Personal Training

Bedros Keuilian


The personal training industry is quickly changing and the biggest changes are yet to come.

In the next 12 months we’ll see major changes that will alter how you make your money, how you attract your clients, and how business gets done.

Here are my fitness industry predictions for the next year

*Death of the 60 minute session

I’ve been preaching this since 2001 but all good things take time to catch on and in the past year or so more and more trainers have FINALLY come to grips with it. If you’re going to offer one-on-one sessions they should be 30 minute sessions only. 60 minute session are dead - people value their time more than ever - and you stand to make a lot more by offering 30 minutes sessions.

*Small group sessions

I may get a lot of flak for this but I’m going to say it anyway. Personal training will no longer mean one-one-one in the future. The new personal training will be one-on-many. I’m not just talking about boot camps either. I’m talking about small groups of 3-6 clients at a time will be the norm. It’s the ultimate way to leverage your time.

*You - an info-preneur

More and more fitness professionals will have multiple income streams and one of those streams will be information products. With the technology available today it’s easier than ever to create and market information products such as Ebook, audio, video and multi-media products as well as micro niche membership sites.

*Insurance will pay

Already insurance companies are starting to recognize the need for preventative measure and some are already starting to pay for limited amounts of personal training and health club memberships. But in the future things will change quickly and insurance companies will begin paying regularly for your services.

*Corporate wellness programs

Business owners and entrepreneurs are always looking for ways to cut health insurance costs, improve employee satisfaction and productivity and corporate wellness programs directly address all three of these issues. This untapped market will flourish in the next year.

*EFT (electronic fund transfer)

This is something I’ve been teaching for years in my PT Business Course and I’m always surprised when I realize how many trainers are still doing business the old way.

The most successful personal trainers will be those who are generating ongoing, recurring income. They’ll have more security, reliability, and capital to grow their business. If you’re still selling blocks of sessions or time then you’ll be left in the stone ages. Recurring EFT is king and will dominate in 2009.

*Online client generation

Google, social media sites, blogging, you tube, and email marketing will generate more qualified personal training leads in the future than ever before. As more consumers turn to the web it’s easier than ever for you to position yourself as a micro-celebrity and get found by your target audience. Best of all this new type of marketing is often low cost or no cost. You can’t beat that!

Bedros Keuilian


Getting personal training clients is easier than you think - if you systemize your personal trainer marketing strategy.

The problem with most personal trainers is that they spend way too much time on insignificant marketing ideas that fail to produce results and not enough time on the few significant ones that actually work and often times cost little to no money.

In all my years of selling personal training, creating multimillion dollar personal training businesses, and coaching top fitness experts on all things fitness marketing I found five clients getting systems that work the best.

Strategy one: The Internal Referral. Your currant, active clients should be your walking talking billboards. In fact you should condition then to be your referral generating machines. This is called making it a condition of doing business with you and it start the day they sign up with you. Let them know you keep your rates low because you relay on their referrals. At least once a month give them a reason to send you referral by sending them a hand written note, cards, or even a gift certificate.

Strategy two: The List. If you’re not actively building a list of loyal fans (prospects and active and inactive clients) then you’re leaving a lot of money on the table. The list is king. And the best way to use a list to grow your personal training business is to offer a biweekly online newsletter. Consistent email marketing is the fastest, easiest and most economical way to position yourself and get people to know, like and trust you. And once people know like and trust you and consider you the local fitness expert your business will boom.

Strategy three: Expert Endorsements: There are all types of businesses around you who probably cater to your potential clients. Chiropractors, doctors, cosmetic surgeons, day spas, health food stores and other businesses already have clients and prospects that trust them. What you want is for these experts to refer their clients, customers, and patients to you. You can do this by making them a win/win proposition by offering to endorse their business or service to your list and then ask them to endorse you to their list.

Strategy four: Free Media. People read newspapers and watch TV news for the stories and not the advertisements. One of the best ways to get the local media to publish your story and showcase you personal training business is by creating a strong human interest hook that they will want to share with their audience. Maybe you’re going to give two free training sessions to anyone who donates a new toy for the ‘toys for tots drive.’ Or maybe anyone who donates $25 during Thanksgiving week can get a free week of bootcamp. The point is you need a “hook” a human interest story and the media will be way more likely to listen.

Strategy five: The blog: There are over a dozen ways to get tons of traffic from the internet. One of the easiest ways is to set up a word press blog and start blogging on a daily basis about all things health and fitness. The secret to a good blog, one that attracts a lot of visitors is entertainment, content, and consistency. Boring blogs get no traffic. Use lots of social proof in your blogs, offer lead generation ebooks and reports to get people on your email/newsletter list.

Personal trainer marketing system is easy once you figure out the handful of marketing strategies that produce the best results. The trick is to figure them out and use them consistently.

