Marketing Gurus are BS
Go on any social media platform and you will be slammed with tons of sponsored ads with click-bait titles claiming you will “Get x10 new clients this month!” or “Earn a 6-figure income now!”, trying to lure in broke, desperate, and inexperienced trainers.
Let’s face it, most trainers are horrible at sales… after all, ideally you get into personal training to help people, not to sell to them. Most trainers are part-timers and one bad paycheck away from finding another job. In the last decade I have been able to make a career from Personal Training while watching dozens of people get certified only to be out of business within their first 6 months due to not having clients.
For those who have never seen the inside of a business & marketing course, there are tons of great sales strategies out there free to use. Marketing “gurus” across all industries make big promises that their system will make you an instant success. The harsh truth is most of these are repackaging the same old marketing funnel systems that have been around for decades just with different stock-images and switched around delivery methods.
Understand, sales comes from being seen and your reputation being known. Here are some fundamentals for Trainers and Coaches to get more sales.
- Even the best trainer needs to know how to sell their service… or they will be broke.
- Know your audience! Figure out your base and let them be your bread & butter. If you are trying to be a collegiate level coach in a retirement community, you’ll be out of business in a month. Think about the demographic you are in and build programs to attract clients. An example of this would be a Bodybuilding coach who has an expansive client list for Senior Yoga and Fitness Bootcamp program for Housewives.
- Carve out your niche and build your reputation. You may be a well-rounded trainer but make sure that in your community you are known as the authority on one or two subjects. Examples of these are “rehabilitative specialist”, “Powerlifting Coach”, “Transformation Expert”, or “Nutritional Coach” just to name a few.
- A salesman doesn’t sell! Your job is to educate the prospective client on why your service is right for them. You need to give them a clear & concise explanation of how you can get them the results they need in a timeframe they can accept.
- Don’t force a sale. Going after the “hard-sell” is a terrible idea… it only leads to buyers remorse and dings your reputation. Your reputation is everything in sales, and if you are known for being “pushy”, people will avoid you no matter how good you are as a Trainer.
- Go where the people are! Unless you are in a gym that feeds you hundreds of prospects each month you probably will need to harvest your own prospects. Set up public speaking events and go to community events and talk to people. Volunteer for community service and leverage any social clubs you can get into. This will be the best way for you to build an audience.
- Don’t rely on social media for growth. Algorithms change all the time and if you don’t adapt fast, you can lose all your prospects. There are tons of trainers out there during the last algorithm shift went from having a reach of thousands to single digits overnight. It doesn’t matter how many posts/ads you make per day if only your mom and existing clients see them.
- Be your biggest critic. Most trainers blame everyone else when they aren’t making sales. To be blunt… It’s usually their own fault. They either are not getting in front of enough people, or their reputation may be tarnished (known to be arrogant know-it-all, an asshole, a womanizer, etc…). Instead of blaming everyone else, figure out how to fix the problem.
Ultimately it is your responsibility to stay in business. Don’t waste thousands of dollars on sales gimmicks that may not even produce sales in your town. Instead, at least take a sale & marketing course or read a few books on the subject… or better yet, find the most successful trainer you know and get them to mentor you.
~Your Coach, Rick Tarleton