PT Business Builder Interview #5: Pete Tansley

Once again it is time for our PT business builder interview series. This month, I have had the pleasure of chatting to Pete Tansley from Priority One Fitness Solutions (a PT studio in Burleigh Heads on the sunny Gold Coast). Sometimes you come across a guy who just  has the fire in his belly to make his business succeed – Pete is one of those guys.

When I rocked into his studio to meet him for the first time, Pete was looking his ethusiastic, fresh self. But after a little bit of digging, he told me that he had just pulled an all-nighter because he had a bunch of writing for his blog and website that he wanted to get finished as soon as possible. So right away I knew that Pete Tanlsey does what it takes to get shit done – my kind of guy :-)

Check out what he has to say….

Pete, tell me how you first got into personal training?

It’s funny, because I guess I never really woke up one morning and though, “I want to be a trainer.” I was a little lost after I finished school – I had no direction or motivation and didn’t know what path to choose. The only thing that got me excited was my own training, and the buzz of being in shape and competing in sport. A family friend, who at the time was travelling to the US back and forth to complete her CHEK qualifications, suggested I study fitness. So I hesitantly applied to the Cert III fitness course at my local TAFE…. And the rest, as they say, is history!

Then from there, why did you want to go into business for yourself and how did you do it?

I guess the study really snapped me out of my slump – for the first time in a long time I took passion in my work, and was excited to learn more about the human body. I had some great teachers who encouraged me to go and search for a good vocational placement provider (at the time we had to complete 100 hours).

So I started searching for a gym willing to take on a fresh-faced 17 year old with no experience. This was my first taste of sales – I faced rejection after rejection! I eventually landed my placement hours at the Bond Uni Sports Centre, who at that time were QLD Centre of The Year. Bond was a terrific starting point for me as I learnt the basics of programming and PT, and how to communicate with people. I ended up working there for almost 5 years, before working in a number of smaller businesses on the Gold Coast as a trainer, manager and sales person.

I always knew that I would work for myself – I loved the idea of steering my own ship and being in control. So after talking about it for long enough I found the backing and went for it! I was very lucky to have some good business advice from a family friend, who helped me negotiate things like the lease, fit-out and all the start-up planning. I had no idea on these things, so it was such an advantage having an experienced business mind on my side.

Who were your target market, what service did you provide and how did you market your business when you first started?

I knew from working in a previous business that it works best to have a well-defined niche.  My theory is to go narrow and deep rather than wide and shallow. By that I mean find a small specific target and then really try to specialize in that market. For me my market is females aged 45 – 60 years with a household income over $70,000, who are looking to lose 5-20 kilo’s. So now all of my marketing speaks to that target and is very specific. If a male walks through the doors of course we will train him, but we don’t specifically target outside of that range. So our joint ventures and drop boxes are at the places that also target this market – high-end hair salons, restaurants and café’s, clothing stores etc.

Most trainers who I see try to be everything to every body. They try to market to body builders, athletes, grandmas, rehab clients, kids and everyone in between. With only a limited budget I knew it would be more effective to target only one segment.

In terms of initial marketing I tried just about everything – drop boxes, joint ventures, cold calls, referrals, past clients, letterbox drops, social media and email marketing. I even made sure I got “belly to belly” with at least 10 people each day. This meant I had to walk down Burleigh Beach, or a large shopping center, and approach strangers and simply chat to them about health and fitness. I wouldn’t go the hard sell, but rather try to help first, and sell second. I wouldn’t let myself go home until I spoke to at least ten people! This did work, but it might not be for everybody.

What was your biggest business challenge back then?

The hardest part personally was getting rid of my perfectionism. The studio, the marketing, the uniforms, the staff training, the systems – they were all only at 90%, but I had to ignore the things that weren’t finished and just go ahead regardless. I remember thinking “but my clients will notice that I only gave this wall 2 coats of paint and not the recommended 3!” Of course, they didn’t, and I came back to it when I had time!

What are your most successful marketing strategies for your business now?
Social media is a big one for me and still gets 10+ leads per week. I work on it daily, and re-post any blogs I do. I never try the hard sell via social media; I prefer to educate the reader first.

Blogging was also great my for list building. Months before the studio opened, I was building my list through fortnightly email newsletters and weekly blogs.

Other than that I have found that giving an irresistible offer when marketing to get new clients through the door – such as the 21-Day Rapid Fat Loss Boot Camp – is really effective. I first heard about this method from Bedros Keuillian, and one of his blogs actually gives you the email to send out to your list. This one works best when you release it 25-30 days out from Christmas / Easter… people will do just about anything to get in shape for the big holidays!

Another tactic I picked up from when I met with Scott Williams from Succeed is the VIP cards. Basically you hand all your boot camp members a “VIP Card” which entitles one of their friends to 30 days of free training. I’ve had a 100% conversion on all of these this year and they cost virtually nothing. Thanks Scotty!

But I think the two most powerful marketing tools are building a team of passionate trainers who give kick-arse workouts, and or course measuring / testing everything. As you’re well aware Rick, happy customers tell all of their friends and it will always be the best way!

What is your biggest business challenge now?

Only focusing on what matters and letting go of the trivial things. I now employ 5 trainers to do the training, plus an administration manager and bookkeeper, so I can focus on sales, marketing and team building. In terms of mindset the crucial step for me was changing from personal trainer to business owner. If I did all of the training, then when would I get time to grow the business? So my time is spent learning and practicing better business systems and methods.

Where do you and your business want to be in 5 years from now?

I hope to duplicate the business over the next 5 years. By 2020 I plan to have 10 studios, which is one new site per year for the next ten years, and after that we will see how far Priority 1 Fitness can go! It’s going to be a huge challenge but I am super excited.

Awesome stuff. Three things really interested my with Pete’s interview: 1) how specific he was with his target market and how well he understood them, 2) his use of his social media and bloggin to build his network of potential clients looking forward and 3) how he has skillfully positioned himself to continue to learn and build the business not just run the day to day operations (systems = leverage).

Some really great lessons from a young guy who has some big goals and the way that he is going and the effort that he is prepared to put in, I can see absolutely no reason why he wont get there. To see how Pete links all of web pages together, check out his main site, his blog and his FB fan page (they all drive traffic beautifully to the right places).

What did you learn from Pete?

Cheers

Rick :-)

P.S: Dont forget that if your business has got your stressed, jump on board my new work/life balance email series. It’s free and I get to swear alot more via email (register in the big blue box at top of page).

Tagged as: Burleigh Heads, Business Builder, Buzz, Cert, Family Friend, First Taste, Fitness Course, Fitness Solutions, Human Body, Interview Series, Little Bit, Motivation, One Of Those Guys, Passion, Personal Training, Placement Provider, Priority One, Slump, Sunny Gold Coast, Tafe