Posted by Steve Hochman on December 3, 2014 at 1:57 pm
I want you to think for a minute about what marketing truly is for you at its simplest and most fundamental level. You probably own one or more Fit Body Boot Camp location and all of your prospective clients live in or near your neighborhood. They all live, work, shop and play within a reasonable distance of your home and your Boot Camp.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
Every individual with the potential to become your next successful, long-term client is a member of your very own local community.
So what should that mean to you and how does that help us understand the fundamentals of your small business marketing? Well, I hope it’s obvious by now, but what I’m trying to get across here is that marketing, in its simplest sense, is nothing more than reaching out to and getting involved with your community.
Now lets complicate things a bit. While in principle all you need to do is get involved, in practice, there are very particular ways you should go about doing this. It isn’t just about reaching out to anyone anywhere, it’s about finding the people and the places within your community that will respond to the right marketing techniques.
So let’s explore some great strategies that will equip you with awesome ways to get involved with your community and market your Boot Camp.
#1) An effective and relatively simple way to get some attention on your Boot Camp Business, to build relationships with other local business, and get involved with your business and consumer community, is called Cross Promotion.
Posted by Steve Hochman on April 21, 2014 at 9:29 am
If you’re constantly on the hunt for new clients to bring into your boot camp, then chances are… your marketing may need some work. As a personal trainer and a boot camp owner, you’re probably stretched pretty thin with not only leading and teaching each session, but with operating ins and outs of your business.
So, how are you supposed to find the time to focus on marketing? Fortunately, we’ve laid out 5 different ways for you to up your fitness boot camp marketing game without making you spend a ton of time and money.
1. Raise Your Energy
This quick tip is simple and easy to implement. Just amp up the energy during your workouts or teach your trainers to amp their energy up when they’re leading a boot camp session.
Making sure that your clients are having a good time while working out helps your marketing game because you’re creating an environment that your boot campers can really brag about. They’re having fun AND getting fit.
Most people don’t really like exercising, even though they know they have to in order to stay in shape and feel great, so if you create a fitness program that’s fun and high energy then you can’t go wrong. Look, no one likes working out with a boring trainer who doesn’t seem interested in helping them achieve results.
Clients want to workout in a fun and encouraging environment. They want to know that you care, and you can do that by showing them how excited you are that they’re there and willing to get sweaty with you.
2. Spoil Them Rotten
Spoil your clients rotten and they’ll never leave. Think about it: fitness is something that you’ll work on for the rest of your life. As soon as you get the results you want, you have to maintain them, right? Your body doesn’t just magically stay in shape- you’ve got to train to keep it there! So why would a client leave if they know they need to workout on a consistent basis to keep the results they just earned? They’re not getting spoiled enough!
Show your clients you care about them by spoiling them whenever you get the chance to. Spoil by getting to know them and what they’re all about. Send them small gifts like Starbucks gift cards, movie tickets, reusable water bottles, or bracelets, or anything of that nature. Mail them a birthday card for their birthday with a special hand written note. Your clients will remember and appreciate it, and who knows- they’ll probably want to return the favor!
3. Offer Free Sessions
One great way to get people interested in joining your boot camp is to offer free sessions or a free week of unlimited limited boot camp. Giving prospects an option to come in and try out your boot camp helps to get them used to you, your style of training and your facility. (more…)
Posted by Steve Hochman on March 12, 2014 at 1:47 pm
Guest Post by Copy Sipe, PhD
While at the 2014 Fitness Business Summit, I gave a presentation on “The Perfect Storm: How to train the largest and wealthiest untapped market in fitness history!” to over 500 fitness professionals. After my presentation we were just slammed with trainers interested in the Functional Aging Specialist certification because they realized how huge the potential is for training mature clients.
Later that night, at the VIP dinner, a young female trainer stopped me to tell me a little about her facility and get some advice on how to reach more mature clients. During that conversation she asked me “This question might sound stupid but am I too young to train older adults?” This isn’t the first time I have been asked this question and it is definitely not a stupid question.
I assured her that her age was really not that big of a deal (the trainer looked like she was in her early 20’s although I didn’t ask). What really mattered were things like her level of maturity and professionalism; having good communication skills; understanding that mature adults have different values, needs and desires than her younger clients; knowing how to train them appropriately, safely and effectively; and creating an environment that they feel comfortable in.
