1 free month personal training

[chaosmatt]

Hey guys i was just looking for some advise, i had a thought as i am just starting out, would offering a free month of personal training to a limited number of people for a limited time do any good or would it devalue my product later down the line, i was mainly thinking for advertising as in word of mouth and also to gain some experience personal training as i am just starting out. Obviously some people may abuse this but i wasn't sure what to think and just needed some trainers opinions.

Thanks in advnace for any replies

[Lasharm]

I tried that before and ended up with a few people who just trained for free and never continue afterwards. I ended up doing a "Buy 11 sessions and get 1 free" month-special and more people went for that and stuck with training with me. If people have to pay for something, they value it more.

Now I do occasionally give out "free" personal training, but it is only to those who I have known for a long time, know that they will stick with the program, and make great testimonial clients (with pictures/vids) when it's done.

[MJRuffalo]

Hey guys i was just looking for some advise, i had a thought as i am just starting out, would offering a free month of personal training to a limited number of people for a limited time do any good or would it devalue my product later down the line, i was mainly thinking for advertising as in word of mouth and also to gain some experience personal training as i am just starting out. Obviously some people may abuse this but i wasn't sure what to think and just needed some trainers opinions.

Thanks in advnace for any replies

It absolutely devalues your service. I would recommend not doing this.

[ger2oo5]

Hey guys i was just looking for some advise, i had a thought as i am just starting out, would offering a free month of personal training to a limited number of people for a limited time do any good or would it devalue my product later down the line, i was mainly thinking for advertising as in word of mouth and also to gain some experience personal training as i am just starting out. Obviously some people may abuse this but i wasn't sure what to think and just needed some trainers opinions.

Thanks in advnace for any replies

Just offer the first session for free if anything. I do this as the first session is very much based on gathering relevant data for clients goals, health checks (BP, RHR, etc) and agreeing an exercise/activity plan. Theres still usually 20- 30 minutes left to give the client a taste of your skills as a trainer

[chaosmatt]

Just offer the first session for free if anything. I do this as the first session is very much based on gathering relevant data for clients goals, health checks (BP, RHR, etc) and agreeing an exercise/activity plan. Theres still usually 20- 30 minutes left to give the client a taste of your skills as a trainer

i was thinking of doing this, but at my gym (its council run) there isn't a huge base for clients so i thought it would be good advertising for word of mouth but as everyone has said and i was wary of it probably will devalue me as a trainer. I think i may leave this idea for the moment. I was also considering the above as like you said it will be aimed at gaining relevant info, fitness, measurements, lifestyle all that kinda stuff so i may give that ago instead

Thanks for the replies guys reps for all
Edit: ger2oo5 im on spread sorry

[jules_d1]

i dont suggest it but if if IF IF you want to give away a free month, structure itin a way that their first month is free when they sign up for 6 months or something like that. Have contracts drawn up etc.

[chaosmatt]

i dont suggest it but if if IF IF you want to give away a free month, structure itin a way that their first month is free when they sign up for 6 months or something like that. Have contracts drawn up etc.

I would do this but as i have had no client yet as i am only just starting out, and i am working for the gym they set the prices and i kinda have to go with it. But i will use this in future i think.

Thanks

[pinesfootball88]

I would do this but as i have had no client yet as i am only just starting out, and i am working for the gym they set the prices and i kinda have to go with it. But i will use this in future i think.

Thanks

what u can do is you can give an extra 25% of the sessions that they buy..so if they purchase 48 sessions u can give them an extra 12 sessions for free..i tried the whole month free (2 a week so total of 8 free sessions) and ppl take advantage

[Simmo0508]

Never EVER give anything away for free. Ever. Never ever. Ever.

A good trainer and a successful trainer and a successful business in general, does not devalue it's time and it's services at all. It holds it's services in high regard and with high worth. If you're the best (which every trainer and business' mentality should be like), then the best does not give away anything for free.

Do you go to the supermarket and get groceries for free? Ever? No. You want something, you purchase it, you use it.

I can appreciate giving discounts to long time clients/members as a part of packaged deals, that's fine, but that still isn't completely free. That's a discount. And even then, it only should be a small discount so it doesn't hurt your income and overall targeted earnings.

[Lasharm]

Do you go to the supermarket and get groceries for free? Ever? No. You want something, you purchase it, you use it.

