Practical Skills

Overcoming Obstacles And Excuses – Week 2

Posted by Sherri on April 18, 2012 at 8:17 pm

Hey Fit Pros,
Here we are at week 2 of our 5 week Overcoming Obstacles and Excuses series. We hear these next two excuses over and over again! It is time to have a response that will help your clients get over these obstacles once and for all!

Group Fat Loss Program

Posted by Sherri on March 26, 2012 at 11:23 pm

Spring is here and people start thinking about shedding body fat in time for summer. So it’s a perfect opportunity to offer a Fat Loss program or Weight Loss challenge.

At Northwest Personal Training, our Spring Weight Loss and Makeover program has been a huge winner both from a financial and a client success perspective. Here are some of the details of our program:

What is your B.A.M.?

Posted by Sherri on March 19, 2012 at 11:17 pm

Last night I was helping Brianna with a project and checking her homework that was due today. As I was going through her work, it became very obvious that she put in the bare minimum and didn’t check her work because there were so many errors. So I was trying to explain to her at the young age of 10, the importance of always doing your best. I was explaining to her that you have to always do more than what is expected to impress your teacher, your coach, your boss etc. Doing the bare minimum will never lead to great accomplishments or success in any area of life. Do more than what is necessary and great opportunities will come your way.

Fitness Pros – Do you want to get lucky?

Posted by Sherri on February 27, 2012 at 7:28 pm

Hey Fitness Pros,

“The harder I work, the luckier I get!”

I always related to this quote throughout my entire working career. No matter what position I held…whether I was a waitress making really good tips and all my fellow co-workers asking “How do you make such good tips?” I always thought it was so interesting that they didn’t relate to the fact that if you just bend over backwards, be extra special nice, really do whatever you could to take care of your customers’ needs, they would tip really well. Some people just didn’t get it. Once I entered the fitness industry, I would write articles for free, present complimentary seminars around the community, attend so many workshops and conferences, read as much as I could to advance my career….and as a result, my career advanced and so many incredible opportunities would be presented to me. In the beginning I had to work hard to find opportunities and recruit new clients, but then opportunities started to find me and clients started to track me down. Some might say, “Wow, you’re so lucky. You get all the good breaks.” But I couldn’t disagree more. I believe that the key to success in anything that you want in your life is “Knowing what you want and willing to do whatever it takes to get it.” Now life is a lot easier for me professionally. I don’t have to work as hard as I did when I first started my career 24 years ago. It’s the whole adage “Short term pain for long term gain”. I’m sure those of you who have been doing this for a long time can attest to what I’m saying. Those of you new to your career, put your time in and you will reap the benefits. Trust me, it works!

Host educational health and fitness workshops and lectures for clients

Posted by Sherri on February 21, 2012 at 9:06 pm

Health and fitness lectures offer a wonderful opportunity to educate your clients about important topics. We believe that Education + Action = Results so we value offering education to our clients and then, inspire and guide them to take action, therefore, producing fabulous results! You can’t do better if you don’t KNOW better!

Fit Pro Marketing Rule: Don’t Sell The Braces

Posted by Sherri on February 14, 2012 at 3:31 am

I had braces all through high-school. Imagine going through those awkward years wearing braces when the opinion of your peers was so important to your feelings of self-worth! Well as I neared the end of high-school and was approaching Senior Prom and Graduation, I scheduled an appointment with my orthodontist and asked him to remove my braces. And he said “No, your teeth are not ready yet!” And I said, “I don’t care. I want them off. I’ve been enduring these braces for years. My teeth are straight enough. I’m not going to my Prom and Graduation with braces.” So I forced him to remove the braces prematurely. You see, most people hate wearing their braces. They can’t wait till the day they are removed. So why do people wear braces then? Not because they want braces, but because they want straight teeth. So they are willing to go through the pain of wearing braces so they can get the straight teeth. Well, it’s the same way with Personal Trainers. Read more on Fit Pro Marketing Rule: Don’t Sell The Braces…

Valentine’s ideas for Personal Trainers

Posted by Sherri on February 8, 2012 at 2:12 am

Hey Fitness Pros,

1 week until Valentine’s day. A couple action steps to inspire people to think ‘give the gift of fitness’ to their special loved ones.

1. Get in the habit, and train your staff, to ask each client over the next week “Do you need to pick up a Valentine’s Day gift certificate?” Just ask!

Striving for excellence in the Personal Training business

Posted by Sherri on January 31, 2012 at 7:51 pm

Hey Fitness Pros,

“Anyone need advice on making the transition from 5.12 to 5.11?”

I saw this quote today. Climbers will understand the significance of this. 5.12 is a much harder climb than 5.11 and the message is, it’s easy to go backwards, to do what you’ve done before, to choose the easy road….but true excellence is reaching for something just a little more challenging that what you’re used to. Strive to be and do better! Set the bar high and don’t settle for anything else.

#1 Mistake Personal Trainers make in first session with a new client

Posted by Sherri on January 23, 2012 at 11:55 pm

Hey Fitness Pros,

The biggest mistake that I see trainers make in a first session with a new client is trying to fit way too much stuff into a one hour time period. Inevitably they run over time and if they have another client waiting, they rush through or eliminate the most critical aspect of a first session, ‘Finalizing the Sale’. You absolutely have to leave at least 10-15 minutes at the end of the session to be able to discuss how you are going to work together with your new client, make some suggestions regarding a package or program that would work for them, be able to effectively work through some struggles, obstacles and/or answer questions and ultimately, get your client signed up with you. So watch the clock and be sure to protect that critical time so you can finish the first session effectively with an outcome that will be positive for you and the client. Bottom line, you can’t help them if you can’t figure out how to convince them that you can help them!

Propose a weekly health and fitness column

Posted by Sherri on January 4, 2012 at 12:55 am

Hey Fitness Pros,

Have you proposed to write a regular fitness column for your local newspaper or magazine? You can’t beat this type of exposure and branding for your business!

Research the contact information for all the editors in your area. Then send a weekly or bi-weekly ‘teaser’ email about a hot-topic that you would write or be available to be interviewed for. If you do this right, you will become a regular resource for key media professionals in your area and like us, be offered to write a weekly fitness column for them. Sweet deal! See the link below to see what I’m talking about.