How to Find Personal Training Clients Online

You're listening to the PT Profit podcast, episode number 38. Today I'm talking all about how to find personal training clients online. Are you ready? Stay tuned. Hi, I'm Beverly Simpson, former fitness manager turned online personal training business owner. And this podcast is where smart fitness professionals, including trainers and clinicians, discover how to increase client performance and movement, package and position their products and services and get out of their own way so that they can increase their revenue to live a life that they love without sleazy sales. Welcome to the PT Profit Podcast. What's up coach? I'm Beverly Simpson, the host of the PT Profit Podcast and welcome back to another episode. Now, if you're listening to this in real time, I realize that I did not publish an episode on Thursday, but here's my thoughts. There is a difference between setting out a goal and self integrity and giving yourself grace. So I am going to be giving myself grace instead of hitting a deadline for the sake of hitting a deadline. Because there is a difference. And when it comes to content creation, which is my absolute favorite, it's my favorite part of the business, you can't create because you are checking off a to do list. You can. You have to create from knowing that this is exactly what your audience needs to hear. So for me, instead of scrambling, I decided to give myself grace and I'm going to give myself grace on going. But don't worry, you will always at least get one brand new episode per week. And I still intend to publish on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also, I'm really excited about the guests that are coming up. We've got Dr. Lisa Lewis, she's coming. I've got Along David coming from 90x planner. I've got Carrie coming. There's just so many people that are coming. And of course schedule coordination is always a thing, so that's part of the reason why it's taking a while. But I'm really excited to get their message out and to share it with you. And instead of rushing it, I'm just going with the flow and giving myself grace. Also, I don't want my editor to have to do a whole bunch of editing on this episode. So you might find me stumbling around. But that's cool. It's just you and me hanging out today and we're going to dive into one of the biggest questions that I get asked, which is how to find personal training clients online. And I'm going to be going through eight steps or eight strategies that you can work through. And hopefully these are going to be another layer we're just going to go a little bit deeper than some of the things that you may or may not have heard. Now, I did create a video on this on my YouTube channel. However, I'm going to give you all eight steps. And on my channel, I only gave you five, but we're going to go through eight. And that's because we have a little bit of time together on the podcast, as opposed to trying to get a video in and keeping attention on the computer or the phone whatnot. But this is a chance for us to just hang out and get this insight for you. So on the podcast, I can go just a little bit deeper. So without further ado, let's dive in. Okay, so how to find personal training clients online. So, number one, the first thing I'm going to say is check in on all of your past clients, even the ones that moved away. Now, I'm sure you've heard this before. Go check in, ask them how they're doing, check in with their goals. But one of the things that you can do in addition to checking in on them, find out how they're doing. And then maybe chances are you are introducing a new program because you're moving online and you're no longer training in person. Or maybe you're doing a hybrid. This is a perfect opportunity to let them know that you are doing a hybrid or you're doing a online program. And if you haven't had a chance to tell them yet, I want you to tell them, but I want you to go in and ask each other individually. And don't just start off with like, hey, how are you? Want to come join my. My program? No, literally ask them. Connect with them. Be a human. Ask them, hey, how are you doing? Check in on their goals. Remind them that you care about them. And the one of the things that you can do, if you've done that and you're thinking, but Beverly, I already know that I've already done that. That's fine. Cool. But have you asked them for a referral? Because they are someone that knows, likes, and trusts you and chances are their friends will feel the same. A way that you can ask them is if you're going back and forth, email or text or on the phone, always empathize and know and say, I understand completely. Get it. I know that this, you know, times are tough and that you're not in a place where you could get started again. That's cool. But I am opening up some spots in my calendar. Do you know anyone that might be interested and could use my help and my services. I'd love for you to put us in contact. It would be a huge service. To me it seems like when you are talking to someone or a past client and asking about or letting them know rather that they that you have some spots available, it might seem like it is a no brainer that they will just inevitably think, oh no, not me, but maybe my friend. It's actually not true. And research has shown us that more people are avail more people are more likely to take the action you want them to take when