Most mature clients (ages 50-70+) don’t really care about the age of the trainer IF they feel confident that the trainer knows what they are doing, how to meet their individual needs, has an appropriate amount of training (degrees, personal trainer certifications) and experience and conduct themselves appropriately. A HUGE turnoff to this population is trainers acting immaturely. Things like talking about their weekend exploits, talking negatively about other trainers (or the owners or other clients), showing up late to appointments, constantly texting or checking their phones, and so on.
The advantage that age has for trainers in their 30’s and up is credibility and authority. It is much more difficult to establish yourself as an authority if you are really young and don’t have much experience. Mature clients value experience and respond well to authority. So if you are a veteran trainer then you can use this to your advantage. Highlight the amount and types of experience that you have including certifications, degrees, presentations you’ve given, articles you’ve authored and notable individuals you have worked with.
Both younger and more seasoned trainers can use the authority and credibility of the Functional Aging Specialist certification to promote themselves to mature clients. The FAS is a cutting-edge program that is based on the most current research and developed by two award-winning, experienced, PhD trained professionals. By aligning yourself with our credentials and those of FAI you associate yourself with credibility, experience and authority. Since FAS is pretty new you could very well be the first and/or only trainer in your city or even state to have this credential. You should use this to your advantage by letting everyone know that you are unique… press releases, email blasts, website announcements, byline, front window decal.
You can do that locally as well. Write and present with other local authorities like physicians, chiropractors, therapists, nutritionists and even other trainers. Demonstrate publicly that you have the skills, knowledge and credentials so that you can become that local “go to” expert for training mature clients. (more…)
Posted by Steve Hochman on February 21, 2014 at 2:11 pm
Guest Post by Cody Sipe, PhD
If you are going to grow your business and learn how to be a personal trainer with the exploding population of older adults then you need to quickly learn how to deal with osteoarthritis. It is the most prevalent chronic condition among older adults and by far the most common complaint that we get from clients. Arthritis has a major impact on functional abilities and is one of the primary causes of disability.
It is also a painful condition that takes a mental and emotional toll on those suffering from it. Just think about constantly having to take NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) or other pain killers because your joints hurt all the time. Pain is a downer that can suck the joy out of the things we love to do. Traveling. Playing with grandchildren. Taking a walk with a spouse or friend. Hiking. Almost anything.
Frankly, I think it is a major pain in the butt (or the knees to be exact). And I know because I already have arthritis in my knees even though I am only in my early 40’s. If I play a game of pickup basketball…watch out. I know that I probably won’t be able to get off the toilet the next day because my knees hurt so badly. For our clients just daily activities can cause major arthritic pain. The joints that are most commonly affected include the knees, hips and spine.
It is also one of the major reasons older adults are fearful of exercise. They think that since daily activities bother their affected joints then exercise will make it worse. In their minds this is confirmed when they go out and do something active and they have to “pay for it” with pain and inflammation the next day or two. In actuality regular exercise eases joint pain and increases function. But most older adults don’t understand that so they tend to avoid exercise altogether.
If you’re getting ready to take your personal trainer certificate and don’t know how to train mature clients with arthritis effectively then you won’t keep them. They will leave and your business will suffer!
Recognized recommendations for arthritis include:
· Using low or no-impact cardiovascular exercise modalities such as swimming, biking or walking
· Avoiding high-impact activities such as skiing and running
· Performing resistance exercise using higher reps and lower weight for the musculature surrounding the affected joints
· Extended warm-up to make sure joints are well-lubricated before exercise (which may include a hot shower beforehand)
· Weight loss if the individual is overweight or obese
· Use of NSAID’s to manage pain and swelling
· Avoiding exercise if joint during periods of active inflammation (joint is red, hot and swollen)
Tips for the Trainer
Appease their Fears and Concerns: The fear of pain and injury is often still present even for the ones who decide to hire a personal trainer. They may doubt their own abilities or may have had negative experiences with exercise previously. If they are scared then they are not going to give you a good effort and thus they are not going to get the results they are after. Let them know what to expect with an exercise; how it might affect their arthritic joints; and how you will modify the exercise if it bothers them too much.
For new exercisers it can be very helpful to let them know how to warm-up properly and what to do post-exercise to minimize pain and discomfort. Communicating effectively will build their trust and confidence in you as a trainer and increase your credibility as an authority while reducing their stress about the potential dangers of exercising.
Decrease Depth: I find that decreasing range of motion of exercise movements can really help clients perform them successfully while minimizing discomfort. On movements such as squats and lunges this means decreasing the depth at which they work or decreasing the height of their step. For some there is a critical range of motion beyond which their pain or discomfort increases significantly. This is true for me. I have learned that performing leg movements to about 75 degrees of knee flexion is about all I can tolerate and still work at heavier loads.
