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O/T : NEED GOOD ARTICLES ON SELLING PERSONAL TRAINING
- Thread starter Muay Thai
- Start date
A good personal trainer doesn't really need to sell himself. Marketing isn't necessary when you produce results time and time again. Ask Dante if he ever marketed his services. Trop? Nope, he just posted alot of stuff that made sense and worked, people started offering to pay him for help...BOOM...Troponin Nutrition.
Also, a person who doesn't have the fortitude and diligence to research marketing on his own and wants to be spoon fed, problably doesn't have the fortitude he needs to learn as much as possible about training, dieting, etc...which in the end will be what makes or breaks your business.
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- Feb 4, 2007
- Messages
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Hey Muay....goto elitefts.com They have some articles over there. I also believe they have some books for sale on the topic.
And Gyno....your post is complete ignorance. Of course those guys marketed themselves and still do today. What they do is a form of marketing. Everything they post on the boards is marketing themselves and their business. Their websites, books, and articles they write are all a form of marketing. The guy is asking for links for marketing a specific business. Nothing wrong with this. Next time why don't you give him some useful info instead of being a douchebag.
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listen dennis the menace stay out of my thread you little brat you have nothing positive to contribute EVER
im a fucking general manager I SELL TRAINING FOR TRAINERS thats the way it works numbnuts what planet is it youre from again? venus? im certified trainer too you derelict
Last edited:
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The best of the best did not come into this game with a marketing scheme...if you think otherwise you are wrong. Dave tate is one of the exceptions, but his marketing is more or less a tool to sell his products through his online store.
The ALRIGHT trainers try to sell you on their stuff like they're Jehova's witness'. The best guys in the biz put their stuff out there and people respond.
congratulations, 50 dollars and a snickers bar and anyone can be certified.
You're a manager, in PA school, shadow a chemist, steroid efficianado, is their anything you don't do?
Who would hire you as a manager? You don't even have the self-determination to do your own research, you go onto a bbing board that you litter with useless and incorrect information and ask for someone to spoon feed you.
You're a manager, in PA school, shadow a chemist, steroid efficianado, is their anything you don't do?Who would hire you as a manager? You don't even have the self-determination to do your own research, you go onto a bbing board that you litter with useless and incorrect information and ask for someone to spoon feed you.
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The best guys might not have come in with a marketing plan, hell they probably didn't even think about training other people, but I guarantee you that once they discovered they could actually make a living at it, it was marketing full steam ahead.
Gyno I'm curious as to what you do for a living....it definitely can't be sales, marketing or business owner.
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- 4,762
thanks bro. we on same page
I can see that...but the fact is, muay isn't getting DISCOVERED, unless were talking about discovering the lie he lives on the internet. lol
I'm a Physician's Assistant in the US Army.
In my twenties I worked in sales. I never said marketing was bad. Muay Thai on the other hand is asking to be spoon fed. I certainly didn't have it that easy when I was selling overpriced security equipment. Thats kind of what MT would be doing, selling crappy product (training) for more than it's worth ($5 dollars an hour).
Really, hmmm. I was a personal trainer (as I'm sure half the people on these boards are). After my initial 3 months of building a base clientel (through new membership assessments), I did zero marketing and was turning down customers due to being overwhelmed.
Either way, if someone can't do a little research into how to market themselves, they problably haven't done enough research to move away from cookie cutter physical training (which is the worst thing to happen since planet fitness)
Either way, if someone can't do a little research into how to market themselves, they problably haven't done enough research to move away from cookie cutter physical training (which is the worst thing to happen since planet fitness)
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- Jan 9, 2008
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- 312
Slightly o/t but I think you'll enjoy this.
Why 50% Of Personal Trainers Suck!!! by John Izzo
I can feel the fists clamping and the teeth grinding as I write this. I can see the eyes slither up as if an un-welcomed cousin has entered the party. I can hear the whispers and the "whatevers" under everyone's breaths. Well...if you are still interested in reading this, its because you want to stand apart from the 125,000 new fitness professionals that join the ranks every year, and hopefully, you don't want to be one of the 25,000 that quit after 1 year.