you ask. So don't assume that it's just intuitive that they're going to automatically put the dots together, that since you're asking them that maybe you can ask their friends. They're not thinking about it in that way. But if you ask they will. And since they're a past client and they know like and trust you and love you, they'll be happy to do it. So this leads me to number two, which is check in on everyone you've ever connected with and see where they are. How many times are you following up with people that you've connected with on in DM or you've done a strategy session or fitness assessment with and they were a no and you just let them go by the wayside? There is power in the follow up, follow up, follow up, follow up. And that's not follow up in terms of hey, are you ready to buy yet? Hey, are you ready to buy yet? Hey, it was awesome that we connected for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour. You shared with me some things that maybe you haven't shared with people before. How are you? And you're just connecting and being a human and checking in and caring about where they are with their goals. Because just because they said no doesn't mean no forever, it just means no nothing, not yet. If somebody has taken the time to DM you, to get on a phone call with you, to have a conversation with you, they know like and trust you. So just because they said no doesn't mean no forever, it just means no, not yet. And so checking in on them and demonstrating and showing that you care about them will go a long way. And so inevitably people will ask me, well, how long, how many times should I follow up? Well, really, that depends. And it depends on you. How much time do you have? How many spots do you have available? How often and frequently are you following up? I tend to right at the beginning, follow up at least three times. And if it's still a no or if it's still not yet. Then I'll let it go and I'll check in one every three months. I start to nurture and care about these people, even though I've never. Some of them I've never even met in person. Some of my bestest friends live across the country, live in the middle of the country. I met them through the Internet. So I start to care about these people. And so I want to check in on them every few months. And I'm not checking in like, hey, you ready to buy yet? I'm literally, hey, how's your goal? How's it going? Be a human. You'll start to know. You'll feel whether or not this is a relationship you want to nurture or if someone is just picking your brain. But one thing that you can do in addition to checking in on these people you've connected with, which most people miss, which is ask them for referrals. So even though they're a no, in the same way your client or past client might be a no, you can ask the people that you've connected with for referrals because they already know like and trust you. And chances are their friends will too. And so it's the same as, number one, checking in with your past clients. Check in on these people you've connected with and ask them for referrals. Because remember, just because they said no doesn't mean that. That it's no forever. And if it is no forever, they still might know someone that you could really help. And it's worth asking them for a referral as well, even though they're no. Which leads me to number three, which is ask your current clients for referrals. And for the same reasons that you did it for steps one and steps two, ask them for referrals. I'm opening up my calendar for a couple more spots in my one on one training program this quarter. And since we work so close together, I thought you might know someone who I might really be able to help. It'd be a huge service to me if you could connect us. Your clients want to help you, Number four, reach into your current network. So I want you. It doesn't matter how many followers you have, it doesn't matter how many friends on Facebook you have, LinkedIn, whatever it is, I want you to tap into your current network before you start worrying or thinking about, oh, I only have a few followers. It doesn't matter. There are people right there that are hanging out on your platform and they want to hang out with you right now they are listening to you. They are a captivated audience. When was the last time you told them you were looking for a couple new one on one clients? Now, if you're wondering, hey, but Beverly, these people, they're my friends and I went to high school with them 20 years ago. 10 years ago. Cool. I actually trained a couple of my high school friends from Facebook and I hadn't seen them in years. But just because you went to high school with them doesn't mean that you can't help them. So if they're your ideal client, help them. But they have to know that you're looking because don't assume that they know, since you've announced that you're now a personal trainer, that they know you're looking for clients. They don't. And research also tells us that people need eight touch points before making a decision. So when was. How many times have you told them that you're taking new clients? Did you post and run? And with all the algorithms, how are what causes you to believe that they saw it? People get so worried about irritating and bugging people. And I understand that. I get that. I used to feel like that too. But the truth is you will. No matter. Even if you post once, you will bug people and