I have been doing a bit of research of late to try and find out how to set up your own Facebook deals.  Well luckily for you – I have found the answer.

Daily Deal sites are all the rage at the moment and whilst they can be a way to get new clients in the door, they can also be very costly to your business as you are not getting anywhere near the revenue that you deserve froth sale.

Facebook have now launched their very own offer feature that you can use free of charge.  So instead of grossly reducing your prices and giving half of that away to a daily deals website, you can now design at implement your own deals in a few simple steps.

Offers are a great way to drive new and existing customers to your fitness business. Offers also start conversation about your page between customers and their friends on facebook.

Users can then either print the offer via their email account or simply show the offer on their mobile phone at your place of business.

This ad tool will enable your facebook fans the opportunity to obtain discounts after visiting your page simply by clicking the ‘Get Offer’ link.

There are many benefits to incorporating facebook offers on your businesses page.

• Your customers feel engaged and privileged to use these special offers only available to Facebook fans.
• It will give fans a reason to visit your page and stay updated with your posts.
• People love to save money and love to share how they did it. People will share the offer thus marketing your brand further.
• Offers have the potential to go viral. Every time someone gets your offer, it is reposted on their wall and is visible by their facebook friends

Pre- requisites:

1. You must have a facebook business page with a place attached
2. Your facebook business page must have more than 500 liker’s
3. Your business page must be set up as a ‘local business & place’

Once you have the 3 pre- requisites in place you home page will now have this feature available:

Once you click the offer link you will then see this:

You can:

• Upload a thumbnail picture to be shown
• Write a headline that explains what the offer is (90 characters max)
• Choose how many offers you want to offer
• Choose an expiry date on the offer
• Add any extra terms and conditions that you want to include

(Ensure that you add your contact details, website address &/or email into the T&C’s so that people have a point of contact  to follow up and claim the offer)

Once a person clicks on your offer they will be sent an email with the offer and given an option to share the offer with their friends on facebook.

Good luck.

Barton.

P.S. – If you have any questions or comment please post them in the comments section below.

P.P.S. - If you want to set your business up for long term success and make sure that you are making more money and wasting less time, I am running a PT Business Course that has 12 CEC’s attached to it.

• Melbourne – 18/19 August
• Brisbane – 25/26 August

The Complete PT business course has been designed by trainers for trainers.  The information is specifically focused towards trainers who are new to the industry and want to set a business right from the start, whilst also enhancing the sales and marketing skills of current PT’s who want to take their business to the next level.

To find out more information and grab 1 of the last 5 places  click here or contact me directly on 0401 449 716.

In this new segment of  ’Real Trainers Interviews’, I will be interviewing REAL trainers who are just like you and me.  I will interview an array of trainers who don’t necessarily  make a sh**load of money and  definitely don’t constantly talk themselves up.

I recently had the pleasure of catching up with Michelle Mascher from Barefoot Fitness in Brisbane.  Michelle runs a very interesting outdoor training business with a specialty in barefoot training.  Check it out below.

Before we get stuck into what has been happening in your business, can you tell us all a little bit about your business and how long you have been operating?

My business Barefoot Fitness was launched in October 2010. I decided to open my own personal training business because of my love for the great outdoors. My sports background lies in Track and Field and I have been growing up training outdoors all my life.

Outdoor training gives my clients the advantage to break free, de-stress and reconnect with their environment. They get fresh air and sunshine all while training towards a stronger, healthier body. One of my key elements in training is going barefoot. I know that a lot of body problems start with a foot problem and by taking away the restriction of shoes our body is able to realign and balance itself. Plus going barefoot is a lot of fun and brings back the inner child.

What are your main session types? Do you do 1:1 or groups and how long are your sessions?

We offer 1-on-1, 2-on-1 and group training. Most sessions are 1-on-1 personal training sessions. All our sessions go for 45 minutes.

So you run an outdoor Personal Training business.  How do you find all of the travel requirements?

When I started my business I took on every client I could get to fill my books. I had to travel quite far, up to 30 minutes on way but now I only offer my service within a 15-minute radius around my office and therefore keep traveling time low.

What have you found to be the biggest obstacle in training only outdoors?

Heavy rain or very hot days can be a bit of a struggle. But it’s all part of the experience! And by choosing the right training locations it’s easy to manage those challenging days.

What are the best things about running outdoor sessions?

Training outdoors is fun, functional and very versatile. My clients get to train in fresh air with sunshine on their skin. Most of them work in offices. They are indoors and seated all day long.  My training sessions are often the only time they come outside.

Outdoors they don’t only tone their bodies they also stock up on Vitamin D, boost their immune system and fight depression. As a trainer I often feel blessed with the best job in the world. I get to be outdoors, in shorts, singlet and barefoot all day long, doing what I love: moving and motivating.

Now I understand that you are on the look out for another trainer to help you grow your business and learn from your training and business experiences.  What qualities are you looking for and how can trainers get in contact with you if they are interested in finding out more?

