Picking the brain of fitness industry legends Brent Darden and Nardia Norman
In this weeks show we hear from Justin Tamsett, Brent Darden, Nardia Norman and Sharon Tousley.
Brent Darden is the President of Brent Darden Consulting, a Chair of REX Roundtables and the former Chairman of IHRSA. He is an exceptional leader and has a wealth of experience in the fitness industry, having been the former owner of Telos Fitness Centre, a multi award winning business. During his interview we explore how to look for and recruit the best team, why tracking and sharing KPI’s and financial performance is key to a successful business and what attributes make a fitness business better.
Our second guest in this episode is one of Australia’s premier personal trainers – Nardia Norman. 
Nardia was awarded the Australian Fitness Network Personal Trainer of the Year, author of the book Body IQ and now an International Speaker to Personal Trainers. In her interview we quiz her on the best lead sources for Personal Trainers, how to convert prospects to clients and how to run a kick-ass fitness business!
This also marks our first episode with our resident Podcast Marketing expert – Sharon. So if you’re wondering if you should start your own podcast – then Listen Up and tune in to Kick Start Your Podcast with Sharon for her top tips to get you started!
Episode Timeline
- 01:01 – Intro to Brent Darden
- 02:19 – What’s the best way to select staff?
- 05:43 – The advantage of sharing key numbers with your team
- 09:36 – Three key attributes to make your fitness business better
- 19:30 – Understanding the consumer better – Local Love
- 22:19 – Kickstart your podcast with Sharon
- 26:22 – Bite size chuck of info – Introduction to Nardia Norman
- 27:28 – How do you get more clients and whats your number one lead source?
- 29:40 – How do you transition a prospect to a customer?
- 32:42 – Top tips for running a kick-ass fitness business!
Top Tips From The Show
- When recruiting new staff, get a head start by seeking referrals by current employees – Brent Darden
- Consider introducing an internship program to your business – this gives you insights into their strengths and weaknesses and the intern gets to know your business better – Brent Darden
- Create a purpose driven culture – why, what, philosophy, core vales, mission – and share it with your team – Brent Darden
- Employees at all levels want to learn – not just about their jobs, but about all sorts of topics within the business – they thrive on learning new information – Brent Darden
- Your brand will attract the clientele that you stand for – Nardia Norman
- Give comp sessions! In the comp session aim to understand the persons underlying motivation – Nardia Norman
Inspirational Quotes From The Experts
Brent Darden “When employees are really engaged and care about the company they work for, then they’re going to perform really well, weather the manager or supervisor is watching them or not”
Brent Darden “Sharing key numbers with your team, empowers them to make decisions and understand that their decisions really do matter”
Nardia Norman “every single day, do something that takes you closer to your goals”
Resources Our Experts Shared In The Show
brentdarden.com
products.gallup.com
ihrsa.org/retention/
medallia.com/
theretentionpeople.com/
nardianorman.com
instagram.com/nardianorman/
facebook.com/nardia.norman
Tweetables – share the expert’s knowledge to #GROW
[Tweet “There’s something quite different from sharing the numbers that mgmt create, to letting employees create #BrentDarden”]
[Tweet “Companies that have a highly engaged workforce perform better in so many ways #BrentDarden”]
[Tweet “Employees that care about the company will perform well regardless if their manager watches them or not #Brent Darden”]
[Tweet “If you sell you haven’t done front end stuff. You haven’t taken time to built rapport & listen @NardiaNorman”]
[Tweet “Never get complacent. Clients I’ve had for the past 6 years, I treat like they’re new @NardiaNorman”]
[Tweet “Over deliver on value. We’re a service & a relationship industry. So over deliver on service. It speaks volumes @NardiaNorman”]
[Tweet “Every single day, do something that takes you closer to your goals @NardiaNorman”]
[Tweet “One of the biggest things I’ve learnt is to trust my own instinct @NardiaNorman”]
Share Your Thoughts
Tell us your #1 Takeaway from this show or what success you have had from implementing an idea you heard here! You could win a 3 minute interview on the Fitness Business Podcast!
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Did You Miss?
Chantal worked for 15 years in senior sales and marketing roles in the media industry before transitioning careers. She began as a qualified Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor. Realising she could do more to help the industry, she became a Fitness Business Coach with Active Management. Then in 2015, she became the host of The Fitness Business Podcast. Now with over 262 shows and 500,000 downloads it is one of the world’s top podcasts for fitness business owners, managers and fitpreneurs.
Chantal has interviewed fitness industry leaders including Rick Caro, Bill McBride, Brent Darden, Rasmus Ingerslev, Derek Gallup, Alison Flatley, Mo Hagan, Sarah Robb O’Hagan, Carrie Kepple, Emma Barry.
Fitness industry award winners including Todd Durkin, Krista Popowych, Carol Michaels, Kristen Green.
International authors including Jay Baer, Jeb Blount, Mark Shaefer, Mike Michaelowicz, Michelle Segar.