This isn’t the only place that I come across these studies or articles.  It is beyond doubt that a healthier workforce is a more productive workforce.

It got me thinking about how Personal Trainers can use this info to help their business.  Maybe a PT can do a little research in this area and put together a package that they could sell to a local company.  Put together some sort of lunchtime bootcamp.  How about a group session before or after work.  Make it fun and challenging and show the boss that it could also be a team building program.

Show the companies why it’s a good idea for their business, through your research.  Show them a plan to make their workers healthier.  And get out there and sell your services.

Love to hear if anyone has put together a program for their local business and what type of success they have had.

It’s also a great time to start thinking about next year and your fitness business. I just came across a great article by Kellie Sanders from PT Business Success with some great tips on the 5 must haves for your 2012 plan.

Kellie is someone who I’ve linked to before on this blog and that’s because she gives out great content and is really helpful. If you are a new Personal Trainer, or even “a” Personal Trainer, go to her website and read some of the great info she has on there and maybe get in touch with Kellie and see how she can help you.

Why not try something different? Everyone is fairly familiar with YouTube. Most people’s phone has video recording of some sort now. Or what about trying audio. You can record quick audio files using something like AudioBoo, which is free to use.

Every PTs website has to be constantly updated and most will have a blog or facebook page that needs regular content. You can record audio at anytime and upload it very easily.

Here’s a quick example of an AudioBoo that can go on your website.

People often feel a lot of pressure updating their blogs, facebook and twitter. Thinking a little differently and using different tools, you can make it easy on yourself to update your website.

So I’ve been on the lookout for a PT for a while, and then I received a flyer in the mail.

I thought this might be a good chance to talk about what made me pick Brooke to be my PT.

Results

The first thing I noticed on this flyer was the results that were achieved by this guy -

He lost over 17 kg and 10% body fat.  Knowing that I needed to lose just a little bit more than that, his results really stood out for me.  If he could do that, then maybe I could.

Price

I’m not going to lie to you, the price of the package seemed to good to be true.  Obviously being around the industry I know what is a normal charge for a PT session or a Bootcamp session.  In this package I get to attend 7 training sessions a week for 12 weeks, for only $399!  That works out to be about $5 a session if I go to every single one.

I figured that I didn’t have a lot to lose.  Now I’m not sure that’s a fantastic marketing strategy, but it seems to be working for Bootcamps Australia because they are a growing franchise.  It would actually be very interesting to find out if this pricing strategy is going to work over the long term.

The Challenge

This appealed to me greatly.  12 Week Challenge!  I’ve done a few bootcamps before and they were all 4 weeks.  It seemed like if I could do this for 12 weeks, I could really see some results and changes in my body.  Plus I’m a male, and just the word challenge got me going!

Incorporating Nutrition

I’ve mentioned before on this blog that I’ve been to many PTs, but I’ve never been to one that also worried about what I ate.  Some have mentioned it in passing, but this PT seems to make it a part of the training.  And after 3 weeks I can vouch that the nutrition is a really strong focus.

Again, I thought this was going to be another way of being able to achieve the results I wanted to by the end of 12 weeks.

All four of these things all stood out from that one flyer.  Obviously I called Brooke up and we talked about the program, but I was essentially sold just from her marketing.

Maybe I’m not like every other PT client out there, but I think there is some things you might be able to learn and incorporate into your marketing and how you attract clients to your Personal Training business.  The biggest one for me is past results.  Show, either by photos or videos, what sort of results that you’ve helped others to achieve.  It’s very powerful marketing.

It would be great to hear what you think. And if you have any marketing that has worked really well for you, I’d love to read about it in the comments.

Natalie talks about why PTs should get into email marketing, how to build up our database to send emails to and goes over some of the software out there to help Personal Trainers get their email campaigns started.

Here are some fun facts about Natalie -
Favourite Book – Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
Favourite Movie – Mission Impossible (the first one!)
Favourite Band – The Killers
Favourite Website – Marketing Profs
Hero/Role Model – Hillary Clinton

Some links mentioned in the interview -

www.mailchimp.com

www.constantcontact.com

You can follow Natalie on Twitter @nataliegiddings and Natalie’s website is www.pollenmarketing.com.au.