Yes, Barefoot Fitness is growing fast and I am looking for my next team member. Apart from being fully qualified and insured my trainer needs to be very reliable and honest.

She/He needs his own transport and lives on Brisbane’s south side. A passion for nutrition and barefoot running would be beneficial. Any trainers interested in becoming Barefoot Fitness’s next team member can email me at train@barefootfitness.com.au

What advice would you give to other Personal Trainers who are considering setting up an outdoor personal training business?

Just do it. Don’t over think it. Have fun outdoors!

Thank you for your sparing us some of your time and giving us an insight into your business Michelle.  I hope that you find yourself and awesome trainer to compliment your well established business.

Over the past month I have dealt very closely with a lot of personal trainers from many different backgrounds and working environments and I must admit I have been very surprised by the lack of business systems and structures that they implement in their business.

Now this article is not all meant to take aim at any trainers or ridicule them for not having their business systems in place, rather it is aimed at finding specific areas that trainers feel they need extra help and supplying a solution to that need.

When I studied I learnt about anatomy and physiology, nutrition, postural deficiencies, basic programming and fitness testing but nothing about how to run a successful business.

At the time the business side of things did not even register as important to me.

Fast forward 9 years and I honestly believe it is one of the most important aspects of becoming a ‘successful’ personal trainer.  I am talking about running your own business, making some great money and living an awesome lifestyle.

Being a personal trainer and running a successful business is not as easy as the general public perceives it. It’s not as simple as doing a course and making a 6-figure income for working 20 hours each week (as is commonly sold to you).

Running a successful PT business is hard work and it takes a lot of skills to do properly.

So why is this important?

Because in the last 10 years I have seen great changes and improvements to training and nutrition education, but I have not seen the same improvements in the business skills of Personal Trainers.

So I would love your opinion on the following question:

What areas of business are Personal Trainers deficient at?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments section below.

Barton

There are many different milestones that you will progress through as a fitness business owner but one of the most challenging is the moment that you decide to grow your team.

Normally it looks a little bit like this…

You have been rocking out with your clients now for anything between six months and a year. You have been getting increasingly good results with your clients and your diary has been getting more and more crowded.You are so busy that you are leaving home before dark and not returning home in time to watch The Biggest Loser. The middle of your day is full of house-keeping jobs like client contact, program writing, new client follow up and the odd half hour to surf Facebook and stalk your competition (that’s right, Big Brother is watching).

Anyway, business is great but you are starting become a little warn down and you know that if you take a holiday that your income will come to a screeching halt. You don’t want that to happen right now because you have busted your butt to build it up and you don’t want anyone to leave.

What’s the solution?

As much as it may freak you out, now is the time to start building your own team of trainers. In fact, the day that a client tries to book in with you and they can’t get their preferred time is the green light you need to move forward with this.

Any later and you will be saying no to clients and leaving money on the table L

While most trainers who reach this stage have a good understanding that this is the direction that they need to go, it doesn’t change the fact that their business as they know it is about to change.

Many trainers have considerable resistance to this next stage of business and hide in a “I don’t know how to do it” mentality. I don’t buy into that crap so I decided to put together a few simple steps to follow to help you build your own team of awesome trainers (so you can go on that holiday you deserve).

In this post, I am only going to touch briefly on each of the four steps and if you would like to know more information about any of them just flick me a question in the comments section.

Here are the four steps that I see as essential when building a solid team for your business…

Step 1: Systemise your service so your team have a clear path to follow

One of the biggest fears people have when building their team is that their normally high level of client service will be diluted. Using some simple systems you can not only avoid this but also promote new trainers strengths.

1. Decide on the preferred role of your team member (do you want them to just be a trainer or have other roles like admin or sales) and identify how you want to employ them (sub-contractor, employee ect).
2. Using the roles outlined in step 1, outline what aspects of the role you want to systemise to ensure your business standards are always met.
3. For one week, simple record exactly what you do to complete each role in dot point form (include confirmation call, session planning, set-up, service delivery, after session ect).
4. Combine these process and put them together in one operation manual for your team to follow.

Tip: Your basic operations manual and system is always an evolving document so don’t strive for perfect on draft one but be open to regular reviews and refinements.

Step 2: Test out a recruitment strategy

Due to the rapidly increasing numbers of new trainers that are graduating from their certification courses, you would think that finding a new trainer for your team would be a breeze. Unfortunately it is not so because you are searching for quality not just quantity. Here are some simple tips to build your dream team…

1. Find new trainers through associations with cert 3 and 4 providers, traditional recruitment websites, Facebook and some fitness industry specific recruiting firms.
2. Alternatively, you can also find good trainers by hiring from within your business or exploring your immediate network.
3. Initial screening and interview process is the most important part of the process. Use a solid screening process to find you your deserve.
4. Use employee contracts, trail periods and KPI’s to ensure your service standards are upheld.