In my opinion, you are going to continue reading this because you want to hear what I have to say. And who they hell am I you may ask? I am a lot of things....an observer, a student, a teacher, a leader, and a friend. I am a professional, an educator, and a coach. I remember being asked what I did for living years ago and replying, "I'm a personal trainer", and everyone kinda looking at me like I had 3 heads.
"You mean you show people how to use those machines?"
"....Mmmmm, close....I help fat people get skinny and I help slow people run faster, and I help scared people be brave...and I help weak people be stronger, and I help diseased people become healthy".
So, being labeled a personal trainer has come around over the last 3-4 years. Being one is not as foreign as it used to be when I first started out. Of course, they're those that started out before me. Oh, yeah...they were called Biff, Zach, and Lance. They were the biggest guys in the gym with the darkest tans, and the highest Ottomix shoes around. They wore bandanas, belts, and earrings in the gym. They smelled like protein and they had more weightlifting gloves than some women had shoes. Some were old too...frequently telling me stories of feats past—big benches, big deads, big squats....torn pecks, bad backs, and messed up knees.
So these guys eventually fizzled out and a new breed of trainers came around. These trainers came out of college with degrees and athletic backgrounds. These new trainers came out of aerobics rooms and sought out certifications. These new trainers rose up out of the dungy gyms and became students of the game. These new trainers used what they learned in books and did research on themselves. They understood the function of the hamstring in a lunge is to decelerate the movement....they understood the function of the rotator cuff...they understood that cardiovascular performance was directly related to functional capacity. These new trainers even looked professional. They wore khaki's, polo and golf shirts, dress shoes, and had smiles. These new trainers practiced what they preached because they learned in their own trainings; they learned in athletics; they learned in step classes; and they learned through trial and error. These trainers had a passion to share the knowledge they obtained with the average joe and once they were able to help their first client...a confidence was born. These trainers understood that their passion was becoming their bread and butter. These trainers began to understand selling their services was part of the game and they wanted to market their success to more and more clients. They understood they can achieve longevity in this field, rather which assuming it was a short term career detour. They made money! They helped people lose weight! They helped the weak become stronger, and the youths become more athletic. They wore the distinct "Trainer" label on their shirts and they carried their own business cards! Soon, word of mouth was the best sales tactic they could use...client were referring friends and family! Results were being noted everywhere—in the gym, at family reunions, at church gatherings, in public, and in homes!
But then "they "came...
Yes, then the ones that had little or no experience came in. The ones that wanted all the glamour without working for it. The ones that thought their time was too valuable and demanded to be paid more. The ones that followed all the false prophet magazines. The ones that felt they were destined to be trainers.
I wrote this article because in 6 years of direct personal training and 3 years of direct management of personal trainers, I have had the opportunity to interview 43 "wanna-be" trainers in my career. Some were destined to be good trainers and I hired them, some were destined to waste my time. I have the opportunity to instruct classes on personal trainers in community colleges in Connecticut and each year, I meet over 100 new people wanting to become a personal trainer. I workout in 4 different clubs 3 times a week and I have the opportunity to observe trainers in action. I teach workshops on advanced strength training techniques for trainers 4 times a year and have the opportunity to speak to trainers in their first year "on the job". I talk and I listen, and I realize that 50% of the trainers fail. Here are my top 5 reason why:
1.) Trainers Think Their Time is TOOO valuable. This one perturbs me to no end. Since when is your time to valuable to help someone? Many trainers charge up to $100 an hour for their time! I'm sorry but I would never pay anyone $100 for anything. Trainers tend to set their price based on what "more important things they could be doing at the time of the session" (playing with the kids, watching that DVD, making dinner, going out shopping, etc), rather than setting their price based on their level of expertise and background. Too many trainers want the Ferrari as soon as they get the driver's license. I detail this in my book "Secret Skills of Personal Training"—in order to achieve longevity in this field, you have to position yourself to "service others". Personal training is not a self-serving career. You help others...you give yourself to others, you sacrifice crappy hours, and dealing with different personality types to help others. The time of the less fortunate (or less healthy in this case) is more valuable than ours...because they don't have as much left as we do.
