The Trackster

The Trackster is online software that helps Personal Trainers communicate with and motivate their clients.

Just came across a really interesting use of video on a Personal Trainers website.  A really simple way to help your clients.

The PT is a guy called Pete Tansley, and he is based on the Gold Coast here in Australia.  His website is called Fitness with Pete.

I’ve embedded the video below so you can have a look.  It only runs for 2 minutes, so check it out.

The video is just a quick and simple review of a local cafe in Pete’s area, and highlighting one of their really healthy meals, in this case a delicious looking Salmon!

Why is this a great idea?

• Pete is helping his training clients out with great information on how to eat healthy and still be able to go out.
• It’s relevant to his clients because they probably all live in the local area.
• Pete is building his referral network in the local area by highlighting a great local cafe.
• Maybe getting some links back from the cafe’s website to Pete’s website.  Important for Pete’s SEO work.

A really simple and inexpensive way to help out his clients, and also help him get known in the local area.

One of the best marketing tools you can use in your Personal Training business is your website.  A website can help you  explain who you are,  your services and how to contact you.  More importantly a website can help you to keep in contact with your clients and keep your PT business front of mind.

I found a great example of a well put together website for a Personal Training business in Orange County, California, USA.  The business is called Innovative Results.  I’m going to go through a few pages of their site and pick out a couple of things I think they have done really well and that you might be able to add to your Personal Training website.

Home Page

One of the first things I noticed is that they have their telephone number on the top left of the site.  I think this is a great move.  When people look for PT’s their first point is usually the internet (if they haven’t been referred by a friend), but once they are comfortable they are always going to want to talk to a person on the phone or face to face.  By having that phone number clearly displayed, Innovative Results are making it really easy for someone to make a call.

As a person looking for a PT, the other things that I would notice on the front page is the great testimonial photos.  They say a picture says a thousand words and having great “before and after” photos of previous clients is absolute gold.  I would nearly suggest making it more prominent on the home page.  Show prospective clients what can happen.  It’s really powerful.

About Us

For a PT I think the About Us page is just about the most important page on your site.  And these guys do a good job, with lots of information about what they do, and how they do it, also some information about press mentions and some awards they have won.  One of the best things they have done is put up photos of their trainers.  It shows prospective clients that there are real people behind the website.  When you call them on the phone, you’ll probably be talking to one of these guys.  The only thing I’d add is maybe a small bio of each of the trainers, just to personalise it a bit more.  Maybe even link up the before and after photos of their clients with the trainer that produced the result.

Our Services

Another page on their site that is done well.  They have a few different specialties and they explain each one clearly on this page.  If you are good at one type of training than this is the place to talk about it.  Really sell yourself and what you can do.

Blog

There are a lot of reasons for having a blog on your site, including Search Engine Optimisation, communicating with your clients and personalising your website.  The Innovative Results guys have a great blog.  It’s constantly updated with relevant posts that their clients would want to read. They have exercise of the day videos, posts about motivation and goal setting and even a post about healthy snacks to eat while watching the Super Bowl.  This type of content is what will make their clients come back to the website, and the more times they come back to the site, the more times they are thinking about Innovative Results, and more likely they are to keep training with them.

And at the end of the day, that’s a primary goal of the website.  Happy clients.

One thing I will mention is the fantastic professional video that they have produced about their business.  It’s only on the blog page, and I would recommend that it might be a great thing to have on the home page, and even the contact page.  It’s a really good, short video that gives you an idea of the type of business they run.

Testimonials

I already mentioned the testimonials that are on the front page of the website, but they also have a lot of photos and testimonials on the the, you guessed it – testimonial page.  This is really powerful stuff.  And if I was a Personal Trainer this is exactly the sort of content I would try and get on my website.  This page tells people that Innovative Results know what they are doing and can help people get to where they want to be.  These photos sell their services for them.

The Innovative Results guys know what they are doing with their website.  Now obviously you can’t steal their ideas directly or their content, but there are a few basic principles that every Personal Trainer can do like getting great testimonials from your clients, having a blog that is updated regularly and allow your personality to come through with photos and bios etc. and also make sure your phone number is easy to find.

These are a few easy ways that you might be able to improve your own PT website.  If you have any other suggestions or some more great examples then let us know in the comments below.

I’ve already mentioned on this blog that I’m a big fan of inspirational quotes, and I’m also really interested in learning how to motivate myself.