Actually, you can get plenty of stuff free in the supermarket... Though it is always a special like Buy one-get one free.

[nsiegel5]

i dont suggest it but if if IF IF you want to give away a free month, structure itin a way that their first month is free when they sign up for 6 months or something like that. Have contracts drawn up etc.

That might work just make sure they pay up front and I would work it in a way that you actually make them pay for the month it just sounds free. So up your charges and then slash them in front of client so it looks good but in reality you would never charge anyone those high prices. I dont agree with giving it away for free but if your really stuck for clients give a little tiny bit for free not the whole farm.

[SerpentHearted]

I agree with the other guys. If people pay for 5 or 10 weeks of training up front AND make every session with no cancellations I give them a free week. But they have to earn it by training for 10 weeks and also they have to be paying up front. I know, I just said that didn't I? hahah

When I was still in the process of studying for my qualification I was prepared to train people for free just to get some experience, but the thing is that when you're giving something away for free, people don't value it. They don't even value your TIME that you're giving to them, so they'll not turn up, or turn up and do the workout but not follow your nutrition advice, just not appreciate what you're trying to do for them for FREE and you'll end up frustrated (at best).

On the other hand people who are paying for your services are (generally speaking, in my experience) are more committed to following your program AND are more appreciative of your time and effort.

[tovlakas]

Never EVER give anything away for free. Ever. Never ever. Ever.

A good trainer and a successful trainer and a successful business in general, does not devalue it's time and it's services at all. It holds it's services in high regard and with high worth. If you're the best (which every trainer and business' mentality should be like), then the best does not give away anything for free.

Do you go to the supermarket and get groceries for free? Ever? No. You want something, you purchase it, you use it.

I can appreciate giving discounts to long time clients/members as a part of packaged deals, that's fine, but that still isn't completely free. That's a discount. And even then, it only should be a small discount so it doesn't hurt your income and overall targeted earnings.

I don't completely agree with this. Your time is only as valuable as what can potentially fill it up. As a brand new trainer with no clients, no track record, and no "success stories" to prove his worth, OP would have a hard time claiming he is "the best". This is going to affect his ability to attract clients and establish himself as the expert. You can't just show up and claim to be the best and charge premium price for your services when you have no experience, I am sorry it just doesn't work with the majority of people.

The trick is to ask the client for something in return for training them for free. That way, you are still getting some worth out of it. It can be a promise of referrals, agreement to use them as before/after and testimonial, etc. I personally did this when starting out with great success. People would argue that I was devaluing my services but my services HAD no value without proof of their effectiveness, which requires current client examples (and thus starts the endless cycle unless you get some to train for free or get very lucky). People would argue that I was valuing my time at 0 dollars but the truth is, without any clients my time WAS basically valueless because no matter what else I did for my business, I wouldn't have been making money anyway.

Once you have a steady clientele, then you can start weighing the costs and benefits of pro-bono work. However, when starting out as an independent with no clients, IMO it is absolutely mandatory to swallow your pride and do some pro bono training to get your name out there and to start getting some clients. If you provide a great experience and real results and ONLY TARGET FOLKS WHO WOULD PAY FOR THE SERVICE (very important part), these folks will continue with you after the free period. Find a way to monetize on them besides by charging them and you will be looking great.

As for maintaining commitment, there are plenty of ways besides money to ensure commitment from a client, you just need to use your creativity to figure out how to do so. I'd say my clients that received free training were at least as committed, if not more so than paying clients.

Any independent trainers that disagree, I'd like to ask you this: when you started as an independent trainer, were you coming from a gym and already had a pool of clients to choose from, or at least some success stories to use? I have a hard time believing any independent trainers with no experience or clients just started charging first thing and became successful.

[Simmo0508]

I don't completely agree with this. Your time is only as valuable as what can potentially fill it up. As a brand new trainer with no clients, no track record, and no "success stories" to prove his worth, OP would have a hard time claiming he is "the best". This is going to affect his ability to attract clients and establish himself as the expert. You can't just show up and claim to be the best and charge premium price for your services when you have no experience, I am sorry it just doesn't work with the majority of people.