Tip: You can teach skills but you can’t change someone’s personality, passion or commitment. Choose wisely…

Step 3: Initial and ongoing management and training for your team

Hiring a new team member is only the first part of the puzzle – you must now ensure that they feel supported and have an opportunity to develop as a trainer. Here are a few simple things to consider when thinking about developing your team..

1. How intensive do you make the initial training program? 1 day, 1 week, shadowing…
2. How do you measure their development and success (KPI’s, client feedback, trainer feedback)?
3. How often to you need to have meetings and on-going training sessions?
4. What to do when things go bad?

Tip: Building a successful team member is a two-way street – so both parties need to be physically and emotional invested in the process. If this is not the case, you could have a battle of your hands.

Step 4: Empowering your team and building loyalty

Staff turnover is one of the biggest pains a business owner can have, so it is important you have a strategy to build a strong and loyal team that cares about your business. Think about what you can provide them to assist them to grow within your business. Here are a few starting points…

1. Providing additional responsibilities – working to their strengths and passions and
2. Incentive scheme (increased pay rate for time spent in business)
3. Staff benefits (discounted courses, bringing in professionals to speak)
4. Tribe building: social events, physical events, birthday presents.

Tip: A committed and loyal team member is literally worth their weight in gold, so please do not skip over this part. Have a strategy to ensure your crew remain tight and with a strong focus.

Hopefully these tips can help you find a way through the maze that is building your team. Personally I think it is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a business owner and it means that you have the opportunity to get your hands on a little bit of leverage.

Speaking of team building… I have a BIG announcement to make.

As of the first of May, I am expanding my business team and am really excited to announce that Brisbane personal training veteran (and all-round legend) Barton McGuckin will be my new partner in crime.

Barton brings nearly ten years of personal training business success to the table and with a range of personal training experience (and currently running two killer personal training businesses), he is one serious asset and I am stoked to welcome him as my business partner.

What does this mean for you?

It just means that as a team, we will be able to provide you with a broader scope of experience to continue to help you start, build and enjoy your fitness business. So stay tuned for some really cool stuff on the blog over the next couple of months.

Ok – that’s me for this week. Keep fighting the good fight and we will speak again soon.

Rick

As a business coach to fitness professionals I get an inside look at how the average trainer’s brain works in regards to running their business. One of the joys of my job is that I get to notice some repeating patterns (or excuses) that trainers use in order to avoid doing stuff that they either don’t like or don’t really want to do.

Regardless of how you justify this to yourself, the end result is that create (or maybe accept is a better word?) that right at this very minute you have a legitimate reason not to take an  action that you know will move your business forward.

We all know that the more time we spend outside our comfort zone, the more progress we will make in our business. So I wanted to put together a list of the common excuses that I hear on a weekly basis from fitness business owners. But just hearing the excuses is not going to help so I have also included my little tips to ensure you can crush every excuse as they appear.

If you look through this list and notice that a few of them sound really familiar, it might be time to have a good hard look in the mirror :-)

Excuse #1: I don’t have time

Solution: Everyone is busy – so make some time if you cant fit something in. Unplug the TV for a month and magically 10 productive hours per week will appear before your eyes. Even better, download www.rescuetime.com (it’s free) onto your computer for a week and it will tell you where and how you are spending your time online (the Facebook time alone will freak you out).

Use this little tool to optimize your productivity in work hours.

Excuse #2: I don’t have the money

Solution: Stop spending money of stupid shit that you don’t need and start rolling out more no-cost marketing. It’s that simple… Oh, and knowing your business numbers will also help you in this area.

Excuse #3: My clients would never go for that

Solution: That is head-butt material. Either implement it and find out or ask them, but never assume what someone else will think. Capish?

Excuse #4: There are too many other trainers in my area

Solution: Too many trainers in your area is a great indication that you have a ripe market for your services. Research and mystery shop every one of them and identify how you can be better than all of them.

Excuse #5: I don’t know how to do that.

Solution: Friggin’ learn – period. Developing a skill and then executing it is one of the most satisfying experiences any business owner can have. Footnote: if this excuse pops up for something that is highly specialised (eg: coding a complete website from scratch) make a judgement call and have it outsourced.

Excuse #6:  I don’t know any business owners in my area.

Solution: This one pops up a lot when any talk of business alliances rears it’s head. If you don’t know any other business, then I think it is time to go on a networking mission. Build one relationship per week with the right people and NEVER undervalue what you have to offer or where you are at in your business.

Excuse #7: I am scared that it wont work

Solution: being scared is completely natural, but not doing something because of it is where the problem lies. Act through fear and you will expand your comfort zone and be less scared. Easy concept, hard to execute regularly. Remember if you are not scared or excited your probably not pushing yourself enough.

Excuse #8: I am worried what people will think of me

Solution: While most tough trainer-types will never admit this one, I have found that people have a tendency to give considerable thought and worry to what other people think of them. I get that, it’s only natural but if this excuse is holding you back on a regular basis here is one fact to remember…most of the people you are concerned about are too worried about themselves to notice what you are doing.

So play your own game without fear of judgement. 

