Written by Education Manager, Stefan Ianev
We often get asked by up and coming personal trainers what are our top tips or recommendations for becoming an industry leading personal trainer or coach.
After all, considering that the annual turnover rate for personal trainers is around 80-90%, which is not due to lack of demand for services, most trainers either struggle to make it in this industry, or they thrive.
So, what differentiates those few trainers that stand out from the rest?
Based on our experience of being in the industry for nearly 20 years and working with thousands of clients, here are our top 3 tips for becoming an industry leading personal trainer.
- Practice what you preach
This should almost go without saying, but how many times have you seen an out of shape personal trainer in the gym? There is simply no excuse for a trainer being out of shape period. Some might argue that to be a good coach you don’t necessarily need to look the part, you just need to know what you are talking about.
However, nothing can replace experience. How can you have an understanding and appreciation of what you are putting your clients through, when you have never experienced it yourself?
Just like you would not go to a dentist with cavities, most people would not train with a coach who is out of shape, none the less, pay premium rates for their services.
We are not saying you have to look like Conan the Barbarian, but your physique is a reflection of your dedication to your craft. If you do not respect enough what you do to practice it on yourself, how do you expect others to take you seriously and invest in you?
- Invest in Yourself
We have educated close to 20,000 coaches over the past 12 years, and without a doubt, the most successful coaches, those that have been in the industry for a decade or longer and are still thriving, are those who regularly invest back in themselves. The more you invest in yourself, the more you increase your self-worth as a trainer, and the more comfortable and confident you will be charging premium rates for your services.
If a trainer never invested more than a couple of hundred bucks on upskilling themselves, they will find it very confronting to charge thousands of dollars for their services because subconsciously they don’t believe they are worth that.
However, if a trainer has invested tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, like some of our top coaches, they will not have any fears or hesitations about charging premium rates for their services because they know they are worth it.
- Be more concerned about your clients than yourself
There is an old saying that goes “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care”. We have met many trainers over the years that were very knowledgeable and looked the part yet were struggling in their business. That’s because they were more concerned about themselves then their clients. If you decide to become a personal trainer just for the money or because you enjoy training yourself, but you don’t have a genuine interest in training others, then you are going to struggle to attract and retain clients.
Your clients don’t care what you can do for yourself, they only care what you can do for them. If they see that you are not invested in them, and they are not getting the results they are after, they will quit or go to another trainer.
If you have a passion for training yourself but not for training others, then consider another career in the fitness industry, or another career altogether, and just keep training as a hobby not your career. There is nothing wrong with that.
If you want to be a trainer, just make sure you are doing it for the right reasons.
Want to become an industry leading Personal Trainer and learn everything you need to know about training, programming, nutrition and business to help others achieve their health and fitness goals whilst growing your own brand? Become a qualified personal trainer and enrol into the Master Coach Program!
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