they're going to give you feedback of, oh, this is so irritating. That's okay. You can't control that. Let them leave. Because they're probably never going to buy anyway. And if they do and they want to, they'll come back. And people will come back. They do come back. And so for me, and what I like to tell my clients too, is to remember that you are posting from an energy of service. Because what if you had that super busy mom that's looking at your sales page right now and putting in their credit card and then all of a sudden something happened with their toddler and their toddler is in the bathroom and you have to run over to the bathroom and clean up all the poop that's on the floor because they missed the potty. True story. So. And then they forget. They get distracted. Or you're trying to get your kids on the school bus and you see this awesome post and you save it, but then you never go back to it. How many times in your behavior have you done that? Have you missed a deadline for something that you loved? You just forget about it. I think for us and for me included, I'm not excluded from this. But we get so tunnel focused on our stuff, thinking about our stuff all the time, that we forget that your customer, your ideal client, it's not having the same experience as you. They're not thinking about your stuff all day, every day. They're interested, they want to say yes and then they forget about it. People need reminders. Repetition is the mother of all learning. Could you imagine if you brought somebody in to the gym and said, okay, let's squat and then they squatted once and you're like, okay, good job. That's it. I don't want to bug you with squats. Friends. In our programming we've been squatting since, since birth. There is power in repetition. So people in your current network, they need to know that you are accepting personal training clients. Now I'm going to kind of segue and give you a 4.5 because I told you earlier that it's going to be eight, but. Or I'll just give you a bonus tip. This can be your bonus tip, but it's really important that you are speaking to your ideal client. So you need to know who your ideal client is. And next week I'll give you an episode on how you can find your niche. But you want to know who your ideal client is because when you speak to everyone, you speak to no one. So here's a powerful post that you can post on in your current network, on Facebook, on Instagram, that says, hey friends, I'm really excited to announce that I've become a personal trainer and I'm looking for give a specific amount of spots. Three highly motivated busy moms. And I have gone into very clear who it is that I am looking for. And it's more than just demographics. Go into their values, go into what keeps them up at night, the struggle, because that's going to lead into. I'm looking for three highly motivated busy moms who are struggling to get consistent with working out or who are having low back pain months after delivery. So if that's you and you want to go into a benefit here, have more energy to play with your kids, reduce aches and pains and build strength. Then I'm offering free 30 minute clarity calls, discovery sessions, breakthrough sessions, strategy sessions, fitness assessments. You can talk about whatever you know, you can name it whatever you want. But this is where your breakthrough calls and you'll walk away knowing exactly how to get from point A to point B the most efficient and effective way possible. It's completely free and we'll find if it would be a good match to continue working together. So you can tell them, be clear, you could be up front. There's nothing that is sleazy about that at all. This is an offer, this is a service. This is going to help people. Because friends, as a busy mom, myself who is a fitness professional who does know better, I'm not going to lie to you. Last night I was laying awake in bed thinking to myself, I just don't know why I'm so demotivated right now. The weather's changing. I personally am having a hard time getting myself in gear and I'm asking myself why I know better. Just because I know better doesn't mean I do better. And so if I am having these kinds of things that lay that keep me up at night, your ideal clients most certainly do. And so you want to speak to that. All right, so this leads me to tip number five, which is get out and network. So what do I mean by that? So I want you to really think about your current network right now. And if you're trying to build in person clients, go and think about the brick and mortar businesses that are around you. Where is your ideal client hanging out and what can you do? What type of event or networking experience can you create for them? Now I get it. We're in times of COVID right now, so it's a little bit tricky. But you know, you know, you can think about things like corporate wellness. Is there a way that you can connect with their, with their events manager and say, hey, I would like to do a free presentation about how to stay healthy through the holidays for your employees. Or maybe I can do a how, you know, I could create some type of fitness experience for your corporate employees. Go, who. Who in your friends does something different than you but has your audience? So if you're a personal trainer, do you have any holistic natural path, pathic doctors or maybe you work with moms and you can connect with the pelvic floor PT or an ob gyn. Do