3 Tips to Succeeding in the Personal Training Industry

Are you thinking about a career in the Personal training industry? 

If so, I have three tips to help you succeed.  I have worked at Infofit, North America’s #1 College for Fitness Professionals, for well over a decade and during my career I have helped many new trainers get their start.  Here are three key tips to help you succeed.

1 – Make a Decision on How to Use Your Skill in the Personal Training Industry

We all have different personalities traits and skills that are beneficial to being a successful Personal Trainer. You need to decide what skills will lend support to the job in the personal training industry that you are applying for and the job duties that will be included with that position.

Large chain companies are fantastic for working with a very high volume and diverse client base. The client diversity in this situation is beneficial for helping you focus on the type of client or market that will best work with your personality type. They will book clients with you directly. However, most of these companies will expect you to be able to approach clients with ease and up-sell them on buying personal training packages with you. Sales can be intimidating for some personal trainers, and if you find it particularly challenging, then you may want to consider taking a sales course or hiring someone to teach you about sales. People in the personal training industry want to buy your knowledge, guidance and skills, so you need to know how to pitch to them.  Here are a few great online courses and workbooks to help develop your sales and marketing skills:

https://infofit.ca/course/grow-your-personal-training-business/

https://infofit.ca/course/marketing-muscle/

https://infofit.ca/course/starting-a-fitness-business-course/

I have had students that can’t start their journey because the sales aspect of the position is beyond their comfort zone.  There are other personal training industry jobs you can apply for, if selling is something you need to learn or if it just isn’t your forte.

Community centers and most private Personal Training Studios also have a diverse client base. However, many private studios client share within their Personal Trainers. The client will be booked in with whichever trainer is available at the time. There is no direct sales aspect of the job as the clients are given to you directly, however you will still need to work at showing the client you have the knowledge and skills they require. In this type of facility, it is important to be able to interact with clients around the facility. However, there will not be any direct up-selling involved. The benefit in this career position is it allows you to learn about selling yourself at a slower pace while still gaining a client base. You will need to leave your schedule very open to ensure the staff can place clients with you at all times of the day.

2 – Find Your Niche Market and Upgrade Your Education

Once you have worked in the personal training industry for a few months, it will become more apparent to you, what area of personal training specialization will suit you best (e.g. seniors, rehab). I came into the personal training industry thinking I wanted to work with bodybuilders, but quickly found I excelled in the rehabilitation/clinical exercise area due to my ability to be compassionate and patient with people. That led me on my journey to taking as many rehabilitation and clinical exercise courses as I could. Knowledge is power, and people want to tap into your knowledge so they can achieve their goal with you. Explore your passion.  Work isn’t just a job when you love what you are doing. I also find it is easier to sell what you truly believe to be true. Therefore, if sales are a challenge for you, it stops being sales and starts being your passion, which people want to buy. Infofit has an extensive array of continuing education courses. Our staff is always happy to help guide you through the process so you can move into the area where you will flourish.

3 – Reconsider Starting Your Own Business without Experience

Many of our students come into the industry with the idea of almost immediately starting their own personal training company. There are many benefits and challenges of starting a business of your own. One of the main things you need to do is create an audience for yourself. You will also need to have a bread and butter job, and you should try to meld them into one. I always advise students to find a job where people will be interested in living a healthy lifestyle. Try to look for employment in a supplement, sports store or alternative therapy clinic. These types of jobs can create an audience for people wanting to hire a personal trainer. Working with a skilled chiropractor, physiotherapist or massage therapist gives you the audience and also someone to help guide you in your learning process of expanding your knowledge base.

Another secondary audience choice is doing group fitness classes. Infofit offers both an in-class and online Group Fitness & Boot Camp course. Working with outdoor or indoor group fitness classes can give you a broad audience to draw from for personal training clients. Just be sure to discuss what the protocol would be for utilizing the company’s client base for your personal training business.

https://infofit.ca/course/group-fitness-boot-camps/

Marketing is an essential component of getting yourself noticed with clients in the fitness industry. You need to have several modes of media pointing to you. First and foremost a website is essential to get yourself noticed on Google and other search engines. You also need social media to lead your prospects towards your company information. Your website should provide information on your mission statement, bio, prices, and contact details at a minimum.

https://infofit.ca/course/grow-your-personal-training-business/

Infofit has courses to teach you how to set-up these marketing tools. If technology isn’t your strong suit, then we can provide you with information on where to find a company that can do this for you.

Rewarding Career with Plenty of Opportunities

Personal training is a rewarding career! The current market has the demand for Personal Trainers at an all-time high. Baby boomers and their parents have more than 2 trillion dollars at their disposal, and much of that is going towards staying healthy and functional for as long as possible.

Infofit programs offer multiple ways to upgrade or achieve industry accreditation for part-time and full-time students, and with various educational formats, we are able to adapt our courses to fit your busy lifestyle and current commitments.

Infofit helped forge the professionalism of the fitness industry, and we look forward to helping you achieve the same level of fitness professionalism that will start or enhance your career.

Cathie Glennon- BCRPA/SFL