Excuse #9: I am just too tired

Solution: In the fitness industry this is an easy situation to find yourself in. You give your all but sometimes you take too many withdrawals from your bank and find yourself run down and flat. So look after yourself by getting the right exercise, food and sleep. You are your greatest business asset so look after yourself.

Excuse #10: It’s not quite perfect yet

Solution: Be prolific, not perfect. Play the 80/20 rule and focus on taking consistent action rather than small, highly-refined steps. If you really think about it, waiting for perfection is just a stupid avoidance tactic (see excuse #8).

OK, so if you have ever justified NOT doing something in your business with any of these excuses it is time to step up.

Say NO to shit excuses and YES to taking action.

Go – get moving.

Rick

P.S: I would love to hear which one of the ten excuses has haunted you most?

Adversity is a bitch, right?

Just when you are killing it, cruising or about to do something really cool and exciting in your business – life throws a curve ball at you.

You know the story…

It could be in your business that you just converted four new clients and then 2 others get a new job and move away. Grrr….

It could be that something crap is happening in your personal life and the desire and motivation you need to drive your business is just not there. Grrr…

It could be that you have worked your arse off to get your business into a profitable position and then your lease (or council permit) gets dramatically increased. Grr…

There are 1001 different ways that the universe can throw a curve ball at you in order to push you off your preferred path. But just like in the Wizard of Oz, the yellow brick road to the Emerald City is littered with hazards, obstacles and physical challenges. But once you get there, you actually realise that the destination is really not that special – not that idealistic.

It is the journey you take to get there that has transformed you into the person (or business owner) you now are. Without overcoming those challenges and obstacles, you would not have the ability and the confidence to fight to get what you want.

To achieve something that is very important to you (like building an awesome business).

Now I don’t want to sound like I am painting a terrible picture of running your own business but the reality is that bad shit (curve balls) will regularly occur in your business and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

The only thing you can control is how you respond to these situations.

Do you crack the shits and say that it is all too hard?

Do you wrap up your business and go get a cushy gym job or spend your days selling gym memberships?

 I don’t know about you, but I would rather poke both my eyes out then go back to doing that sort of work for someone else.

So until the day comes when I meet someone who has never had to overcome some obstacles to run a successful business – we MUST get front and center and face adversity head on.

Running away, getting shirty and generally acting like the victim will never move your business forward. But hey, I understand that at the time of something not going right your immediate reaction might be a negative or destructive one.

That’s cool to be a little reactive in the moment but it is what you do after the initial moment that really counts. Once you have shaken off the immediate frustration, I want you to ask yourself these questions:

How can I be accountable so this doesn’t happen again?

What action do I need to make right now to move forward in a positive way?

Who am I blaming for the situation that I am in?

Remember that a seriously successful business (the kind that has pulled itself off the canvass multiple times) is built with accountability, responsibility and ownership – not excuses, denial and blame. So when an obstacle appears as you build your business, remember that you have the ability to overcome it. From where I sit, the better you get at overcoming obstacles – the more successful your business is going to be.

Because being good at being successful is bloody easy – success is the reward you get from all of your hard work. But being good at facing adversity is a completely different ball game.

Like everything else, it is a skill and when developed will have an amazing effect on your business. So look adversity in the eye, smile at it and then kick its arse.

From where I sit – if you want something bad enough, nothing will ever stop you.

Rick

P.S: If you feel like you need more help stepping up when things get hard, join our PT Fight Club  for $1 and learn how to create an environment for success in your business.  Because asking for help beats walking away every day of the week…

The task of building an epic Facebook page for your personal training business is often placed in the “don’t have time for that right now” basket.

Most of us understand that Facebook is a powerful beast and can do amazing things for our business but working out how is often the sticking point.

So today I want to talk you through 10 easy ways to build an awesome Facebook page, but before I do I think it is important that you take some time and think about who you are designing your page for (prospects, clients or both) and what outcome you are trying to achieve with these people.

Your FB page is a great place to develop the community within your business and make your clients or members feel a part of something special. But it is also a great place to new or prospective clients to see they value in what you do and how they could personally benefit by being part of your community.

Personally, I think it is good to direct some individual posts towards current clients and the others toward prospective clients who are fans of your page. That way, bases are covered and you are developing new leads while also building your current community.

So to get the ball rolling, here are ten easy ways to build an epic personal training Facebook page….

#1 Focus on them

I know, who would have thought?

Funnily enough, your Facebook page should provide valuable content to you audience. It is not a platform for you to explain to the world how rad you are (you can save that for your personal profile, if that’s your thing).

Your page is not the place to post up your personal workouts, lunch menu or the list of physical achievements that you managed to squeeze into one weekend. It IS the place to add value to your Facebook fans in order to help them achieve their health and fitness goals.

So before you press the “Share” button, just ask yourself two questions:

Is this valuable for my audience?

Is this helping to solve their problems?

If you get a “yes” on at least one of those, then you are good to go.

