Ryan's Q&A Thread - Building Successful PT/Coaching Businesses

[2020Wellness]

Honestly we have no idea about pricing/agreement lengths yet. It's something we have been brainstorming creative solutions to. I.E. a referral program to where if you get 3 friends on the same agreement length as you, yours is free. This generates word of mouth advertising and growth through social groups, and drives down costs for a demographic that, while not broke, usually just spends their money on bull****.

Also, where are you training your clients? In a gym near campus? Outdoors in a park? Your own facility?

Gym near campus, campus gym

As well, just because you're in a college town, it doesn't mean you should only be going after college students. The demographic that will take their appointments seriously(most of the time), have the money for training, and need to get back into shape, is typically the middle-aged demographic. Don't forget about that! This is your people in the 25-45 years old range.

Very valid point

Why don't you answer my questions to you and we'll go from there.

Thanks for posting,

Ryan

If you read some of my posts above, I talk about the importance of having a definite pricing structure and agreement length options. I used to do the basic smaller packages, like 6 weeks here or 12 weeks there. However, now I work in 12 month agreement lengths 95% of the time, typically meeting one time per week with clients at the same time every week. Remember, the longer the agreement length, the more security you have in your business' income.

Also, make sure you don't take payments on a 'per session' basis. Sessions need to be pre-paid, otherwise you'll quickly regret it. If a session isn't pre-paid and the client doesn't show up, what happens? They keep their money and you're out the time you spent showing up to the training location and planning their session and the income you should've made for that session. If the session was pre-paid and they didn't show up, you have the option to charge them for that session or not charge them, but give them an initial warning that you'd have to charge if it happened again. Make sense?

The referral program is a great idea and it brings us to another aspect of training and earning the most money possible in the smallest amount of time spent earning it. The referral program would encourage group training sessions. If you can get a group of 2-4 clients training at the same time, charging them $25 dollars each, you're looking at $50-100 per hour. If you were able to do a few of those sessions per day, you'd be doing great. I have no idea what your income goals are, but you can see how group sessions can add up quickly and leave you more free time to do other sessions or to build marketing materials, relax, etc.

One more thing, have you talked to the gyms you're planning on training at? What type of deal are they offering you in terms of their take versus your take of the profits?

[oGreenic]

Awesome thread you've got going here!

I'm currently working sales but would love to eventually establish my own business in personal training. The thing I find most appealing about the whole industry is being able to be your own boss and not having to deal with a dick of a manager.

Where and how do I get started in becoming a personal trainer?

Do I need to go to college to get a degree or will a cert be fine?


Thanks for your response mate.

[2020Wellness]

Awesome thread you've got going here!

I'm currently working sales but would love to eventually establish my own business in personal training. The thing I find most appealing about the whole industry is being able to be your own boss and not having to deal with a dick of a manager.

Where and how do I get started in becoming a personal trainer?

Do I need to go to college to get a degree or will a cert be fine?

Thanks for your response mate.

Green, I'm going to answer your questions one by one below:

It sounds like you may have a dick of a manager right now, lol. My recommendation for you is to start developing your training business WHILE you're working sales. I'm sure you actually have plenty of down time at work where you could be planning, studying for a certification, etc. Am I right? If you do things right, you can be getting paid to study and develop your training business.

A certification will be fine. You do not need to go to college to start, operate, or become a successful PT.

I think I've answered all of your initial questions. If you have some follow-up questions, just post em up.

Thanks for posting in my thread,

Ryan

[piccdk]

I currently live in Portugal, and I'm about to move to the UK in hopes of pursuiting a career in personal training. I don't have any degree, nor any certification, although I'm planning on getting one as soon as I arrive in the UK. A bit "afraid" of failing, since if I don't do good as a personal training, pretty much my whole life will fail and I'll force to comeback to Portugal and find another way to go about it. I've been doing online coaching for about half a year now and it's been going good (kratostrength.com).

The thing that I'm most afraid is, despite being 100% confident in my coaching abilities, I know nothing about business, and my social skills aren't the greatest. As far as I'm aware, you have to get your own clients, you simply rent the space/gym. I have no idea how to get clients, I just randomly walk up to people? Seems super awkward and doomed to fail. My idea of a perfect job would be me just working a gym from X am to Y pm, and the gym itself would get me the clients, but I've realized that's just a dream and won't happen.