2.) Everyone Wants to Be a Trainer This one I can feel for. Some people develop a desire to help others. I truly understand that testament to help another human in an unfavorable condition. But...just like everyone is not meant to be a doctor, lawyer, and astronaut—neither is everyone meant to be a personal trainer just because you went through the Express line at your local gym for 12 weeks and lost 14 pounds. That doesn't make you a professional. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be something in life...but to be good at what you do in this field is what separates you from everyone else.
3.) Millionaires Grant Everyone Permission to Call Themselves Trainers Okay...over the last 2 years there has been an incredible influx of personal training studios, boot camps, websites, and products. This saturation has caused harm in the personal training industry. Many of these personal trainers are encouraged to market themselves and develop half-assed programs. Are they purposely developing half-assed programs? No...but that is the level of competence out there because they are focused more on making a buck through marketing and easy cash. So THEY are making tons of money off of these newbies. And potential clients don't know the difference. And another detrimental effect of all of this is: newbies are great at advertising, developing websites, and using sales strategies; but when it comes to training a client....they suck! So the client is "turned off" by the lack of experience, knowledge, professionalism, creativity, and responsibility by these newbies and guess what? The field has been overly clogged with people wanting to share their services BEFORE they are actually good at them! "Our field is labeled a JOKE!
4.) Trainers Don't Workout Themselves I see this one from time to time. Trainers encouraging their clients to perform a one-arm , one leg standing cable row with rotation on a ½ foam roller! Well....I'm not going to get in to the fact that they trainer may not know exactly why he or she is performing that exercise. But I will get into the fact that I know for a fact—just by looking at the trainer—that the trainer does not perform or cannot perform that exercise. Why do trainers do this? Is it because such an exercise is hard and we want our client to suffer, or is it because the exercise has a purpose? So many trainers are out of shape and not conditioned for the type of training they prescribe (power-lifting, HIIT, functional, etc, etc...) Well, guess what? It's not only about being physically capable of performing the exercise, but it is more importantly about knowing "where and how" to cue the exercise and understand the mental skills required to perform the exercise. That is why if you preach it, you should practice it!
5.) Trainers Don't Continue to Learn I can't say this enough. To be in the position of developing exercise programs for sedentary people that put they're hard-earned money and trust into you is so important. A doctor doesn't graduate school and start seeing patients---they perform a residency at a hospital...for years! Trainers must understand that this practice is more than holding a clipboard and counting reps...it is about understanding the human body and how it correlate to stresses your clients puts on it, and what physical stresses YOU put on it through exercise. An exercise program without modifications in its first 2 weeks is a joke to me. Any trainer that carries around the latest edition of Men's Fitness during a session is a joke to me. Any trainer that cannot admit that they need assistance or need to refer out is a joke to me. I have met trainers that were certified in 1988 and have not learned anything new. Do you know how much fitness has evolved in just 3 years? Half of today's trainers do not put the time, effort, and money into continuing education, seminars, or instructional books and videos. They want to make money and not invest in their skills or experience. Imagine this: If I sold you a computer with 2.5 Intel Pentium Processor for $1200, wouldn't you be upset if you turned around and saw the same price tag on a computer with 4.0 Intel Pentium Processor? You would want the faster computer because you were getting more for your money! Well, sorry to say, not every client is getting the most for their dollars. Some are paying trainers based on their looks, sales tactics, or not knowing what they are getting themselves into.
I don't mean for this article to offend anyone. I look at this article as a challenge for you to step it up. Personal training can be a dog-eat-dog career choice and if your intentions are placed correctly, you can enjoy a long successful career in it. Don't let this article discourage you , but let it awaken the original reasons why you want to be a trainer.