#2 Ask questions

By regularly asking questions to your Facebook fans, you achieve two very cool things…

1. You open up a discussion which allows people to express their opinions about different topics.
2. You receive valuable information about your audience around what their biggest struggles are.

Unlike a static website, Facebook has been designed to allow people to publicly discuss different topics in real time (it is basically online networking on steroids). So just like in any real world  networking situation, it is always great to ask lots of questions and just sit back and enthusiastically listen.

Start with really simple questions just so you can have an opportunity to engage make sure that you ask for opinion regularly. Posts (especially questions asking opinion) with lots of comments tend to be read by a lot more people than a non-interactive post. I guess it is our voyeuristic tendency to want to know what others think, do or say.

#3 Get excited

Passion for what you do is not a skill that you develop in your certification course – it is just in you. As a personal trainer trainer, people will look to you for motivation, inspiration and accountability. This stuff we know.

But one thing that draws people to you like nothing else is enthusiasm…passion. People want to work with other people who absolutely love what they do, it is infectious. So if you are passionate and enthusiastic during your normal day, but your Facebook page is as exciting as research journal then it is time to change things up.

Get emotive, get excited and put the real you out there a bit more.

Boring is, well…..boring.

#4 Be regular

Human nature tip – people respond to regularity.

If your audience knows that you post something daily on your page and that something is generally of interest or value to them, then they are going to consistently head over to your page to check it out.  So once you have established what is valuable to your crew, then commit to a minimum posting schedule.

You may start off with once or twice per week and then increase it as you get more of a feel for it. Whatever your strategy, just be consistent. The best way to lose your audience is to roll out an awesome, regular two weeks of posting daily and then get too busy and turn your page into a ghost town.

Not cool.

#5 Talk other local businesses up

No, this does not mean promoting your biggest competitor to your entire fan base. Instead this refers to other local businesses that you have inter-actions with in your local community that are not in competition but can provide value for your people.

A simple example is if you go a see a new physio and he fixes your injury. A quick post explaining why you loved their service and what they did for you (while tagging them at the same time) is a great way to not only expose your clients to other great services out there, but it also demonstrates that you are not solely focused on you and your business.

Result: clients appreciate the heads up and you have just made an unconditional step forward in building a strong local business alliance.

#6 Have others talk you up

In the middle of writing this post, I walked down the street from my office to get a coffee. On my way to the coffee shop, there was a shop owner standing out the front of her store handing out flyers. My first impression was to avoid her at all costs but I smiled at her and took her flyer.

While I waited for my coffee, I watched how other people reacted to the same lady over a 5 minute period. Most of the people who walked down the street during that time either crossed the road before they got to her or walked past with their head down.

What’s the moral of the story?

Blowing your own promotional horn (whether it be handing out flyers or on your Facebook page) is not as effective as others blowing the horn for you.

So on your Facebook page, regularly post real-world feedback that you get about your service, put up video testimonials and encourage your clients to post stuff on your wall. Social proof builds credibility and decreases peoples anxiety about purchasing when they see others (just like them) taking steps in the right direction.

Facebook has many features (like tagging and check-ins) that give you a range of creative ways to have an interactive page full of social proof that has a huge reach in your local area (and beyond).

#7 Be the “go-to” resource

Adding value to your Facebook audience can take many shapes and forms. One of those forms is to provide information and resources to your fans to make achieving their goals easier.

This may be a link to a helpful video, a blog post, your personal review of a commonly used product, a discount at your local sports store or pretty much anything that you think will be valuable to your peeps.

So above and beyond just talking about your business, providing valuable resources (especially if you use then yourself) is a great way to connect and ensure your fans regularly come back to your page.

#8 Post photos and videos

One of the coolest things about using a Facebook page for your business is that it allows prospects to get a much clearer view of what happens in your business. This allows them to make an informed decision as to whether your service is a the right fit for them.

So don’t hide.

Post up photos and videos of what happens in your business – make sure your get a good cross-section of your clients so that all different kinds of prospects have the opportunity to relate. You can also use these videos and photos as a form of public recognition for your crew (more about this in a sec).

Note: unfortunately you cannot tag an individual from a Facebook business page. So post the video or photo on your personal profile (with the tags) and then share that onto your Facebook page…win/win.

Just remember, visual is good.

#9: Acknowledge amazing efforts

It makes good sense to use your Facebook page as a public vehicle to acknowledge and reward your clients or members. These acknowledgments can be for efforts big or small, but it is important to show that you value every step forward that your clients are taking.

Acknowledging positive efforts  is a great way to motivate and inspire other members of your business to achieve more. For example, you could structure the comment in an engaging way…

Congratulations to Dave for finally getting his 1km time under 6 minutes in this mornings training session. Following Dave’s example, what is the next “mini” goal you are personally aiming for?

Not only does this type of post encourage your community to support your other members and clients, it motivates then to think more about their own training.

#10 Lighten up

Life is funny, business is funny and personal training is definitely funny – so lets not be Caption Serious all the time.

