Personal training must be promoted on the basis of trust, competence, and spreading the word. A personal trainer relies upon clients who pay for services, and tells other folks about those great services. This article offers specific suggestions on how to spread the word about what you do and how well you do it!
The best way to promote personal training is to provide outstanding customer service to an existing, established clientele. Ask satisfied clients for referrals if they don’t offer names of friends and relatives who could benefit from your services.
Personal trainers don’t get new client referrals from existing customers because they don’t ask! One way to obtain new referrals from your clients is to send frequent thank-you notes, either by email, postcard, or in person during a training session. Clients work with you in part because they like you. They want to help your business succeed.
And don’t worry; even if you are just starting out, there are some highly effective and proven techniques that you can use!
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How Can I Use Social Media to Promote My Personal Training Business?
Independent personal trainers can use social network sites, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram to generate new referrals. As part of your business development strategy, ask your client to friend you on a Facebook fan page. When he or she “likes” you, the fan power of your clients helps generate new relationships for your business.
This is fantastic for building trust and confidence! People trust their friends’ recommendations more than an unknown business card.
When you are just starting out, you can use these venues to let people know that you are in business. Ask your friends and family to support your viral marketing efforts. This may be where your first client comes from!
If your client is a small business and you train a number of people from the client company, ask to link to your client’s corporate page on LinkedIn. Access to the client’s network—from first to third level contacts—helps you connect with people and businesses working with the client. This is a great way to promote your personal trainer business.
Ask your existing client for a recommendation on LinkedIn. New or prospective clients will see the recommendation and questions about your effectiveness as a personal trainer are reduced.
Twitter helps you send messages to a network of friends and clients. If you’ve got a daily motivational quote to share, send it to your clients via Twitter.
Of course, anyone in the fitness industry should be on Instagram. Instagram is a great platform for sharing workout videos, tips, and for connecting with people who share your interests from all over the world.
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Should I Use Google Advertising to Promote My Personal Training Business?
You can opt to advertise your business on the Internet by pay-per-click advertising. This method of advertising is cost-effective.
When prospective clients click on your link about personal training in South Florida, you pay for the click. The ultimate conversion of clicks to new clients depends on a variety of factors. Your ability to promote your business to new clients is dramatically increased by the enormous power of the Internet.
Of course, this isn’t free like the social media options above. You will need to monitor your costs and the amount of business it generates.
What Organizations Can I Tap Into to Promote My Personal Trainer Business?
If you belong to a national or local fitness organization, or you choose to network through your accrediting personal trainer affiliation (e.g. the National Strength and Conditioning Association), it’s easy to promote your personal trainer business. When new clients want a trainer in the area with a specific credential, they may receive your business contact details.
When you post information about your accrediting organization and education on a personal trainer website, prospective clients may find you with greater ease!
Of course, your local gym may be the most important organization when it comes to promoting your business. If you intend to train clients there, make sure you know the folks who run the gym, and that they have a good impression of your skills, fitness knowledge, and abilities. Folks will ask them for trainer recommendations. You want to be the name on the tip of their tongue!
There is likely to be a bulletin board where you can post flyers or a spot for business cards. Don’t pass up all these free marketing opportunities.
What Types of Clients Should I Be Targeting?
Create an ideal customer profile to uncover more information about the audience you want to work with. Ask yourself questions about your audience – where do they live, what do they do, what are their goals? Getting to know your audience lets you create marketing strategies specifically targeting your ideal client.
Working with well-heeled and upscale clients or celebrities can help get your personal trainer business off to a great start. One well connected or influential client can generate a lot of buzz about your business.
A public relations professional, hired to help you get noticed in print or online publications, is often worth the expense. This option is best for established trainers who can afford to spend a bit of money on this option.
Are Business-To-Business Promotions Worth the Effort?
In some cases, yes. If working with businesses is part of your career development strategy, you’ll want to make contacts with local business owners. Offering reduced personal trainer fees or a few free personal trainer lessons can motivate employees to pursue a fitness regimen. Fit employees may have fewer illnesses and tend to populate a productive workplace.
By offering personal workout plans to key members of a company, the work gets spread at the water cooler, at meetings, etc.
Your area Chamber of Commerce or other local network events can provide a way to identify business clients. Working with business owners can offer you more clients, faster!
How Do I Make Myself Look Like a Professional Personal Trainer?
Image is everything. Personal trainers can improve their professional image with our online training platform.
To get more information on our fitness business software and to find out how we can help you scale your training business, contact us today!