Updated: Below is the full transcript of the interview with Natalie.

Craig Millman: Hi Natalie! Thanks for joining me today. You’ve just released an ebook about email marketing specifically for small businesses. In terms of email marketing, what’s the biggest benefit and why should Personal Trainers get into email marketing?

Natalie Giddings: [beeping noise] Okay, well my phone’s just gone off – sorry! – but I turned it off.

All right, so with email marketing essentially the reason why I think it’s an important one, more than anything else, I guess, is the dollar per spend. So, if you do take the time to build up your own list not only do you get the benefit of the return investment – so, the numbers are all there and I’ve seen the statistics over and over again – but if you do take the time to build that marketing list you can then even onsell additional services, you can perhaps even begin to do successful events, all the type of marketing that builds your core base and has a greater impact on your bottom line.

And if you get into a relatively good habit of creating news stories, even press releases and all those types of things that engage people, it just builds your brand overall. You can repurpose that content, all that type of thing that make that bottom line process, because we want to get people in with the intention that they’re going to buy your services.

We can automate that buying process, even quicken it so that people make decisions about whether they want to use your services, your Personal Training services, or not, in a really short period of time. Even just following up and making phone calls to one client, as you know, takes a lot of time. If you can start to get that in an automated, online process that is one publication but delivered to many, you can start to see a terrific turnaround in the way that people reflect upon you and even just log-in or purchase your services.

Craig: So, for a lot of Personal Trainers they might not have a massive database of people to contact so what’s the best way to start an email marketing campaign. I mean, what’s the best way to get our list going?

Natalie: Okay, the best way to start a list is to ask permission of current or past clients. Don’t automatically assume that because they’ve used you once that they want to start receiving email newsletters from you, but it can be just a really informal, introductory email saying: By the way, we’re going to start publishing news. So, get that email out to your current database list, no matter how big or small, and just get their permission. Just say: We’re going to add you to this marketing list. Please let us know if that’s not okay. So then you can start with people that you’ve previously serviced and had a relationship with, and then you’re not starting from zero, which will probably boost your confidence.

And then the next thing you should definitely do is think about having a resource of some description that’s useful. So, if we’re talking about Personal Trainers there’s a whole myriad of tips and cheat-sheets or, I don’t know, warm-up activities that people could do, homework that they could do when they’re not being personal trained. Basically offer that up as a report or a PDF or a Word document or a PowerPoint presentation. Offer that up on your blog or website as an incentive for people to include their email address.

Personal Trainers, we know that they’re obviously geo-specific, so you want to make sure that not just email address but a post code would be relevant because we know that you need to be present to train them. So at that point have that on the top, right-hand side of your website, which is the most visually present place, so to speak, on your website.

And then people, basically you’re exchanging a valuable piece of information for the responsibility, because it’s a responsibility, also the permission to contact, to have your news go out to them. So it’s something that, look, it doesn’t have to be….

Don’t overthink it; just something really quick and something really simple that you know people continually ask you about. Answer that question in one PDF. Or, I know that it’s really hard to remember all the steps that my Personal Trainer has told me about warming up. I forget them every single time and I have to go and find out where I wrote it down. Maybe having that as a useful tip to start with would be a great incentive, and no doubt you’ve got a useful and unique way of warming up if you’ve done your job well. So, just something like that. Think of it as an exchange for value.

Craig: So in terms of getting started, again, do you have any recommendations for email marketing providers? I mean some software that you recommend specifically?

Natalie: Look, really we’re spoiled right now. We’re in a place where there’s a whole heap of different solutions out there. My personal favorite is mailchimp.com. I don’t actually use that for all of my clients. It depends on what their needs are. It does seem to have all of the generic uses whilst keeping the cost right down, things like sign-up forms so you can create a sign-up form to your mailing list or automatically plug that into your website. And it’s just very intuitive and easy to use. I mean, there’s nothing better than something that’s easy to use. There’s lots of great videos. But any of them – Constant Contact – oh, any of them at that top tier, they all copycat each other anyway to get your services.

