Creating Chaos - For Fitness & Sport Professionals

by Paul Swainson, Functional Master Trainer


That’s a pretty disheartening statement if you’re a Personal Trainer. It’s also one of the common reasons PTs (especially those new to the industry) give when they’re struggling to find clients. What’s even more disappointing is that it’s true - most people really don’t want Personal Training, because very often they don’t understand what it is, and when people don’t understand something, it’s very unlikely they will buy it.



So what’s the solution? As with many things in our industry, a change of mindset is required – if people don’t want PT, offer something they do want!

Think about what the average person understands by ‘Personal Training’. They probably think of military style instructors making people sweat, or perhaps celebrities being put through their paces in a glossy magazine. Or maybe if they go to the gym they have seen the trainers there doing fancy, complicated exercises with their clients. These ideas are all focussed on the process of training, but is this what people want? Or do they really want a flatter stomach, or more toned arms, or less flabby thighs, or to have more energy? These are the results of training and have emotion and therefore motivation attached to them.

Think about the common headlines you see on the cover of fitness magazines – “get big arms in 4 weeks”, “the 3 best moves for a six-pack”, “melt away fat in 10 seconds a week” (okay I made that last one up, but it wouldn’t surprise me to read it somewhere). They are all carefully written to appeal to what people desire: quick, simple RESULTS.

Now I’m not suggesting you make outrageous claims like those above, but if you can find out what result someone is seeking, and can provide a specific solution to achieve it, you have something people actually want.

So imagine, or better still, go and talk to, your potential clients. Find out what they want, what they need, and why (this market research then doubles up as a perfect rapport building exercise). Then structure your services and marketing around what you discover. For example, male clients may want to ‘bulk up’ in order to look better. So you could offer 'effective mass gain' training. Female clients may want to lose body fat so how about designing a 'body sculpting' programme. You could even market yourself as a ‘body transformation coach’. If your clients are simply looking to take an hour out of their
 day to de-stress, put together a ‘chill out’ package involving gentle exercise, stretching and relaxation techniques. This way you’re not selling Personal Training, you’re selling the results people are looking for.