If you want to get a full diary of paying clients in 2020, then this post has been written to help you!

I’ve had a full diary of clients for the last five years with my personal training business LEP Fitness, and want to share some of my secrets to help you with your own personal training business in 2020. 

If you apply the following ten tips, I can guarantee that you’ll get fully booked up and double your revenue! 

Even if you were to apply just a handful of these tips, you would still see a vast improvement, but the more you can do… the better!

10 Ways To Accelerate The Growth Of Your Personal Training Business In 2020

#1 Achieve 10 Head-Turning Transformations in 2020

If you want to get a full diary of clients and stay fully booked up, then you need results…BUT not only results…proof of your results through pictures!

It’s amazing how many coaches ‘talk the talk’ BUT have no proof to back up their claims. If you’re claiming to be a body transformation coach, you need to have tangible evidence, and the best way to do this is:

• Before & After Pictures
• Testimonials (more on this shortly!)

Having a portfolio of results combined with the right marketing will see clients queuing up at the door to do business with you. 

I can guarantee that if you get ten head-turning transformations in 2020 that your business will grow exponentially!

When you’ve achieved an impressive transformation, you can then share on your social media pages, on your fitness blog, in your email marketing campaigns, and promotional material to attract more clients! 

BONUS TIP – Another thing I do with transformations is to share the clients’ success story – I will then post on my Facebook page, and share with my mailing list – here are some emailing marketing tips for your PT business it’s a great way to pick up clients. 

#2 Write A New Article Every Week 

Written content is vital, for one it builds trust (providing you know what you are talking about!) and two it’s a great way to get more clients. 

If you have a personal training website, it will also boost your SEO, which means that you’ll rank higher on Google, and more people will find you online. Thanks to effective SEO, I receive 25-30 new enquiries each month, and that’s not including the other marketing channels I use! 

Once you’ve written your article, you can then share on your health and fitness blog and social media – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

BONUS TIP 1 – The key to writing good content is to know your audience and provide value by sharing solutions to their problems. 

Another ESSENTIAL tip is to make sure you write well (this takes practice) and also check your spelling and grammar – I use the paid version of Grammarly (around £100 per year), BUT the FREE version is also perfect for most personal trainers looking to improve/speed up the writing process. 

BONUS TIP 2 – At the end of your article, always prompt a call to action – this is where you actively encourage the reader to take another action step after reading your article. Call to actions could be:

• Get in Touch Today 
• Check Out This Other Post I Wrote
• Book In For Your FREE Consultation
• Follow Me On Social Media 
• Links to Youtube Channel, other resources, etc
• Free Giveaways
• Etc!

#3 Figure Out Your Ideal Audience/Clients

Do you know your ideal personal training client? If you said YES – good for you! If you answered NO – then don’t worry… neither do most PT’s!

You need to be able to answer the following questions:

• Who am I most skilled at serving? 
• What do I enjoy the most – fat loss, muscle building, etc?
• What type of person do I like working with? 
• What’s the age range of my ideal client?
• Are they male or female – or both? 
• What problems do they have? 
• How can I help them solve their problems? 
• What hobbies are they interested in?
• Where do they hang out – both online and real life? 

You need to create your avatar customer – literally, create an image in your mind’s eye of how your perfect customer looks. 

For example, my ideal clients are:

John & Jayne – who are both middle-aged 30-40, earn good money (30k a year or more) and are established professionals (doctor, dentist, teacher, etc.), they can afford to spend £100+ per week on personal training. 

John & Jayne – want to lose weight and improve their body shape. They are both tired, stressed, and suffering from a bit of a mid-life crisis, and need help with both the physical side and mental side also. Neither of them needs a chicken and broccoli diet or hardcore bodybuilding plan; what they need instead is:

• Quick Recipes – tasty and to satisfy tastebuds
• A Workout Plan that suits their busy lifestyle – home workouts, quick sessions 20-45 minutes
• Exercise that they enjoy
• To create a small calorie deficit – to lose 0.5-1lb per week 
• Support outside of sessions (text messages, emails)
• Effective weight loss sessions that help them burn calories and feel good (not run into the ground!). 
• Extra resources – book recommendations, podcasts, etc. to help them with their mindset. 