When researching and doing some reading a name that popped up a bit was Dan Pink.  He has written a book called Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.  I have ordered the book online and can’t wait to read it, but I’ve listened to a few interviews he has done and also a few videos of him online which are fantastic.

This first video is called “The two questions that can change your life”.  It’s only 2 minutes long and worth watching.

Two questions that can change your life from Daniel Pink on Vimeo.

The second video is a little longer at 19 minutes of a presentation Dan did at a TED conference.

Just as a sidenote the TED website is a fantastic resource of high quality motivating presentations.

I’m fascinated that a 2 minute video like the one above can be so motivating and inspiring to people.  I know it has got me thinking about what my sentence would be, and already today I know that I can answer yes to the second question, because I’ve been thinking about it all day.

Personal Trainers are at the coal face of motivation and motivating people.  I’d love to hear what motivates you and what’s the most effective thing you’ve done to motivate your clients.  Leave a comment below and let us know.

I think you’ll agree that these are definitely words to live by…..

Managing the finances of your personal training business isn’t always easy. It is crucial to your success, though. However, you can ease the burden of the number-crunching in various ways.

Streamlined systems and efficient processes can lighten the load of financial management to make the work more enjoyable. With proper tracking, smart budgeting and the right assistance, you can set up a finance management system that makes a burden a breeze.

But first, you need to identify the many components of your PT business finances.

Budgeting

A proper budget is designed to help you plan for the future. Running a business can be costly, even though you think that your only expense is your time. Also, you can spot areas that do cost you money and work towards shaving those expenses back for better profit. A budget also helps you determine peak periods and slow seasons so that you can be prepared for less clients and less income.

When a business is starting out, budgeting can be extremely difficult. No research and estimation can guarantee how much revenue your business will actually generate in the first few months or how many expenses you might require to set your business up.

That’s why many businesses have a cash reserve in the early stages – it helps ensure that costs can be adequately covered.

When first starting out, try to guesstimate as best you can and think of all sources of revenue or expenses, even yearly ones. Once your personal training business is established, however, you can tweak your budget simply by looking at your trends in revenue and expenses and using these to determine projected earnings for the future.

Funding

Almost all businesses require funding for startup costs, even your personal training business. As your business progresses, additional funding may be required so the business can grow.

The very first step in getting funds for your business is to determine how much it will cost. Put together a detailed list of all the equipment, supplies and services needed and include the costs of each of these. Now that you know how much you need, you can go out and start looking for funding.

There are many options for obtaining small business funding:

Personal savings and investments

Bank loans

Full scale business partnership

Silent partners

Credit cards

Joint ventures

Investment firms

Accounting and Bookkeeping

Processing invoices and collecting payments are critical to your business. After all, that’s how you get your hands on cash. The most important aspect of invoicing and payment collection is to have a comprehensive system in place so that you can easily track payments due and send invoices to clients.

It’s a vital step to track your invoices properly.  If you aren’t aware of who owes you money and when, then you’ll soon find yourself in a position of low cash flow.  At the end of the day you are in business to be paid.  Of course if you use The Trackster, you can invoice all of your clients and keep track of you finances.

Accounting software is extremely popular among small business owners. Most bookkeeping software packages offer a free trial. This means you can use the software for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to see if it works for you.  There are many online accounting packages that could suit your business including Saasu, Less Accounting and Xero.   We are planning to integrate The Trackster into each of these accounting packages to make it even easier for your PT business.

A third option is to outsource your bookkeeping. There are many firms, both online and off, that will help you manage invoicing and collections. These services can save you time and money, especially if bookkeeping is eating up a lot of your time that could be otherwise spent with clients or if number crunching is outside of your skill set.

Professional Assistance for Small Business Owners

Many small business owners turn to finance professionals to help them through difficulties with budgeting, invoicing and collections, accounting, and taxes. From obtaining funding to getting advice on handling financials, plenty of professional service providers can help.

Using these services can be a wise investment and help you get off on the right foot in terms of managing money. Entrepreneurs often scoff at such services and insist on learning to do everything themselves. This can be a good thing – after all, it’s your business. Why shouldn’t you learn all the details about its finances?

However, working with business consultants, tax preparers, and financial advisors can save you time and money and quicken your learning curve. Specialized services can help you set up your personal training business faster and earn clients rapidly or aid you in building a firm foundation for bigger plans in the future, like opening a gym.