What certification should I get? Will that even matter? There's anywhere from 1000£ up to almost 4000£. Does it matter if I get it online or in person? They companies say it's the same thing, but not sure if gyms and/or clients will dislike an online certification.

Any general advice for someone who will just start?

- Tiago

[2020Wellness]

I currently live in Portugal, and I'm about to move to the UK in hopes of pursuiting a career in personal training. I don't have any degree, nor any certification, although I'm planning on getting one as soon as I arrive in the UK. A bit "afraid" of failing, since if I don't do good as a personal training, pretty much my whole life will fail and I'll force to comeback to Portugal and find another way to go about it. I've been doing online coaching for about half a year now and it's been going good (kratostrength.com).

The thing that I'm most afraid is, despite being 100% confident in my coaching abilities, I know nothing about business, and my social skills aren't the greatest. As far as I'm aware, you have to get your own clients, you simply rent the space/gym. I have no idea how to get clients, I just randomly walk up to people? Seems super awkward and doomed to fail. My idea of a perfect job would be me just working a gym from X am to Y pm, and the gym itself would get me the clients, but I've realized that's just a dream and won't happen.

What certification should I get? Will that even matter? There's anywhere from 1000£ up to almost 4000£. Does it matter if I get it online or in person? They companies say it's the same thing, but not sure if gyms and/or clients will dislike an online certification.

Any general advice for someone who will just start?

- Tiago

Tiago,

I'd just like to mention something in response to your first paragraph. You mentioned that if you don't end up doing well with PT that your whole life will fail. I think that's too much pressure to put on PT success, especially since it's not even true. In the worst case scenario, you'd have to move back home, regroup, and focus more on building your online business while you build more knowledge and a better PT business plan. Your life would certainly not fail. Just had to mention that!

My social skills aren't the greatest either, which is why a large part of my business is done online. I'm able to write/type my thoughts very well, but conveying them to someone standing in front of me isn't a strength, and it's very frustrating. The nice thing about social skills and PT is that when you're training your clients, you're at least going to be talking about subjects you're comfortable with (training, nutrition, etc). This does help.

I think the toughest part for you will be the consult portion, which is done before you're actually training the client. My advice to you is to have a definite process planned out for your your consults. I believe I attached a consult form to this thread, which you can download. This will automatically give your consults more order and smoothness. Have the client fill out the form while you're cleaning up the gym for a few minutes. Don't just sit there and watch them fill out the form, it's uncomfortable for them. Then you can review their answers with them, draw up a rough/handwritten plan on how you WILL help them, go over your rates and package options, and then ask them if they're interested in getting started.

I capitalized 'WILL' in that last sentence because during your consult, you should talk as if they're already signed up. Don't say 'if we work together,' say 'when we work together.' Get it?

Tiago, the gym is going to provide you with the opportunity to talk to it's members, which are all potential clients, every one of them. The gym is not going to just hand you clients that have already signed up and paid for training. The trainers that expect that are the trainers that fail, so don't think that's going to happen. If you browse through my responses to previous questions above, I laid out some GREAT ways to get in front of people without approaching them as they're training. I don't believe in approaching people as they're working out because it's annoying for them and it's not something I'm comfortable with myself. Read about my fish bowl method in a response earlier in this thread!

I personally recommend NASM certification, but there are multiples out there. In terms of your clients, they won't care what certification you have at all. The gym may have a preference, but that's also not very likely. Just in case the gym does though, that's why I recommend getting something that's well-recognized. NASM, ISSA, and some others are in that category. You don't need to get the most expensive option, but don't get the cheapest either.

In terms of general advice, I HIGHLY recommend you read all of my responses to earlier questions above. There is going to be a ton of good information for you Tiago, trust me.

Great questions and thanks for taking the time to ask them,

Ryan

[Rottweiler59]

This thread is brilliant and couldn't have come at a better time for me.

One thing I wonder about is client retention. Do you have a lot of clients who are happy to continue after say the first 8 weeks or so?

In my old job I knew a few people that signed up for training packages etc such as 10 sessions but then seemed to stop and train on their own for a while and then would sign for some more months later.

Do you have a lot of clients that fall by the wayside after a few weeks ??

[2020Wellness]

This thread is brilliant and couldn't have come at a better time for me.