The trick is to ask the client for something in return for training them for free. That way, you are still getting some worth out of it. It can be a promise of referrals, agreement to use them as before/after and testimonial, etc. I personally did this when starting out with great success. People would argue that I was devaluing my services but my services HAD no value without proof of their effectiveness, which requires current client examples (and thus starts the endless cycle unless you get some to train for free or get very lucky). People would argue that I was valuing my time at 0 dollars but the truth is, without any clients my time WAS basically valueless because no matter what else I did for my business, I wouldn't have been making money anyway.

Once you have a steady clientele, then you can start weighing the costs and benefits of pro-bono work. However, when starting out as an independent with no clients, IMO it is absolutely mandatory to swallow your pride and do some pro bono training to get your name out there and to start getting some clients. If you provide a great experience and real results and ONLY TARGET FOLKS WHO WOULD PAY FOR THE SERVICE (very important part), these folks will continue with you after the free period. Find a way to monetize on them besides by charging them and you will be looking great.

As for maintaining commitment, there are plenty of ways besides money to ensure commitment from a client, you just need to use your creativity to figure out how to do so. I'd say my clients that received free training were at least as committed, if not more so than paying clients.

Any independent trainers that disagree, I'd like to ask you this: when you started as an independent trainer, were you coming from a gym and already had a pool of clients to choose from, or at least some success stories to use? I have a hard time believing any independent trainers with no experience or clients just started charging first thing and became successful.

It's absolutely possible to start off as a complete novice to the PT world, and straight away charge premium price to the financially stable market. It's just about how you present yourself, and the way you converse with people. Making them believe you already know what you're doing. Putting their mind at ease.

Very few prospects actually ask to see prior client before-and-after's, so that's often irrelevant a lot of the time. It's good on our behalf as PT's to strengthen the sales pitch if we need to, but again, if you have a thorough pre-screening process, they're already been pre-sold before they even enter your studio. They often just wanna get straight into it at that point.

Nor do a lot of prospects ask for the experience level of a PT. They see a person wearing a PT business uniform, and they automatically assume that person is competent. They assume that that person wouldn't be employed, if they weren't competent. They don't ask PT's to whip out their resumes and their credentials right in front of their face. Most don't care. To them, you're working at a gym, you know what you're doing in that case (no matter how wrong that is, to us).

Not everybody out there thinks like that, but a large majority i've found.

So with that in mind, you're just wasting your own time if you aren't getting paid for your time and effort. Cos remember, there's more to the job of training a person than just the 60 minute session for example. There's also travel (if necessary), and the programming itself (which takes up a ton of time when you have a lot of sessions to get through). All things that you should be compensated for. That's your work. Your time.

A lot goes into it. Never do that work for free. Never do anything in life unless you get something out of it imo (selfish, but nice guys finish last).

Regarding the whole "i'll train em for free, because they promised to send me referrals" deal, a lot of the time that's just BS. They say that, but they don't actually follow through. They're just "yeah yeah yeah... i'll get my friend to come in tomorrow!~", then what'll happen? Nothing. Said person will come in for their next free session because the trainer is a wimp and won't be firm and follow through with an agreement.

Cheap clients and "free" clients are often the ones that give PT's the most problems in terms of inconsistency, flakeyness, lateness, poor communication etc. so don't go down that route.

[tovlakas]

It's absolutely possible to start off as a complete novice to the PT world, and straight away charge premium price to the financially stable market. It's just about how you present yourself, and the way you converse with people. Making them believe you already know what you're doing. Putting their mind at ease.

again, cannot be done in my experience without proof of effectiveness, ie client testimonials.

Very few prospects actually ask to see prior client before-and-after's, so that's often irrelevant a lot of the time. It's good on our behalf as PT's to strengthen the sales pitch if we need to, but again, if you have a thorough pre-screening process, they're already been pre-sold before they even enter your studio. They often just wanna get straight into it at that point.

Not at all true in my case. My marketing efforts have been GREATLY optimized by including client stories of success compared to just baselessly discussing how awesome I am. In fact, this spans much further than personal training.. it is well-known that client testimonials are powerful business tool in any business. I use them in my website design business as well to great effect.

Nor do a lot of prospects ask for the experience level of a PT. They see a person wearing a PT business uniform, and they automatically assume that person is competent. They assume that that person wouldn't be employed, if they weren't competent. They don't ask PT's to whip out their resumes and their credentials right in front of their face.