Once I go beyond that range it becomes very uncomfortable for the day or two after the exercise session. Determining an appropriate range of motion for your client is often a process of trial and error which includes diligence on the trainer’s part to ask the right questions regarding post-exercise discomfort and discernment to know when an exercise needs to be modified or removed.
Be Methodical: Therefore, do not implement multiple changes simultaneously because you will not know which change was problematic for the client or it was the sum of all changes that caused them discomfort. For example, you increase the load on a lunge (by having them hold dumbbells) and increase the depth of their lunge and have them step onto a balance pad all in one session. The client comes back saying that their knees really killed them the next day.
Since you made three changes in one session you really don’t know if the issue was increased loading, increased range of motion, decreased stability or a combination of 2 or more of these that caused them so much discomfort. Manipulate the most important variable first and once that has shown to be tolerable then manipulate the second variable and so forth. (more…)
Posted by Steve Hochman on January 30, 2014 at 2:47 pm
Dealing with objections in sales is never easy, especially when you are selling personal training programs. It’s just not fun to hear “no thank you” after you’ve spent time with a prospect, explaining all the benefits and features of your training program… why it’s important to exercise… why they should take their health seriously… how being fit affects other areas of your life in a positive way… blah, blah, blah and so on.
Your prospect already knows this stuff. They know it’s unhealthy to be overweight, they know that diet and exercise are vitally important in healthy living, and they know that if they don’t change then what ever issues they’re dealing with might get worse. Your potential clients don’t need to hear all this from you- and it’s not your job to explain how awesome exercise really is.
The trick is to get right down to it and figure out why they haven’t made that change for themselves yet. Sometime people just need a push in the right direction- and that’s where you come in.
Some of your prospects might have been overweight for years and are just now seeking the help of a personal trainer. Others might not be overweight, but they lack energy to get through their day without loading up on tons of caffeine. Others may have been athletes when they were younger and want to get back into shape. Some may have never even exercised before and aren’t really sure of how to start.
So, if you find yourself dealing with a lot of objections when selling your personal training packages, then that’s step number one. Find out what drives them.
Why They Say No
Why do people say no when buying a product or service that they want? Simply put, there’s a lack of these four little things: need, urgency, trust, and the most frustrating of all- money.
One of these four objections are at the heart of every single “no” you hear, so if you get good at identifying which objection your prospect is using then you’ll be much more prepared to overcome them. Each objection is important to understand because they all require a different way of handling the issue.
Here’s how to handle a lack of…
Need
Basically, a prospect or potential client has to have a need for your services, which is probably likely because you’re selling personal training- and everyone needs to exercise. But not everyone feels like they “need” to pay for a fitness program to help them exercise.
One way to overcome a lack of need is to sell your prospects on results. Not the mechanics of getting there, but what they’re going to get if they stick with your program. The outcome. By focusing on the value and the outcome of your program, you’ll create a need for it. But if you focus too much on features like the square footage of your gym or the exercises they’ll be doing if they sign up, you’ll lose their interest and devalue what you actually do.
Urgency
This objection is usually the one that drives personal trainers crazy. They go through all this trouble to figure out someone’s needs and they finally find it but the timing isn’t quite right. They may have even said something like “I’d love to, but it’s not the right time for me”.
Chances are, if this is someone’s biggest objection, then you probably didn’t demonstrate the impact of your solution well enough. What you offer has to be a solution for a problem that you’re going to help them solve. And if they’re not really ready to solve that problem, it’s up to you to show them that they are- with your help, of course.
Taking time to figure out their needs will really help you in this step, and if you listened well enough then you can use a lot of what they said to make a big emotional impact. People buy with their hearts- not with their brains… so it’s important to create a sense of urgency when sitting down with someone.
Ask open ended questions that forces someone to give up a little information about themselves. Questions like, “What bothers you the most about the extra weight?”, “How do you feel when go shopping for new clothes?”, “At what point in your life did you feel the best?”, “How is your energy level throughout the day?”. Really pay attention to their answers so you can refer back to them and help them decide that now is better than never.
Trust
You’ve heard us say this a billion and one times, but it’s so incredibly true: people have to know, like, and trust you before they’ll buy from you. That’s why referrals are the perfect potential client because they already trust that you can get results- or they wouldn’t have been recommended by someone you train in the first place.
Exposure is one awesome way to build up your know, like, and trust factor. Start making Youtube videos of home workouts and share them on your business’ Facebook Fan Page. Write helpful articles on health and fitness and send them to your email list. Try submitting one of them to your local newspaper. Write case studies on your best, most transformed clients to show that you really know your stuff. (more…)
Posted by Steve Hochman on October 30, 2013 at 11:42 am
You are NOT in the fitness business.
