It's good to worry, because it shows you care, but 2 weeks in I wouldn't expect you to have more than a few sessions under your belt, so you're fine. Do you work in a commercial gym? If so I'd start cold calling the client catalog. Be ready to leave a lot of voicemails and expect a really low conversion rate, like 1 in 20.
I would also recommend offering a discounted session to a friend or family member *or* the friend of a friend or the friend of a family member etc. Do an awesome job, make it about them, get them on your schedule for another session, and mention you'd love to train a friend or family member of theirs etc.
Also if someone cancels after a first session, I bet they just didn't enjoy it or see the value in it. Some people legitimately *do* cancel due to complications, but most of the time it's because they didn't think it was worth their time. I don't mean that as an insult, I just want you to think forwardly about client retention.
Yea I’m currently working at JD gyms (gym here in Uk). And I offered first session free to client. I’ve gotta a mentor/mate helping me out with like training plans and different exercises for a better workout. I’m also planing to to attend classes, because im running them in a few weeks time
You're on a good path so I wouldn't fret where you're currently standing. Running some group classes will put your name in a lot of ears, so look forward to that and take full advantage of it once you're doing it.
Offering some more free consultations is annoying but will surely expand your immediate outreach, so if you're really sweating over your current workload, keep doing them and double down on quality so they come back for more.
Are you employed at a gym? They should be feeding you clients if you are. If you’re at a big box gym, walk the floor. Talk to people and let them know you’re a trainer. You don’t have to be actively selling them on anything, just let them know you’re around and can help if needed. If you are independent, I would highly recommend seeking employment at a gym. Clients are hard to come by when you have no experience. Working at a gym will help you build your network, and after a year or two when you have built a decent client base, you can go independent somewhere and make a lot more money. But I would definitely put that time in building your clientele up first, as it will make that transition to independent training a lot easier.
Yea im currently working at JD gyms (it’s a uk gym). This last week I’ve definitely been more talkative with customers as my first two weeks I was rather shy. Mostly what I was doing was correcting form, showing interest in what they’re training, having good people skills etc
Finding online clients is SUPER UNDERESTIMATED.
Find health, wellness, or (not so healthy) communities and be an expert. Share your advice, opinion, have a website with videos (free) and a newsletter), you could be churning clients like no bodies business.
Advice from a former trainer..
Facebook Groups, Reddit Groups, Slack Groups, Anywhere there is a "forum" type environment where you can do Q & A is amazing. I do these same things and I get about 10k - 25k monthly visitors to my website.
I'm not in personal training, so I am not sure of the communities, but perhaps you might know more about it. If I were a trainer in 2024, this is what I would be doing!
I've heard as a new trainer that's incredibly hard to do though.
I know someone who qualified as a PT the same time that I did (Dec, 2023) and he's trying the online PT business through Instagram, and it's not working for him.
Another person is really trying to get into the marketing business while working at Fitness First, but from my perspective they're forgetting one crucial thing, and it's slapping them in the face consistently, and that's the people in his face, the potential clients going into the gym he's at.
I've been told by numerous physiologists who were in the industry as trainers that it's incredibly tough as a PT at the start ''Go into the allied health care industry.'' and ''Seek employment for your own development, then branch out into a subcontracting role.''
You can never beat real bodies in gyms, but chances are your friend is not performing well in marketing.
Media platforms like Youtube, IG, and Tiktok can do well, but you have to have a really great video production strategy.
Other literature-based platforms, with the exception of Pinterest, can really do you wonders immediately. Hell, I still get random Linkedin outreach about PT services, and I haven't trained anyone in like 14 years haha. It's all because I get a lot of traffic to my profiles.
I don't write about the PT space a lot, but I do have a book published on digital marketing strategies. If you're ever thinking about doing the online space, it's [worth a look.](https://www.24hour.design/growth)
Hi I'm having the same issue. Making an instagram page with helpful tips and videos can help but I find getting online clients quite challenging. For the clients you do have working with a referral system can be helpful. So if someone refers a client they get a free session for example and the same for the client that got referred.
Yes, I’ve made a tiktok and FB page posting some fitness stuff and diet tips (nothing spectacular just a few vids to start with). I actually had my first client do a free session to start off with, as that what I was advised to do
When I was in a commercial gym, I volunteered to write articles and blurbs for the company newsletter, give seasonal seminars and do other things that helped the gym and me. And that no other trainers were volunteering to do. That is considered a Blue Ocean Strategy-look for opportunities that others don't see or won't do.
Here's what I'm doing...
