[Elite Trainer Cheat Sheet] 4 Secret Strategies to Stand Out From the Crowd
Are you just going through the motions?
The truth is, far too many trainers are.
With nearly 300,000 other certified professionals competing with you for clients, standing out from the crowd is not optional.
That is, if you want your time in the trenches to be a life-transforming career rather than a short-term job. That is what you want … right?
More than 1 in 3 adults in the United States need your help losing weight and more than 36 million youth athletes could benefit from your sports performance expertise.
But you’ll never even be a blip on their radar if you aren’t delivering a better experience than the next guy.
Read on for the secret skills that generate heaps of referrals, always convert prospects into clients, and ensure the people you work with transform into raving fans.
The Elite Trainer Cheat Sheet: 4 Secret Strategies The Average Trainer Overlooks & The Elite Trainer Excels At
1. Elite Trainers Know How to Nail Consultations
Consultations are a key driver of your business.
They’re your chance to make a killer first impression on prospects that can instantly convince them you’re the right guy / girl to work with.
But you’re probably doing them wrong.
Since this person has already raised his or her hand to express interest in personal training, this is the kind of warm lead elite trainers know how to capitalize on.
Below are 3 best practices for crushing consultations:
- Beware of body language. Start with a handshake and smile, use the person’s name frequently, maintain eye contact, and keep an open stance as you engage. Body language builds trust, and they must trust you before they invest their hard-earned money in you.
- Keep it about them. The consultation is more about them than you. Give them a chance to shine and be heard. Ask open-ended questions to warm up and ask pointed questions to dig down to the real reason they need your help.
- Stop selling workouts. Regardless of their goals, stop making the mistake of trying to sell them on workouts and equipment. Your sales pitch must emphasize accountability.
2. Elite Trainers Invest Time, Money, & Energy Into Continuing Education
Before we go on, understand this: When we say continuing education, we’re not just talking about the arbitrary number of CEUs you must earn to maintain your trainer status every couple of years.
This is about choosing to invest in continuing education and making the most of your time spent learning.
Here’s what we’re talking about:
- Attend the industry’s iconic conferences. Events like IDEA World and the Perform Better Summits are outstanding opportunities to learn from the best in a grand environment tailored to help you get better. Do what you have to do to be there.
- Subscribe to blogs and newsletters of industry experts. This is a free and simple strategy to get weekly continuing education direct to your inbox. Google a few people you admire, hit their websites, and leave your email address. Easy peasy.
- Seek out digital products, smaller engagements, and mastermind groups. These are all opportunities for convenient and cost-effective continuing education to complement the big conference commitments.
This industry is constantly changing and it’s hard to keep up without continuing education.
From the latest research on brain aging to the effects of daily fasting, it’s important to be in-tune to the hot topics and latest news.
3. Elite Trainers Leverage Social Media To Their Advantage
Social media is the new internet.
It’s not enough to have an Instagram account or occasionally check your Facebook page…
You need to be active on social media; delivering valuable content and developing an audience. After all, one eyeball can lead to your next big client.
Don’t believe us? Just ask Joe DeFranco how WWE legend Triple H found him.
As Joe would say, “You never know who’s watching.”
Use social media to post clips of your clients, before and after pictures, exercise tutorials, links to blogs and videos, and motivational quotes.
Instantly generate new business and retain clients with these social media strategies:
- Post before and after pictures on all platforms. Include the client’s story and a quote from him/her in the caption.
- Capture short videos of training sessions and exercise tutorials. Share these videos on Instagram and Facebook.
- Create a client-only Facebook Group. Use this free group to build deeper relationships with your tribe and effortlessly share content, answer questions, and engage away from the gym.
- Re-post things you’re tagged in. Social proof is the modern testimonial. Re-post anything you’re tagged in as an effortless and powerful way to promote.
The winners in this industry are all active on social media.
4. Elite Trainers Have Mastered Client Accountability
It’s one thing to talk about accountability during consultations … it’s another thing to deliver on your promises.
Accountability comes in many forms, but it’s the secret sauce to deliver real results.
And you know what real results get you, right?
Killer testimonials that provide the social proof you need to land prospects who are on the fence.
Before and after pictures that speak louder than words.
And the kind of success stories that make all the time, effort, and money that goes to unpaid consultations, continuing education opportunities, and digital fitness solutions well worth it :).
If you truly care about transforming your clients, you understand the importance of holding them accountable away from the gym.
This is how to start holding your clients accountable to supercharge their results:
- Text them. Whether it’s a traditional text message, audio message, or video message, communicating with them away from the gym is required for results. The best way to capture their attention is through their phone.
- Require a digital food journal. Whether they’re logging their food in a mobile app or tracking by snapping photos, a digital food journal is a fantastic and fun way to hold them accountable for their nutrition. We all know food can make or breaks results.
- Lead digital challenges. Up the accountability away from the gym with digital challenges that tie-in all aspects of health and fitness. These are also great low-cost, short-term feeder programs for prospects, too.
Elite Trainer Wrap-Up
If you want to be among the elite in the industry, do the following:
- Crush consultations by mastering your body language, communication style, and sales pitch.
- Invest in all forms of continuing education; free, digital, and live.
- Get active on social media and provide free value.
- Hold your clients accountable away from the gym.
Ready to go from average to elite?
You know now how!
By the way, we’re doubling down on our trainer trainings :).
As a bonus, here are 5 common mistakes we see personal trainers make far too often.
Kick the bad habits, follow this cheat sheet, and you’ll be on your way to elite trainer status!
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If you’re already using these secret strategies and are finding they take up too much of your time, shoot us an email. Our Coach Catalyst software is all about providing the effortless extra accountability your clients need while freeing up your time so you can take a break from the trenches and keep earning money. Elite trainers know how to maximize time, income, and results, and our software can help you do just that.