Your Facebook page does not just have to be all about training, food and hard-core motivation. It can have a lighter side; a more personal side where you have the opportunity to show your fans that you are a person as well and not just some freaky fitness robot.

Make fun of yourself, share funny situations that arise with your clients and generally try to have a bit of a laugh with the fans on your Facebook page.  Most of the time, people choose to use a personal trainer because they are not massive fans of exercise. So while you are making them do stuff that they don’t really like, it is always good to inject a heavy dose of fun into the mix.

Plus this simple act will differentiate you from all of the other 2 billion boring personal training Facebook pages.

Where to start?

In order to build an epic Facebook page for your fitness business, I want you to take three simple steps to get started:

1. Check out the FB pages of Aussie fitness businesses who are doing LOTS of things right on their page (Essential Health and Fitness, Power Mums and Krunchies Health and Fitness.)

2. Research the FB pages of the direct local competition to see what they have, what they don’t have and how you can be different.

3. Then using all of that information AND the ten steps that I have outlines today, get out there and create something amazing. Because if you are going to spend time on Facebook (average daily FB usage up to nearly 2 hours in Australia), you may as well build your business at the same time.

To wrap things up, Facebook is an unbelievably powerful networking tool – one that doesn’t cost you any money to use and allows you to connect with your audience (both current and future) better than ever before.

Developing an epic business page is time well spent – just do your best not to get sucked down the FB rabbit-hole of distraction while you are their :-)

Rick

P.S: If you would like to go deeper into this topic, check out The Facebook Experiment that I did last year.

Do you remember when you first thought about running your own personal training business?

You head was full of images of happy clients, life-changing moments and days full of leading by example and getting paid handsomely for your efforts.  You knew that it was not going to be easy but you also thought that you had what it takes to be a success.

But as you got started, your concept of your ideal business started to drift further and further away…

• Clients started to cancel here and there.
• Your confidence took a few hits.
• Your vision started to drift off into the distance.
• You didn’t know how to re-focus and move forward.
• You started taking any sessions at any time (even if it meant working ridiculous hours).
• You stopped doing your finances because it was better not to know.
• You even had fleeting moments of regret that you had made the wrong career move.

You became a victim of your own business – you became the biggest loser (and not in a cool, lost heaps of weight and scored a sponsorship deal for a diet shake kinda way either).

Now all of these things may not have happened to you personally, but I will bet my left foot that you have experienced at least 2 or 3 three of these scenarios since starting your business.

But it’s not your fault right?

It’s the economy or the competition or the weather or the unreliable clients or blah, blah, bah. There always seems to be a way to neatly justify why successfully running your own business is not your responsibility – that you are simply victim of circumstance.

I DON”T BUY IT (and neither should you)…

And that is what I want to talk to you about today.

If you are done making excuses then today is the day you do something about it. It’s time to take your business by the horns, be accountable for it’s growth and having complete ownership over the process. I do understand that running your own business is a tough gig and that it can get overwhelming at times but it is crucially important that you place yourself in an environment for success.

What does that mean?

It means get the right people around you, develop your weaknesses, take regular actions, learn new skills regularly and be prepared to never give in to the bullshit blame, excuses and denial that you have previously fed yourself when challenged.

This needs to be a conscious choice to create change. Motivated by a time in your business life where you are so uncomfortable with your current situation that you know that massive action is called for.

And that you are ready to take that type of action…

Recently I have seen this exact process unfold with a few members of the my online coaching program, The PT Fight Club. Before becoming members, they had taken some pretty serious hits in their business and instead of retreating they decided to commit 100% to their business – no excuses accepted.

The results speak for themselves…

1. Within only 14 days of his $1 trial month, Shaune Irving from Crossfit Ipswich had increased his monthly income by $4500. By taking the content, putting it into action and being completly accountable with the follow up.
2.  Tulsa Tuapo from Amped Up Personal Training was sick of treating personal training like his part time gig, so he joined and added 11 new clients to his books in the first 3 weeks.

Both these guys knew that they had what it takes to make a success of their business but they simply needed a little nudge in the right direction. They made the choice, they took the action and now they reap the rewards.

What does this have to do with you?

Everything…

I originally put the PT Fight Club together so that fitness business owners could create an environment for success for themselves. Through education, accountability, connection and the occasional kick up the butt this program was built to help trainers who where ready to take action.

Now, 10 months later – nothing has changed (except for the amount of content you now get in the program).

Anyway, I am not going to take up your valuable time talking about how rad the program is. The bottom line is that it gets serious results with trainers who have had enough of battling it out alone.

Because I have no issue putting my money where my mouth is, I want to give you a complete test drive of the program for $1 (it’s normally $97 pm). So if you are done being a victim of your business, take back control and spend at least the next 30 days making a serious difference to your business.

Save $96 and join the PT Fight Club today

Now there may be lots of reasons why right now is not a good time to invest $1 into the development of your business – but I bet there are more reasons why you should.

