Whether you work at a gym or you’re an owner reflecting and evaluating your performance as a personal trainer is a necessary component to growth and long-term success. Here are 3 ways to gauge your business success as a personal trainer:

1. Client Retention
2. Client Referrals
3. Client Success

CLIENT RETENTION IN PERSONAL TRAINING

Client retention gives you career/income stability. And in an industry that has an 80-90% turnover rate of personal trainers, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, simply sticking around is key.

FIRST STEP

Commit to the long haul. Focus on where you want to be in 10-15 years. Build your brand, your skills and your relationships to reflect your long term vision.

SECOND STEP

There are three things you can do everyday to retain clients: listen, educate and follow-up.

The client is here for her/himself and they will tell you exactly what they want. Listen. A client comes to you because they believe you know more than them. Educate. Your clients make strides and share personal information. Follow-up.

Do this routine and use the feedback to improve your programming and relationship.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THE NEXT STEP IN YOUR CAREER?

For those of you who are curious, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, personal trainers are leaving because they are unhappy with work hours, atmosphere, career mobility, and compensation among other things.

Pure Fitness’ Independent Personal Trainer model is designed to help personal trainers increase their career happiness and longevity by improving compensation, growth and work hours through business ownership. Read Improve the Work Life Balance of a Trainer for insight into how we are offering a new type of career as a personal trainer.

CLIENT REFERRALS IN PERSONAL TRAINING

In my experience client retention leads to client referrals.

Not all clients refer. But you can do three things to encourage referrals.

1. Inform – make sure your clients know that you are accepting and actively looking for new clients.
2. Share – Tell clients about opportunities or other services that may interest them or their friends and family.
3. Reward – offer an incentive for referrals, but remember the success of your referrals comes from the value you have built in your relationship with a client, not the value of the incentive.

SET YOURSELF APART FROM THE CROWD

I think it is important to note, when you get a referral treat the referrer as important as you treat the new client. After all, you want them to refer again. The necessity is to thank the referring client directly with a face-to-face conversation and even a card.

CLIENT SUCCESS IN PERSONAL TRAINING

Your goal is to deliver quality programming designed to help your client reach their goals. Measuring and communicating client progress is essential to properly evaluating success.

Consider making a client specific assessment protocol. It can include metrics like body fat and measurements, and fitness testing like a flexibility assessment and a 1 rep max. Communicate the results and how the program is designed to support their goals to create trust and validation.

SUCCESS AS A PERSONAL TRAINER

Client results, retention and referrals serve as validation of your skills as a personal trainer. They show your ability to listen to needs, apply knowledge, create and implement a program designed for success.

The most valuable asset you have is your clients.  Clients are the life blood of your business. Take time and step away from training to evaluate your business health to ensure you are creating a great experience for your clients.

WHAT ABOUT BUSINESS OWNERSHIP?

Pure Fitness is here to offer a new opportunity. We are encouraging personal trainers new, old and part-time to look at a cost-effective way of owning their own business. To take control of the career growth and earning potential by renting a full equipped studio.

Personal trainers renting at Pure Fitness have full control over their businesses. They set their price points, pick their schedules and more. There are no annoying responsibilities like cleaning and towel folding. Instead, personal trainers can focus on their craft, their career and their business.

If this opportunity is of interest to you please use the contact form below to learn more.