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It’s the small changes that make a big impact on your business. You know this to be true with your clients. The little tweaks they make to their lifestyle have long-term, lasting effects. Here are five tips you can easily implement into your fitness career/business now. Find one that resonates with you and take a step ahead of other trainers today!

#1 Really Get to Know Your Clients

When people hire a trainer they don’t want someone to stand over them counting reps. They want someone who is going to get to know them, care about them, and lead them. Build relationships with your clients, spend a few minutes before or after the workout asking them about their job, their families and hobbies. This will result in long-term loyalty and referrals and your clients will look forward to their training sessions.

  • Which client of yours can you strengthen your relationship with this week?

 

#2 Generate Awareness and Build Goodwill

Check with your town to see if you can offer free group workouts at a local park, beach or community center. Tailor the workout based on the group and be prepared to offer a few levels so everyone can participate at their own level. Doing a free community workout one hour a week will pay exponential dividends as your local community will see you as the go to person for fitness.

  • Where could you offer a free workout and what type of people in your area might be interested in attending?

 

#3 Set Yourself Apart

Are you a run of the mill trainer? Or, are you great at helping moms lose weight after pregnancy, helping football wide receivers develop jumping power, or getting busy executives fit while traveling for work? If you get really good at working with a certain group you’ll find not only will you start getting more referrals from within that group (people tend to hang around with people similar to them) but you’ll also be able to charge a premium for your services.

Your perceived value will be higher because you will be “the best” at solving their particular problem. The chances of you and your business coming up when your target client is searching is higher also if you specialize than if you just do personal training. For example a mom who wants to lose the baby weight will likely type into a search engine “personal training to lose baby fat” or something similar which would bring you up before most other trainers.

  • What makes you different than other trainers? (Hint: ask some of your loyal clients)

 

#4 Stay Current with the Fitness Industry

The more you educate yourself the more valuable you are to your clients. In addition to attending fitness conventions, workshops and reading professional journals, be sure that you are aware of the latest information and trends that flood magazine and social media. Your clients need to trust you and be able to ask for your input about what they read or heard. My clients often message me about things they see on Facebook or read in a magazine and they are grateful to be able to have someone to turn to that they trust.

  • What can you do today, this week or this month to update your skillset or continue your education?

 

#5 Be a Walking Billboard for Your Business

There are two ways to do this:

First – Wear clothing with your company name, it’s an inexpensive way to advertise to everyone you come in contact with throughout the day. When I created my online coaching app I bought half a dozen black hats with the logo on them and wear them all the time. Another important thing is to look the part.

Second – As a personal trainer our physical appearance can be a deciding factor if a client trains with us or another trainer. While not every trainer is going to be shredded with a six pack, it is important to maintain a good level of fitness and a healthy weight. I’m a firm believer of practicing what you preach and living a healthy lifestyle.

  • Is there anything you can do to enhance your own health?  

 

You don’t need to implement all of these at once, and some may not be applicable to your business, but pick one or two of them and try them out this month.

[info type=”facebook”]Which tip was your favorite? Please share with us on Facebook. If you’re an NFPT trainer, join the Facebook Community Group to connect and if you’re not, come chat with NFPT here![/info].

Mike Kneuer is a professional health and fitness coach and retired pro physique athlete in Boca Raton, FL. He is passionate about health and fitness and helping others make positive life changes. Mike holds numerous advanced training certifications included 2 nutrition certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the International Sports Sciences Association. He has helped thousands of people around the world change the way they think about eating healthy foods and helped them reach their health and fitness goals by posting every meal he's eaten since 2012 on www.WhatMikeEats.com. (@WhatMikeEats)