Donna Hutchinson


Have you been contemplating raising your personal training fees? Are you nervous to bring up the subject of increasing your fees for fear that your clients will get angry or even worse, quit? Not sure how to go about it? While it’s never easy to broach the subject of money it may be necessary especially if you initially priced your fees below market value or are incurring additional costs to your business. Here are a few ideas to ease the process when it comes time to raise your fees.

1. Be reasonable about how much you intend to increase your fees. Raising your fees by $5 or $10 all at once will be too much of a jump for most people. If you need to raise your fees by that much then you probably set them too low to begin with. Instead start with a $1 to $2 increase. Overall it won’t seem that much for the client to bear and you will have fewer objections to your fee increase.

2. Explain the increase. While some clients will not care about the reason you are increasing your fees, others may want to know why. There could be any number of reasons why you need to raise your fees. Rising costs to your business, setting your fees too low or you haven’t raised your fees in a number of years. The best policy is to be honest with your client when they ask why. State your reasons confidently and make no apologies. Every business has to increase fees at some time or another. It’s a good idea to include the phrase, “prices subject to change” on your fee schedule. Point this out when signing a new client and let them know the last time you raised your fees. As a customer I would want to know if I was going to get a surprise in a month regarding increased fees.

3. Inform your clients ahead of time. Give your clients plenty of notice when you intend to raise your fees. Provide one to two months advance warning so clients have time to make any necessary adjustments to their budget. Talk to your client in-person or on the phone, not by e-mail or letter. This is more personal and allows your client an opportunity to communicate any issues right away. It also demonstrates your commitment to listening to their concerns and working them out. Follow-up your conversation with a reminder letter or e-mail.

4. Offer additional value. If possible, offer additional value when you consider raising your fees. For example you may decide that after ten sessions your client will receive a complimentary fifteen minute stretch or a travel program. You don’t have to offer additional value simply because you raise your fees but it can be a nice touch.

5. Create a red carpet club. Create a VIP program for your loyal clients and don’t increase their fees. By not raising their fees you reward their loyalty and continue to build good will with your client. Instead increase your fees for new clients only.

It’s possible that you may lose a client or two when you raise your fees. Obviously, that’s not advantageous but it can happen. Money is increasingly tight for people and every dollar counts. However, it’s been my experience that for every client you lose another one will take their place.

If you are really concerned that you may lose too many clients by increasing your fees, then consider cutting your expenses or looking at other ways to generate revenue. Talk to your clients and feel them out. Let them know your situation. If you have taken the time to develop a trusting relationship with your clients they will understand your situation and be more willing to help.

Chris McCombs


If you are a personal fitness trainer, your skills can be your ticket to success. In starting a personal training business, you can enjoy the rewards of the business aspects of extending your skills to an independent client base. The Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms that personal training business is one of the fastest growing segments of the fitness industry. Due to the awareness on the benefits of maintaining excellent levels of fitness, more and more people go to the gym to get some exercise. While some people have time to spare for fitness, others do not. This is where personal training business comes in. Hence, there is definitely a great opportunity to profit from a trainer’s ability to offer health and fitness advice and continuous encouragement to be healthy.

In line with the awareness on physical fitness, personal training clients are becoming more and more educated. This leaves no room for any chance to be lax or unprofessional. So before you decide to start your own personal training business, decide on yourself if this is the profession that you want to live on. Do you have the qualities of a good personal trainer? Are you capable of handling trainer hours? Ultimately, ask yourself if you can handle the stress of starting a personal training business. Once you have decided, then you are ready for the next steps.

? Get certified. Being a personal trainer is a profession. Getting certified is important since the important asset of the business is YOU. Getting trained and certified of the service that you are offering is crucial to winning the trusts of your client base.

Take care of the legal aspects of running a business. Know the costs of running the business. This includes taxes, operating costs and all other things that need to be paid before setting off your business. You may need somebody’s help in this department. You may need an accountant to do all the computations and predictions of costs and you will need a banker to lend you the money.

Set up your own business network. Personal training is not only the fastest growing segment of the fitness-based businesses, it is also most competitive. That is why making your own networks of referrals and of people who can be your client or can give you clients is important. See if you have a medical doctor on your list of clients or friends. Since this business market your skills, it is important to get your name out there. Always bring your stacks of business card with you, place ads and work professionally so your services can be spread by word of mouth.

Devise an individualized fitness program. The key to keeping your clients interested is always presenting them with updated exercise routines. You may learn from other trainer’s experiences. Keep your eye on the physical fitness trends. Make use of your creativity to design unique and effective routines. You can practice on family and friends.

To successfully launch your personal training business, make use of a great marketing strategy. No business will be successful without a great marketing strategy. For one, you can introduce the business to your prospective clients by doing initial consultations or first sessions for free. Maintaining open and ongoing communications with people interested in getting fit can help turn them from prospects to clients. The options in starting a personal training business are limitless. You just need to be careful in choosing which options will work best.