you, you know, or you're working with biggie busy executives and so maybe you can get into do some corporate wellness training inside of their meetings. They, they do monthly meetings. They're always looking for things. Maybe you, you work nutritionist and you can connect with a nutritionist and you guys could do a Facebook live together. An IG live together. You could do a zoom live together and it's mutually beneficial for your audiences because. And you can get in front of each other's audiences. What about setting up a free class outside in your neighborhood and going out the, you know, you could go door to door and start flyering your neighborhood if you're trying to look for in person clients. Hit the pound, you know, hit the pavement. Can you write a guest blog for someone or be a guest, Ask to be a guest on a podcast that you know that you could serve their audience. Think outside of the box in the ways that you can network and connect with people and get and share your, their audience. And then, you know, oftentimes people will say, where can I send, where can I send my people that are interested in working with you? And then you can tell them right there, oh, I'm current, I'm taking on one on one clients. And so I'm doing free strategy sessions right now. And here's a bonus tip for number five. If you're looking in the online space is the next few tips. They're going to be, they're going to be about attraction, attraction marketing. But direct outreach is very powerful and it will speed up your connecting. Now people get all twisted about direct outreach because MLM and a lot of networking companies out there, they have given it a bad reputation. I am not saying go into social media, start DMing a whole bunch of people and being like, hey, I'm doing a free session. Come and come and do come in, connect with me. No, I want you to remember that social media is like a cocktail party. So could you imagine if you went into a cocktail party, you saw someone that you thought was good looking and went, hey, how are you? Want to get married? No, that's never going to happen. You're going to go to that person and say, oh, hey, how are you connect? Want to go on a date? Can I buy you, can I get you a drink? Can I get you another drink? You guys start to build a relationship and then maybe down the line the proposal comes. This is exactly what it's going to be like with clients. Clients buy, buy from people that they know like and trust. And that takes time to build a relationship. And so you want to spend the time to go into your social spaces where your ideal client is hanging out and go find them, go connect with them, go like their stuff. If you work with moms, go see how cute their kids are. Go see what, what their kids are up to. Go and connect with them like their stuff, comment on their stuff, watch their stories, send them a DM and be like, hey, I love this about your content. How are you doing? Maybe you're going to see your moms and they're all, they're on a health journey and you know that you can help them. So maybe you reach out to them and be like, hey, congratulations on doing this awesome health journey. How are you? How are things going? Connect. Be a human. But direct outreach, it is important, especially if you're looking for personal training clients that you want to serve one on one. So that is your, I called it a bonus tip. But direct outreach, that is your sixth tip. So number five, get out network, go and get in front of some audiences. And number six, do your direct outreach in your social media platforms where your ideal client is hanging out. And then number seven, I want you to make sure that you have optimized your IG profile, your Facebook profile and your social media. Make sure you've optimized it. Now, if you need help with optimizing your IG specifically, you can go ahead, leave a review and take a snapshot of that review and send it to my team at supportase simpson fitness.com and we will send you a bonus training of how to optimize your IG profile. But you, in addition to doing the direct outreach, you need to make sure that your attraction component is set up. So what that means is people need to go to your bio and know exactly who you serve, what you do. And you need to be able to answer that question of what's in it for me within five seconds of looking at your profile. Because what's going to happen is when you do that direct outreach and you start connecting with that ideal clients and then you have your attraction content and your back end, back end set up, they're going to go to your profile and be like, oh, who's this person? What's this person up to? And they're going to connect and then they'll decide if they can, they should follow you or comment on your stuff. Which is going to lead me to tip number eight, which is going to be a tough pill to swallow. And so just know that I am saying this in love. But number eight, you need to focus on creating compelling content that attracts and connects with your ideal client. Now, the reason why I'm saying this lovingly is because a lot of people get into their head about Beverly, what should I post today? And they spend hours agonizing over what to post, and they're worried and stressed about their algorithm and all of that. But friends, it's not the algorithm. The algorithm is going to help you. Instagram wants you to hang out. Facebook, they want you to hang out on the