Are you ready to turbocharge your fitness career? Let’s face it: the journey of a personal trainer is not just about mastering the deadlifts and squats; it’s equally about filling your roster with eager clients.
That’s where the real challenge lies. As you lace up your trainers and prep your playlist, remember getting clients fast isn’t just a wish; it’s a strategy you can master.
This article isn’t just another read; it’s your action-packed playbook to attract clients who are as passionate about their fitness goals as you are about coaching. Whether you’re a seasoned trainer or just starting, I’m here to guide you through innovative, tried-and-tested tactics that will not only get your name out there but make it the go-to for fitness enthusiasts.
So, grab a protein shake, and let’s dive into the dynamic world of rapidly expanding your PT clientele!
Understanding Your Target Audience
The first thing you need to understand is your target audience. Understand their motivations, and importantly, understand their pain points so you can help with solutions.
Knowing your target audience is the best way you can speak the language of the client – what do they want, what do they expect?
How To Get Started
Start by identifying your potential client demographic information. For example, suppose you intend to offer your services in a local area. In that case, you can start by identifying the extent of the area. Next, look at other demographics, like what kind of dwelling your preferred clients live in. Apartments or condominiums? Detached homes in the suburbs? Gather all the information you can. Each piece of the puzzle will come together to show you the picture of what your target audience cares about.
Pro Tip: Take advantage of the time of year. What do people do around the holidays? They stuff their stomach and then feel guilty afterward, and that means it’s a great time to get their attention and pick them up as new clients. Then, it’s your job to retain them, but the hard work is done.
Leveraging Digital Tools
The Elite Coaching app.
Suppose you want to expand your business quickly. In that case, a great solution to managing more clients and doing so professionally is to use software built for personal trainers like you. Elite Trainr is this solution.
With Elite Trainr, you can manage all your clients, scale up to handle even more clients, and do it in style with a professional dashboard where you can add your brand logo. Clients will see and appreciate the straightforward dashboard, and you’ll appreciate a solution to building workouts, tracking nutrition and performance, and keeping in touch to keep your clients motivated. It’s your all-in-one solution for managing your personal training business.
Personal Branding and White Label Solutions
By using a professional white-labeled platform, you show your professionalism from day one. You can leverage the branding to your advantage, and the features will help you to attract new clients. It won’t just be your platform to manage your business. It’ll be something you’ll love and will make scaling your business so much easier.
Building a Strong Online Presence
Building an online presence on social media is a smart way to attract new clients. However, it’s not as simple as dropping a few posts. You need to start early and stay focused on ensuring you’re building an audience with a robust following. It will take time, but you can reap some serious rewards if you do it regularly and keep on posting helpful content.
Remember, it starts with understanding your target audience, and then you can write posts about solutions to the problems they face. That’s just one method: do what feels natural for you and keep your target market in mind. Furthermore, remember that people don’t know you, so you need to showcase your professionalism and give them a reason to follow you.
Networking and Referrals
Networking and referrals are a great way to grow your personal training business. It’s a good idea to visit local gyms and other places where you can learn what others in your industry are offering. You may just find that talking to a few other industry professionals lands you potential gigs. Sometimes, a gym is looking for a personal trainer to help them manage some of their clients, and you might be able to take advantage and work in a partnership with other industry professionals in your area.
Referrals can also help to launch your business, especially when you have clients who are happy with your work. If a client believes in you, they won’t hesitate to share you with their friends, family, coworkers, or whoever. A referral is like gold to a growing business, so always work to provide excellent service, and referrals could start helping you grow your client base.
Delivering Exceptional Service
Good service is the key to keeping clients happy; exceptional service will help you get new clients. Here’s a simple motto: Under promise and over-deliver. If you follow this strategy with the service you deliver, you will surely get great reviews and referrals. It’s a simple yet highly effective strategy.