Can you see how clear I am with my ideal clients? 

I know exactly who I want to work with and feel passionate about helping these people. My marketing strategy is clear, and I know the people I’m targeting can afford to pay for my services. 

You need to be clear on your ideal customers. 

BONUS TIP – I remember listening to one of Mark Coles’s podcasts, and he recommended going on Google and printing out a picture of your ideal client. 

For example, if your ideal clients are mums and dads, then get a picture of both, and have them either side of your computer. Then when you create content (video and written content), you can remind yourself of who you are aiming it at. 

It’s also helpful to know what NOT TO POST! For example, would a busy, out of shape mum really be interested in your content of a 1 rep max deadlift? Or a topless selfie of you tensing your abs in the mirror? Err…probably not! If anything, she’ll feel intimidated and put off! 

You need to know who you are talking to and gain full clarity on your ideal customer avatar. 

#4 Post On Social Media 3-7x Per Week

In this day and age, you can’t afford to not be on social media, especially when it comes to business. With over 2 billion people using social media – it’s an ideal place to find potential clients. 

There are lots of social media platforms that can be utilised, but my two favourites are Instagram and Facebook (and in that order!). 

I think Instagram is fantastic, and it’s a great way to pick up clients without having to pay for paid advertising (unlike Facebook – where you have to pay to reap the rewards!). 

Get into the habit of posting at least 3x per week. If you can do a post each day, then even better! 

Don’t just write content for the sake of it, and always ask the questions, “who is this post adding value to?”. 

At the beginning of each week, sit down with a pen and paper and write down some topics and ideas that you’re going to create content for this week. 

For example, let’s say your target market is ‘stay at home mums’ you could do the following:

• Monday – 10 minute home workout for mums
• Tuesday – quick smoothie recipe (takes less than 1 min to make!)
• Wednesday – Resistance Band workout for mums 
• Thursday – 5 tips to stay active with your kids 
• Friday – How breathing can help you cope with the stress of being a parent
• Saturday – 3 practical fitness tips for busy/tired mums
• Sunday – free Q&A – where you ask your audience what they’d like to know

For more content ideas, check out this post I wrote – 60 Awesome Content Ideas For Personal Trainers – in this article, I share content ideas for – muscle building, fat loss, video creation, mindset, and motivation topics. Feel free to steal ideas and use them for your own content! 

#5 Get 20-30 Written Testimonials 

Testimonials offer social proof, and can be just as effective as ‘before and after photos’. I’m 100% confident (I’ll bet you £100 on it!) that if you get 20-30 written testimonials in 2020, your business will boom!

What testimonials do is prove that you are great at what you do, because customers are raving about you! 

Anybody can say they’re a good personal trainer? BUT where’s your proof? You need both visual results and written testimonials to really succeed, and you should be collecting both throughout the year. 

On the LEP Fitness personal training website, there are over 100 testimonials. I’ve collected these over the last seven years and continue to add more throughout the year!

You can never have enough reviews or results. Testimonials are a great way to showcase your personal training business and attract tons of new clients towards your PT business. 

BONUS TIP – Once you get a written testimonial… Ask your client for permission to take a picture during their next personal training session, and also ask them if they mind if you add both the image and written review to your site, and share on social media. 

Pictures are super important and back up your testimonial, just a review in itself could look fake! 

#6 Invest 1 Hour Each Day On Personal Development 

If there’s one thing you MUST do, and only one thing you took action on in this post… it’s this… work on your personal development!

Remember this saying…

“Your Business Grows As You Grow.”