Whoa… what did I just say? You are not in the fitness business!? Probably the fact that you train clients day in and day out, helping them lose fat, build muscle, and basically change their lives makes you beg to differ. BUT, the fact is, even with all that considered, there is something that you have to be even better at and that is the REAL core of your business…and it is called fitness marketing.
I know, sales and marketing are probably the last thing you want to think about, BUT, if your marketing plan sucks and you can’t get people to check out your services, then it won’t matter how kick butt of a trainer you are, because you won’t have anyone to train! This is the area where many fitness business owners fail and oftentimes it is not because they are not doing enough, but because what they are doing is WRONG.
These marketing mistakes can be extremely costly overtime and have caused literally thousands of businesses just like yours to close their doors because of lack of interest and income. Well, I say SCREW THAT!
Tighten up your fitness marketing, do the right things, and get those bodies sweating! Here is a simple list of 5 mistakes that many fitness business owners make that you should avoid if you want a thriving fitness business filled with eager bodies ready to be changed!
Not knowing who you are targeting - This one’s a biggie. You see, in a rush to want to change the world, too many fitness business owners believe that their product is for EVERYONE. Now, while it may be true that as a trainer, you really CAN help people from all walks of life, unless a person feels like you are speaking directly to THEM, they probably won’t even give you a second look. This means you need to be specific about what audience you are trying to reach. These could be stay at home moms, busy professionals, super fit WARRIORS, or people over the age of 65 who have never exercised a day in their life. Be specific, get the ear of your target audience, and they will respond!
Not creating an email list - This one kills me. Fact is, email marketing for personal trainers works! If you personally collect someone’s email, tell them you will email them, and then actually DO email them, they will oftentimes be responsive. You need to grab the email of EVERYONE you come in contact with! All past clients, people you meet in public, people who phone you, AND those who opt in for your special offer on your website. (That is the subject of another lesson, but it is VITAL that you are doing this in your business!) Make CERTAIN you have their permission to email them and always include a way to OPT OUT of your emails so you can be in compliance with SPAM laws. (more…)
Posted by Steve Hochman on October 3, 2013 at 11:00 am
You’ve worked hard, you look great and you know your biz. If you have a facility you may have even got yourself into some deep financial obligations to get the place full of the latest state-of –the-art equipment, but without knowing the best way of marketing a personal training business you’ll probably be DOA.
Marketing is essential for any business whether it’s newly established or has been around for a long time. Look at Coca-Cola. Just about everyone on this planet has heard of it, but the company still spends millions on advertising. Why? Because of competition. You have to keep reminding people that you’re there – and that you’re the best, or they may be tempted to try someone else’s services.
Marketing a Personal Training Business Doesn’t have to Cost a Boatload of Money
If you’re new to marketing then don’t panic, some of the best ways of marketing a fitness business don’t have to break the bank, in fact the best ways only take time, careful planning and/or a small financial investment.
Social Media - FaceBook
If you haven’t set up a FaceBook Page for your business, then it’s time you did. Don’t be tempted to mix your personal and business personas by adding your business to your personal FaceBook profile. Your aim is to look professional, and mixing personal training information with comments and pictures of your best buddy’s stag night probably won’t impress a potential client!
The whole idea of marketing is to get as many people talking about your personal training business as possible, so aim to be a bit controversial, engage people and get a buzz going. Make sure you answer questions and interact with your fans regularly, get discussions going and run polls and competitions. FaceBook is a great place to interact with people to find out what they need.
When you get some healthy discussions going, FaceBook is also a great source of ideas that you can use when you build your email marketing list. Get people’s permission to use their names and questions, and incorporate those into topics for your website or email blasts. People love to see their own names and pix on the internet. They’ll Tweet and contact all their Friends to show off, thereby increasing your list of fans.
Social Media – YouTube
If you know your way around a camera, do this. Check out Google’s free Keyword Tool and investigate what people are searching for in relation to losing weight and personal training.
Marketing a personal training business via YouTube is incredibly easy and effective. There are one and a half million searches punched into Google every month relating to personal fitness training and many of these are localized searches.
Use this keyword information to title articles for your website and use these keywords in the titles and descriptions of the videos you make. You can re-use your videos many times over; on your website and on all the other video sharing sites. Pick your keywords wisely and incorporate the name of your town and build a seriously popular channel of helpful videos that will be shared, Liked and Tweeted. Concentrate on content, video quality and sound quality – the latter is often overlooked, but is extremely important if you want to look professional. Aim to get your videos on the first page of the search engine results pages. With a few minutes’ research you’ll discover under-utilized keywords and you will cash in.
