I’ve been giving a lot of thought to personal training departments lately. I know a lot of you are always looking for small ideas that can help separate you from your competition.
First, you have to ask yourself if your personal training department is relevant in your market. As fitness enthusiasts, we see personal training as an essential commodity to get people involved in a fitness routine. However, if you are in a small or rural market, members may not desire enough personal training to necessitate an entire department.
When I was younger, I remember being the member of a gym that had a small personal training department. They called it a department, I would call it a small gathering of personal trainers — they had about two to three trainers. This was still almost too many for the market I was living in. However, they somehow marketed those three trainers and generated a modest revenue.
Not having too many personal trainers keeps them involved in the club, with minimal down time and the opportunity to generate a nice yearly salary. Having a smaller personal training department will also push trainers to sell more at your club, in order to increase their clientele.
The next question should be how to evaluate if you’re hiring quality trainers. Remember, if you don’t have a training background, always look to your training resources such as NFPT (www.NFPT.com) or ACSM (www.acsm.org/clubsolutions), to name a few. Such resources can help you make sure your trainers are educated properly or are continuing their education.
Also, when hiring personal trainers, ask the same things about each individual that you would for a front desk attendant. Are they personable? Do they generate conversation easily? Do they make people feel better about themselves? It’s important that trainers can push clients, but also make them feel great about themselves.
It has been my experience that certain people are able to communicate in a way that makes people feel great. I have a good friend that does this extremely easy. When we hang out, he makes everyone around him happier. Not everyone has that ability, but great trainers are outgoing people that care about other people, and should be able to possess that great quality. There are a few trainers I see on a daily basis that I know are having that affect on their clients. It makes their clients’ exercise harder and seem to actually enjoy each session.
There are going to be a lot of elements you are going to desire in each trainer. However, before you have trainers that can focus on certain demographics, they need to be able to be the most enjoyable people in your facility.
Tyler Montgomery is the Editor of Club Solutions Magazine. Contact him at tyler@clubsolutionsmagazine.com