Summary

Whether you’re just starting with your personal training business or trying to improve on what you have already established, developing a smart system for finance management is one of the first and most important things you can do to help ensure success. Know the components of your finances, get your system up and running, and then maintain it regularly.

Twitter has been great for me and also a little confusing since I signed up.  The confusion I think is because I haven’t focused on how to use it properly.  So I’ve decided what I want from Twitter and how I’ll use my two accounts.

My first account is my business account, which is @TheTrackster.   What I’m going to do with the business account is to use it to help Personal Trainers.  On this blog I have written a few articles now that help PTs with different aspects of their business, and I’ll continue to do that.

The @TheTrackster account will also be a great way for any clients to get in contact quickly with any problems they have.  So if you are a PT that is looking for some useful info and links then feel free to follow @TheTrackster.  And let me know what you think.

The second account I have is my personal one @CraigMillman.  I have got the most out of this account because I’ve actively followed interesting people.  Not necessarily famous (although there are some..), but interesting people in the software industry and business world.  I even get daily updates when my little girl is in daycare!  It’s been a great resource, and I’m sure it will continue to be so.

If you are interested in following my @CraigMillman feed, you’re most welcome.  Just don’t expect any friendly tweets when my football team loses….

The second thing I have done today is to build landing pages for both my twitter feeds.  This is a great idea that I have gotten from @problogger.  If someone comes across either of my twitter accounts and decides to see who I am, they will be directed to a specific landing page, one for @CraigMillman and one for @TheTrackster.

These landing pages just give a bit more information about how I use twitter and what people can expect.  No surprises and they know what they are in for when they follow me.

I’ve come across a few Personal Trainers that are using twitter really well, and I’m going to write an article soon about how the best trainers are using twitter in their marketing mix.

If you are a PT using twitter let us know and we might highlight you in our upcoming article.  Or maybe you have seen other people using twitter in an interesting way?  Let us know in the comments.

When talking about PR (public relations), I am talking about articles or mentions in mass media publications like newspapers, magazines, TV shows and trade magazines.  Although directly these things might not bring you a lot of clients,  it can help to give you perceived expertise in your field.

A newspaper article about you or your business can be a great thing to put on the front page of your website.  It might be just the thing that makes a potential client go to you for personal training, instead of your competitor down the road.  I mean if the newspaper thought you were worthy of an article you must know what you are talking about!

One great site that I have come across in the last couple of weeks is Source Bottle.  This site provides a way for Journalists to post “call outs” for stories they are trying to write.  If a “call out” matches something that you know about it, then you can respond directly to the journalist.

They have an about page that explains the process a little better.  But the best thing is that it’s free to use.

After a quick search I found that SBS television is currently looking for stories about good and bad Personal Trainers.  Maybe you have a long term client that you have worked with that would be only too happy to talk on TV about you?  Or maybe you are a Mum running her own PT business, well there is someone that wants to talk to you.

Have a look around the site and see if there are other stories that you might be able to help with.

There are plenty of PR experts around and I suggest if you really want to get into it, you try and get the help of someone with more experience and know how.  But Source Bottle is a great free service, and who knows you might end up on TV one day.

Referrals are an important way to build your PT business.  When one of your current clients has suggested to their friend to use your PT skills, half the job is done.

There are a lot of suggestions and ideas for getting more referrals for your business, you can just google it and a million ideas will be listed.

Last night I was listening to a small business podcast that is presented by @timboreid and the guest on the show, Kody Bateman said something that made me sit up.  He said “don’t ask for referrals, deserve them.”  It was simple and to the point.  If your business is fantastic and you provide a fantastic service then people will be happy to refer you to their friends, family and associates.

It was a great line and a line that for some reason just clicked with me.   Selling is a massively important part of any business, and I think it’s a part of business that makes a lot of people a little uneasy and a little self conscious.   I’m sure there are a lot of PT’s out there that would agree.  It think that’s why that line resonated with me last night.  It’s not a hard sell, it’s not forcing someone to do something, it’s just build or provide a great product or service, give solutions to peoples problems and hopefully build a nice business for yourself.  That’s my goal and I’m sure it’s the goal of most PT’s out there.

What do you think?  Are you comfortable with selling?  Have you got any advice on how you do it and how to make it easier?  Leave a comment below.