One thing I wonder about is client retention. Do you have a lot of clients who are happy to continue after say the first 8 weeks or so?

In my old job I knew a few people that signed up for training packages etc such as 10 sessions but then seemed to stop and train on their own for a while and then would sign for some more months later.

Do you have a lot of clients that fall by the wayside after a few weeks ??

Rott,

You may be blown away by this, but the majority of my face to face clients have been with me for 1-2 years. Some of them have been with me for 7 years straight, and I'm NOT exaggerating.

I have never had a problem with client retention, ever. I fulfill my duties as their trainer, they appreciate the service and results, and the pricing just becomes part of their expected monthly budget.

My training packages are typically 12 months long, which improves job security. In fact, even my online coaching packages are 6 months!

Great question btw,

Ryan

[Rottweiler59]

That's brilliant news and congrats on a successful business. I think half the reason your doing so well is that you want to give back and I bet that comes across to your clients as well.

One last thing. Your home set up. Looks simple clean no nonsense or fluff. Could you talk me through what you have and what if anything you eliminated etc. I'm looking at more than one outlet. Firstly a chain gym to get some experience but then I'm thinking of garage conversion. I don't have heaps of room though so I'll be looking to maximise space without compromise.

Thanks again love this thread.

[2020Wellness]

That's brilliant news and congrats on a successful business. I think half the reason your doing so well is that you want to give back and I bet that comes across to your clients as well.

One last thing. Your home set up. Looks simple clean no nonsense or fluff. Could you talk me through what you have and what if anything you eliminated etc. I'm looking at more than one outlet. Firstly a chain gym to get some experience but then I'm thinking of garage conversion. I don't have heaps of room though so I'll be looking to maximise space without compromise.

Thanks again love this thread.

Rott,

My studio is simple:

Half Rack made by Power Lift - This saves space in the gym. The foot print is about the size of a normal power rack, but the vertical space is lessened because there aren't two front posts. The rack is sturdy though, because it's built by Power Lift and they make top notch equipment.

Power Block Dumbbells - These save a tremendous amount of space. I have 5lb - 125lb DBs that take up the space of two dumbbells. These are a necessity for anyone looking to save space, but still have a full set of DBs.

Spin Bikes - I have two of these. I don't use them a ton, but they can be used for warming people up or doing tough interval work. They are small, don't require a power cord, and can easily be moved around the gym if I want to.

Various barbells, speed ladder, kettle bells, etc - These are just part of any gym and I just recommend collecting them over time. When you see a good deal on something, pick it up.

Deadlift Platform - No explanation needed.

Flooring - Horse stall mats from Tractor Supply. These are good looking, durable, and not extremely expensive.

That's about it, aside from some of there amenities like a heater, air conditioner, stereo, and refridgerator (free bottled water for all clients is a nice gesture).

Any questions?

[Rottweiler59]

Rott,

My studio is simple:

Half Rack made by Power Lift - This saves space in the gym. The foot print is about the size of a normal power rack, but the vertical space is lessened because there aren't two front posts. The rack is sturdy though, because it's built by Power Lift and they make top notch equipment.

Power Block Dumbbells - These save a tremendous amount of space. I have 5lb - 125lb DBs that take up the space of two dumbbells. These are a necessity for anyone looking to save space, but still have a full set of DBs.

Spin Bikes - I have two of these. I don't use them a ton, but they can be used for warming people up or doing tough interval work. They are small, don't require a power cord, and can easily be moved around the gym if I want to.

Various barbells, speed ladder, kettle bells, etc - These are just part of any gym and I just recommend collecting them over time. When you see a good deal on something, pick it up.

Deadlift Platform - No explanation needed.

Flooring - Horse stall mats from Tractor Supply. These are good looking, durable, and not extremely expensive.

That's about it, aside from some of there amenities like a heater, air conditioner, stereo, and refridgerator (free bottled water for all clients is a nice gesture).

Any questions?

Are you self taught in relation to taxes and business accounts etc?? Any problems that you encountered on the business side of things.

[2020Wellness]

Are you self taught in relation to taxes and business accounts etc?? Any problems that you encountered on the business side of things.

Yes, self taught is correct. I haven't encountered any problems, ever.

