Since the appearance of COVID-19 it’s safe to say the face of the fitness industry has changed forever from being one that was almost exclusively in front of you to now being mostly online. However, it doesn’t mean your work needs to come to a grinding halt, have you considered becoming an online personal trainer?
Want to stand out from the competition? Head over to our guide tips to stand out as a personal trainer.
There will always be a need for face to face work, but current circumstances mean avid gym goers, class attendees and fitness enthusiasts are having to remain indoors. The demand to train people virtually has therefore become crucial for the survival of many personal trainers and gym businesses. Zoom, Teams and Skype have made this possible by introducing a new method of training to flourish and which is here to stay.
As such, there really is no excuse for people not to have access to a fitness professional in some capacity, whether it’s via paid group sessions, online coaching or free–to–follow fitness on a social media channel.
Another great benefit of the virtual world of training is that you can potentially cater for far more people in one session at reduced costs to them, without taking a hit in profit. So, it’s a win-win in most people’s eyes.
With this in mind, we’ll look at some crucial elements to becoming the best online trainer that you can be and appreciate what it takes to stand out from the crowd.
There are various benefits to online work, the most alluring being the profit margins. There may be a large initial outlay in terms of your time and expense, but once the systems are in place and the content is created, it’s essentially all profit (less your continued reinvestment into the business, of course).
There are 4 more crucial questions to consider:
As trainers, we all like to think we have something unique and great to offer, yet there’s nothing new under the sun. A trap many personal trainers fall into is offering what they think their clients want, as opposed to asking them what they actually want.
There are 3 questions you can ask your clients to help avoid this pitfall:
Ask clients what they want from their training. This provides a goldmine in terms of information and product ideas. You can also take it one step further and ask what people are willing to pay. This pre-empts them saying the cost is not in their budget, although what they mean is it doesn’t meet their perceived value. Aim for potential clients to respond with “What’s the catch?”” That seems too good for the price”. It makes good business sense to undersell and over-deliver.
While there are many benefits to online services, there are some drawbacks. When working face to face you can pick up non-verbal information on a person’s mood and emotions. There’s also the support and feeling of community with face to face sessions. Taking these points on board, you can address them by considering the following:
Create a community feel and social element to the sessions
Tweaking of form and kinesthetic learning
The personal element
This is a big challenge with online work, so set up a good system of tracking, perhaps utilising True Coach or a similar online tool.
While you might not be with your clients physically, this doesn’t mean you should skimp on personal attention. Your clients must always come first. Your virtual gym options are pretty much as follows:
This can be set up via any of the paid online platforms like Zoom. Ask your clients what they want, then select from the options covered above. You’ll be creating for the clients’ demands – they create the need and you supply it.
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When it comes to how you can add value, this is where the fun begins. You can tackle it from not only a business perspective but how it will appeal to clients’ needs, making your Personal Training business even more personal. First, let’s consider the business options for new potential clients.
Discounted fee for online coaching
Setting up a small fee per calendar month is an attractive and affordable option for many people. A good pricing strategy would be to offer just two options:
Within these packages you could offer:
Semi-private training online package:
Individual online coaching package:
These are some examples of what you could offer. For clients paying the premium fee, you may wish to further invest in them by sending a suspension trainer, bands, yoga mat, training diary and personal note, essentially issuing them with a small welcome box.
Another cost–effective consideration is a minimum sign-up term such as 3 months (£300 initial cost) to offset the cost of the box. However, from my experience, it works best as a rolling month-by-month payment scheme, where the client pays for the month upfront (just the £100) and they still receive the welcome box. This follows the principle of reciprocity. For further information on this topic, read ‘Influence, the Science of Persuasion’’ by Dr R Cialdini.
You’ll need to have a marketing strategy ready to attract new clients:
Most people seeking out a new product ask themselves “What’s in for me?” or “What are the benefits?”A good marketing strategy bases everything on the benefits the service or product has to offer and what it can do for the person. The target demographic in this case is online fitness enthusiasts. Consider how it will enhance life or solve the problem of the people you are prospecting.
People tend to buy a service based on emotion and what the service or product can do for them. It’s important to understand the difference between ‘features’ and ‘benefits’. Here is a process for how to make a feature a benefit:
Language is a powerful tool and how you use it can differentiate you from the rest. Take a look at some online fitness professionals on Instagram and see what their grids look like. You’ll find the style is less direct marketing and more subtle. They sell a story or build on clients’ success stories. Perhaps 9-19 posts down you’ll find what they’re selling.
In fact, this is one way to stand out from your competitors. Don’t advertise – let your clients do it for you. You could be truly different from another online service provider by not asking for a single sale. Instead, have your clients recommend people to you. You may even stipulate that applications for training must be forwarded by an existing client. If you only take on referrals, you’d be amazed how many people will want to be a part of it. People will ask “What if I don’t know any of your current clients?” “How can I apply? It’s not fair!.”This creates a potential buying signal. They either want to be part of something special or they’re just irritated because they’re not used to having barriers in their way.
With this in mind, we’ve put together some marketing tips to help you move your personal trainer business online.
When setting yourself up online, you’ll need to allow yourself plenty of time to film various intro videos, create PDFs and do various other tasks. This may take at least 200 hours. This number isn’t just pulled from thin air. It’s the overall average that most current online trainers have taken to create everything they needed. This is based on 2-4 hours of work a day for at least 5 days per week (while still doing face-to-face work) over 3-6months.
You also need to factor in trial and error as well as understanding which social media platforms your clients use, so you can create something appealing to them and their needs.
The online world can be unforgiving. If you’re preaching a healthy life filled with fitness and progress, you’d better be living that life yourself, otherwise the trolls will come out to play.
Business is still business at the end of the day and there are 5 key elements to adhere to:
Want to become an online personal trainer? Enquiry today to start your own business! Or get in touch with us on Facebook and Instagram to let us know your experiences with online personal training.