Why 50% Of Personal Trainers Suck!!! by John Izzo
I can feel the fists clamping and the teeth grinding as I write this. I can see the eyes slither up as if an un-welcomed cousin has entered the party. I can hear the whispers and the "whatevers" under everyone's breaths. Well...if you are still interested in reading this, its because you want to stand apart from the 125,000 new fitness professionals that join the ranks every year, and hopefully, you don't want to be one of the 25,000 that quit after 1 year.
In my opinion, you are going to continue reading this because you want to hear what I have to say. And who they hell am I you may ask? I am a lot of things....an observer, a student, a teacher, a leader, and a friend. I am a professional, an educator, and a coach. I remember being asked what I did for living years ago and replying, "I'm a personal trainer", and everyone kinda looking at me like I had 3 heads.
"You mean you show people how to use those machines?"
"....Mmmmm, close....I help fat people get skinny and I help slow people run faster, and I help scared people be brave...and I help weak people be stronger, and I help diseased people become healthy".
So, being labeled a personal trainer has come around over the last 3-4 years. Being one is not as foreign as it used to be when I first started out. Of course, they're those that started out before me. Oh, yeah...they were called Biff, Zach, and Lance. They were the biggest guys in the gym with the darkest tans, and the highest Ottomix shoes around. They wore bandanas, belts, and earrings in the gym. They smelled like protein and they had more weightlifting gloves than some women had shoes. Some were old too...frequently telling me stories of feats past—big benches, big deads, big squats....torn pecks, bad backs, and messed up knees.
So these guys eventually fizzled out and a new breed of trainers came around. These trainers came out of college with degrees and athletic backgrounds. These new trainers came out of aerobics rooms and sought out certifications. These new trainers rose up out of the dungy gyms and became students of the game. These new trainers used what they learned in books and did research on themselves. They understood the function of the hamstring in a lunge is to decelerate the movement....they understood the function of the rotator cuff...they understood that cardiovascular performance was directly related to functional capacity. These new trainers even looked professional. They wore khaki's, polo and golf shirts, dress shoes, and had smiles. These new trainers practiced what they preached because they learned in their own trainings; they learned in athletics; they learned in step classes; and they learned through trial and error. These trainers had a passion to share the knowledge they obtained with the average joe and once they were able to help their first client...a confidence was born. These trainers understood that their passion was becoming their bread and butter. These trainers began to understand selling their services was part of the game and they wanted to market their success to more and more clients. They understood they can achieve longevity in this field, rather which assuming it was a short term career detour. They made money! They helped people lose weight! They helped the weak become stronger, and the youths become more athletic. They wore the distinct "Trainer" label on their shirts and they carried their own business cards! Soon, word of mouth was the best sales tactic they could use...client were referring friends and family! Results were being noted everywhere—in the gym, at family reunions, at church gatherings, in public, and in homes!
But then "they "came...
Yes, then the ones that had little or no experience came in. The ones that wanted all the glamour without working for it. The ones that thought their time was too valuable and demanded to be paid more. The ones that followed all the false prophet magazines. The ones that felt they were destined to be trainers.
