Communication Tips for Personal Trainers
We all know how important it is to make a good first impression in business, but believe it or not, that impression is often made before a potential client even lays eyes on you.
When was the last time you heard a voice message like this…”Hi its Chris, leave a message”
Seriously? Yawn. Hang Up.
Whats surprising, is just how many personal trainer voice messages sound like that. Lets put this into context:
You have 15 clients and your goal is to get 10 more. One of your best clients tells a friend of theirs, Anna, how much they enjoy PT sessions with you and they should really give it a try. He gives Anna your mobile number, “Give Chris a call and have a chat to him about PT”
Scenario 1
Anna calls Chris and his phone goes to Vociemail “Hi its Chris, leave a message” Anna hesitates, did she remember the name right? did she write down the correct number? silence. She hangs up the phone without leaving a message. Chris never finds out she called.
Scenario 2
Anna calls Chris and his phone goes to Voicemail “Hi! You’ve called Chris, Personal Trainer at Peak Fitness! Im training a client right now, but Id love to chat to you, so please leave your name and number and Ill call you back within 48 hours! Thanks for your call!”
Snap! Anna leaves her name and number. Chris has made a great first impression and is on the way to gaining a new PT client.
Its simple stuff, but by making these small changes to your message, prospective customers will know they have called the right person and it starts off rapport building before you’ve even met them! Plus by adding a specific time frame (48 hours) it gives you time to get back to them, plus, it puts a realistic time in their minds as to when they will hear back from you.
It might sound basic, but check your voice mail now, you may just find a few extra customers coming your way!
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.
Hi there Chantal!
It was a lovely small and very useful article. My voice message is pretty professional but I can definitely make it better based on what I just read here.
I would like to also ask for a bit of help and advice from you.
I’m a Physical Education teacher and Personal Trainer with post-graduation in Exercise Physiology. For over 10 years I’ve worked at the fitness, health, beauty and sports industry (2002 -12) where I had a very successful and rising career. Then, I decided to take a 6 months break for a bit of traveling and studies and that was how I ended up moving to Australia. Before getting my PR here, I had to do all sorts of possible and unimaginable jobs to keep up with the bills and so on. Now, after 4,5 years living here where 4 of them I was away from the PT game, I’m back. Although I am a very self-confident person with all this experience I confess that at this specific time of my life, I need some help! I know that I will get to the top once again but while this does not happen, I’d say that any constructive advice from experienced professionals will be very welcome. Are you able to assist me with any sort of information on this matter?
Thank you very much for your time.
Rafa