True but I didn't say that, the problem is many of these folks have already experienced other trainers and many times these other trainers are bunk, so they are not focused on "is this person experienced" but instead "is this person going to be worth my money?" When I mentioned that a lack of experience was an issue, I was referring to the fact that OP cannot assume he is the best trainer without any experience. It's important to maintain a clear line between confidence and arrogance in business. Without experience the bottom line is OP does not really KNOW if they are a good trainer or not. Just assuming they are and going forward will accomplish two things if he is, in fact, a ****ty trainer: 1. the people who were sold on the premise that he was a premium trainer will be infuriated, quit, and rag on his business any time the issue comes up and 2. he will be close-minded to opportunities to improve himself and his service (why would I improve, I'm the best!)

Most don't care. To them, you're working at a gym, you know what you're doing in that case (no matter how wrong that is, to us).

Again, I am only referring to independent trainers, not trainers who work in a gym. If you're referring to employee trainers then we are arguing apples and oranges here. I don't meet a single one of my clients "in my gym" because the studios I train at are private and nearly nobody is in the except my clients while I'm training there. So nobody sees me at the gym and assumes anything, they meet me either elsewhere or through the phone/email/mailings, etc.

In that case, you DO absolutely need to prove your worth in order to get past their initial suspicion. It is extremely rare for someone in the general population to immediately be a hot lead ready to buy without any convincing that you are worth your value. The large majority of that convincing is establishing yourself as the expert. An expert is an expert because they know what they're talking about, and in order to convince someone of that you must have previous examples of your work. That is obvious in just about any service-based industry. Who these days doesn't visit yelp.com before going to a restaurant, or doesn't check review sites/ask around before getting cell phone service (unless driven by PRODUCTS, as in the iphone, of course but that is irrelevant to this discussion). The point is social proof is huge in the process of convincing a consumer to spend on your otherwise unproven service.

Not everybody out there thinks like that, but a large majority i've found.

So with that in mind, you're just wasting your own time if you aren't getting paid for your time and effort. Cos remember, there's more to the job of training a person than just the 60 minute session for example. There's also travel (if necessary), and the programming itself (which takes up a ton of time when you have a lot of sessions to get through). All things that you should be compensated for. That's your work. Your time.

A lot goes into it. Never do that work for free. Never do anything in life unless you get something out of it imo (selfish, but nice guys finish last).

again, it's not "for free" it's simply not for monetary compensation. There are tons of other ways to make it worth it. Requiring referrals is one like I mentioned, service swap is another (I train you for free, you give me your service for free... great when you're starting out and don't have money to spend on **** but you have the free time to spend training people, plus that person becomes a testimonial). Training a person who is big in the community and can expand your prospect circle is another. Any trainer who refuses to consider these examples when first starting out is going to completely limit themselves, and will take years to accomplish what it can take months to accomplish otherwise.

Regarding the whole "i'll train em for free, because they promised to send me referrals" deal, a lot of the time that's just BS. They say that, but they don't actually follow through. They're just "yeah yeah yeah... i'll get my friend to come in tomorrow!~", then what'll happen? Nothing. Said person will come in for their next free session because the trainer is a wimp and won't be firm and follow through with an agreement.

so, are you saying that from explicit personal experience, or just talking like you're in the know? I have personal experience refuting what you're saying, countless times. Sure, if you just walk up to someone and say, hey I'll give you free training, oh by the way "gimme some clients sometime" then they won't do jack. However, if you approach the situation intelligently (like I made these types of clients sign a contract before they started that stated that in return for training they are required to give me x referrals per month, and it stated in the contract that if they failed, their training would be terminated... you'd be surprised how well that works when combined with KEEPING ON THEIR ASS about the referrals) then there is no reason it won't work.

Again, I am saying this from personal experience PROVING it works, and I have friends who have done this as well and it was the single thing that got them off the ground... this goes for personal training and boot camping alike. My friend had 6 weeks of bootcamp for free for 20 people and again, didn't just "ask for referrals" like lazy, brainless moron; he made a "contest" and said whoever brought in 5 or more referrals would get a year free, and 2 or more referral would get a month free. Guess what, it BLEW UP and he got 17 new clients in 2 weeks, all of which were paying full price. It kickstarted his bootcamp and now less than a year and a half later he has 80 paying clients and 2 locations. He could have approached the situation proudly and denounced any "free labor" and he'd probably be just like every other poor shmuck who is struggling with ~15-20 clients and making 30k a year.