I wrote this article because in 6 years of direct personal training and 3 years of direct management of personal trainers, I have had the opportunity to interview 43 "wanna-be" trainers in my career. Some were destined to be good trainers and I hired them, some were destined to waste my time. I have the opportunity to instruct classes on personal trainers in community colleges in Connecticut and each year, I meet over 100 new people wanting to become a personal trainer. I workout in 4 different clubs 3 times a week and I have the opportunity to observe trainers in action. I teach workshops on advanced strength training techniques for trainers 4 times a year and have the opportunity to speak to trainers in their first year "on the job". I talk and I listen, and I realize that 50% of the trainers fail. Here are my top 5 reason why:
1.) Trainers Think Their Time is TOOO valuable. This one perturbs me to no end. Since when is your time to valuable to help someone? Many trainers charge up to $100 an hour for their time! I'm sorry but I would never pay anyone $100 for anything. Trainers tend to set their price based on what "more important things they could be doing at the time of the session" (playing with the kids, watching that DVD, making dinner, going out shopping, etc), rather than setting their price based on their level of expertise and background. Too many trainers want the Ferrari as soon as they get the driver's license. I detail this in my book "Secret Skills of Personal Training"—in order to achieve longevity in this field, you have to position yourself to "service others". Personal training is not a self-serving career. You help others...you give yourself to others, you sacrifice crappy hours, and dealing with different personality types to help others. The time of the less fortunate (or less healthy in this case) is more valuable than ours...because they don't have as much left as we do.
2.) Everyone Wants to Be a Trainer This one I can feel for. Some people develop a desire to help others. I truly understand that testament to help another human in an unfavorable condition. But...just like everyone is not meant to be a doctor, lawyer, and astronaut—neither is everyone meant to be a personal trainer just because you went through the Express line at your local gym for 12 weeks and lost 14 pounds. That doesn't make you a professional. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be something in life...but to be good at what you do in this field is what separates you from everyone else.
3.) Millionaires Grant Everyone Permission to Call Themselves Trainers Okay...over the last 2 years there has been an incredible influx of personal training studios, boot camps, websites, and products. This saturation has caused harm in the personal training industry. Many of these personal trainers are encouraged to market themselves and develop half-assed programs. Are they purposely developing half-assed programs? No...but that is the level of competence out there because they are focused more on making a buck through marketing and easy cash. So THEY are making tons of money off of these newbies. And potential clients don't know the difference. And another detrimental effect of all of this is: newbies are great at advertising, developing websites, and using sales strategies; but when it comes to training a client....they suck! So the client is "turned off" by the lack of experience, knowledge, professionalism, creativity, and responsibility by these newbies and guess what? The field has been overly clogged with people wanting to share their services BEFORE they are actually good at them! "Our field is labeled a JOKE!
4.) Trainers Don't Workout Themselves I see this one from time to time. Trainers encouraging their clients to perform a one-arm , one leg standing cable row with rotation on a ½ foam roller! Well....I'm not going to get in to the fact that they trainer may not know exactly why he or she is performing that exercise. But I will get into the fact that I know for a fact—just by looking at the trainer—that the trainer does not perform or cannot perform that exercise. Why do trainers do this? Is it because such an exercise is hard and we want our client to suffer, or is it because the exercise has a purpose? So many trainers are out of shape and not conditioned for the type of training they prescribe (power-lifting, HIIT, functional, etc, etc...) Well, guess what? It's not only about being physically capable of performing the exercise, but it is more importantly about knowing "where and how" to cue the exercise and understand the mental skills required to perform the exercise. That is why if you preach it, you should practice it!
5.) Trainers Don't Continue to Learn I can't say this enough. To be in the position of developing exercise programs for sedentary people that put they're hard-earned money and trust into you is so important. A doctor doesn't graduate school and start seeing patients---they perform a residency at a hospital...for years! Trainers must understand that this practice is more than holding a clipboard and counting reps...it is about understanding the human body and how it correlate to stresses your clients puts on it, and what physical stresses YOU put on it through exercise. An exercise program without modifications in its first 2 weeks is a joke to me. Any trainer that carries around the latest edition of Men's Fitness during a session is a joke to me. Any trainer that cannot admit that they need assistance or need to refer out is a joke to me. I have met trainers that were certified in 1988 and have not learned anything new. Do you know how much fitness has evolved in just 3 years? Half of today's trainers do not put the time, effort, and money into continuing education, seminars, or instructional books and videos. They want to make money and not invest in their skills or experience. Imagine this: If I sold you a computer with 2.5 Intel Pentium Processor for $1200, wouldn't you be upset if you turned around and saw the same price tag on a computer with 4.0 Intel Pentium Processor? You would want the faster computer because you were getting more for your money! Well, sorry to say, not every client is getting the most for their dollars. Some are paying trainers based on their looks, sales tactics, or not knowing what they are getting themselves into.
