clients or dollars.

Here’s my calendar for the current month that sits in my office… nothing fancy but it works. This exact calendar is also on my iphone so I can see exactly what I have going on today and in the month a head.

#6. Give to get. Have you heard of Zig Ziglar’s quote?: Help enough people get what they want and you’ll get what you want. Push the “free line” and start giving your best stuff away. Hold free conference calls for customers and clients of local businesses and give your best info away.

Hold free Saturday boot camps for the community. Create a free report with 7 of your best fitness and weight loss tips and ask your clients to send the download link to it to all their friends, family and co-workers.

Get 20 local people of influence to train in your place for free. Give them killer results, and show then a ton of appreciation, love, and enthusiasm and get them to talk you up to the community.

#7 Stand out. These days you gotta be talked about, be known for something, have your market space polarized and create a tribe that acts as your sales force, and for that to happen you need over deliver, give results faster than promised and bring the ENERGY!

Now I gotta tell you something. Getting information and APPLYING information to your business are two different things. See, I know dozens of trainers who can pretty much teach marketing. They can teach selling. They can teach SEO, referral generation, and even rattle off mindset stuff. But they’re still broke as jokes.

Trainers like that are information gatherers and not action takers. They talk but don’t do. They’re afraid of getting out of their comfort zone. They claim to have a burning desire to succeed but really they do everything possible to self sabotage.

Why am I telling you this? Because the harsh truth is that YOU need to take responsibility for your failures, successes, and lack of action. That is the number one reason people never get what they want. No personal responsibility. And with that they don’t take action and 12 months go by and at best they’re in the same place in life that they were last year… only older.

But I know you’re different. I know that you want more from your personal training or boot camp business. You want more time with your friends and family, more clients, more money and more freedom. All you gotta do now is get out of your own way and get it.