Cheap clients and "free" clients are often the ones that give PT's the most problems in terms of inconsistency, flakeyness, lateness, poor communication etc. so don't go down that route.

totally agree, but cheap/free clients is not the same thing as clients receiving training without being required to pay money for it. I said in all capital letters in my original post that you need to ensure that these folks ur giving the training to are people who WOULD pay for it anyway, and you ensure that through prospect screening just like you would a paying client. You are offering THEM training for no monetary investment but it is not free for them, there are still requirements to be met. And it still has monetary value for you, just not immediate.

Successful business owners and the typical hack-job business owner are separated by the fact that the successful types recognize the necessity of investment, while the hack-jobs constantly require immediate gratification. Doing something for no monetary benefit now, but that sets you up for huge returns later, is a prime example of what would differentiate a skilled business owner from a hack. Starting up a business is rarely a thankful job—hence the high failure rate. If it was easy then everyone would be a millionaire.

[Simmo0508]

Imo you never know however for sure if there's gonna be that huge return later on though. That's just a wishful outlook. You don't put food on your table week by week, by simply not charging sessions when you physically could be. A wishful outlook doesn't pay the bills.

Again, we probably have different systems in place, different market approaches, and different studios in the first place. Like i said before, a thorough pre-screening process, often eliminates the "i have to prove my worth to you" situation during a consult.

I agree with what you say as well, but you gotta be realistic at the same time and think about the short-term just as much as the long-term, because without a short-term, you have no long-term regardless.

Take things day by day, constantly growing your business, without having these huge plans that you hope will eventuate later on. You can grow your business, without having to give away things for free.

You talk about proving worth to a customer etc. but the #1 killer to all that is literally offering something for free. It's completely hypocritical. How can a prospect believe all that, when you're doin it for free? If you've proven to them how good a PT you via the testimonials etc. then why would you want to devalue your time by not charging a price for that person you're selling to? Did you train them for free? Everybody for free? Course not. If you're doin the job for free, they often assume "he mustn't be that serious about his business, so i won't be serious about this arrangement either". You're sessions have no worth if you aren't charging anything for them, that's the thing. Cos like mentioned above, you have no actual guarantee that they'll follow through with say a referral arrangement or any other mutual agreement.

People will walk all over you if you give them the opportunity to. Don't be that guy.

There's the PT's that offer a ton of free stuff, and get nothing out of it at the end of the day and they've done all that hard work for no return, and then there's the other PT's who walk the walk and talk the talk and charge premium from the get-go and have the cash in their wallet whilst the other guy doesn't, and struggles his way through life week by week.

Without a financial payoff for today, you not need worry about tomorrow. You'd be under before you know it.

[ChrisTurk]

In four years I have never once been asked for a testimonial. I have never given away free training either. Establish credibility through your website and make sure the client is sold before meeting with them. If you are going to to train them at their home or park etc. you might even want to get a deposit before meeting with them.

[tovlakas]

Imo you never know however for sure if there's gonna be that huge return later on though. That's just a wishful outlook. You don't put food on your table week by week, by simply not charging sessions when you physically could be. A wishful outlook doesn't pay the bills.

Successful business ventures are not without risk. In fact, risk is a critical, foundational part of business. To disagree with that is to disagree with fact.

Again, we probably have different systems in place, different market approaches, and different studios in the first place. Like i said before, a thorough pre-screening process, often eliminates the "i have to prove my worth to you" situation during a consult.

I agree with what you say as well, but you gotta be realistic at the same time and think about the short-term just as much as the long-term, because without a short-term, you have no long-term regardless.

Take things day by day, constantly growing your business, without having these huge plans that you hope will eventuate later on. You can grow your business, without having to give away things for free.

see above response

You talk about proving worth to a customer etc. but the #1 killer to all that is literally offering something for free. It's completely hypocritical. How can a prospect believe all that, when you're doin it for free? If you've proven to them how good a PT you via the testimonials etc. then why would you want to devalue your time by not charging a price for that person you're selling to?

Erm, you wouldn't want to. The entire point of offering complementary training was to GET the testimonials in the first place because when you start out you don't HAVE any. One you have testimonials, and you have these clients referring you more clients, you would have no reason to train any new people complimentary. That's the entire purpose of this tactic! Training people for free for no reason would be pointless, I have never said otherwise.

