It’s a great read and I think it’s worth resurrecting. I’ve been a trainer for almost a year now and really enjoy it but lack a sizeable book of clientele. It’s a satisfying occupation, one of my clients is a cancer survivor. Day 1 she had trouble with a single box squat, now she reps out goblet box squats with a 25-pound bell, lost 20lbs, and loves the way she feels.
If only I could get hired by a big box gym or a gym that is medically/hospital connected, I’d be sitting pretty. But the half dozen big boxes in my area just don’t hire. (Actually now that I wrote that maybe I should ask my cancer client to write a testimonial and for some pictures and build a little portfolio to give to employers, maybe give her a couple free sessions in return.)
One question I have off the bat is how you guys do nutrition. In Connecticut here you need a license for anything other than the basics (can’t do specific plans) but I tell my clients that nutrition is more than half the battle. Can certified trainers give extensive diet advice in other states?
[quote]LarryH wrote:
It’s a satisfying occupation, one of my clients is a cancer survivor. Day 1 she had trouble with a single box squat, now she reps out goblet box squats with a 25-pound bell, lost 20lbs, and loves the way she feels. [/quote]
Great work, man. Congrats to you both. And yep, that’s definitely a great feeling when you see someone really come far.
I forget the particulars, but the rule of thumb is to talk in general concepts and avoid telling the client specifically “You need to eat this, this, and this” unless you have some type of particular nutrition certification.
So you could, for example, explain that fat loss often happens on high protein-highmoderate to high fat-low carb diets, but you couldn’t tell them “I want you to have less than 100 grams of carbs per day.” You can also refer the client to other resources who share your point of view (your network of colleagues with nutrition backgrounds, articles, books, etc.) and let the client “decide for themselves.”
Funny you mention the less than 100 grams of carbs because I did actually suggest that once. Though I knew full well she wouldn’t follow it, inside joke kinda thing. Mostly I encourage them to make the right choices and possibly seek out a nutritionist.
I’ll have to look into some nutrition certs if clients bring it up often enough.
I actually start by telling clients I can’t give them any specific advice because of regulations and that everything I say is simply “what has worked for me.” I then say “I would” and get as specific as I want.
Nutritional advice is a bit tricky, because the rules and regulations are pretty hazy I’d do what others have already suggested. Don’t get too specific, however you can describe specifically what works for you.
If you’re interested in nutrition, I would do as much research as possible and look into a respected certification. Once you have a good knowledge base, giving a nutrition seminar at your place of employment is a great way to meet potential new clients. Plus if you’re good at the nutrition game, the seminars themselves could be a game changer.
[quote]LarryH wrote:
Mostly I encourage them to make the right choices[/quote]
Another way to generalize is to frame the advice as, “What I’ve seen work with other clients is…” That way, A - you’re not just saying what’s worked for you personally, and B - it gives the (rightful) expectation that you’ve gotten results for other people.
It’s always good to network with local colleagues and fitness-related businesses. Supplement shops, exercise equipment stores, searching sites like IDEAfit for local trainers/specialists, etc. It often works out to be a two-way street.
Just to keep this thread alive (it does have potential. Alwyn Cosgrove said so in the first one!), have any of you guys had luck using social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, where ever) to get new clients?
At the tail end of the previous thread, I was actually praising FB as a potential client source, but I ended up not being too happy with it. “Buying” fans for your fan page through paid, targeted ads sounds like a good idea on the surface, but it amounts to pretty much diddly squat in terms in time/energy spent vs. reward.
There are plenty of trainers with fan pages, but I now see it as more an additional means of communication/connection, rather than a funnel for new clients.
I totally agree with the concept of using social media to spread general awareness, but I’ll probably never pay for FB ads again. Just wasn’t worth it. I also ditched my Twitter account after not-too-long because it was just too much of a time drain.
Anyone else have thoughts on the business-side of social media?
Note: I’m fine with having clients/former clients on the friends list of my personal page. I’m an open-enough book that there’s nothing I’d post there that I’ll be “embarrassed” by (a good rule of thumb for all social media).
I’m not a fan of social media so I hope I don’t need to use it much. A simple website or a blog is something I can wrap my head around like Ben Bruno’s or Alwyn’s.
Anyone else turn down an offer of employment at a gym? I’ve turned down 2 in my short career as a trainer.
The first gym didn’t have any clients for me right away and wanted me to be a ‘floor trainer’ handing out towels and cleaning things. And this was a rich people gym, you’d think they’d be lining up out the door to have a trainer. The second place had a huge volume of members and clients but was rather small for that volume and felt too numbers oriented. I simply wasn’t comfortable with their business plan or having to work with a client when every single piece of equipment was occupied. The training director was legit, he was client focused and wants to open a non-profit training studio, but he was also deeply absorbed in the corporate numbers game.
There are other gyms around that have big volume but are also much, much larger making it easier to train a client and give them at least some semblance of ‘personal’ ‘private’ training.