Guest Post – Boot Camp Marketing With A Caring Heart
Posted by Steve Hochman on Wed. Aug. 10th, 2011
My VIP Mastermind member Tina Fike just sent over one of the most refreshing blog posts I've seen in a long time.
It's about how to market your boot camp by CARING and having "HEART".
These two main ingredients are way to often forgotten when it comes to the boot camp empire building formula.
Ya gotta read this...
So without further ado, here's Tina...
Hey Tina here...
I have not been at this whole “bootcamp” training thing for very long (only about 2 years, worked as a personal trainer for a few years before this).
I flat out failed business in college (literally failed my accounting and computer classes then switched majors entirely)
…heck I graduated with a degree in psychology and then when I could not get a job with that degree I decided I was going to go to grad school and get my PhD in neuroscience (no freaking joke).
Regardless, I had gotten my personal training certification with a friend years back just for fun (I ran triathlons in college, even competed at a national level with it so figured what the heck).
The only job I could get my hands on after college was as a trainer at a local gym…now here I am years later running this kick ass group training program in the middle of bum-nowhere Missouri.
This town is barely a speck on the map but thanks to the US Army this is where we ended up (and I must say…it grows on you).
Now, not even 4 months after getting here my programs are blowing up and I had almost 25 clients without ANY marketing at all and I think I know why...
I like to ask my clients often why they stick with me and why they enjoy my programs as much as they do.
Almost always the answer is, “well…tina, you care about me and don’t let me screw around with my goals.”
I think this is overlooked far too often in any industry but especially in our industry.
We are in the business of helping people get their lives together, in some cases even helping them stay alive and healthy long enough to see their kids or grandkids grow up.
People trust us with the most vulnerable side of themselves (in many cases).
They want someone that looks at them and says, “I understand what you are going through and I’m going to be here every step of the way for you but know that I will push you past all your limits.”
They want you to be the kick in the pants they need for their fitness while caring enough to be approachable and easy for them to talk to about their frustrations.
I am not saying that people want you to hold their hand (they don’t); they just want to know that you care about them enough to get them to their goals no matter what.
I describe my clients’ relationship with me as a strong love-hate relationship.
They’re not afraid to look me in the eye and say, “I love you but man…I really hate you right now.”
Haha! I’m sure that most of you (if you’re any good at what you do) get the same reaction from your clients every day.
It’s awesome!!
My clients all know that they can call me any time day or night and I am here for them or will call them back as soon as I am able to.
I genuinely CARE about each person as an individual and get to know them each as individuals.
When my clients are not getting the results they want, we change something and make their goals happen (you can NEVER let anyone fall through the cracks, it’s hard sometimes as numbers grow but never let that happen).
Also, be sure to call each client every single week.
This is a BIG selling point for me as most people have NEVER come across a trainer that cared enough to call and check in each week.
This alone has brought me HUGE success and allows me the chance to challenge each person as an individual to bring a friend or give me the name and number of someone to call for them if they’re shy.
The other thing I do that a lot of trainers do not is I accept literally anyone that wants to be there into my programs.
This includes a lot of injuries that most trainers will not take on (especially in a group setting like bootcamp)
For example I have a client that has a minor tear in her meniscus, another that has had knee replacement and a meniscus tear in the other knee, and then I have a client with fasciitis in her foot, and another with arthritis in his wrists.
A majority of these individuals have been with me for almost 6 months now and are getting KICK ASS results!
It is my opinion that too many trainers are afraid to modify for these individuals, or do not want to be overwhelmed by all the modifications and individuals to account for.
Obviously this gets more difficult as class sizes increase but honestly it is not that difficult.
I am still able to plan for my most fit individuals and modify as necessary for those that need it.
Literally ANY exercise can be modified for a majority of injuries.
I even have clients that have to do all of their workouts standing, either due to being severely overweight or due to rotator cuff injuries.
I have never had an injury due to my programs and every single one of these individuals KICK ASS every single time they walk through my doors.
You would be amazed at what having these individuals can do for your business.
The only real business/marketing related thing I do that is different from most is making DVDs for my clients to supplement their cardio.
They use these DVDs as make ups for missed classes and use them when we have our recovery weeks, which I build into our programs.
These add huge value to my programs and honestly do not take much time to make.
I film them in my living room with the camera propped up on a box haha.
Certainly nothing special but my clients appreciate it greatly and love that they have something to take on vacation or for when they miss.
This also allows them to get to know me a little better, they get to meet my dogs (and my husband when he walks into the shots haha), I keep them pretty casual and they still get to see me and have me push them, even when they cannot make it to class.
It’s pretty fun.
I know that most of these are not exactly “business” or “marketing” tips but I think a lot of owning a successful fitness business or program is the heart behind what you do.
If you are in this industry to pump money out of every person that walks in your doors…it is my opinion that you are in the wrong industry…
Tina Fike is a personal trainer in Rolla and runs a Rolla fitness boot camp
*********************
Steve Hochman here again...
Wow, thank you Tina, that was AWESOME!
BTW, I thought ya may want to know that I'm gonna do a very limited number of free strategy calls to discuss some of my highest level boot camp marketing strategies, so if you want "in" then go here now.
The call with me is 100% FREE and it's one on one...
It's just MY way of giving back to YOU :-))
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