Hi Fit Pros,
Happy September to you all, and I hope you’re ready and fired up for 2015! For those of you who aren’t (don’t worry, you’re not alone my friends), TrainerLisa’s here to give you some helpful tools to help you get prepared and ready to make 2015 your best year ever!
Planning for the New Year starts…NOW! Not in December, definitely not in January and maximally in November. The reason behind this is when it comes to marketing (trust me on this one), your competitors have already put the “5W’s/1H” of business and marketing! If you’ve already started thinking about what you want to do and what you’ve already done in the past, you’re already well ahead of the pack!
If you work in a gym or contract for a gym, often your hands are tied to what you want to do, but…if you work for yourself…your sky is the limit!
Getting Started:
The 5 W’s and 1 H of marketing: Taking my business to the next level.
Who: Am I Marketing to – The general public (anyone who signs up with you), or do you specialize in a certain type of clientele? This is the area that you really want to get specific with for your business. Men? Women? Children? Athletes? Sedentary? Mature adults? Instead of trying to be the “One size fits all” trainer, take the time to think about all the clients that you’ve trained (currently and in the past), and write down what you liked and disliked about training them, the different types of personalities and what style you had to incorporate. As your list grows, you’ll notice an interesting pattern in both your clientele as well as yourself. This is your WHO of business.
What: Is MY Business – What is it that you do? Are you a Personal Trainer? Pilates Instructor? Group Ex Instructor? Nutritionist? Tabata Instructor? Bootcamp Instructor/Trainer? Wellness Coach? A bit of all or something else? Although this question sounds like a no brainer, but if you had to give a 2 minute speak on your business what would you say? “I’m a Personal Trainer and I train people?” Uhhh…no! You’re much more than a “trainer”, but do you know what that so much more is?! Defining what your business is, is a great way to have a more structured company (yes…you are a company!).
Where: Am I conducting my business – Outside? In a gym? Training studio? Online? Outdoors? In-home? Or do you conduct your business in multiple locations (like myself)? Defining where you want to conduct your business very important. Location. Location, LOCATION! Do you like the security of being in a gym? What about the freedom of being outdoors? The daringness of being Online? Think about it and once you’ve narrowed you location down to maximum (2), you’ll start to notice a great pattern forming.
When: Do I run my business – Are you an early bird (like I am)? Do you like training/teaching your clients later in the day? The best piece of advice that I can give you on this is DO NOT TRAIN HOURS THAT ARE NOT COMFORTABLE FOR YOU! Wow…upper case huh Lisa? YES!! This is why? Training for over 19 years, I love training my clients as early as 3:00am, but I learned early on…I love getting up, getting out and starting early. If you don’t like training before the sun comes up, you may want to think strongly about accepting that one client that wants to come in a 5:00am when you normally start at 9:00am AND you’re not an early bird, it can be a bad match. I’ve seen trainers dragging in (literally), 5-20 minutes late…yawning, and saying (my favorite) “Oh there you are!”, when their client was “there” on time.
I know it’s can be hard to turn down a client/money, but unless you can come in on your “A” game…why put yourself and your client through this, two – three times a week!
Why: Am I doing this – Do you know why you’re in this industry? And please don’t say the money! Although I do know people that say this or my other favorite “because I like to workout”. Now I know those are honest answers, but if you’ve been in the industry for a while you know…you don’t work out while training your clients. Some of you actually might do this and find nothing wrong, but personally…working in sets with my clients, makes me more of their Certified Workout Partner (with a lot of knowledge), verses their Certified Personal Trainer who trains them.
And last but certainly not least…
How: Do I put this all together and How do I get new clients?!!
Alright, now that you’ve made your list with the 5 W’s, it’s time to tie them all together. You know who you want as your client (males, females, children, mature adults, etc.). You know what you want to do (outdoor fitness, bootcamps, online training/group training, etc.). You know where you want to train your clients (park, gym, studio, outdoor, etc.), you know when you want to train them (day, night, afternoon, days, etc.) and why you’re doing this!
The next direction is marketing and that can involve social media, which for the most part is free! Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter are just a few ways to grow your business. Now I didn’t forget LinkedIn, but this area of social media connects more with others in your industry and not potential new clients to teach/train.
I hope this helps you and gets your creative juices flowing on taking your business to the next level (which ever that level may be)!
Until next time, stay focused and stay fabulous!
Fitfully yours,
Lisa aka Trainerlisa
Trainerlisalt@gmail.com
www.MyTaylorMadeFitness.com
www.Facebook.com/Taylormadefitnesssd
www.Twitter.com/Obtrainerlisa
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Lisa Lorraine Taylor
Lisa with a B.S. in Holistic Nutrition, and a minor in Nutrition/Optimum Fitness has expanded her business to include being a Beachbody Coach, and a Fitness Consultant in helping others in the Fitness Industry and well as individual Personal Trainers to grow and market their business.
Latest posts by Lisa Lorraine Taylor
- What tools do you think are the best right now in aiding your clients’ success outside of the gym? - March 15, 2016
- How should your pricing differ, per person, for group sessions versus individual training? - January 5, 2016
- What promotions can I offer to drive new clients to me? - December 15, 2015