Utilizing Testimonials and Success Stories
I’ve mentioned reviews and referrals, and there’s a reason for that: a referral or good review or testimonial is worth 100 or more than what you would get from a paid advertisement. People trust people, not advertising. So, if you have happy customers, get them to share their testimonials with you.
Did you know that, according to experts, 92% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase(1)? Reviews are a powerful motivator for convincing others to use your services, so the faster you can get reviews live, the better.
Success stories are also a must in the personal training space. People want social proof that you are legit, the real deal. Having a portfolio of before and after success stories can really help people understand that working with you is their best option.
Where to Start?
To get the most out of reviews, a great place to start is by registering your personal training business and getting an address set with Google Maps. You can use a virtual mailbox (relatively cheap to get started, usually around $50/month), so you don’t have to use your home address. Having a business profile on Google gives you a place to send clients to write reviews. Also, it provides you with a local spot on Google Maps to help you get people searching in your area.
Paid Advertising and Promotions
If you need clients in a hurry, you can set up an advertising campaign and use platforms like Google, Microsoft, or Social Media to run ads. Running ads isn’t as simple as just paying for a placement somewhere, so if you decide to run ads, you may want to consider consulting with or working with a professional marketer if you have the budget.
If you don’t have a big budget for ads, you can try promoting your business with special offers you can promote on your social platforms of choice. Here are a few promotional ideas you can use:
Promotional Ideas
- Free Trials
- People love free trials. You can offer a free session to people to try your services and see if they like it.
- Discounts
- The only thing people love as much as free is a good discount. According to polls(2), 91% of Americans who shop online check for a deal first. With numbers like that, you can’t ignore how people work, but you could take advantage by offering a discount to new customers.
Continuous Education and Certification
While doing your target market research, you may find that a particular personal training specialization is in need. You might find that there is an underserved part of the market in your area and decent demand. You may want to specialize in a particular form of specialty personal training like Strength and Conditioning training or Rehabilitation and Injury Prevention, for example.
To learn more about specializations, check out my other article, How to Choose the Perfect Personal Training Niche.
Fueling Your Fitness Journey Forward
As we cross the finish line of this empowering journey, remember the path to attracting personal training clients quickly is paved with more than just good intentions. It’s about strategic actions, a deep understanding of your clients, and a relentless pursuit of excellence.
You’ve got the tools: a robust digital presence, a platform like Elite Trainr, and an arsenal of promotional tactics. But remember, the core of your success lies in delivering exceptional service and crafting inspiring success stories that resonate deeply with your audience.
Embrace the power of personal testimonials and leverage your unique brand to stand out in the crowded fitness landscape. Keep your eyes on the prize and your heart in the game. Continue learning, evolving, and adapting to the ever-changing fitness world. Your dedication to continuous improvement and your passion for helping others achieve their fitness dreams are what will truly accelerate your growth.
So, here’s your call to action: Step out of your comfort zone, implement these strategies, and watch as your training career takes off at full speed. Keep pushing, keep inspiring, and let’s transform lives together – one squat, one sprint, one success story at a time.
Your fitness journey isn’t just about the clients you gain; it’s about the lives you change and the fitness empire you build. Ready, set, go – your thriving fitness career awaits.
Additional Resources
Take a look at some other Personal Trainer business guides I’ve written to help you:
- Is Starting a Personal Training Business Your Next Big Move? Uncover the Pros and Cons
- Master Your Personal Trainer Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Success
- Unlocking Success: How to Market Yourself as a Personal Trainer
- Earnings Unveiled: What Top Fitness Professionals Really Make
Article Sources
- Cullinan, Emily. 2017. “How to Use Customer Testimonials to Generate 62% More Revenue | BigCommerce.” The BigCommerce Blog. BigCommerce. April 6, 2017. https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/customer-testimonials/.
- “Discount Marketing Statistics (2023): Do Discounts Actually Work?” 2023. Capital One Shopping. August 29, 2023. https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/discount-statistics/.