Without a team of individuals who can effectively chase leads, nurture customer relationships, and close a sale, most fitness businesses would fail to survive for the long term. Therefore, there is no question that developing a high performance sales oriented personal training team that will support your growth should be at the top of your list. As a manager or club owner, there are several steps you can take to develop such a team.
The first, and the most important step, is to hire the right people for the job. This sounds like common sense, but you would be surprised at how many times someone has ?settled? on a candidate because they needed someone to start right away, or believed that they could ?mold? that individual into what they needed. This is definitely the wrong path to follow.
Before you even start the interview process, be specific on what type of characteristics and skills the ideal candidate should have. Then, make a similar list of characteristics and skills you prefer they possessed. Once you have established this guideline, incorporate it into your advertisements, and follow it throughout the interviewing process. Don't waste time and money on trying to train someone to do a job they aren't suited to perform. It's not fair to either of you.
After a suitable candidate has been hired, they will need the right tools to perform their job. This includes providing the necessary training and tools that will allow them to succeed. Training should extend beyond the basic orientation period. It should be an ongoing process with opportunities to improve their skills through seminars and workshops. Remember that as they improve and grow, so will your sales.
Next, provide your staff with clear expectations and goals. This holds true of any employee you may have. No one can be expected to thrive and succeed if they lack a clear understanding of what is expected. Write it down, discuss it frequently, and make sure there is little room for misinterpretation or misunderstanding.
Communication is another essential component to success. One-on-one and group meetings to discuss expectations track sales performance, and/or any issues or concerns that anyone may have are a must. Allow everyone an opportunity to not only voice their concerns, but to share their ideas and experiences. This empowers your employees and sends them the message that you care about what they have to contribute.
Finally, invest time in building a solid team. While everyone has individual goals they must meet, they also need to realize that they are part of a team that depends on each other to achieve success. Your company may include departments devoted to sales, personal training, and administration. Or, it could be made up of a select few who perform multiple responsibilities. Either way, the size of your organization doesn't matter. What does matter is that everyone involved understand that they are part of this larger team. As the team leader, it is up to you to lead by example. They will be watching you for direction.
By incorporating these guidelines, you can increase your chances for success in developing a cohesive, high-performance team devoted to increasing sales and improving the overall financial health of your organization.
Why did you decide to become a personal trainer? Was it your love of exercise? The rush you felt when you lifted a new max weight or beat your best time on the track? Maybe it was the thrill of being able to do what you love each day and help others to follow suite. Most likely it was your passion for fitness, and your passion for helping others, combined.
With clients who are dedicated and excited about their workouts, co-workers who share common interests and ideals, and constant access to exercise equipment and health food we have a wonderful and rewarding job.
Unfortunately, we usually end up with a few clients who make it difficult to stay passionate about our work. Some of our clients cancel at the last minute, or show up twenty minutes late. Some seem to expect us to lift the weight for them, on every rep of every set. And some simply want us to wave a magic wand and grant them new bodies on the spot.
While the former type of client fuels our fire, the latter snuff it out. So how do we keep our passion alive?
We take time to evaluate our situation, and make changes where necessary. There is no point in spending hours in the gym waiting for clients who do not show. Make a contract that states the amount of time you will wait before the session is canceled. Set up a prepay system; if the client has already paid for your service they are more likely to utilize it.
Get to know your clients on a non-exercise level. Find out their likes and dislikes, their hobbies and favorite types of music. This is done simply with a short questionnaire, in your introductory conversation, and over a period of time. Use this information to tailor their workouts. For example, if a client is a baseball fan incorporate some baseball drills into their warm up, or have them play catch or run bases as part of their cardio routine.
When your client has fun, you have fun.
Of course, sometimes it is more a matter over time that causes our passion to burn out. We tend to put so much effort into helping and pleasing our clients that we forget about ourselves.
Just as we plan our workouts and menus we need to plan time to relax. If you spend all day in the gym with clients, squeeze in a quick workout for yourself, and then rush home just to eat, sleep and wake up to start all over again, it's no wonder you're burnt out.
As fitness professionals we know that our muscles need adequate time to rest, refuel, and repair. The same goes for our mental and emotional health.
Perhaps this means taking a break from training clients on Saturday mornings, or making sure you are out of the gym by seven each evening. Maybe you need to schedule regular visits to a masseuse or buy tickets to your favorite sporting event or musician. Even spending as little as ten minutes in the sauna or whirlpool after your workout to simply relax and regroup could help.
Passion was what drove us to become fitness professionals, but it is not in endless supply. Take a look at your schedule and habits and then make the necessary changes. The spark of passion is always there, and just a small change can be enough to refuel the fire.
Tom Perkins has sinced written about articles on various topics from Personal Trainer, Home Business Failures and Scams and First Date. Tom Perkins is a business solutions coach and certified personal trainer who leads fitness professionals to profitability. Visit his website at