Did you train them for free? Everybody for free? Course not. If you're doin the job for free, they often assume "he mustn't be that serious about his business, so i won't be serious about this arrangement either". You're sessions have no worth if you aren't charging anything for them, that's the thing. Cos like mentioned above, you have no actual guarantee that they'll follow through with say a referral arrangement or any other mutual agreement.

Again, I am not advocating "giving away training for free". It is close-minded to look at only monetary compensation as a means to an end. I pointed out many examples of other ways clients can "pay" you. To say that trading training for something non-monetary is "making you a wimp and people WILL FOR SURE walk all over you and NEVER GIVE YOU ANY referrals" is just untrue and an overgeneralization. You are ignoring the large factor which is how you approach the agreement. You cannot simply state that "the client will assume you must not be serious" because like I've said twice now, when you approach this person you need to make it clear WHY you're offering training to them without a price-tag, and it's not out of desperation, it's because it's more beneficial to you.

The way I did it was I said since I wasn't charging them, I got to demand other things way more from them than from other clients that were paying. for example, they were REQUIRED to give me a specific number of referrals on a regular basis. paying clients were not. They were REQUIRED to allow me to use their pics for before/afters, and were REQUIRED to allow me to video tape a testimonial of them. Paying clients were not. There are more requirements they had to meet as well. If they didn't meet these requirements they were TERMINATED and yes, I did terminate anyone who didn't follow the requirements (it happened twice, and one of them begged to be let back and I refused). I seriously want to know, do you think if you presented a contract with all these stipulations laid out clearly to a client, and held them to the requirements, that they would think you aren't serious? No, they will know you are serious and are a skilled business person using what resources are available to best succeed.

People will walk all over you if you give them the opportunity to. Don't be that guy.

I've given people "that opportunity" in both of my businesses, many times and never allowed a single person to walk over me. These folks became some of the most valuable assets to my businesses, so I will have to completely disagree with your statement. I can't be told I'm wrong when I've personally experienced otherwise.

There's the PT's that offer a ton of free stuff, and get nothing out of it at the end of the day and they've done all that hard work for no return,

then they didn't do it right.

and then there's the other PT's who walk the walk and talk the talk and charge premium from the get-go and have the cash in their wallet whilst the other guy doesn't, and struggles his way through life week by week.

and for every lucky guy who manages to somehow make it in this fashion, you have 20 who failed because this tactic is NOT reliable. You don't have to struggle if you're responsible with your finances, and if you've saved up some money to live on. And if done right, you will find yourself with paying clients who ARE paying your premium price within a few months at most. If you can't handle being profitless for 2-3 months then you should go work for someone else!

Without a financial payoff for today, you not need worry about tomorrow. You'd be under before you know it.

What is with personal trainers thinking their businesses are the exception to the rule? Most business owners in other industries understand that the likelihood that they will be profitable in the first year or two is extremely low, if not completely nill. This is because during this time they must make large investments that have FUTURE returns; their expenses will almost certainly outweigh their revenue. What keeps business owners afloat during this initial period of profitlessness is SAVED CAPITAL or a business loan, combined with frugality of one's lifestyle. Ignoring the need for initial investment in favor of immediate returns (the personality type that chooses this path is also typically the person who spends their money as they make it instead of living as if they are unemployed for the first 2-3 years of their business) cripples your ability to expand down the line and is short-sighted and naive and is the reason that many business owners who have had their business for 20 years are still chumps making 5 figure salaries.

The bottom line is on one hand we have is you, who has never TRIED offering training for alternative compensation, dismissing it and saying that no matter what it won't work, when the fact of the matter is you can't really know for sure because you've never tried it. On the other hand we have me, who HAS tried this specific tactic (as have many of his business-owner friends) and has seen great success from these tactics. In addition, I've tried the tactic of coming out the door charging a high price and it was incredibly difficult to get any clients.

It's a good debate, but I feel like you're missing the points I'm trying to make because you keep saying the same thing which I have addressed twice now...

In four years I have never once been asked for a testimonial. I have never given away free training either. Establish credibility through your website and make sure the client is sold before meeting with them. If you are going to to train them at their home or park etc. you might even want to get a deposit before meeting with them.