[ohtm27]

Hi Ryan,

I hold a CPT/USAW/Ces and a Competitor. I started my own business/ studio in my garage *no overhead*. I train clients in person and online. I happen to be in a small town where I have built up a good reputation on results. My advertisement source was fb and local fb groups in my area. Where I find I'm struggling is the groups have limited my posts to 1x per week. Before my posts were limited I was close to my capacity training clients. Now a complete decline on signing new clients up. The local gyms want you to sign a non compete or want full exclusivity to my training and only pay an hourly fee. I do have a some online clients as well but not many. Any ideas or thoughts that may help this situation?

[TheBarbearian]

Thank you for doing this Q/A it's awesome to hear from someone that isn't a guru selling a system but someone in the trenches! I've been a trainer now for a little over a year and a half (a year at my current gym). Client growth has been hard to come by, I currently have a core clientele that averages about 7 sessions a week all year round. However lead generation and the like is very slow going. The gym I work for pays for certain marketing odds and ends, but everything is up to me. The staff doesn't schedule consultations during sign-ups and the like, I'm on my own by and large. Not to mention in a very crowded area (county-wise) for Personal Trainers.

What would you recommend for some lead generation? I am a part of business networking groups but that's about the extent of my outside stuff. Occasional FB posts and such, gonna start posting on Craigslist regularly.

Also, is there any break point where your clients do a good job of referring you out, or do you keep the same marketing efforts going on all the time? I'd love if you could expand on that question by commenting on how its changed (if at all) over the course of your career.

[2020Wellness]

Hi Ryan,

I hold a CPT/USAW/Ces and a Competitor. I started my own business/ studio in my garage *no overhead*. I train clients in person and online. I happen to be in a small town where I have built up a good reputation on results. My advertisement source was fb and local fb groups in my area. Where I find I'm struggling is the groups have limited my posts to 1x per week. Before my posts were limited I was close to my capacity training clients. Now a complete decline on signing new clients up. The local gyms want you to sign a non compete or want full exclusivity to my training and only pay an hourly fee. I do have a some online clients as well but not many. Any ideas or thoughts that may help this situation?

Great job on the garage training studio business! Do you have any pictures of the space?

Based on you living in a small town with a good reputation, we're essentially the same person so far, haha. My town's population is around 10,000 and it has three gyms (Snap Fitness, Anytime Fitness, and a Mayo Clinic owned Fitness/Physical Therapy Center). You?

It sounds like you have determined a direct correlation between your ability to post in those FB groups and business. Since they have limited your ability to post, I'm going to tell you how I'd approach the situation.

I would actually contact the admins of the groups and inquire about you paying a monthly fee for the ability to post more. While this may not sound perfect for you at first, you have to think about the money you're losing by their limitations. I wouldn't say the fee has to be big at all, something in the area of $25-50 per month seems reasonable to me. You could pay for those fees in a few sessions per month.

I would bring up the points that by them accepting a fee and allowing you to post frequently, they're helping your business grow, they're helping members of their group make progress in their goals, and they're making a little money on the side for doing absolutely nothing. IMO, I'd start there. You know the problem the admins created for you, so try to solve it.

Also, I can't help but wonder how long your training agreements are. I ask because you mention losing clients quickly after the FB changes. To me, that leads to you having short term packages. Is that the case?

My other suggestion would be to try to get into one of the local gyms and train some hours there per week. The only thing is that they'd have to make an exception for you and realize that you're still going to train your own clients at your home. You would not sign a non-compete form with them, as you're already established.

Also, I would HIGHLY recommend that you try to get them to ditch their hourly fee compensation plan. If you just get a certain commission per session that you sell, you both only make money off of you being a trainer at their gym. A 70/30 split in your favor is reasonable.

Right now those are my thoughts! Any questions or follow-up thoughts?

[2020Wellness]

I had this question through a FB message this morning:

Trainers and coaches come to me for advice on a regular basis, which I love. The more I can help them, the better their lives become through the success of their business. Here's a great question by an upcoming online coach who is also trying to build a clientele in his own city before eventually moving to the US and starting his own business:

Question: How do you feel about coaching people for free, to build a base/ get referrals? Someone asked me for a free "trial", to see What kind of services I offer

Answer: I personally have never trained someone for free and have turned people down who've asked, even face-to-face. Trust me, if you train a person for free, they'll view your services as having no value and they'll also have nothing to lose when they drop the ball and ditch out on their end.