I don't mean for this article to offend anyone. I look at this article as a challenge for you to step it up. Personal training can be a dog-eat-dog career choice and if your intentions are placed correctly, you can enjoy a long successful career in it. Don't let this article discourage you , but let it awaken the original reasons why you want to be a trainer.
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- Messages
- 4,228
MT...I have worked as a PT Director(GM of PT) & Dist Mgr for the last few yrs now doing what You are doing...if I can be of help...feel free to PM Me
bignick44
Banned
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Mighty -- Ur a district manager for what company,, cause i am a DM for la Fitness in NJ, Also I ve been a GM etc for almost every company in NJ NY area I know everyone who is anybody! So I probely know u or u definitly know me unless your bullshittin like everyone else on here about what they do and look like lol
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Really? Gyno is ignorant? a douchebag? No he is right. Let me think here. I havent trained anyone new since September of 2007. Troponin as I know it doesnt train people any more. I put "countless and I mean countless....years?" of time in putting information on my methodology up online so anyone/everyone could use it for free. If I counted all that Ive ever typed up I bet it would add up to a year or two (I dont want to even think about the time I spent...it was alot) Training people online had never been my main job but a side job and I only did it because people started asking me to do it back some years ago.
Books? none
Articles? Do you think I ask the magazines "hey can you guys do an interview on me?" No they are asking me to do these things. I say yes to some and turn down others.....
I turned down paid writing jobs from almost every major newstand bbing magazine - why? Because I dont have the time and felt I had put enough free stuff online for everyone to read.
Ive turned down every single bbing radio show that has asked me to come on (cant think of one which hasnt asked me).
Websites? Where is the DC training website? IntenseMuscle? I dont own IntenseMuscle, Im a guest there of skips
DVD? Thats Jason Wojo's DVD, he makes the money and rightfully so as I gave him the green light to do it.
What have my posts been of late? Frederic Sauvage? I dont even know the guy. Cardiac hypertrophy? Huh? Curcumin? I dont sell curcumin. I know you cannot understand this but Ive always tried to help people out. Ive tried to do that from the beginning. Ive hooked up muscle message board members with jobs, tried to offer my input on all sorts of subjects etc etc etc. I trained people for awhile because it was asked of me....and that came about from posting up alot of free information because I liked helping out my fellow bber (with no marketing plan in mind....I was in software sales at that time)
Last edited:
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- Messages
- 716
this is marketing, whether you turn down those who respond or not.
im sure now your at a point where you dont market at all but when you first started you did, even if it was unintentional by posting just to help your fellow BB.
MT would be a fool to not market himself effectively
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get real not everybody has your stripes and badges dont take this the wrong way but people know and knew you already . there is no comparison between your unintentional marketing to somebody who has to seell to put food on their plate . think about it. you know who you are, there is no parallel in what you are saying
and what is bolded is case and point. you are a celebrity wether you understand that or not. your training style is all over
the internet
your marketing is done inadvertantly
im 21 bro. cut me some slack. i have not been in the industry for a quarter what you have, but i am adament about helping people and would rather seee some encouragement than over scrutinizing. im not a charlatton
gyno is a douchebag becuase he haunts my threads with his bullshit and contributes nothing. why does he keep appearing in them well self explanatory he has nothing better to do. if the past has any reflection of the future he will be in here to get his 1cents in here
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Once again, you have missed the point. By the way, a little punctuation will make your post MUCH easier to read...maybe some grammatical structure as well.
Trust me, the fact that you are 21 is not hard to believe.
I've also contributed with some constructive criticism (most 21 yo don't like that). Do your own research!
Trust me, the fact that you are 21 is not hard to believe.
I've also contributed with some constructive criticism (most 21 yo don't like that). Do your own research!
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