Fit Business Insider

If you want to put your business on the fast track, there is no better way than being positioned as a local Fitness Celebrity through the media.  If the media runs your release or a story about you, they’re essentially endorsing you as a professional.

Plus, if you establish rapport with the media, they’ll come to you when they need quotes or help on a story that falls within your area of expertise.  Heck, I was even able to parlay a media relationship into a weekly TV segment.  And if I can get a regular spot on TV, I know you can;)

So here are 9 tips to get you started on your way to being a Fitness Celebrity:

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If there’s one thing I used to dread even thinking about "way back when" it was sales.

I used to cringe at the thought of having to sell something. More specifically, personal training.

These days it’s a much different story. At Boot Camp Boot Camp in September I made sure the audience understood something very clearly:

If you want to give me, Pat, Nick or BJ money we’re going to take it.

We will stop what we’re doing and we will find a way to exchange value. You will give us money and we will give you something valuable in return.

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One of the most powerful ways to market your fitness business is by forming strategic alliances with other successful local businesses.  Here’s a step-by-step plan to get you started:

1. Join your local Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is a great place to start finding other like-minded business owners who serve your target market that are also aggressively looking for ways to grow their businesses.

2. Create your Category List. Identify types of businesses that serve your target market. Here are a few examples:

• Chiropractors
• Spa / Esthetician
• Salon
• Cosmetic Surgeon
• Massage Therapist
• Nutrition Store

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1. Get on the phone and reactivate former clients & campers.

2. Do at least 2 public speaking engagements per month.

3. Start networking on a weekly basis.  Check this post out to become a Power Networker.

4. Ask for referrals at the point of sale.  See this post for a form you can use.

5. Start using EFT and selling 3, 6 and 12 month programs instead of only 1 month camps.

6. Face-to-Face relationship building.  Prospects are everywhere.  Talk to them.  Perfect your 15 elevator speech and commit to meeting at least 1 new person a day.

7. FREE Trials.  Every camp should be offering 1-2 week free trials.

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Two fitness businesses, $19,422.37 a month and a wife that was able to retire at the age of 30.

Life is good but it hasn’t always been this way.

I’ve had to shed many tears, bump my head on several obstacles and even entertain the thought of quitting. I think I even fought bouts of depression as I struggled trying to force my fitness business to work.

I definitely don’t want you to have to endure some of the same emotions and turmoil that I did, so I’m going to give you 3 powerful boot camp marketing tips that have helped me reach the point of success. Believe me, success isn’t about the money, although it doesn’t hurt, but about the peace of mind that I have the opportunity to share with those that I love the most.

You deserve the same thing if you don’t have that already and here are the 3 tips that will help you get there:

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When it comes to selling personal training there’s something you really need to understand:

People are fully aware that working with a trainer or going to a boot camp is their hardest option.

And while you might not like it, your prospects typically have to try what they consider to be the easier options first.

In fact, when you are talking to a prospective client it’s always a good idea to ask if they’ve tried any of the following already.
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As you’ve probably read in one of my emails or blog posts, before I moved full-time into the fitness industry I was a College Baseball Coach & Strength Coach (not to mention Personal Trainer, Asst. Sports Information Director, Admissions Rep., Sports Sciences Instructor and PA Announcer…what can I say, I had to pay the bills.)

I took over a baseball program that had never had a winning season – and to make matters worse, the University had just decided to eliminate athletic scholarships and wouldn’t reinstate them until my 5^th season as a head coach (when we got a whopping 1.7 scholarships…for a team that generally carried over 35 players.)

My first year we won 2 more games than we lost.  My second year we went 27-16 and advanced to the post-season.  The next 4 years we combined to win 152 games while losing only 57.  We were nationally ranked each of those years and finished 5^th at the World Series in 2000.

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Here are some of my random secrets for getting the most from your time.

Online

1. Looking at too many things online – group all your reading / research together.

2. Browsing forums, Google, etc with no real purpose – if you can’t tie it to a goal, eliminate it.

3. Take notes on anything valuable so you don’t have to re-read.

Procrastination

4. Learn things quickly.  Pour yourself into them.

5. Set deadlines for everything.

6. Do the tough stuff first.
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by Pat Rigsby

Here are 7 fitness referral tactics that you should be using right now to grow your studio, gym or bootcamp.

Fitness Referral Tactic # 1 – If you want referrals, you have to ask.

If you do a great job delivering results and creating an experience for your clients you’ll find that many of them really do want to give you referrals…but you still have to lead the way and ask.

You can’t trust that your clients are going to send you business – but if you step up and ask many will!

Fitness Referral Tactic # 2 – Over-deliver every day.

To generate referrals you need to be Referral-Worthy. You have to be more than just an average trainer. You have to do more than show up, deliver programs and count reps. You have to go above and beyond to turn your clients into Raving Fans. If you do – they will TALK ABOUT YOU.
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by Pat Rigsby

When we (or pretty much anyone else for that matter) talk about becoming successful as a personal trainer it often turns to marketing and sales or developing and implementing programs.

All of that ‘stuff’ is important.  Even crucial.  But if you want to be successful, you need a foundation.  Here are 37 tips & lessons that will give you foundation you need for lasting success:

1. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
2. Be early…on time is tolerable. Late is never acceptable.
3. Do what you say you’re going to do. Try to do more.  Never do less.
4. Focus on what you can control.
5. Learn from the experiences of other – not just your own.
6. Live your life like most people do and you’re going to settle for what most people get.
7. ‘Trying’ isn’t enough. It’s an excuse.  Either you’re doing something or you’re not.
8. You never fail until you quit, make excuses or die.
9. If you want to achieve something write it down.

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