Much like how there are many different ways to acquire your qualifications in 2019, there are also many different ways to project your message and your business. Your engagement is paramount to the ability of people to seek you out as a credible source and logical choice for their health and fitness journey. Let’s take a look at how you can interact with clients and future clients and prioritise your skill set within this area.
Get the basics on the floor right first!
Firstly, you might be a personal trainer who has taken up a new position at a gym/health club. This is not an uncommon place for a trainer to start as there is going to be leads provided to you, there are going to be a large number of active members and there will be opportunities to run classes and bring in new ideas. This is the perfect place to learn how to work within a busy, fast paced environment and really improve your ability to talk to people. Whilst being heavily interested in exercise, this does not mean you have all of the skills right now to showcase your knowledge. Talking to people is a huge part of the job and how you choose to engage with people is going to be paramount. If I could give one piece of advice here, it would be to not focus on building your name through social media, if you cannot build your brand within the gym you currently reside. If you cannot dedicate the time to talking to people, organising small group classes, building some hype within the club, how is it going to change if you have 2000 Instagram followers who don’t even know where you work? I see this all too often. People are hiding behind their phones chasing “likes” whilst avoiding conversations with people who are already in the gym in front of them, ready to exercise. I can’t really make much sense in that. My advice here is to work with what you have, and learn how to talk to people and be genuine about what you have to offer.
Social Media marketing:
The second area worth mentioning is the social media side of things. It’s bigger now that ever, and will only continue to grow as more and more people see it is as a way to expand their reach and share their message. I agree whole heartedly that Instagram will boost your client numbers if you are saying the things people want to hear, and you have the credentials to back it up. If you have the knowledge, it should be showcased through a platform which you are comfortable delivering. What you need to ask yourself though is “what happens next?” How lucrative are your posts actually going to be. What are you aiming to achieve with the message you are promoting? Do your posts lead to a larger face to face business and are more people contacting you for training, or are you getting very low return on investment? If you could be generating leads within your current work place but are choosing to spend your time elsewhere, you might fall short with this approach in the long run. Don’t consider me old fashioned, but I do believe that the way you interact face to face and what people are coming to you for is ultimately going to be how you will become successful and credible all at the same time. I am not saying to put a lid on your social media, definitely not. What I am saying is that you need a leg to stand on first. Posts showcasing your client’s success for example, as opposed to a photo of yourself. People want to believe that what you are selling is possible for them too.
Should you work online?
Having an online coaching platform is a popular idea at the moment and with good reason. The reach you can generate from behind your computer is in some ways going to be greater than within the gym you reside. For minimal set up costs and over heads, you can sell your dream product to anybody who is interested in the purchase. This suits the time poor individual who needs the guidance without the regiment of meeting you within the gym once or twice a week for a training session. This can cut the costs for people, give them an outlet to access 24/7 and still make them accountable. Whilst I believe in the method and the consumer’s desire for the product, what you have to ask yourself as a trainer is how much can you offer at this point? How experienced are you with meeting individual needs to begin with, and then try and do that via email correspondence instead of face to face. . . Do you have the experience to deliver exercise and content in this manner? To me, this is an end game kind of scenario and definitely not something anybody can do well enough with less than a few years of face to face experience with clients. How credible is your service going to be if you have not gained the experience first and been able to perfect your methods in the real world scenarios. I’d urge caution with this method to most people, as even the experienced struggle with this modality and if that’s the case, what chance do you have as a new graduate?
Don’t lose sight of your message for the sake of your image:
The way you portray yourself is so important. You need to remain professional at all times, you need to put your ego aside and you cannot preach things louder and louder just to make them seem more correct. Professionalism is definitely something I have seen slip within the industry as my years have accrued. Don’t forget, I have been running this race for over 11 years now and have worked in multiple different settings, have undertaken multiple different university degrees and I myself am still trying to build my own business. I don’t have the social media reach of some, yet have 1000% more experience. If you put us side by side in the gym though, where push comes to shove, I know who you should put your money on. This isn’t a boast, but more-so a reality check to the up and coming trainers and confused clients out there. There are many ways to skin a cat, but it all starts with a conversation in this industry. Producing credible content in a professional manner and being the one who will go above and beyond. Bad language, bad attitudes, entitlement, and taking the easy option have no place in this industry. Choose your craft and perfect it every day. People only have 1 chance to formulate a first impression and opinion of you.