Have an epic week and I look forward to being part of your environment for success,

Rick

P.S: If you are a current member of PT Fight Club, let the other know what you personally get out of being a member in the comments below…

In this competitive fitness industry, learning how to close a personal training client is something that can have a real impact on the growth of your business.

From my experience, most trainers are really good at the rapport building, establishing the client’s goals and then explaining how their service is going to help that specific client. But the real hurdle, the thing that most business owners have some difficulty with is the actual closing of the sale.

I have a sneaky suspicion that it has something to do with the whole asking-people-for-money thing. I know, I know – you love training people and asking people for money (or closing the sale) feel’s so unnatural and outside your skill set that you have a tendency to not push the subject.

In my own experience, I have noticed that there are three main reasons why trainers lose a sale at the last hurdle. They are:

1. Not questioning the excuse or objection.
2. Not actually physically asking for the sale in the first place and…
3. Not having a tight response time and follow up procedure in place.

I am going to briefly talk through each one so that you don’t fall into these traps and miss out on potential sales.

But before we do, I want to clarify my position about where I see sales fitting into your business. I see it as a necessary part of building your business and therefore a skill that is definitely worth developing.

But it is also not the only skill that is essential (as a sole trader) to run a successful fitness business. Lead generation, service delivery, client care and follow up, retention, staff management and all the different types of administration are all essential in building your business.

On top of all that, closing sales is right up there with a “must have” skill to continue to build your business. Like I mentioned earlier, most trainers who run there own business have the rapport building/goal setting/solution bit down pat but it is really at the end of the sale process where the work needs to be done.

I think it is important that you do sharpen your skills in this area of the sales process because if you can’t close a sale then it is gong to be much harder to build your business. Let me talk you through the three biggest mistakes that I see people make when trying to close the sale and how you can overcome them.

Reason #1: Not questioning the excuse

Because a lot if trainers hate actually asking someone for money and closing a sale, the first excuse or objection that a prospect throws up is commonly met with…

“OK, no problem – guess I will see you around“

I understand that you may not feel comfortable with sales but let’s look at it from a different angle.

You are trainer and it is your job to motivate (make) people do the things that they can’t do themselves to get in great shape. You do it all the time with your clients. They give you some lame excuse why they can’t do something, you refuse to accept it and motivate then to do more then they feel they can do themselves.

Closing a sale is exactly the same. You are a trainer so it is your job to make people responsible for their health and fitness.

Yes, you as going to be confronted with every excuse in the book. No money, no time, no energy, no idea – I am sure you have heard it a before.

All I ask is that when you are confronted with an excuse you ask then two things:

1. Is achieving (insert goal) really important to you?
2. Has this problem of (insert excuse) held you back achieving this in the past?

Then let them know that you want be the person that helps them actually achieve there goal once and for all.

But you need their help – they have to find the (time, money, motivation ect) to the process. Because if they do that, you will do everything I your power to make their goal a reality

So can you see that with a few small changes from your end and 100% commitment from me how together we can make his happen?

Good, let’s get started :-)

Reason #2: Not physically asking for the sale in the first place (making assumptions).

This is something that I see all the time with trainers who feel a little uncomfortable with sales (and I actually used to suffer from this as well). You know when you are going through a sales call or consultation and you start getting a bad or negative vibe from your prospect?

They are not very responsive and you get a clear impression that they are just not interested. Because of these indicators, many trainers will not even ask for the sale in this situation.

Based on the conversation, they feel that the prospect is just not interested and rather than get a knock-back they just don’t ask for the sale

THIS IS A MISTAKE.

People are funny beasts and especially if you have just met this prospect, then it is impossible to know exactly what they are thinking about your business.

Once I was talking to lady about starting some training and she was giving me absolutely nothing. I thought it was probably best that I not attempt to close the sale on the first contact and thought I would call her back the next day to see if she was a little more interested (big mistake).

I called the next day and she told me that she informed me that she had started training somewhere else (with my competition in fact …grrr). She told me that I never asked her to begin training and that she was ready to get started but I never asked for the sale so she just got off the phone and called the next business.

The lesson: never assume that you know what someone is thinking about your business.

Not until you ask for the sale and they actually say no (or yes) that you know what your client is thinking about getting started. You can establish this by asking questions like:

“Can you see the value in that?”
“Can you see how this program will help you get your goal much quicker?

Then once you get that “all-clear”, ask for the sale and book them in.

Reason #3: Not having a tight response time.

Ok – I am not going to bang on about this because you should already be all over this one.

Here are two basic rules of engagement:

1) The quicker you call or email someone back after their initial response the higher the conversion rate.

At the point of contact, your prospect has the strongest desire to create change in their life. They have made the first step, plucked up the courage to make contact and this is the perfect time to close a sale.

No excuses – this is too easy not to do.

2) Make sure that you are in control of all follow up contact.

Letting your client “think” about it and then call you back when they have an (or have discussed it with their partner is just not on. Yes, you will have situations where people are not ready to buy from you at very moment but it is ESSENTIAL that you identify when YOU will call them back to follow up.

