Recently I've had the opportunity to work with a few personal trainers on growing their business. There have been a few common challenges that seem to come up for each trainer. They are;
-Finding new clients
-Motivating clients outside of the gym
-Sporadic hours throughout the day

This week I like would like to focus on the challenge of finding new clients.
Whether you are a seasoned trainer with many clients to fill up your day, or new to the profession and wondering why people aren't knocking at your door, listen up. This advice is going to help build your business.

Let's start with those who have a handful of clients. You need to ask yourself some questions. How are you performing as a personal trainer? The first step is to know that you are offering and delivering the best possible service to your clients. In short, the way to do this is to ask your client questions. Let's be clear. For you to be delivering your client the best service it's not about how much you know and tell your clients or how many courses you've taken. Seems contrary to what you've been taught, doesn't it? Allow me to let you in on a little secrete. It's not about you; it's ALL about your customer.

Serving the customer
This not a new concept as people now realize the only difference between them and the guy down the street is customer service. But do you really know what that means? Let me ask you this, what is the ratio between ears and mouths on the human body? 2:1 correct? See what I'm getting at. We need to listen to our clients and fully understand why they are here to see us. When the middle aged lady is here to see you to lose weight, get healthy and 'feel good', what does that actually mean? You need to be digging a bit deeper here. Summer is upon us and people want to feel comfortable taking off their shirts and walking down the beach. That's what it means to 'feel good'. We have to paint that picture for our clients for this, and only this, is truly going to motivate them. The very first step in customer service is to know why your customer is here to see you. Keep on asking yourself "why" until you've hit the core reason. This will also help with motivating your client outside of the gym. Once you have found their 'why', use it at all times.

How this relates to free advertising?
As you gain happy customers and they feel that you truly care for their success, your business is going to grow. There's a catch though. This is not going to happen on its own. The way to grow your business and not have to spend a dollar on advertising in the newspaper is to ask for referrals! You can see why it's important for us to first have a happy customer. Now you can ask, "You know Sandra, I looking to grow my customer base, do you have any friends who would be interested in my service?" And here's a little tip after asking for the referral - keep your mouth shut! I've seen it too many times where trainers then interrupt the client by filling in the 'awkward' silence and then moving away from the topic. Ask and you shall receive. When people are happy with your service, they will actively seek out new clients for you.

This means we have some work to do. Whether you are a new trainer or a seasoned pro, call up your past clients, friends, and relatives and let them know that you are actively building your customer base and would like to ask if they know anyone who might be interested in; losing weight for the beach this summer, or any other of your core focus you have. This is where you have to be specific! Paint a picture of that person you would like to work with. The key here is to ask for the referral and not seek out business from them. Chances are they know what you do and don't want to be pitched to. This also alleviates any pressure on you.

You can find out more ways to grow your income as a Personal Trainer by signing on to my Free 7 day "Maximize Your Personal Training Income" boot camp. Sign up at www.CaseyKaldal.com There are some questions in the first day of the boot camp that you can ask your clients tomorrow.

To your success,

Casey Kaldal
www.CaseyKaldal.com

You have probably heard the buzz word around fitness boot camps these days. Boot camps are posted all around town, the internet; even I am running a boot camp.

There are many benefits to running a boot camp for your clients. They get more affordable training, they meet people and have more motivation to stay on there exercise program. With so many benefits to your clients you should really consider starting one if you have not already.
One of the things that I do is run a boot camp for Personal Trainers. It's important for you to keep up with your business, health, and wealth so I decided to create a boot camp specifically for Personal Trainers and Fitness Instructors. I teach you how to leverage your time at work, give your clients what they really want, and double your Personal Training income.

If you want to make your life easy, make a lot of cash, and have a lot of fun doing it, get start on my free 7 day boot camp now.

Most personal training programs include healthy weight loss work out plans with healthy weight loss diets. This brings about an important question, why are your clients gaining the weight back 4 to 6 months later?

Did you know that only 26 percent of U.S. adults engage in vigorous leisure-time physical activity three or more times per week (defined as periods of vigorous physical activity lasting 10 minutes or more). About 59 percent of adults do no vigorous physical activity at all in their leisure time. You can start to see why people are in need of your services. Training your client on the exercise component is the first step to gaining better health. What about diet?

As a personal trainer, I would suggest for you not to use the word 'Diet' when working with your clients. This word has been abused over the last decade to imply a quick fix solution to a long term problem. When someone is, "on a diet", what does this imply? That they will someday get off of their new diet and go back to their old habits. This we know is the case and have seen it time and time again with clients.

Personal trainers need to change their focus of their health promotion. When a clients first registers for a new program, ask for their commitment to change their lifestyle. As a trainer this is really how you will gain some long term results with your clients. As I see it, there's three components that one should have a close look at when they are changing their lifestyle; exercise, nutrition, and eating habits. I have worked with many personal trainers who focus on healthy active living as the focus of their health promotion. This is a great start and many trainers feel comfortable within these boundaries.

Nutrition and diet need to play a role in making that lifestyle change. You may be thinking that is out of your scope to be advising people on what to eat. So here is a simple solution. Get connected with a team who would be happy to take on more clients. You need a team who work with personal trainers and take care of the nutrition and diet component of the health promotion. Understanding the synergy and importance of gaining a well balanced health promotion will surely grow your business. Even if you are training outside of your home, or go to your client's home, there are people who will do consultations over the phone.

As a Personal Trainer, connecting yourself with people in the industry will build an image of being a well-rounded health professional. Lifestyle changes are not easy for your clients. Getting connected with the right people should be a priority. I have trained many Personal trainers to take their business to the next level by gaining connections to the right people. If you are a Personal trainer looking to improve your health promotion and grow your business, sign up for my free 7 day boot camp where I will teach you how to do just that.

As your clients receive the benefits of improved health, you too shall receive the financial benefits by being the mentor who made it possible.

In health,

Casey Kaldal
www.CaseyKaldal.com

Lethbridge-Çejku M, Vickerie J. Summary health statistics for U.S. adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2003. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 10(225). 2005