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5 Shocking Mistakes You’re Making as a Personal Trainer 

Trainers, it’s time to step up your game…

Your chosen profession is uber-competitive. In fact, you’re being challenged by nearly 300,000 (yes, 300,000) other certified professionals for your livelihood.

And that number is only growing…

In 2016, there were nearly 299,200 personal trainers employed in the United States, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects that number to grow faster than the average occupation in coming years.

If you want more big-ticket clients, a better retention rate, increased income, and time and money freedom (you can’t grind from 5am – 9pm for the long haul and keep you and your loved ones happy), you need to be better than the average trainer.

If you’re reading this, we can help.

As gym owners, we’ve seen hundreds of trainers come and go. And as we evaluate each trainer, we’ve identified 5 mistakes that keep them from turning training into the satisfying, balanced, and financially-sound career they dreamed of when they first got certified.

Read on for 5 telltale signs you’re failing as a personal trainer and how to fix them instantly!

1. Your Body Language Is (Unintentionally) Bad

Have you ever heard of the 7-38-55 rule?

The result of two communication-related studies found that a whopping 55% of communication is done through non-verbal cues, AKA body language.

While the information is often misinterpreted, experts believe our body language is wildly important, if not the most important factor of communication.

So, how’s yours?

When working with a client, you need to show him/her and the rest of the gym-goers that you’re intently focused on the task at hand.

It’s a secret strategy to attract new clients and ensure you’re taking extraordinary care of the person you’re working with.

Here are a few body language best practices for personal trainers:

• • Start with a smile. A warm greeting shows excitement and comfort.
  • Leverage the power of touch. Handshakes and highfives should be your bread and butter.

• • Keep your hands free. Devices, drinks, and other distractions have to go.

• Maintain eye contact. Kneel, crouch, and lean to maintain eye contact and build trust.
• Do not cross your arms or legs. A closed-off stance signals everything from anxiety to objection.
• Practice a coaching stance. Get your legs wide, knees bent, and use the cues above to signal that you’re engaged and focused on your client throughout the session.

Non-verbal cues can make or break client relationships…

Utilize body language to your advantage.

2. Despite Your Best Intentions, Your Phone Is Doing More Harm Than Good

We get it…

Your phone can be used for easy access to your client’s records and workouts, tracking rest and activity time, filming movement patterns to provide further coaching, and doing a little in-session social media marketing 🙂 …

All of that is A-ok.

However, it can also be a bad look. I know, I know, no one wants to admit it…

But every time you step out onto that fitness floor, you’re being judged.

Potential prospects have an eye on you: Whether it’s a young athlete, C-level executive, busy parent, or grandparent, it’s easy for them to see your phone as a serious red flag.

And frankly, whether they admit or not, your current clients could feel the same way.

Let’s be real honest with each other…

It’s all too easy to check your texts, scroll through Instagram, and pop open the ESPN app during water breaks and rest periods.

The point is: Your phone is doing more harm than good.

It’s pushing current clients and potential prospects away, and likely distracting you whether or not you’re aware of it.

Keep your phone in your gym bag or locker as soon as you step into a session.

3. You Don’t Understand Accountability

The most successful trainers in the business understand accountability.

One hour a day with you is not going to get your clients the results they want.

Why? Because for most, the remaining 23 hours of the day are spent binging on salty snacks between meetings, hitting Happy Hour hotspots, and the evening couch crash (Netflix, anyone?).

The best thing you can do for your clients is to provide ongoing accountability away from the gym.

Accountability unlocks the opportunity for killer testimonials and revenue-producing before and after pictures, rather than a revolving door of half-committed clients who never reach their full potential.

It’s the secret to making yourself irreplaceable and standing out from the crowd.

Here are 3 proven strategies to make accountability easy:

• • Text message your clients. SMS has a read rate of 98%. Video, audio, and text messages should be a part of your accountability arsenal. It can be as simple as asking what they had for lunch or a 10-second motivational video filmed just for them.

• • Create content: Are you educating them away from the gym? That great article on healthy snacks you sent via text could be just what they need to ditch the chips. Bonus points if it’s so impactful that they forward it to a friend and earn you a referral.

• Host digital challenges: From Summer Slimdowns to 7-Day Detoxes, electronic challenges are a fun way to keep your clients engaged and accountabie. Since you’ll see them in the gym, incorporating nutrition into these challenges is a great way to boost their results.

Start leveraging technology to provide ongoing accountability.

4. Your Programming Is Cookie-Cutter

Your favorite exercises won’t work for all walks of life.

Every client should receive a unique workout tailored to their needs, wants, goals, and desires.

If this isn’t the case, you’re failing them.

And as they catch on to your one-size-fits-all programming, their lack of results will lead them to jump ship and hop on with a trainer who knows how to customize a routine just for them.

Whether you’re relying on methods that have worked for your personal transformation, or simply are not putting in the time to prepare properly, cookie-cutter programming is a death sentence for your personal training career, no matter how educated, talented, or socially-skilled you are.

If it’s a lack of education, invest in continuing education courses, attend industry conferences, and do your own research to ensure everything from rest intervals to exercise selection is on point.

If it’s simply a lack of preparation, ask yourself how bad you want to transform lives? A client who hits his/her goals is far more valuable than the client who stays the same. Understand that your “job” doesn’t start the second the session starts. It starts hours, days, even weeks before, as you begin creating the perfect program for that individual.

There is no one-size-fits-all in fitness.

5. Your Sales Pitch Is All Wrong

Are you trying to grow your clientele, but you’re losing two clients for every one you gain?

Despite constant conversations with prospects, are you having trouble closing the deal?

It’s a struggle both new and young trainers deal with, and one that requires a refresh for even the industry’s most accomplished professionals.

The problem is your sales pitch.

That potential prospect seeking your expertise to drop stubborn belly fat, fit into his / her old jeans, regain his / her self confidence, and wake up everyday with more energy to knock out the day’s to-do list (while still making time to play with the kids or enjoy a date night dinner), won’t be sold on equipment, education, and calorie-crushing workouts.

In fact, your prospects don’t want workouts at all.

They want accountability … and you have the opportunity to be the solution.

Next time you’re approached by a prospect, skip the pitch focused on equipment and workouts, and sell them on the accountability you’ll provide.

How to Transform Into An Irreplaceable Trainer

Mistakes are proof that you’re trying…

Rather than beating yourself up for committing any of the 5 pitfalls explained above, use the solutions below to flip the script.

• Practice your coaching stance and body language.
• Ditch distractions.
• Provide accountability away from the gym.
• Perfect your programming.
• Tweak your sales pitch.

Before you know it, you’ll have so many clients, you’ll need to scale your business to keep up with demand.

And when you hit that point, shoot us an email. Our Coach Catalyst software is all about providing that extra accountability your clients need in a simple and convenient environment that will keep them committed to you without eating away at your valuable time. Less time, more money, and unreal results is the name of the game.