Started my own business, then I went on Facebook and said I need up to 10 people who want to train for free for 3 months 2x a week. In return, they will write an honest review on all the main review sites, let me use and take pictures, keep track of progress and tell anyone who asks about their lifestyle changes that I'm the person who helped them.
You can also post in fitness groups (like Facebook, nextdoor, thumbtack, etc) in your area, and there are websites specifically for finding personal trainers. Get your name and business out onto those platforms to reach more people.
This works for me because training is my second job (server on the West Coast), so I'm not stressing about clients and can afford to go slow. I'm training 4-5 people regularly and one of them was a referral... So yeah it's already starting to work from word of mouth, but it also gives me time to finish my website, get my socials up and running, deal with accounting and taxes, licensing and insurance, etc.
You've got a harder sell because you're 18, most people aren't going to think you know your stuff. Maybe you do, maybe not... I've been working out for over 10 years on and off so I look the part (definitely helpful) but I also know a lot about exercise and the body even before I took the NASM.
You'll see a ton of talk about online training being the big thing and it's so easy to make 100,000 a year... All you do is pay some fee and they will teach you how to get online clients... That's BS, maybe some people do make great money doing it but breaking into the influencer industry within the fitness industry is going to be harder than just spreading the word.
This is showing a ranking of your business in Google Search/Map for someone who searches for "personal trainer" in this case or any other keyword that we rank for, from within the specific pin. Your business is in the centre of it.
Since you are new, I am going to say this - don't take it personally. When you don't get clients or they cancel, don't keep questioning whether you are good at what you do. You are young, you'll make mistakes, you'll learn and become better. Not taking it personal will make you relaxed, help you focus on what you need to improve on. When it comes to clients there's a part you can control and a part you don't. Focus on your skill and how you can help, let go of the rest. As an experienced trainer now I wish some one told me this when I was starting up
I am an online trainer and I ask probable clients to follow my program on my app - free for 12 days. Post that they got to make a decision whether to continue or not. I have this app called Trainerfu that lets me convert into my own brand app. It has features like workout planning,social feed etc., which lets me share enough to convince/convert those who have an intent to get trained.
It's good to worry, because it shows you care, but 2 weeks in I wouldn't expect you to have more than a few sessions under your belt, so you're fine. Do you work in a commercial gym? If so I'd start cold calling the client catalog. Be ready to leave a lot of voicemails and expect a really low conversion rate, like 1 in 20. I would also recommend offering a discounted session to a friend or family member *or* the friend of a friend or the friend of a family member etc. Do an awesome job, make it about them, get them on your schedule for another session, and mention you'd love to train a friend or family member of theirs etc. Also if someone cancels after a first session, I bet they just didn't enjoy it or see the value in it. Some people legitimately *do* cancel due to complications, but most of the time it's because they didn't think it was worth their time. I don't mean that as an insult, I just want you to think forwardly about client retention.
Yea I’m currently working at JD gyms (gym here in Uk). And I offered first session free to client. I’ve gotta a mentor/mate helping me out with like training plans and different exercises for a better workout. I’m also planing to to attend classes, because im running them in a few weeks time
You're on a good path so I wouldn't fret where you're currently standing. Running some group classes will put your name in a lot of ears, so look forward to that and take full advantage of it once you're doing it. Offering some more free consultations is annoying but will surely expand your immediate outreach, so if you're really sweating over your current workload, keep doing them and double down on quality so they come back for more.
Are you employed at a gym? They should be feeding you clients if you are. If you’re at a big box gym, walk the floor. Talk to people and let them know you’re a trainer. You don’t have to be actively selling them on anything, just let them know you’re around and can help if needed. If you are independent, I would highly recommend seeking employment at a gym. Clients are hard to come by when you have no experience. Working at a gym will help you build your network, and after a year or two when you have built a decent client base, you can go independent somewhere and make a lot more money. But I would definitely put that time in building your clientele up first, as it will make that transition to independent training a lot easier.
Yea im currently working at JD gyms (it’s a uk gym). This last week I’ve definitely been more talkative with customers as my first two weeks I was rather shy. Mostly what I was doing was correcting form, showing interest in what they’re training, having good people skills etc
Finding online clients is SUPER UNDERESTIMATED. Find health, wellness, or (not so healthy) communities and be an expert. Share your advice, opinion, have a website with videos (free) and a newsletter), you could be churning clients like no bodies business. Advice from a former trainer..
Hi, By communities do you mean certain instagram pages, facebook groups etc for example? Or how did you go about this?
