A Personal Training course can provide you with the business knowledge & foundation required to kickstart your new fitness career, but the real work starts outside of the classroom, those first few weeks and months after passing can often feel like a minefield, particularly with where to start.

Here are a few tips to ensure your time is best used to ensure the best use of your time and to keep you positive and proactive:

Stand Out

Make your mark in your facility and make it clear that you offer a service that others cannot (or at least to your standard). Use your background as an advantage, e.g. if you’re a rugby player, use contact training techniques/drills in your clients’ sessions as well as your own, direct any material of your image towards specialisms such as fliers – if you’re well versed in nutrition perhaps an exciting meal of the week? Becoming a ‘specialist’ in a certain field makes you invaluable to specific populations and decreases conflict with other trainers working with you and can create a healthy team environment.

Be Infectious

Be in your facility as much as possible, do your own workouts there, eat functional foods (if permissible where members can see you), test new/exciting exercises on the equipment that look enticing, correct exercise technique and provide alternatives (a great ice breaker) – you not only need to set an example but you need to be THE example. Create excitement and impact, give members a reason to talk about you.

Don’t Be Overbearing

When approaching clients the last thing they want is to be badgered constantly and can quickly make you very unpopular. Make conversations and interaction between members meaningful, concise and have a ‘hook’ for example, explaining to a member the importance of a healthy diet – don’t give them an entire shopping list for the week while they’re on the treadmill, spend between 2 and 5 minutes describing a few healthy things to eat with interesting facts to captivate their attention and offer them a complimentary consultation where you can provide a more detailed analysis. The key of gym floor conversations with members is to attain one-on-one time where you can prove your worth and build the faith of members to feel investing in you is worthwhile.

You’re Not A Salesman

One of the golden rules of a Personal Trainer – NEVER be ‘that guy’ (or girl) constantly regurgitating new ‘offers’ or ‘packages’. Think of the last time you were cold called, did you feel it was personal or meaningful? Or did it feel like they had money as their key interest? Training/services of a Personal Trainer cost money, it’s an obvious and accepted fact that needs no further enforcing. Following from above, ensure your interaction with members is specific and relevant to them, analyse their interests/goals and lifestyle, display/communicate your knowledge of how these can be improved and offer a complimentary consultation/taster session where you can display the benefits of investment directly – steps like this ensure the ‘Personal’ in Personal Trainer. The phrase ‘you have to give a little to get a little’ comes to mind and will give you a far higher chance of a member becoming a client and even if they don’t, if they have found something useful they may communicate this to other members who may seek investment or create contact. Proactive/helpful actions create memories. Regurgitating a new ‘deal’ mechanically does not.

Be Patient And Positive

Often there is a high expectation of immediate success following becoming qualified. It certainly is possible to be very successful very quickly, I myself was fortunate enough to begin work in a brand new £10 000 000 facility and 2000 members within the first month where within 3 months I had a stable income of £2000-2500 and a 20 person client base. However this may not always be the case, you may not be as fortunate in the environment you decide to work in, other trainers may be better established, members may need more motivation/alternative methods to invest but sure enough if your heart is set on transforming the health and lives of others it will come in time. Create daily and weekly goals, times for reflection, a ‘self-transformation project’ etc. – small positive steps. Members are far more likely to invest in positive individuals and you need to constantly reflect that, enjoy it!