When that happens, you've put in your time and gained nothing from it.
If you want to train someone for a discounted rate to gain a base, that's acceptable. Everyone has at least some spare finances that they can spend on your coaching, so don't sell yourself short and start training people for free. That person needs to be able to show you that they value your services, and the way they do that is through paying you at least something per month.

Also, nobody needs a free trial to learn about what services you offer. You can explain to them what you offer, which is what any company does for any product it's trying to sell. They explain it, not give it to the consumer!

[2020Wellness]

Thank you for doing this Q/A it's awesome to hear from someone that isn't a guru selling a system but someone in the trenches! I've been a trainer now for a little over a year and a half (a year at my current gym). Client growth has been hard to come by, I currently have a core clientele that averages about 7 sessions a week all year round. However lead generation and the like is very slow going. The gym I work for pays for certain marketing odds and ends, but everything is up to me. The staff doesn't schedule consultations during sign-ups and the like, I'm on my own by and large. Not to mention in a very crowded area (county-wise) for Personal Trainers.

What would you recommend for some lead generation? I am a part of business networking groups but that's about the extent of my outside stuff. Occasional FB posts and such, gonna start posting on Craigslist regularly.

Also, is there any break point where your clients do a good job of referring you out, or do you keep the same marketing efforts going on all the time? I'd love if you could expand on that question by commenting on how its changed (if at all) over the course of your career.

Alright, here goes! When it comes to lead generation for face-to-face training, I would really try to focus your efforts in the vicinity of where you actually train. Since that is in a member-based gym, you should be focusing your efforts within the walls of that gym, targeting it's members.

My first point of advice is to try the simple 'fish bowl' method I outlined in a previous post in this thread. This is a simple way to get in front of potential clients that works very well. It's indirect, so you're not cold-approaching people, it's easy to set up, and I've had nothing but positive results with it. Read about it earlier in this thread and give it a shot. Setting a flyer by the bowl obviously helps.

You also mentioned that your gym's manager doesn't set up consults when new members sign up. This isn't a big shocker to me, as they get no benefit from it. Usually if someone doesn't benefit from something, they won't do it.

My advice to you is, if you have the time, be at the gym even when you're not doing sessions. When someone signs up and the manager is showing them around the gym, just have them mention that you're the trainer on staff and their membership comes with a free consult. You're right there to schedule that consult. With you being right there, the new member is much more likely to say yes to the consult, FYI. Gaining clients is about being present.

I can't say there is any point at which you will be able to rely on pure word of mouth for marketing. Personally, if I'm seeing a drop in clients, I'll break out a method to get more. As a result, I'll gain a client or two and then stop marketing.

On a side note, many people don't realize the power of longer training packages. I've mentioned that I used to do shorter term packages, but now I mainly operate in 12 month face-to-face packages and 6 month online packages. The longer the agreement, the less often you need to worry about client generation.

If you have any follow up questions, just ask.

Ryan

[KyleAaron]

You also mentioned that your gym's manager doesn't set up consults when new members sign up. This isn't a big shocker to me, as they get no benefit from it. Usually if someone doesn't benefit from something, they won't do it.

At my old YMCA, the chances of someone still being a member in 12 months depended whether they did consults. About 40% of those who just wandered in stayed, but 80% of those who did consults. Simply having met a staff member and chatted to them for an hour or so made them twice as likely to still be members - and still paying their fees, buying coffees and merchandise, etc.

So the gym always benefits, the question is whether the manager is good enough at their job to know this. Mentioning these facts can help get a manager on board and helping.

[2020Wellness]

At my old YMCA, the chances of someone still being a member in 12 months depended whether they did consults. About 40% of those who just wandered in stayed, but 80% of those who did consults. Simply having met a staff member and chatted to them for an hour or so made them twice as likely to still be members - and still paying their fees, buying coffees and merchandise, etc.

So the gym always benefits, the question is whether the manager is good enough at their job to know this. Mentioning these facts can help get a manager on board and helping.

The manager's motivation to push consults still revolves around what they're getting in return. If they aren't getting paid a set percentage of the gym's overall monthly income, there isn't any motivation there.

Many managers are just paid an hourly wage + commission on member signups. They typically aren't paid a recurring percentage of members' monthly fees, which is a problem and doesn't motivate them to care about retention methods.