I've never been ASKED for a testimonial either. However, you say "establish credibility" on your site, well one major part of that is... you guessed it.. client testimonials! Hence my entire point here... is what I'm saying really that difficult to understand?

Yeah, good luck being a brand-new trainer with absolutely 0 clientele (like the OP) and going to ask some stranger for a deposit before meeting with them, LOL! Maybe Australia is Bizzaro-World but here in reality, that **** doesn't work!

[Simmo0508]

The bottom line is on one hand we have is you, who has never TRIED offering training for alternative compensation, dismissing it and saying that no matter what it won't work, when the fact of the matter is you can't really know for sure because you've never tried it. On the other hand we have me, who HAS tried this specific tactic (as have many of his business-owner friends) and has seen great success from these tactics. In addition, I've tried the tactic of coming out the door charging a high price and it was incredibly difficult to get any clients.

Actually i have. I've been in the industry for a long time now, and had people under me try many approaches. The "give stuff away for free and sort out an arrangement in return" often falls face first. Not all the time, but a lot of the time. Read my posts again. I said a lot of the time, i never said that it doesn't work for some people in some situations. I just said i wouldn't recommend it, because a newbie can still charge top price and get paid for their time (which is a lot of time, PT'ing is highly demanding even outside of the actual PT session with said client, of which is literally unpaid). The pre-screening process has to be correct, and the market one targets has to be high end.

A lot of high end clientele have a connotation with "free" meaning "crap". They want the best in life. The best house, the best car, the best clothes, the best personal trainer etc. The "best" personal trainer does not sell himself for free or do things for little return, in their eyes.

That's where you are misinterpreting. I agree with your points from a business p.o.v in one sense, but in another sense it's making your actual brand look cheap. You don't go to an actual gym and get free memberships, in return for the "promise" if sending business their way. So the same is with our services. You reward customers WHEN they follow through and actually do it, not BEFORE something happens.

I'm all for rewards programs and discounts for loyal customers, don't get me wrong. I love that stuff. But when you're building a business relationship with a new warm prospect, it's retarded to just give the impression that your time (at that time) is worthless. The customer doesn't care about your long term plan, they only care about the present. The now. What they can get out of it for themselves. So you fight fire with fire. You don't train them unless YOU get something out of it.

For a newbie, 2-3 months is actually quite a long time in terms of a building phase. The point of a building phase however is to gradually generate income however, not go income-less for that period. People do have to make a living and pay expenses, on the spot. Life doesn't work that way in terms of putting everything on hold for x months. A young trainer starting out often doesn't have a big bank balance to fall back on for that time period a lot of the time, so they still have to make something in order to make ends meet and not fall into debt.

Again, if you pre-sell the right market and have a good relationship with them, they WILL pay. Perhaps it's your approach and your system that is at fault if you have to lessen your worth in order to get people to train with you. It's all about communication and the bond between people. If people like you, they will buy from you.

I've never been ASKED for a testimonial either. However, you say "establish credibility" on your site, well one major part of that is... you guessed it.. client testimonials! Hence my entire point here... is what I'm saying really that difficult to understand?

Yeah, good luck being a brand-new trainer with absolutely 0 clientele (like the OP) and going to ask some stranger for a deposit before meeting with them, LOL! Maybe Australia is Bizzaro-World but here in reality, that **** doesn't work!

There's more to establishing credibility in this industry than just testimonials. As Chris said, testimonials hardly ever get asked for, nor used. It's great to have them, but they aren't essential. PT's amongst themselves (like us) tend to place more emphasis on it than necessary really.

So with that aspect in mind, it's important to focus on the things that actually matter. Relationships, business networking, likeability factor, and most of all, referrals and word of mouth. That's the thing... you've already done the selling if one of your clients or friends or family member passes somebody onto you. You don't have to whip out the big guns. They've talked you up already and said how fun your sessions are etc.

A client usually just sees the words "personal trainer" or "fitness professional" etc. etc. and they assume they're credible enough. They just wanna get started. They don't understand that trainers vary in skill.

And regarding that last paragraph, when your a brand new trainer on the scene, you're not meant to make it known that you're brand new. You just carry on like you've been doing the job for years. Never make it known that you're new, because yes, that'll scare the prospect. You're meant to do the job, act professionally, build the repore, and just follow through. Because again like we've said, testimonials and "proof" hardly ever gets asked for. You're wearing a PT shirt, or have a PT website, or work in a gym or rent space in a studio, then the prospect/client ASSUMES you know what to do. So with that, roll with it.

