How to get clients knocking down your door

The question I get asked all the time is, “Dave, how do I get more personal training clients?” The answer is simple but few do it. Over the next several posts I am going to give you seven steps to implement to get clients knocking down your door. Today, I am going to show you one of the single best ways to attract cients.

Step 1 – Become a published author

Yes, you heard me correct. If you want to be known in this industry and get people flocking to you then you need to position yourself as an expert.

Now more than ever it is easier for the average person like you and me to have a voice and establish ourselves as an expert. No longer do you need a publishing house or major editor to accept your manuscript and publish your work. Technology has changed all of that. For instance, I wrote “Anatomy of Sales” and self-published it. This has allowed me to position myself as an exert when it comes to the business side of the fitness industry.

“But Dave, there are hundred of articles and books out there on fitness” is what you are saying right now. You are correct, but that should not stop you for coming up with a topic and writing about it. You are not trying to be a best selling author. What you are doing is creating a perception to the public that you are the expert in a particular filed or subject. Just the mere fact of having an article published in a major newspaper or magazine gives you more credibility, which takes away one of the barriers clients have when finding a personal trainer.

So, how do you get started writing a book? Well, that is another post but if you are interested in learning more and want my help then I can coach you through it. if you want to do it yourself then go to Amazon’s website Create Space and they have step by step tutorials on how to get published and use their network to sell your book.

If you seriously want to have clients knocking down your door then become an expert and start writing for newspapers, industry trade journals, and even your own book.

P.S. The second step to getting more personal training clients, is one that the fear of doing ranks as high as the fear of dying! You won’t want to miss this one!

Coach Dave

What Business are You in?

Duh! The Fitness Business, Dave! No, if you are a fitness professional you are not in the fitness business. You are in the business of changing lives. You are in the business of creating experiences for your clients. You are the dream realization business. Too many times have I seen fitness professionals fail because they believe that the business they are in is working out. They believe that it is all about anatomy, biomechanics, sets, reps, and soreness. This is one reason we are having a hard time converting people who currently do not exercise into gym members. Here is a list of things we need to keep in mind when trying to get a prospect to use our services.

1.) Clients buy for their reasons not yours.

2.) Clients want an experience

3.) Clients want their problem solved

4.) Clients buy when they TRUST you

Keeping these four reasons in mind when approaching your business will help when you are in the prospecting mode and trying to gain more business. Don’t get caught in the trap of thinking that you need to inundate a prospect or client with tons of scientific terms and movements. Keep it simple and remember that you are in the business of changing lives and solving problems. If you just focus on solving the client’s needs you will be guaranteed to generate more personal training sales.

My Lucky Day

I consider today to be my lucky day! Why you ask? Well, today is the 3 year anniversary of my father’s passing and today I am grateful to still be here carrying out my purpose in life. You see, for the longest time I was fighting what I was put here to do and it took my father dying of a heart attack to realize that I am here to help change the health and wellness of this country and if I really dream big, the world! So today as a tribute to my dad I am giving away a copy of my ebook, “The Anatomy of Sales” to anyway who wants it. All you have to do is send me an email and put in the subject “My Lucky Day”. 

If any one would like to share their story on how they found their purpose in life I would love to hear it!

Coach Dave

Web 2.0

Do you want to succeed in building a solid clientele? If you answered yes to this question than in order to survive in this technological world you need to use the Web 2.0 tools available to you.

You may have heard the term Web 2.0 and wondered what are they talking about? Web 2.0 is a buzzword, which describes the trend in the use of the World Wide Web as a platform and the new technologies that are being used to share information and establish online social communities. Essentially, Web 2.0 allows trainers to be able to do two things.

C:UsersAnne VioletteAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsTemporary Internet FilesContent.IE5YK60PBRRMPj04393500000[1].jpgFirst, it allows us to connect with our prospects and clients. And second, it allows us to be heard as experts in our field.  It has never been easier than now and with the explosion of all the social networking sites, like Facebook and MySpace, blogs, podcasts, and wikis.  Have you embraced the new trends or resisted them?  If you fail to adapt and use these new trends, there is a good chance you will be left behind.  Also, it is no longer “good enough” to just meet a couple of times a week with your clients. You need to try and interact with them in some form almost everyday and this can be accomplished with all of the new platforms and technologies.

 

Excerpted from “Anatomy of Sales”

If you build it they will come!

Have you seen the movie, “Field of Dreams” with Kevin Costner? Well, if not I highly recommended it because it is a classic. Now, the reason I mention this movie is because today is opening day for MLB. Every year my wife and I go to the Ball Park in Arlington to see the Texas Rangers on opening day. Today was a great day. Maybe a little cold, but the Rangers won 9-1 and it was their first win on opening day in over six years. I know, it is tough to cheer for a team that has only won a few playoff games in their entire existence as a team but opening day is a chance for a new season. A rebirth of sorts and what I want to talk to you today about is, today can be opening day for you and your training business.

You see, you do not have to wait until next year to start over and have a fresh year ahead of you to begin to change. Today, is an opportunity to change the way you have been approaching sales with your prospects. If you are tired of getting the same results then you need to change and I can help. How can I help? Well, I have been helping trainers build a solid training business for years now, and I can tell you that the days of high pressure sales are done. If you want to build a clientele that will pay you what you are worth then you need a system. A system that will have you determine which clients you want to work with and ones that are better left to someone else. A system in which every year you command more for your services. A system that will have client’s contacting you instead of you calling on them.

The game has changed and if you want to build a strong clientele then check out “Anatomy of Sales”. I personally guarantee you that if you do not increase your personal training I will give you your money back. However, I am confident that if you put the principles to work, you will start to build a clientele that will be with you for a long time. 

So in conclusion, I want to leave you with a scene from the movie “Field of Dreams”. At the end, James Earl Jones, tells Kevin Costner,” Ray, if you build it, they will come”, and although I am no James Earl Jones I can tell you, that if you take just one of my principles and put it to work for you they will come and you will realize your dreams!