What it comes down to is reaching out to new members as the trainer and putting your future in your own hands, not the manager's hands.

Your point about members involvement in training and how it relates to member retention is 100% correct though.

[danielsaunders]

Ryan,
Thanks for the awesome thread!
I am literally just starting out and currently working on my own personal training project. As of now I am gathering the forms needs for clients to fill out and sign. Do you recommend using preexisting forms such as the par-q or creating my own?

I'm thinking I will create the following:
1. informed consent
2. rules and procedures
3. health/medical questionnairre
4. physicians clearance (to use when needed)

[2020Wellness]

Ryan,
Thanks for the awesome thread!
I am literally just starting out and currently working on my own personal training project. As of now I am gathering the forms needs for clients to fill out and sign. Do you recommend using preexisting forms such as the par-q or creating my own?

I'm thinking I will create the following:
1. informed consent
2. rules and procedures
3. health/medical questionnairre
4. physicians clearance (to use when needed)

I recommend using pre-made forms in general, but perhaps modifying them for your own needs.

I actually uploaded a consultation form to this thread, which you can download. It should have the physician's point on there, the medical questionnaire, informed consent, and I believe I uploaded my agreement form too with rules and procedures. Grab the forms attached to this thread and if you need something more, let me know!

[KyleAaron]

What it comes down to is reaching out to new members as the trainer and putting your future in your own hands, not the manager's hands.

Absolutely.

Your point about members involvement in training and how it relates to member retention is 100% correct though.

In fact they don't require training to be much more likely to stay. They just need someone to talk to them. This is why those involved in group fitness classes are more likely to stick around.

Dan John expressed it as, people who join gyms and sports teams want 3 things.

1. "Don't make me look stupid." Give them something which challenges but does not destroy them.
2. Results.
3. Community.

For us as trainers, the useful point here is that our job has two words: personal, and trainer. We need to remember to do both. And as a self-employed trainer, it's good to turn your bunch of individual clients into a community. At least occasionally have them work out in small groups, let the experienced ones encourage the newbies with "hey I started out worse than you," and so on.

[TheBarbearian]

Alright, here goes! When it comes to lead generation for face-to-face training, I would really try to focus your efforts in the vicinity of where you actually train. Since that is in a member-based gym, you should be focusing your efforts within the walls of that gym, targeting it's members.

My first point of advice is to try the simple 'fish bowl' method I outlined in a previous post in this thread. This is a simple way to get in front of potential clients that works very well. It's indirect, so you're not cold-approaching people, it's easy to set up, and I've had nothing but positive results with it. Read about it earlier in this thread and give it a shot. Setting a flyer by the bowl obviously helps.

You also mentioned that your gym's manager doesn't set up consults when new members sign up. This isn't a big shocker to me, as they get no benefit from it. Usually if someone doesn't benefit from something, they won't do it.

My advice to you is, if you have the time, be at the gym even when you're not doing sessions. When someone signs up and the manager is showing them around the gym, just have them mention that you're the trainer on staff and their membership comes with a free consult. You're right there to schedule that consult. With you being right there, the new member is much more likely to say yes to the consult, FYI. Gaining clients is about being present.

I can't say there is any point at which you will be able to rely on pure word of mouth for marketing. Personally, if I'm seeing a drop in clients, I'll break out a method to get more. As a result, I'll gain a client or two and then stop marketing.

On a side note, many people don't realize the power of longer training packages. I've mentioned that I used to do shorter term packages, but now I mainly operate in 12 month face-to-face packages and 6 month online packages. The longer the agreement, the less often you need to worry about client generation.

If you have any follow up questions, just ask.

Ryan

Thanks for the response! I tried the fishbowl method about a month ago and got 0 hits, granted it was a sign-up sheet on a clipboard. Next time I'll try an actual fishbowl might catch people's eye more. I'll definitely talk to my manager and mention that to her, we just started a special that should help incentivize offering sessions. I don't do 12 month contracts but I do use EFT contracts with a minimum of 3 months. Retention is definitely a lot easier when everything is automatic.