platforms. They're going to help you. So instead of focusing your attention on the algorithms and the reach, I want you to really focus on what does my ideal client need to hear from me today and ask yourself, are you really creating content that is there to serve your people, or are you creating content? Because Beverly told me I need to create every single day and I just need to click this checkbox that says I posted. Are you spending the time to really look, take a look at the audience that's hanging out and ask yourself, ask yourself these three powerful questions. Number one, which is, am I talking about what I want to talk about what I want to do every single day? Am I creating from a place of knowing that this is going to shift perspectives, that this is going to teach my people? This is also going to inspire my people and connect my people and create demand for my products and services and my free trainings. And then ask yourself, if I am doing number one and I am doing number two, then are my ideal clients hanging out here and if they're not cool, we're going to let them go. We're going to keep doing number one and two, we're going to keep creating that type of compelling content, and then we're going to go find and make sure we're putting our content out in front of the people that we're serving. And so if we are doing number one, two and three, then we can start taking a closer look at what is resonating with our ideal clients. Then we can start looking at the insights and seeing what's being saved, seeing what's being shared, what questions are being asked, what is the language that they're using that your ideal clients are using inside their, inside their mind and making sure that we are, are putting that content out. Now, friends, in order to do that, it does take a high level of, of emotional resilience, because it can be. And I'm speaking from experience because I know that me personally, I get super attached to what I write because I'm passionate about what I do and care about. Helping people who are super smart get out in front of their ideal clients. So it can be very hard to scrutinize and to look at my content, my own content, with a critical eye and not a critical eye to tear myself down. It's not about that because this is not personal. It's about looking at what's resonating, what's not resonating, and how can I elevate it, how can I get better at it, how can I keep creating compelling content? This is how we show up responsibly for our business and for ourselves. As opposed to playing why is this happening to me? As opposed to feeling like a victim. When I could start looking at my content in that way, that was a huge shift for me and got me out of that victim mentality because it's not personal. But like most things, there is a paradox. You're only going to know when you take consistent, messy action. If you look back at some of my stuff when I first post, when I first started, I mean, oh my goodness, you guys would laugh. I laugh and I thought it was brilliant then. But the only way that you're going to get better, the only way you're going to know if this is resonating is to get it out there. And so spending the time worrying about the reach, worrying about the algorithm, how many followers, how many likes, it's not going to matter at the end of the day. Now if you need help with this, I've created a training for you called Create Content that Converts. It is designed specifically to help you create that compelling content that is going to attract and connect and convert your ideal clients. It's a training that's also going to help you set yourself apart in the marketplace from other fitness professionals and help you become the go to coach in your area and in your niche. And I'm going to leave a link in the show notes for you to sign up and start creating your own compelling content for your ideal clients because they are there and they are ready and they want and need your help. So just a quick recap. How to find personal training clients Number one, check in on all of your past clients, even the ones that moved away, and ask for referrals. 2. Check in on everyone you've ever connected with and ask for referrals. Number three, ask your current clients for referrals. 4. Reach into your current network. Let them know you're looking for personal training clients. Number five, get out and network. Number six direct outreach with your ideal clients. Number seven, optimize your IG profile, your social net, your social media profiles. And number eight, create that compelling content. Thanks for hanging out with me today friends. If you like this episode, let me know. Be sure to screenshot your favorite takeaways and tag me on instagram @b.simpsonfitness and I'll catch you on the next episode. Thank you for listening to the PT Profit podcast. If you like this episode, chances are you're friends will too. So it would be a huge service to us if you would please leave us a review and share with your friends on your social media channels. When you leave us a review, be sure to take a screenshot of it and email that screenshot to my team@info simpsonfitness.com and we'll send you a very special Instagram podcast that will show you how to create make compelling content so that your ideal clients come to you and you go from wanting clients to a waitlist of clients ready for your services. Thank you so much for listening and we'll see you on the next episode.