Today we had a lecture on marketing yourself as a personal trainer, which was pretty interesting because I disagreed with a lot of the material presented - this initally made me feel anxious - am I terrible at advertising and selling myself? Is the way I do things "not right"? I think it made me nervous because I've never been one to be pushy about my coaching. Most of my clients have "found" me, rather than me aggressively going out there and marketing myself. I was able to chew on this on the bus ride home from Lutwytche ( you gotta love the speed of the new Northern Busway) - and came to the conclusion that I'm a cruiser and that it simply doesn't suit me to be aggressive about hunting for live clients (I've just re read this and it sounds hilarious, so I'm leaving it in there hoping you all get a laugh). I'm going to continue to do what I do best and cruise and work with one on one clients in my own good time.
That said I always enjoy these 'self development' type of courses because they really make you think about who YOU are and why you act the way you do. That's why I find psychological testing so interesting and why I've put my Myer Briggs Type on my side bar - and I've just done a Caliper test for PN. I will get the results later in the week to share with you and find out just what sort of leadership style I have. Interesting stuff!
The other thing that I'm remembering that was brought home to me on the Melbourne trip that it is "all about me" so before the course started today I got into the gym and did:
Elliptical intervals 30/15/30/45 and 15 Tabata bike cycles - yes, what is good for my clients is perfect for me as well.
Shoulder rehab and bodyweight squats and lunges.
I've been quite the busy little blogger despite me supposedly being scarce this week (that's the recalcitrant streak coming out!)
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6 comments:
That's funny, me too... I don't pay for any advertising, and I definitely don't go chasing clients. They find me anyway, so somehow I must be doing something right. Or are we both just lucky?
I hate aggressive sales techniques, and I suspect a lot of other people do too...
Tabatas...nice one! :o)
I ran my own business for a few years and never once advertised. I found this to be excellent for me, because people chose me because they had been recommended to me or had respect already for my work. This meant communicating with my clients was so much easier as we already had a base level of understanding.
Just like Kek I too hate being sold to. I'd like to think I'm more discerning!
Good to read you're recovering well. Injuries can be so frustrating.
Hi Liz,
I too am a personal trainer and like Kek, disagree with the whole advertising scenario. Your physique is an amazing selling tool for you. You look amazing.
I work as a personal trainer in a mining town in Western Australia. I work part time and have had the same group of clients for 18 months. This speaks loud enough for me!!!!!
Shoulder rehab?????? Sounds like me - i am preparing for comp in october and doing knee rehab at the same time.
Maryanne x
I hate it when people are too pushy besides I think your physique as well as your current and previous clients results are advertising enough.
If you are a quality trainer it doesn't take long for people to see it by watching you with clients. It means you will get the better clients anyway who are looking for something more than a flashy add campaign.
Just keep doing your thing.
I just had to add my two cents worth - being a marketing communications professional, this is right up my alley, so to speak.
It sounds as though they may be guilty of what many are, ie confusing 'marketing' with 'sales'. Each are necessary to the success of the other, and are an important part of the whole - BUT - the MOST important part of marketing is KNOWING your clients or potential customers - when you know the type of people you are aiming to target, then you can gain consumer insights into their likes and dislikes. What you will also find is that, those that like being pushed into sales, are generally fly by nighters and disloyal, in that they jump ship very quickly. Customers earned through good rapport, understanding and trust, are ones that will stick with you through thick and thin.
In other words, Ms NF - go with your intuition and feeling :-)
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