Throughout this blog I am going to draw upon my 11 years of experience within the industry and provide you with some tips to always ensure you stand out and are seen as the professional you are trying so hard to be.
Being approachable and looking the part:
I’d like to start off by saying that for one reason or another, people will look at your appearance as if it has some merit on what you might actually know. I think this is ridiculous, as it is literally judging a book by its cover, but I have seen it time and time again. People won’t take weight loss advice from an overweight person and they will not take bodybuilding advice from a thin person. If you want to overthrow this myth, you need to have a backlog of reputable tips and tricks ready at your disposal. This might sound like advice at being good at your job, but what I mean is, the more credible your approach is from the get go, the more believable you will be and the more people will back your skill set. If you dress appropriately, maintain your hair/beard/make up etc and you constantly give off an educated, approachable vibe, people will be attracted to that instantly.
Working the floor:
My next point would be regarding your demeanor on the gym floor. Maintaining a positive and friendly nature is a given, however being seen to go that little bit extra will set you apart. You may have the role of cleaning the machines at the end of the night, or vacuuming the floor. This is your time to show people that you actually care about the facility and show how far you are willing to go to ensure people have a safe and clean environment to train in. I have never heard a bad word said about somebody who grabs the Chux and wipes everything down without being asked. Your work ethic is your key to survival in a gym environment, especially if you want recognition for your skills as a trainer. Unfortunately, cleaning the gym is a rite of passage that all successful trainers took on board at a young age. Something I’d also add here is that you should never be seen sitting down on the gym floor. There really should not be a time besides floor work with a client, where you should be sitting on a piece of equipment whilst on shift. The same goes for leaning on things because to me, that is an attitude that you are giving off to the world and it really doesn’t spell hard work in anybody’s eyes.
Building rapport:
Building a good rapport with gym members is priority number one in my opinion. You should start by offering snippets of useful information without expecting anything in return as this will really boost your credibility and professional standing in the eyes of those around you. You will always have somebody who wants to know more and who just enjoy the chat. These people see value in simply being around you are the ones who will talk about you to their friends, who will introduce you to other members and who will keep coming back to the gym because of you. You have an opportunity to change people’s lives simply by being a good, honest and caring person and that is a virtue not to be taken lightly. I know that everybody has a mouth to feed and a car to fuel, however by playing your hand in the most respectable way, and not trying to make the quick buck will ultimately keep you in the game for longer, enjoying your job. Nobody expects you to be the smartest person in the room, but you can always add value and all conversations are a chance to do just that. Don’t take the responsibility lightly by just trying to get through your shift with your check list of cleaning tasks, a few PT sessions and then trying to get out of there as quickly as you can. You can be so much more than that.
Go that bit extra:
Something I think people do not do often enough is provide courtesy calls or messages to clients and members. This added touch not only shows that you care, but allows you to continue to learn from people and develop your services accordingly. The same goes for the feedback you receive from your clients after their sessions with you. You need to know how things went 24-48 hours after a session with you, otherwise you have nothing to work with for the next session. I’ll often send clients a message prior to their session also, as a reminder. This saves them needing to reschedule on the day or saves you from showing up to a 6am session with a client who cancels. Looking through your schedule at the start and middle of the week allows you to be on top of this and adds that extra 1% to your service. The more open you keep your dialogue with your client’s, the bigger the level of trust will be between the both of you. This is a level of service that will set you apart from the rest.
Final thoughts:
Ultimately, the way you conduct yourself is the way people are going to treat you. If you do not look the part, if you do not act the part, if you are lazy or loathe doing the 1% tasks and if you have very poor dialogue with people, you will come unstuck very quickly. Your attitude is the key here and it goes without saying; the higher you hold yourself in your approach to health and fitness, and client centered care, the further you will go. I know that freedom of speech exists, and I know that your personal social media accounts are a rite to your own expression, but trust me; if you swear and carry on, if you do not look after yourself and if you put others down publicly, you are finished before you even began. I am a big advocate for treating others as you’d like to be treated yourself, and your job within the health and fitness profession is a money can’t buy opportunity to be a better person tomorrow than you were today. People gravitate towards positive and credible, informative, trustworthy information. Do your bit to hold the standard high and be the hardest worker in the room, and the rest will follow.