Craig: Yeah, and they’re all easy to use. Like, for someone who might not be that confident on a computer they’re pretty easy to use still.

Natalie: Yeah. The other thing: you mentioned that some of your interviews and part of the reason you do the series is to be useful and helpful, so what you could possibly do, and like you do, you put it on YouTube. Go to YouTube. The technical stuff, if you get stuck, I always go to YouTube and say “how to do,” and there’s just about how to do just about anything.

So, MailChimp does tend to be just that much simpler, if you ask my opinion, so that’s why it’s usually a good starting point. If your database starts to really grow and you need some really serious features then you might want to explore some of the other ones.

Craig: Yeah. I think it’s one of the cheapest, too. Off the top of my head I think you can send out to 1,000 people before they start charging. Is that right?

Natalie: Yeah, absolutely. It depends on how many times per month, or it’s limited times per month, but even just the way that you manage, because part of a great email campaign is getting profile information about your target audience and perhaps sending out some snippet questions, and all of that is relatively easy to do straight out of MailChimp.

Craig: Right. Okay, so just to finish up today, what’s one tip that you can give a Personal Trainer today that wants to get into it? What’s the one tip that you can give us today just to get started?

Natalie: Look, it’s not necessarily directly related to email marketing as such but it is definitely one of those traits that will work well with any email marketing, and in fact any marketing, and I think that’s the keyword of Personal Training – it’s personal, it’s people. So, personality: I would set up a campaign to be directly from the person who runs and owns or trains the clients so that they’re already introduced to that Personal Trainer, if they sign up for the mailing list, well before they sign up for the services. They can get to know the personality and what’s expected and some of the benefits before they’ve even signed up for a session. They can come to love that person well before they sign up.

And it’s really all about trust in people and connecting, so have photos of your trainers on the messages. This includes all of your marketing channels. And really think about personal branding all of your marketing channels in that way.

Craig: Excellent. Thanks a lot for your time today, Natalie. I really appreciate it.

Natalie: No problem! No problem at all, a pleasure. Thank you, Craig.

Craig: Thanks a lot.

Well yesterday he posted a 20 minute video talking about Personal Trainers sales funnels and how to get more leads and then convert those leads into clients.  It’s a great video which I recommend that you watch now.  Again here is the link.

If you are a trainer that wants more clients in their business, it is well worth spending 20 minutes watching this video.

I could add maybe one thing to his online leads and that is email newsletters.  A great way to keep in touch with your database on a monthly basis.

One of the best things that he recommends with any type of marketing is to Test, Measure and Refine.  What a great tip right there.

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Some people might think it’s a bit over the top and not necessary or even that it’s not professional.  The way I see it, it’s something a little different and it certainly made me read it.  And now it’s got me talking about it and telling others about it.

Is there something that you can do in your Personal Training business that might surprise your clients?  Maybe a handwritten card or letter when they have achieved a milestone?  How about a special mention of a client on your website?  What about an anniversary dinner or lunch when a client has trained with you for a year?

What are some easy ways that you can get your clients talking about you to their friends and making recommendations about you?  It would be great to hear any suggestions you have in the comments below.

It was just a simple flyer introducing herself to her new neighbours, letting people know what services she provides (outdoor training at the local park), a special offer for those interested and obviously her contact details.  Really simple and very cheap.

I only just moved into this area, and it made me think about the last place I lived.  In that suburb there were 4 PT studios within a 10 minute drive, 3 gyms and a few PTs that worked out of those gyms.  Not once in the 4 years I lived in that suburb did I receive anything in the mail from any of those trainers.

In this day and age of internet, Facebook, Twitter etc, I think it can be even more powerful to receive something as simple as a flyer from a fellow neighbour.  Don’t get me wrong the internet is a powerful marketing tool, but there is a lot of other great ideas out there as well.  And it feeds that marketing funnel that we are all trying to increase.

What other old school marketing ideas do you use in your business?

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.

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.