people @ the gym & free advice

[V3ng3anc333]

generally i am a rather humble person and try to explain a lot of what i do and why i do it.. In the past i set up numerous exercise and nutrition plans for various people only to find out they are not able to stick to the programm for longer than 1-2weeks at max..

So basically I am offering my spare time to design them a program and they ditch it cause they dont have what it takes to..

Making these expierences several times i dont give much advice anymore. I dont want to waste my precious time. sure sometimes i give some advice how a certain movment could be done better etc.

If someone asks me about a diet and training program i often say "Remeber bodybuilding is at leat 60% nutrition and consistency is THE key to success." If someone wants some more indepth advice i'll gladly offer my services but then i'll also charge.

 

[Big Bapper]

Thank you Bro, I am very glad to be here.

Since I was technically only welcoming you to the board and it was not a question. I wonder could you give me some freebie advice, if not no worries or offence taken. I would more than gladly pay for your advice and services. My question, I own a gym and have just started charging for my advice. I have to answer questions for my gym members, but some of them just rip the arse out of it(hope I dont sound like one of my gym members) and its not fair on the people that pay me to train them. What would be the best way to tackle this problem. Anyone ??

Welcome to the board again buddy.

 

[The Tadster]

Since I was technically only welcoming you to the board and it was not a question. I wonder could you give me some freebie advice, if not no worries or offence taken. I would more than gladly pay for your advice and services. My question, I own a gym and have just started charging for my advice. I have to answer questions for my gym members, but some of them just rip the arse out of it(hope I dont sound like one of my gym members) and its not fair on the people that pay me to train them. What would be the best way to tackle this problem. Anyone ??

Welcome to the board again buddy.

I just PM'ed you also.

But the I used to own a gym and if I am hearing you correctly, you want to know how you might approach the people who are asking for free advice and how to balance that with the advice you give to people who pay you for it. Well, I used to and still take the same approach. I have a hard time not giving an answer to people who ask me a question. They won't be able to duplicate my expertise in a 2 min conversation. However, I do limit my time with these folks to just a few mins. My paying clients, I allow much greater flexibility. In simple terms, the free advice is really that...free...and the value of it is about the same....nothing.... You get what you pay for. It isn't that I give them bad advice, you just can't give a good answer to most people's questions on diet, training and so forth in a short 2 min conversation. Does this help?

 

[oldfella]

BB, I give my patrons three questions that they can ask. If they continue to bombard me with q's I then politely tell them thaty the free advice has just run out and thye need to pay for a personal training session or a full program. I do tell them that it is how I earn my living and that the majority of clients in here have paid for the services they recieve from me.I am very generous with my time for paying clients.

If that does not work then kneecap them bro!!!! LOL
Cheers BB!!

 

[Pekkerwood]

Since I was technically only welcoming you to the board and it was not a question. I wonder could you give me some freebie advice, if not no worries or offence taken. I would more than gladly pay for your advice and services. My question, I own a gym and have just started charging for my advice. I have to answer questions for my gym members, but some of them just rip the arse out of it(hope I dont sound like one of my gym members) and its not fair on the people that pay me to train them. What would be the best way to tackle this problem. Anyone ??

Welcome to the board again buddy.

Big:

I get approached in a different business in person, by phone, and by people who "drop by" my office. By phone they typically will invite me to lunch to "pick my brain". At our monthly industry functions, I will talk to so many people my mouth hurts. They will stop me in stores, at ballgames, and even at the gym, for "just a few minutes". These used to frustrate me because I did not know the right way to handle them, and anything less than turning over my life to them made me an asshole.

What I do now is take the lunch requests, the "can I stop by and talk to you", "can you teach me", "can you show me, etc.", as a sales opportunity. I will answer one basic question, but I will explain that I can go much further in depth in a different environment/setting etc and if they give my their phone number or email address I will get back in touch. When I gather enough of these, usually every six weeks or so, I contact them and invite them to a free "breakfast" one morning. I have ten or twelve people their and I give a small presentation and answer questions and ask questions of them. More than half of these people become my paying customers.

I guess what I am suggesting is a strategy that answers one of their questions now, but finishes with " I wish I could get more in detail, but I am working right now, but I can schedule a session with you on ___ day to really explore your questions."

Its a balancing act.

One more story: I offered my email list a free lunch with me for one hour if they would donate $100 to a charity I was on the board of . I don't go to lunch, but I expected ten or so people to want to do it. I had over eighty people sign up. I was going to lunch, breakfast, and dinner with strangers for three or four months to get caught up. It was a pain, but you know what? Many of those people became my customers.

Give them a taste, and pathway to get more. You will not please everyone, but that is not your goal.

BTW, the way I got people to stop asking me for free advice in the gym was put on twenty pounds of fat. LOL

 

[The Tadster]

Also, I have found that once I tell people that I pay my bills full time by diet coaching, they tend to protect my time more with less questions.

 

[Big Bapper]

I just PM'ed you also.

But the I used to own a gym and if I am hearing you correctly, you want to know how you might approach the people who are asking for free advice and how to balance that with the advice you give to people who pay you for it. Well, I used to and still take the same approach. I have a hard time not giving an answer to people who ask me a question. They won't be able to duplicate my expertise in a 2 min conversation. However, I do limit my time with these folks to just a few mins. My paying clients, I allow much greater flexibility. In simple terms, the free advice is really that...free...and the value of it is about the same....nothing.... You get what you pay for. It isn't that I give them bad advice, you just can't give a good answer to most people's questions on diet, training and so forth in a short 2 min conversation. Does this help?

Awesome answer Bro, thank you so much. It really was a sticking point for me as a gym owner, knowing most of my customers use my gym because of my experience. That is a great approach, thanks again and thank you for taking time to send me a pm. I am very impressed with your professional approach to your work.

Respect.

 

[Big Bapper]

Sorry guys I posted before I read the full thread, thanks Pekkerwood and oldfella. Great answers guys, I think if someone offered me to lunch I would go anyway for the free food. LOL

I now have the ammunition I need.

Respect

 

[hotttsauce]

Not only the countless questions get to ya but the timing, when your spotting, in the middle of a set, getting ready for a heavy lift and not to mention the treadmill where you can't run away!

 

[The Tadster]

Awesome answer Bro, thank you so much. It really was a sticking point for me as a gym owner, knowing most of my customers use my gym because of my experience. That is a great approach, thanks again and thank you for taking time to send me a pm. I am very impressed with your professional approach to your work.

Respect.

Thank you BB, I truly love what I do these days. It seems that the last 23 years of hard work and effort seem to really be paying dividends to me in personal happiness and professional satisfaction. Thank you.