[2020Wellness]

Thanks for the response! I tried the fishbowl method about a month ago and got 0 hits, granted it was a sign-up sheet on a clipboard. Next time I'll try an actual fishbowl might catch people's eye more. I'll definitely talk to my manager and mention that to her, we just started a special that should help incentivize offering sessions. I don't do 12 month contracts but I do use EFT contracts with a minimum of 3 months. Retention is definitely a lot easier when everything is automatic.

Fully correct on the EFT advantage.

Did you have a flier by the signup sheet?

[2020Wellness]

PT Business Building Tip #691

Be present!

Potential clients become clients when you meet them in person. Be present in the gym, whether it's hanging out with the manager, training yourself, or just hanging around working on your laptop writing an article to hang on the gym's wall.

If you're serious about building your client list, be present.

[makeitbrah]

First off I just wanted to say thanks for providing all the info that you have. It's an awesome resource for us that are aspiring to get where you are right now.

I wanted to get your thoughts on the fastest route to leaving a corporate 9-5 job and transitioning into training privately full time. I'm torn between focusing on face to face vs online training. I'm also worried that I won't have the time to build adequate relationships face to face with my clients if my training schedule is built around my office hours. I work in sales so sometimes I stay late, take clients out, etc which would limit my availability. With that being said which route do you think would give me the most bang for my buck? I understand online is probably the slower business model but seems to have more of the freedom that I desperately need. Thanks again.

[2020Wellness]

First off I just wanted to say thanks for providing all the info that you have. It's an awesome resource for us that are aspiring to get where you are right now.

I wanted to get your thoughts on the fastest route to leaving a corporate 9-5 job and transitioning into training privately full time. I'm torn between focusing on face to face vs online training. I'm also worried that I won't have the time to build adequate relationships face to face with my clients if my training schedule is built around my office hours. I work in sales so sometimes I stay late, take clients out, etc which would limit my availability. With that being said which route do you think would give me the most bang for my buck? I understand online is probably the slower business model but seems to have more of the freedom that I desperately need. Thanks again.

Great post and this could seriously open up a MAJOR topic; How to Transition from the 9-5 to Being Your Own Boss.

I have a question first; say you were able to find some time to train local clients face-to-face, do you already have a location lined up where you can train them?

[makeitbrah]

Great post and this could seriously open up a MAJOR topic; How to Transition from the 9-5 to Being Your Own Boss.

I have a question first; say you were able to find some time to train local clients face-to-face, do you already have a location lined up where you can train them?

No I don't have anything currently. I have a few connections but haven't really followed through on them yet as I'm still working on my NSCA cert. I'm mostly trying to plan ahead since I see myself training mostly online in the future.

[2020Wellness]

No I don't have anything currently. I have a few connections but haven't really followed through on them yet as I'm still working on my NSCA cert. I'm mostly trying to plan ahead since I see myself training mostly online in the future.

Well, continue to work on the certification and get that in the books. Since you work an office job, you should have some down time when you're online, but not technically working. That's the time when most people just waste time with nonsense web surfing, but you can be developing a website, developing programming, articles, and everything else that comes with online and local training work.

While you don't have the perfect situation for training full time, you need to start somewhere and you can be getting paid at your full time job WHILE you develop your independent business. This is the pro of the situation. The con is that you just have less time to work with overall, but every situation has pros and cons.

[makeitbrah]

Well, continue to work on the certification and get that in the books. Since you work an office job, you should have some down time when you're online, but not technically working. That's the time when most people just waste time with nonsense web surfing, but you can be developing a website, developing programming, articles, and everything else that comes with online and local training work.

While you don't have the perfect situation for training full time, you need to start somewhere and you can be getting paid at your full time job WHILE you develop your independent business. This is the pro of the situation. The con is that you just have less time to work with overall, but every situation has pros and cons.

Since most people will train after normal business hours is it feasible to say that I could train 2-3 clients a week while working full time? I really want to hit those niche clients that would be worth investing my time in and that are willing to pay for high quality training. And for someone starting out do you think it would be smart to go right into offering 6+ month commitments with my clients?

If you're going to do a write up on making the switch from the 9-5 to a personal trainer I would be very interested in reading it, and I'm certain there are many others out there that would be as well.

[DeAntonio]

Great post! than you very much for the help

I have one question,which is the best way to make an offer to the gym owner and make some deal about personal training? I mean, get into the gym and let me the facility to train some in-person customers.

Other question,which books would you recommend for a personal trainer?(in general)