“It’s not the will to win, it’s the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.”

“Bear” Bryant

Recently I have come across a few mentions of TrainerFind.com.au on the internet.  Thought it might be useful to do an interview with Chris from Trainer Find and discover a bit about his business and how it helps Personal Trainers.

Can you give us a brief overview of trainerfind.com.au and how it’s useful to Personal Trainers?
Sure Craig.  Trainer Find is an online Personal Trainer directory.  We help Personal Trainers connect with clients instantly through SMS and email.  If the budget is tight we also have a free listing option too.  Our advanced listings have inbuilt lead generation features and show more Trainer information.  Basically, we help increase your chance of being found online and then give clients a definite way to get in touch so you can start training.

Why do we need a product like Trainer Find?
Clients are increasingly turning to the Internet to find and commence training with Personal Trainers.  Potential clients now use directories and search engines to find local Trainers.  Trainer Find puts you right in front of your potential clients and helps increase your chances of being hired.

We have broken the country into many areas and regions to help make our search engine work great.  Basically, if a client lives or works in your area, you will be found.  We are Trainer “Find” not Trainer “Search”.

It looks like you essentially have two clients – Personal Trainers and people looking for trainers.  Which is the most important?
That’s kind of like “what comes first, the chicken or the egg” huh?  You can’t have one without the other.

Right now our focus is on getting trainers registered and listed on Trainer Find.  So first up we are spreading the word to Trainers and ironing out the kinks in our website.  Since launching our Beta website we have had great feedback from Trainers around the country.

In a few weeks we take of the “Beta” tag and start heavily promoting the website to potential clients.  Ultimately, getting visitors to the website is just as important as creating great content.  Clients come flocking to directory websites with significant relevant content.  The content of our website is made up of Personal Trainers from all around Australia.

In Australia there are a couple of competitors who offer a similar service, how are you different?
Unlike other website directories, we offer SMS connectivity to Personal Trainers with advanced listings.  This allows you to be out on the road and get a lead sent straight to your phone.  You may miss an email lead, how professional does that make you look! Not very!!  So getting a lead sent straight to your mobile instantly is like getting a leg up on your competition because your potential client will be blown away by your speedy response.  They will know you mean business.  They will be pumped.  Imagine that!

Plus, we are actually current Personal Trainers ourselves.  We are still in the game and Personal Training is how we make our living.  We don’t need to overcharge you for an advanced listing so we won’t.  We know what clients like because we actually deal with them day to day.  We know what Personal Trainers want because we are Personal Trainers.  We just want to offer a service that Trainers will find effective and useful and that clients will find helpful.

What sort of things is Trainer Find doing to get more normal people searching for Personal Trainers?  Why should PT’s be interested in what you are doing?
As I mentioned, we will start pumping up the promotion for clients in a few weeks.  We’ll do this using some online and offline methods.  Right now we are focussing on building awareness of the website within the fitness industry in Australia and helping Trainers to get listed.

Trainer Find will help your clients to find you, contact you and start training with you.  You will project a professional image in the mind of your client because of the speed at which you can connect with them.  The leads you get are always qualified, because of the information you can place on your listing.

And like I said, if budget is an issue, you can always place a free listing which other directories don’t offer.

Do you have plans to expand into other countries?
At this stage we’re just sticking to the Australian market.  We’ll see how we go.  We could do it easily enough as our backend is extremely portable and flexible.  We just want to offer a good service here and focus on that for the time being.

What is the one best marketing tip you have for Personal Trainers?
Get a website up and running.  There are some easy peezy ways to do it.  It doesn’t have to be super duper flashy or look spectacular, but try to make it match your brand image.  Get the colours to match, the words, the slogan, the prices, etc.  Creating an online presence is essential for lead generation and giving clients a way to get to know you.  Think about it.  How do you find more information about products or services you want to buy or use?  One word – Google.  Creating a website allows potential clients to find you using Google or any other search engine.  They’ll find your website directly or via a directory like Trainer Find.  If you don’t have a website – get one asap!  If you have a website – get listed in as many directories as you can!  Make sure Trainer Find is one of them of course ;o)

Thanks a lot for your time Chris, appreciate you answering a few questions.  Check out TrainerFind.com.au and see if it could help you get more leads for your Personal Training business.

If you have any suggestions for interviewees please let me know in the comments below.