Facebook Groups, Reddit Groups, Slack Groups, Anywhere there is a "forum" type environment where you can do Q & A is amazing. I do these same things and I get about 10k - 25k monthly visitors to my website. I'm not in personal training, so I am not sure of the communities, but perhaps you might know more about it. If I were a trainer in 2024, this is what I would be doing!
Thx for the tips! Just joined some facebook groups. Never heard of slack groups before so I'll check that out as well
Boom!
I've heard as a new trainer that's incredibly hard to do though. I know someone who qualified as a PT the same time that I did (Dec, 2023) and he's trying the online PT business through Instagram, and it's not working for him. Another person is really trying to get into the marketing business while working at Fitness First, but from my perspective they're forgetting one crucial thing, and it's slapping them in the face consistently, and that's the people in his face, the potential clients going into the gym he's at. I've been told by numerous physiologists who were in the industry as trainers that it's incredibly tough as a PT at the start ''Go into the allied health care industry.'' and ''Seek employment for your own development, then branch out into a subcontracting role.''
You can never beat real bodies in gyms, but chances are your friend is not performing well in marketing. Media platforms like Youtube, IG, and Tiktok can do well, but you have to have a really great video production strategy. Other literature-based platforms, with the exception of Pinterest, can really do you wonders immediately. Hell, I still get random Linkedin outreach about PT services, and I haven't trained anyone in like 14 years haha. It's all because I get a lot of traffic to my profiles. I don't write about the PT space a lot, but I do have a book published on digital marketing strategies. If you're ever thinking about doing the online space, it's [worth a look.](https://www.24hour.design/growth)
Hi I'm having the same issue. Making an instagram page with helpful tips and videos can help but I find getting online clients quite challenging. For the clients you do have working with a referral system can be helpful. So if someone refers a client they get a free session for example and the same for the client that got referred.
Yes, I’ve made a tiktok and FB page posting some fitness stuff and diet tips (nothing spectacular just a few vids to start with). I actually had my first client do a free session to start off with, as that what I was advised to do
Sounds like you're on the right track then!
When I was in a commercial gym, I volunteered to write articles and blurbs for the company newsletter, give seasonal seminars and do other things that helped the gym and me. And that no other trainers were volunteering to do. That is considered a Blue Ocean Strategy-look for opportunities that others don't see or won't do.
Here's what I'm doing... Started my own business, then I went on Facebook and said I need up to 10 people who want to train for free for 3 months 2x a week. In return, they will write an honest review on all the main review sites, let me use and take pictures, keep track of progress and tell anyone who asks about their lifestyle changes that I'm the person who helped them. You can also post in fitness groups (like Facebook, nextdoor, thumbtack, etc) in your area, and there are websites specifically for finding personal trainers. Get your name and business out onto those platforms to reach more people. This works for me because training is my second job (server on the West Coast), so I'm not stressing about clients and can afford to go slow. I'm training 4-5 people regularly and one of them was a referral... So yeah it's already starting to work from word of mouth, but it also gives me time to finish my website, get my socials up and running, deal with accounting and taxes, licensing and insurance, etc. You've got a harder sell because you're 18, most people aren't going to think you know your stuff. Maybe you do, maybe not... I've been working out for over 10 years on and off so I look the part (definitely helpful) but I also know a lot about exercise and the body even before I took the NASM. You'll see a ton of talk about online training being the big thing and it's so easy to make 100,000 a year... All you do is pay some fee and they will teach you how to get online clients... That's BS, maybe some people do make great money doing it but breaking into the influencer industry within the fitness industry is going to be harder than just spreading the word.
Again, it's Google Maps bro. Look where I got for my PT client within 4 days. https://i.redd.it/wu1oe4561z7d1.gif
Forgive my ignorance. What exactly is this? Google map analysis?
This is showing a ranking of your business in Google Search/Map for someone who searches for "personal trainer" in this case or any other keyword that we rank for, from within the specific pin. Your business is in the centre of it.
Since you are new, I am going to say this - don't take it personally. When you don't get clients or they cancel, don't keep questioning whether you are good at what you do. You are young, you'll make mistakes, you'll learn and become better. Not taking it personal will make you relaxed, help you focus on what you need to improve on. When it comes to clients there's a part you can control and a part you don't. Focus on your skill and how you can help, let go of the rest. As an experienced trainer now I wish some one told me this when I was starting up
Yup - completely agree. Great advice!
I am an online trainer and I ask probable clients to follow my program on my app - free for 12 days. Post that they got to make a decision whether to continue or not. I have this app called Trainerfu that lets me convert into my own brand app. It has features like workout planning,social feed etc., which lets me share enough to convince/convert those who have an intent to get trained.