Personal Training: A Manager’s Role in Goal Setting for Trainers

For the personal trainers on your team, one of the most important aspects of their job is helping their clients set goals for themselves. As the manager of the personal trainers, we teach trainers how to help their clients, but how often do we sit down and help them set personal and revenue goals for their businesses? Can we help them apply the same goal setting principles to themselves, so that they’re on track to achieve their own goals?

The first step to goal setting is having an end result in mind. Even if it is a long term goal, the trainers must know what they want or need to achieve in order to make a plan to get there. As their manager, you must help set that ultimate goal. If you do not have minimum standards or monthly requirements for your trainers, they will not have direction. Personal trainers, by nature, are not business savvy. We have to show them the ropes. Most of the trainers that are on my team are passionate about helping people, but don’t know how to budget their money or calculate how many sessions they need in order to meet the minimum requirements for our club.

Following is an example of how I would help one of my trainers set goals:

Personal Trainer Action Plan

1. Create your own Personal Mission Statement
   1. Think about why you got into the business
2. Create a Budget
   1. How much are your monthly expenses?
   2. What (near) future expenses might you incur, i.e. rent, car payment, etc.?
3. Determine how much money you want to make
   1. Annual income
   2. Monthly income
   3. Weekly income
4. Determine number of appointments necessary to achieve income
   1. Monthly
   2. Weekly
   3. Daily
5. Plan of Action
   1. Orientations ______ daily, ______ weekly
   2. Meet members on floor ______ daily, ______ weekly
   3. Give seminars
   4. Get certifications
   5. Other ideas for picking up clients?
6. List your top three strengths
7. List your top three weaknesses
8. What are your top opportunities for building your business?
9. What are your challenges for building your business?

Going through this information with your personal trainers on a regular basis will hold them accountable and guarantee success. If you set the goals and never revisit them, they are less likely to achieve what they set out to accomplish.

Lisa Groft

Lisa Jo Groft, BS, ACSM-HFS, is the co-director of fitness at Baptist East Milestone Wellness Center in Louisville, Kentucky.