How to get personal training clients will always be one of the first questions any professional fitness trainer will ask of him or herself.
In fact, if the personal trainer isn't asking that question, he or she is either already fabulously successful or not engaging in the due diligence necessary for practical business success.
The first step, as always in this age of the Interent, is to create a good website or weblog (called blog). If you don't know how to do it yourself, find someone who can advise you, and then get started on developing it. There are a myriad of free sites out there which will host your own site and even walk you step-by-step through the creation process.
Of course, getting people to visit the site is another matter entirely. Suffice it to say that optimizing it for search engines -- meaning making it easier for visitors and the engines to find it -- is paramount. If you're not sure on how to do this, use the services of someone who can at least walk you through what's called search engine optimization (SEO).
Also, take the time to obtain a fitness professional certification from one of the reputable organizations out there. Clients in the fitness business tend to be more comfortable giving over their personal fitness to somebody that has some sort of expert status, which certification can help you to attain.
After you've done these first, basic, things begin thinking about how to plan an advertising and marketing strategy. This isn't as hard as it seems, especially given how the Internet can put the word out about your business in a vastly quicker and more comprehensive manner.
The fitness business is about self-promotion, not only of your actual personal training business, but also of you as the trainer. This means thinking about how to find email lists of possible clients (gotten through email list sellers, for one thing) and then sending out email salesletters which are well-written and designed to generate a response from the person being emailed.
Never neglect the actual real-world mechanics involved in spreading your name and the name of the business around. This means taking the time to have professional-looking business cards made up. Up to 500 of them can be done for as little as five or fewer dollars these days.
Also, have a stack of flyers printed. Again, they're not very expensive. Even make up some brochures listing your services and what you can do for a client. They're relatively inexpensive, too, by the way.
Don't forget to look into putting your business into the local phone directories. At a minimum, it'll make it easier for people who don't use the Internet to find you. And investigate the costs involved in printing up a few grand-opening type discount coupons to be put into mass-mailer coupon packs.
All of the activities mentioned so far fall under the category of "word of mouth" and personal advertising. Review your programs weekly and remember to ask for referrals from any customers you happen to secure.
How to get personal training clients should be looked at as a logical series of steps in an overall plan for growing your business. Remember that this sort of activity is about the personal trainer advertisement of your business and of yourself.
Have a website made up, and also become a certified trainer. It's well worth your time, and it helps convey an expert status you might not otherwise have, especially when you're first starting out. And make sure you have plenty of business cards and flyers to spread around. Do just these simple things and you'll increase your odds of success greatly.
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