And what PT asks for a deposit before meeting somebody?! That's not how it's meant to go down lol Payments occur before or after an actual session has been completed (if cash in hand), or direct deposit paperwork is sorted out upon consultation and first few visits.

Pre-screening via the phone (or in general, when you're talking to anybody, face to face or otherwise) is meant to ask the question of "are you financially stable enough to support an active lifestyle and private training with me at my studio etc. etc.". If no, you move on. If yes, then you book the initial consult and the issue of money is already taken care of.

You're never meant to actually sort out the bank details before you've met somebody lol That doesn't even make sense to begin with. They have to meet you and you meet them first regardless.. So i know what you meant in reply to Chris there.

Nor do you "ask" them for payment initially. As in, you don't say "can i have some money now please...". It's meant to be approached like, this is what (for example) the "Beach Body in 16 weeks" package costs. We accept cash in hand, direct deposit, cheque etc. So your firm, your professional, and you're not asking again, because you've already ASKED in your pre-screening initial content via phone or what have you (in order to eliminate the potential clients from the ones that aren't applicable). Just like at the supermarket again, the cashier doesn't ask for payment, they instead say "that'll be $19.99 thanks", and give you your purchase. The same applies here. They wanna (or already have) purchase/d your training, your services, so you're in response "that'll be $60 for the 60 minute session thanks, hope you enjoyed it!, well done, i'll see you on Thursday morning for your next appointment" blah blah.


This information is even more relevant and useful for independents. Time is money, and there's a lot of overhead that independents have to factor in such as studio rent, insurance, rego, travel etc. It's stupid not to wanna be paid for all that work and expense.

You can indeed build a long term plan, whilst surviving in the short term. Play your cards right and have a structured plan, have good time management skills, work hard, network with the right people, and independents can be fine.

The same advice above applies to gym employees too. Never work for free. The other person is just scoring off your ass if you are. There's a lot of people that share that mindset, just check the top of this thread. A lot of other trainers agree.

Each their own..

[GabrielLegato]

Don't do a month, do a session or maybe 2. A month and they will not appreciate it as much and will value it much less.

[ChrisTurk]

And what PT asks for a deposit before meeting somebody?! That's not how it's meant to go down lol Payments occur before or after an actual session has been completed (if cash in hand), or direct deposit paperwork is sorted out upon consultation and first few visits.

When a client contacts me via email I will often take a deposit If they want to go ahead with a training package (10-40 sessions). For example, say I get an email asking for prices etc. I send them a pdf package with all the details, If they are happy to begin training I will take a $50 non refundable deposit to make the booking for their initial consultation. This is mainly because I work mobile and am not wanting to deal with reschedules or them missing the appointment etc. When I meet with them they they pay the remainder or sign direct debit forms etc. If I am able to meet with them within a few days of making the booking I don't bother with a deposit as it can often take a day or so for bank deposits to clear.

[ChrisTurk]

I've never been ASKED for a testimonial either. However, you say "establish credibility" on your site, well one major part of that is... you guessed it.. client testimonials! Hence my entire point here... is what I'm saying really that difficult to understand?

Yeah, good luck being a brand-new trainer with absolutely 0 clientele (like the OP) and going to ask some stranger for a deposit before meeting with them, LOL! Maybe Australia is Bizzaro-World but here in reality, that **** doesn't work!

I guess its the Bizzaro-World then, thats how I started and it worked fine. When I shop for a product or service the last thing I am looking at is testimonials. If anything I find them a turn off.

[Simmo0508]

When a client contacts me via email I will often take a deposit If they want to go ahead with a training package (10-40 sessions). For example, say I get an email asking for prices etc. I send them a pdf package with all the details, If they are happy to begin training I will take a $50 non refundable deposit to make the booking for their initial consultation. This is mainly because I work mobile and am not wanting to deal with reschedules or them missing the appointment etc. When I meet with them they they pay the remainder or sign direct debit forms etc. If I am able to meet with them within a few days of making the booking I don't bother with a deposit as it can often take a day or so for bank deposits to clear.

Sounds good.

Very rare that independents get warm prospects emailing them ready to lay down a commitment without meeting that person first however.