Email Marketing
If you haven’t got a list, you’re missing one of the cheapest ways of marketing your fitness business. Placing an opt-in form on a WordPress site is a piece of cake, and getting people to sign up isn’t rocket science. (more…)
Posted by Steve Hochman on September 25, 2013 at 11:40 am
What are your reasons for wanting to open your own fitness studio? The first answer will probably be to make more money, but if you know the ins and outs of leasing a property, paying staff, taxes, insurance etc., you may be wondering if you could actually make more money. Would it be worth the effort?
The second reason may be so you could do what you want to do - maybe by appealing to a specific market that you enjoy working with. Well, here are nine very good reasons why you should open your own fitness center. The two reasons mentioned above are in there too of course.
You Can Get Other People to do the Work
There’s an old saying – people are too busy working to make any money. Employing a dozen staff, each making you, say, $10 clear profit every hour they work beats the hell out of trying to make $120 an hour all on your own. If you set up your personal training studio right, that’s exactly what you could be doing – even while you’re relaxing with your family on a tropical beach!
But does the thought of dealing with a dozen staff give you a massive headache? Then look at starting your own fitness boot camps! One-on-one training is ridiculously inefficient. You can set up boot camps, have trained members of staff run them for you, and add group training sessions – all with just a few staff – and still reap big financial rewards
You’re the Boss
By offering large group sessions and boot camps you won’t be a slave to your business. You won’t have to supervise everything that goes on either. With someone else running them you’ll be able to do it from the comfort of your home, or from a smart phone anywhere in the world.
Work the Hours you Want
If you want to get involved you can – training only the people you choose to train – and charging them accordingly. No more getting up at dawn and watching the sun go down in someone else’s studio. Do what you want – and reap the rewards!
You Run Your Business
One of the biggest problems with running your own business is that you can end up with that business running you. That’s not the reason why you wanted to start your own fitness studio is it? If you run indoor boot camps, you’ll only need a fraction of the expensive equipment needed to stock a 24 hour gym. Make each square foot of your personal training studio works for you by offering many boot camp sessions each day. Have someone else run them for you and you’ll be in no danger of being overwhelmed by your business. (more…)
EXPOSING THE TRUTH ABOUT BEDROS KEUILIAN SCAM RUMORS
Bedros Keuilian Speaks Out
USA: Bedros Keuilian, owner of PT Power and creator of such products as the FitPro Newsletter and The Art of Selling Fitness, has spoken out about the unscrupulous rumors about him and his products that hit the internet a while back. Google searches for the term ‘Bedros Keuilian scam’ turn up some abusive and highly suspect posts from several people.
“I’m shocked and disappointed at having been the target of some unscrupulous scam accusations online,” Bedros said recently. “It’s telling that none of these people seem to be willing to provide their real names, preferring instead to hide behind a fake user name or identity.”
Unfortunately Bedros Keuilian is not the first entrepreneurial success story to have been on the receiving end of such scam rumors. Fortunately many of the scam stories have been responded to not by Bedros himself, but by many of his satisfied customers. Indeed one particularly abusive accusation was responded to by several clients who all testified to how much success they have achieved since investing in one of his programs.
“While the internet has made it easy for people to establish their own businesses, it has also made it easy for some people to abuse others behind a fake name,” Bedros explained. “Honest people can have their business and image damaged online by unscrupulous agenda driven people, and this is what happened to me – an honest person who has helped many others in the past. It’s a shame these people feel the need to try and ruin honest business people. However with that said, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all my clients who stood up and responded to these people, without any prompting from me. I was very touched by that.” (more…)
This blog is about flooding your boot camps with new clients using the most POWERFUL, TESTED and PROVEN boot camp marketing formulas on the planet.
Simple put, this stuff is proven to work... Period.
In fact, after fixing the old "broken" boot camp model, I co-founded Fit Body Boot Camp, the largest fastest growing and most in-demand boot camp franchise in the world.
If you' re ready to DOMINATE and get a ton of new clients, you've come to the right place!
So visit this blog often, take massive action and get the live lifestyle of your dreams.
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I want you to think for a minute about what marketing truly is for you at its simplest and most fundamental level. You probably own one or more Fit Body Boot Camp location and all of your prospective clients live in or near your neighborhood. They all live, work, shop and play within a reasonable distance of your home and your Boot Camp.
