I just wanna say that your input was some of the best here.
I didn’t click “like” on any posts because I sped read through the entire thread because this subject itself is too much like work to me and I’m supposed to be on vacation after having been burnt out both physically and mentally on a long project that I hated with every fiber of my being.
This is a very interesting strategy. I’m going to use that myself
A very interesting idea! My dad works in tech so maybe he could help me pick up some leads
Definitely. I jumped into this under-prepared so building a proper plan now can do nothing but help me
Thank you mate, I’ll take this to heart.
The tagline I’ve got on my business instagram is “I help people move pain-free in a body that they love.” It’s simple but I worry it might be too vague.
What are your thoughts? Apologies if I’m ruining your holiday 
Man, I can’t comment because I would have to know and understand your entire business indepth plus your potential market(s) and all that shit. It’s kind of a “professional responsibility” thing to me, if you get what I mean.
But I think you’re more than bright enough to be on the right track just from the type of questions you’re asking and the advice in this thread is pretty solid.
EDIT:
My thought process is skewed in a different direction from normal consumers anyway so here’s an idea:
Throw out a couple of taglines and get a crowd that most resembles your target customers and ask for their comments.
John Meadows, for example, once asked all his followers on facebook “what does the mountaindog brand” mean to you, as in “what do you think it stands for?”. The man didn’t get this successful by accident, I can guarantee you that.
Thank you mate, I appreciate the help
Piggy-backing on this, my understanding in starting private practice was that this was job one for me as an internal exploration. Who is my ideal client? I’d worked in a busy primary care center and had seen virtually every type of patient. So which did I enjoy? It wasn’t socioeconomic, I decided. I like affluent, I like poor. I like work probs, I like people emerging from addiction. I knew from working with kids that in that role I particularly liked helping moms become more confident, and of course my experience in fitness was the same. I like bringing people UP, but they have to want to go, otherwise I’m just battering at them. So I came to that I’m an agent of change, and my ideal client is looking for that for themselves. Together, if it works, we both enjoy an electric experience of growth.
Not punchy. Sounds like you are doing Physical rehab, not athletic trainign. What is your target audience?
“Have a pain free body”, or “Feel great about yourself”. Hyperbolic and cheesy, but that’s marketing.
That is very good. I screened through a lot of profiles for a therapist and I think that is 100% better than all of them.
The issue here isn’t about it being “marketing” or hyperbolic or whatever. It’s about whether it ties in consistently with his services, projected image/personality and other marketing collaterals and how it speaks to his target market. There are times where hyperbole can work against you.
The test here is for the slogan alone is whether people actually understand, and are attracted to what he’s selling.
He’s gotta come up with a couple of different ones and test them out with the bigger picture(described above) in mind.
NOTE TO OP:
DON’T OVERCOMPLICATE THIS SHIT, OK?
It’s relatively easy just following certain principles that have been outlined by lots of people in this thread. We’re not strategizing a branding strategy for Apple here lol.
Here’s an extreme example:
There are semi-retards like Brad Castleberry who project over-the-top personalities but they’re CONSISTENT all round with they way they market themselves. He can come with some nonsense program like “Increase your arms by 4 inchs in just 4 workouts! BOOM!” and his audience will buy it.
John Meadows wouldn’t be able to do the same as he would alienate his own market while having not established much credibility with the type of loons who love Brad Castleberry, i.e, the idiots who will fall for this kind of nonsense.
EDIT:
There’re some anomalies that I just can’t figure out, though.
How in the fuck did Mike O’Hearn manage to convince people to buy duck eggs for $500? Nothing makes sense no matter how much I try to analyze it lol.
Slogans should not be rambling or vague. Short, catchy, memorable is nice but not necessary. It’s not like a name that you’re stuck with. And it isn’t a Mission Statement. I had a training partner who was a Personal Trainer, all his stuff was “Look good naked” or something similar. It brought in paying clients. Your life’s work and your client base are different things. Starting out he needs to get client who pay, period. As he goes he can build a reputation and then start to pick and choose. It’s not like anyone will remember his line a week from now.
I really don’t think I wrote anything to the contrary.
Duh. It doesn’t mean he can’t learn some basic things about marketing at the same time.
You’d be surprised.
No, I don’t think that you did. I think he’s putting too much stress into it. It doesn’t have to sum up his being, just catch someone’s interest. He’s overthinking it.
There’s a lot of competition for “look good naked” trainers.
A thing that stuck with me when I was researching marketing for a personal service (marketing myself) was the line that “It’s crowded at the bottom, but there’s always room at the top.”
@j4gga2 doesn’t have to have a complicated slogan or explanation of his services, but people who want to be at the top of whatever game they’re playing spend time “overthinking.” I think in the business world it’s called “planning,” though.
So you’re right about this. In which case, he’s putting the right amount of stress into it. Brainstorming, mulling things over, gathering ideas and info.
Personally, I would be looking up every PT in my area and seeing what their blurbs are, deciding which ones speak to me, and then aiming for something similar, whether that be a single message or multiple targeted messages. @dt79 is doing exactly this in providing examples.
Yup, it’s why I said your advice in this thread was some of the best and it’s easy to see who have really “been in the trenches” when it comes to self-enterprise.
There’s a difference between “overthinking” and “broadening the scope of one’s thinking”. In this case, I’m telling him about the importance of maintaining consistency in his marketing.
If I wanted to make him overthink, I could just copy and paste one of my over- complicated templates or throw out lots of technical jargon that wouldn’t suit his current needs.
I really think that the blurb just “Gets them in the door” - so to speak. His conversation with the potential client is what gets him the client, and he is articulate and knowledgeable so he will get clients. It’s starting the conversation that he needs and he’s putting way too much stress on himself about making that part perfect. Try something, change it, keep changing, people like that to be a changing thing anyway.
Not to be argumentative, but “half-assed and haphazard” doesn’t seem like the right methodology for someone who intends to become successful in a crowded field.
Also, word-of-mouth is ultimately the best referral source, and part of that is having initial clients who match your skill set, so 50% of the people who stumble onto you because they came in the door don’t go away disappointed and broadcast that to their friends and neighbors. For example, if @j4gga2 approaches training from an educational standpoint, having clients who interpreted his information-sharing as “wouldn’t shut the fuck up” is poor business.
OP, please ignore this part. It’s just a “side bar”.
From what I’m getting from his business model, this isn’t the main thing he’s planning.
In operations, of course it’s a “bottom-up” process.
When planning, it’s a “top-down” process.
As an entrepreneur, you have to understand both to maximize your probability of success.
Shit like this comes naturally for some people even though they aren’t able to articulate their methods and thought processes well, which is why you can’t just take things successful people do at face value or base your conclusion off of brief conversations you’ve had with them.
I’ve had clients in China who were bloody FARMERS without even secondary education who set up and grew multi-million dollar businesses within a span of 3 years. They understood these things fully, which is why they engage people like me so they can focus on other shit, but if you spoke with them casually without knowing their backgrounds, you would think they’re simpletons who simply got lucky through trial and error and good salesmanship.
Tried and true! This will help toward longevity. I went back to work with and old buddy of mine, a company we began in our early 20’s. One of the first customers I went to was one of our first back then.
Over time a loop, both large and deep has been created which keeps us busy year to year and throughout the year.
I can’t count the number of times people have told us “I was looking for a tree service, so I asked Nancy down the street, and she had you guys, who Dave told her about, and he… So yeah, I picked up the phone and called you guys.”.
I think @Jewbacca 's advice about the country club set is very good too. That’s the loop to develop depth in, so when people are talking about your subject, they’re talking about you.