Monthly Archives: June 2009

Does the “Past” matter?

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When it comes to getting more personal training clients does the prospect’s past experience with a personal trainer matter? Of course it does, and I was made aware of this again today when one of my newest trainers encountered a new member who told her a horrific story about the last time she met with a trainer. Listen, the fitness industry is notorious for creating negative experiences in people’s minds and it makes the job of changing that perception in the prospect’s mind much more difficult. Don’t worry, all hope is not lost, if you are going to have any chance of landing this prospect as a personal training client you are going to need to do the following:

1.) You need to establish trust with your prospect. Become a Trusted Advisor. I have said this before, but I can’t say it enough, ” clients buy because they trust you.” Now in order to establish this trust you need to listen to them and find out what their needs are and show them how you can help them achieve their goals.

2.) Create a memorable experience. Once you have established trust it is important to create a memorable experience. It is so important that the initial experience that a client has is something they enjoy and have fun. Yes, I mean make it fun for your client because if there is one thing that is missing with the “gym experience” is that we, as health professionals, sometimes forgot to have fun and make the experience memorable.

Let me be frank here and tell you that you have an uphill battle when it comes to changing the past of a current prospect but it can be done with the establishment of trust and an experience that leaves the client wanting more. Focus on these two sales strategies and you will win over the past and create a new future for your client. Good luck!

Coach Dave

Success depends on you

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Does it bother you that in today’s society too many people think they are entitled to success without doing the hard stuff? Do you think that success happens to “Lucky People”. Hey, I was one of those people who thought that, well I have a college education and I should be handed success right off the bat. Harsh reality for me when I received my first paycheck and it was $18. Yes, $18 was all I made and I thought college grads started out of school making 40 or 50k a year! Well, in the personal training field you make your money on the amount of personal training sessions you conduct in a given week. So, being fresh out of school with student loans $18 was a rough slap in the face. However, thankfully for me I had a support system that encouraged me to stick with it.

Now what made me change my entitlement attitude? Well my attitude changed when I first read Stephen Covey’s ” 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.” One of the principles that has stuck with me all these years is the habit of choice. Covey says that one of the most powerful options available to us is that we have the ability to choose what we want in life. That principle has helped me throughout my career, however, I catch myself every now and again falling into another trap. The success trap!

What do I mean by the success trap. Well, I just recently read Darren Hardy’s article called “The Forgotten “Secrets” to Success.”  and one of the key points he hits on is that most of us fall victim to our success. Success brings complacency and the hard work, attention to detail,and self-development is put to the wayside, leaving mediocre results at best. This is such a common recurrence and it is not immune to even successful people. I remember a keynote speech by Joe Theisman where he said one of the biggest things he learned in his pro football career was that after his first championship he let the success go to his head and felt that the next year was a given to repeat, however, that did not happen and now when he looks at his rings he tells himself that “those rings are last year’s success and what we did last year is history.” I have never forgotten that and  I try to remind myself that yesterday’s success, whatever that might be, is history and today’s success depends on me.

So the next time you think you are entitled to success, think again. Success is a choice and even when you are successful it is yesterday’s news. Complacency can lead to your demise, so make the choice to be successful and continue to strive to be better.

Coach Dave

Part III of 7 tips on how to get more personal training clients

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Last week I started a series of posts on, “7 tips on how to get more personal training clients” and today I want to finish the series with the final two. Before I finish the series let me give you a piece of advice that will help you. First of all, reading and agreeing with me is okay, but if you do not act and do something then you are missing out. One of my short comings for a long time was the fact that I read a lot, had great ideas, but never acted and implemented them. That all changed one day when a previous supervisor told me that you have great ideas but you don’t do anything about them. That lit a fire and since that day when I find myself talking about how I want to create more passive income or start a business I say to myself, “Quit talking and do something”. I hope I light a fire in you. Okay onto the final two tips. The first one is a simple action tip, but few personal trainers take advatange of what they have at their finger tips.

6.) Ask your current clients – Your current clients should be your biggest fan and you have at your fingertips the potential to get several more clients but you have to ask. Now, the key here is to make sure that you have an incentive for your client. For example, for every client they refer you can give them a few complimentary sessions in return. Think long term and big picture here. Also, don’t go to the well too often and if you ask them once and they do not respond then move onto another client. 

The final tip has to do with a marketing strategy called positioning.

7.) Position yourself – this final tip will take sometime to develop and understand. The biggest mistake I see personal trainers make is they want to everything to everyone. It is important to become an expert in a niche and market yourself as the expert. Once you have established your self as say the expert in “Back Pain” then people will come to seek you out for your help. If you are having a tough time figure out a niche just ask yourself what you are passionate about and gravitate towards that to start with.

Well that concludes the seven tips on how to get more personal training clients. Remember you need to start putting things into action because action will lead to results! Good luck!

How to train like a “Navy Seal”, so that you can be a successful personal trainer

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I just finished reading one of the best books I have ever read. The name of the book is “Lone Survivor” and it is about the true story of the Navy Seal that survived the battle of Red Hawk in the mountains of Afghanistan. I can tell you that while reading the book I experienced all kinds of emotions and left wanting to know more about the courageous and remarkable men who serve our country. With that being said, I wanted to write today to tell you how you can improve your training and life if you take just a small chapter from the attitude and trainig techniques the Navy Seals go through to become who they are. 

Let’s first start by looking at the Navy Seal’s philosophy:

“I will never quit…My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teamates…I am never out of the fight.”

Okay, I know the Navy Seals are extremely tough and on the other end of the spectrum but one thing is for certain and that is their resolve to never quit. If you want to take one thing away from the Seal philosophy it should be you believing that you are never out of the fight. I see it all the time, new trainers come in to the industry and don’t give themselves enough time to make it stick. They give in too soon and don’t stay in the fight long enough to give them a shot at winning. I will be honest I almost quit the industry but I remember reading a quote one day that said “When you think you are at the end of a rope tie a knot and hang on.” Boy, am I glad that I hung on because after a few years of personal training and working with my clients I came to realize my true purpose in life, which has led me to where I am today. So, if you adapt the philosophy of the Navy Seals and never quit! you too can become a successful trainer

Part II of 7 tips to getting more personal training clients

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Yesterday, I presented to you the first three of the seven tips to getting more personal training clients. So, today I am going to give you two tips that could be the most important money making tips for your personal training business. Yes, I believe these next two tips will separate you from everyone else. Okay here is tip number 4 and 5.

4.) Create a blog- by now everyone has heard of blogs but not everyone has one and contributes regularly to it. The reason having a blog is so important is that you create a platform to share information, articles, and ideas about who you are and what you believe in. Now this is not a “how to start a blog post” but if you want some great info or program to create your blog then you need to check out Darrren Rowse’s 31 days to Build a Better Blog Click here to view more details. Once you have your blog set up make sure all your clients subscribe to it and tell them that you will post regularly to it. The number one goal is to provide valuable content that adds value to the relationship you have with your clients. 

5.) Write an ebook – It has never been easier to write a book. The technology we have today allows you to write your own book and self publish it. You can make it an e-book or a traditional hardback and market and distribute it online. Writing an e-book will do two things for you. One, you will be recognized as an expert and gain tremendous credibility. The second benefit will be that you now can gain new clients with out even training. You essentially will have created another passive income stream while not having to wake up at 6 am to train. Once again this is not a “how to” article on writing an ebook but if you want more info on that email me at Dave@DaveMcGarry.com and I will consult with you on how to get started. Now, since I believe in leading by example you can check out my ebook at www.anatomyofsales.com . Good luck and start writing.