Developing a successful personal training program is crucial to the success of almost all fitness clubs. Although some clubs do build revenue without personal training, the vast majority use training as a revenue, retention and marketing source.
In order to provide you with some helpful insights into developing and maintaining a successful personal training program, we took some time to interview Shannon Fable, the director of exercise programming for Anytime Fitness. Here’s the interview:
CS: What are some common questions trainers are currently receiving from members?
SF: I believe common questions are centered around three categories these days — nutrition, apps and devices, and what they see on TV.
More than ever, clients are inquiring about nutrition. Clients are seeking advice on clean eating, cleansing and supplements. There is so much information for consumers on these topics. Clients want to know the “best” diet for them, if cleansing truly helps, or hurts, and supplements that can enhance their lives, not just their workouts. Never before has it been more important for fitness professionals to know more about nutrition. It’s an important time for trainers to seek continuing education in the area to expand their services and not just speak from personal experience.
Clients are seeking information on tracking activity and intake. The number of apps and devices that are popping up for us to see the number of steps, calories burned, heart rate, power combined with the number of “virtual personal training devices” available should not be feared. Trainers should try as many of these devices and apps as they can and see how they might expand our reach and help our clients reach their goals faster! Apps and devices, no matter how savvy, will never replace a trainer’s motivation, education and accountability, but they certainly can help us empower our clients to live healthier lives and get more from their training.
Between infomercials and reality TV, clients are inundated with unrealistic expectations and questionable protocols for achieving the body of their dreams. Clients are turning to professionals for advice and we must be prepared to answer in an objective way.
CS: How can trainers make personal training less intimidating to new members?
SF: Trainers need to have multiple options for reaching an audience. Right now, we operate from a one-size-fits-most model or believe the price of a session, or number of people working out with a trainer, is going to greatly change how many lives we can affect. When actually, the intimidation factor is about the “personal” investment we are seeking. In most cases, we are asking consumers to trade time, and money, for laser focus, and they might not be ready for it! We know that everyone could benefit from what we have to offer, but not everyone is ready to take this leap. We need to have several entry points for consumers to “try” us (and trying doesn’t mean free) before we ask them to make the ultimate purchase. Virtual training will be paramount — developing creative ways to position yourself as a resource (think blogs, social media, e-resources, books, video channels, etc.) so you can build trust and credibility with the skeptics!
One thing that trainers have to realize is that intimidation begins in the sales process. If the trainer is trying to forcefully overcome every objection a person has to hiring them, that potential client is more likely to never talk to that trainer again and, perhaps, leave the club to avoid seeing the trainer (even worse). When a trainer tries to over-push the sale, the client will walk away feeling judged that they did not buy. Again, sometimes it’s truly not about the money — people buy proportionate to the amount of trust and value they have in the product. We need to do more to build trust and value!
CS: What are some great opportunities for training departments through the rest of the year?
SF: Of course, holiday season is upon us, but perhaps we could shift the focus slightly. Instead of “how to beat holiday weight gain” with exercise, we meet our members where they are … at home! The holidays are busy — why not create virtual programs and resources that help in the area of nutrition, productivity and stress maintenance. Again, be a resource in areas that may not center around the dollars and cents because at the beginning of the year, when they haven’t pushed away from the yummy Christmas desserts, they will remember you were there, and you’ll be the person they call.
CS: What are some major struggles among training departments, and how can they be overcome?
SF: One of the biggest struggles I see is the “Disease of Me” (from Pat Riley’s book: The Winner Within). To summarize, unless you have a training manager that is doing their part to make sure your team is incentivized for achieving personal goals, as well as department and club goals in the area of revenue and retention, you could be potentially creating a system that backfires. There will inevitably be one or two “rockstar” trainers that stand out for achieving superior tangible results (money) and their praise from you and constant “top of the board” standing can start to make other members of the team feel undervalued.
Every trainer on your team has a value (or you wouldn’t have hired them, right)? Make sure you are equally celebrating every trainer and not just focusing on the individual revenue goals. Look at attrition, engagement, education, customer satisfaction and more to even the playing field. Not only will this help you retain trainers (a huge issue for every club), but also it will inevitably impact your membership base, as you will have trainers building relationships with more than just the folks in the club with money!
As told to Tyler Montgomery
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