A golden rule that I always follow is to always make a book from a booking – regardless if they are a prospect, client or business alliance. Commit to this process with discipline and you will make more sales and book more sessions.

Make a move…

Closing a sale is a lot like going in for your first kiss (stay with me here). You have spent some time getting to know each other, you feel like you could easily spend some more time together but you are not sure if they are ready to take the relationship to the next level.

You feel like if you make a move and you get denied that it is just going to smash your confidence – so you don’t make a move.

My advice – go in for the pash on the first date (metaphorically speaking of course). This is your business, so remove the emotion and just ask for the sale. Be the person who is going to change their life.

You may get the odd rejection but you will also get make a heap more sales.

Rick.

P.S: Post a comment below and let me know what you have fond to be the best way to close a sale….

P.P.S: If you are chasing some more detailed information, check out this video I made about making more personal training sales.

Recently I have been getting more and more emails from people asking how to be a personal trainer? To answer this question in a more public forum, I decided to put together this 4-part article series.

These articles will walk you through the process of how to be a personal trainer – from initially making the big decision, to getting qualified, gaining the right experience and finally evaluating where you want to take your personal training career.

Even if you are already a personal trainer, you will find this information helpful in clarifying why you do what you do and assist you in mapping out a successful path in the industry.

So You Want To Be A Personal Trainer?

That’s cool – personally I think it is rocking choice of career but there are a few harsh realities that you should be aware of before purchasing your “skins” and grabbing your clip-board. Even before you make the decision to move forward as a personal trainer, I think it is really important that you have a  clear understanding of the realities of the industry…

Fact: The majority of people who become qualified trainers are no longer in the industry 18 months after graduating.

Now I don’t believe that this is a reflection on the training organisations, but rather is simply shows that being a successful trainer is not as easy as it looks on The Biggest Loser and it is definitely not suited to everybody.

I am not mentioning this to scare you off, but rather to ensure you complete some initial research and make an informed decision about launching your personal training career . So before you get all excited and hand over your hard-earned money to one of the many training companies, let’s just take a deep breathe and find out if this career is really for you.

It’s Time To Do Some Research…

If you are a regular to my blog, you will already know that I am big fan of taking action. So here are three simple action steps to do before you decide to become a personal trainer.

Action Step #1: Take some time to think about your WHY.

If you are reading this article, there is a fair chance that you are looking into becoming (or you already are) a personal trainer. Somewhere along the way, for some reason , that little voice in your head suggested that this would be a great idea.

All that I want you to get the ball rolling is to explore WHY you want to do this. Take some time and evaluate why you are serious about becoming a personal trainer. Every trainer will have slightly different motivations and reasons, but if you find you are in it “because it looks like fun” then you may have a small problem over the long-term.

Assess your “why” and then consider if it is strong enough to drive and motivate you through the challenging times that you will occasional face in this industry.

Tip: Passion goes a long way in this industry – so check in and see how much passion for helping others you have.

Action Step #2: Talk to at least 4 different current personal trainers.

I understand that moving into a new industry (and career) can be an overwhelming experience. Expectations are a funny thing and when we build them up and they are not met – we tend to get  little grumpy.

So for your next action step, I recommend that you contact 4 different personal trainers and ask them about the good, the bad and the ugly of being a trainer. If you don’t know four different trainers, head over to the PT Business In A Box Facebook pagewhere you will be sure to find a bunch of awesome trainers who will be only too happy to help you out.

Once you completed this step, you will have a much more accurate reflection of what it is like to REALLY be a personal trainer – then you can go about setting some realistic expectations for yourself.

Tip: Try to contact trainers who have similar characteristics to yourself (sex, training , personality etc) so the information you receive relates a little closer to your situation.

Action Step #3: Put together a list of 5 benefits and 5 downsides of becoming a trainer.

You don’t have to be a genius to understand that this quick activity will give you a much clearer perspective about being a trainer.

So using the information you scored from the 4 other trainers to assist you, think of the pros and cons or becoming a trainer from YOUR perspective. Take into account your strengths and weaknesses when completing this step as they will play an important role.

Tip: Be personal and specific – make sure that your pros and cons are relevant to your unique situation.

What Now?

Now that you have completed these three actions steps, it is time to make some decisions.

Taking into account all of the information that you have put together, are you still REALLY excited about being a personal trainer?

If the answer is yes, that’s awesome and it’s time to look for an appropriate certification course that will suit your needs (we will cover this in part 2 of how to be a personal trainer).

If the answer is no, then it is much better that you discovered this now rather than 18 months (and $4000) later. Keep searching and you will find a career that is more suited to you soon.

There is nothing good about the personal training industry having such a high attrition rate. By completing these simple steps, you can make an informed decision on whether or not this career is for you, avoid costly impulse actions and ensure that the personal training industry as a whole benefits from more career-trainers.

Rock on,

Rick

P.S: If you liked this article, you will definitely get some value from an older post about how much money personal trainers really make.