Meaning…

The more you know, the more people you can help! And the more people you help… the more in demand you become, and the more you can increase your personal training fees! It’s a win-win, you help more people, and you get handsomely rewarded for your efforts with:

• Recognition (through results, testimonials, referrals) 
• By getting paid for your expertise and exceptional reputation. 

You must continuously up your game by learning. This can be done by:

• Reading
• Listening to Podcasts – 5 Best Podcasts For Personal Trainers  
• Audiobooks 
• Attending Courses – I recommend the ACA & M10 Fitness Camps For Personal Trainers 

In 2019 I did the following, and it’s helped me and my business to grow exponentially:

• Read 30 books – the best book I read in 2019 was The Values Factor by Dr. John Martini 
• Listened to 150 podcasts – the best podcast series I’ve listened too in 2019 is the Mastery Podcasts by Mark Coles 

#7 Hire A Mentor 

Hiring a mentor is one of the best investments you can make! 

I’m a massive fan of reading books and listening to podcasts, BUT nothing compares to having a private mentor to guide you through personal challenges. 

Yes, paying for a mentor will cost you more than a book (£10-15) or a podcast (FREE) – however, a good mentor is worth their weight in gold.

I’ve hired coaches who charge £200+ per hour! 

For lots of you reading this, you may be thinking… “wow, that’s a lot!” or “I can’t afford that!”… but let me tell you this…

For the £200 investment, what you’ll get/make back will be tenfold! 

You are paying for knowledge, wisdom, and guidance! You are hiring a mentor who’s been where you are now and knows what you need to do to build the personal training business of your dreams!

When you think people spend thousands on buying a fancy car, or designer handbag – and while looking cool for a while, the novelty soon wears off! 

Whereas the knowledge you’ll get from an experienced mentor will last a lifetime, and what you learn will translate into far more cash at a later date.

I remember a few years ago spending £10k (in just one year!) on private coaching! That’s a lot of money, I know! That could have been a handsome deposit on a beautiful looking BMW or Mercedes! 

But the value I received from hiring a mentor far outweighed a short term fix of buying a flashy new car! 

The knowledge I gained from private mentorship allowed me to increase my personal training business revenue to the point where I earned a lot more than my initial 10k investment! The 10k soon came back to me in forms of new business – because I had upped my game and had developed a highly effective business strategy.

I will continue to pay for mentoring because I’ve seen such enormous growth in both myself and business. In my opinion, it’s the best money you can spend! 

If you want help with your personal training business and to get a full diary of paying clients, then I offer 1-1 personal mentoring – let’s jump on a free Skype and discuss what you’re struggling with, then all things being well we can start working together! 

#8 Set Yourself 3 Meaningful Goals

If I could wave a magic wand and grant you three wishes (call me ‘Gene’ from Aladdin!), what would you want to happen? 

For me this year it was:

#1 Pay off my new personal training studio – I took out a 1-year interest-free loan of £35k, and my goal was to pay it all off before the end of the year, without having to pay any interest! I achieved this within five months! 

#2 Hire another personal trainer – to cope with the extra demand of clients and to help more people get fit – This goal was accomplished in August 2019. 

#3 To create an extra income stream – this was achieved by selling my ebook The Ultimate Guide To Building Your Personal Training Business and The 28 Day Keto Challenge. Which combined have sold over 1,000 copies in 2019. 

Those have been the three main goals for my business in 2019! And all of my daily, weekly, and monthly actions have been targeted towards achieving these goals, for example:

How did I pay off the studio? I provided a 5-star service to clients, got some great results, excellent client retention, more referrals, lots of content to help my audience. All of this meant more income, which allowed me to pay off the studio!

How did I hire another personal trainer? – I looked for suitable candidates, conducted interviews, introduced business systems, delegated tasks, read books on growing a small business. I read The E-Myth Book by Michael Gerber, and it’s one of the best books I’ve read on how to build a successful small business. 

How did I sell ebooks? – Planned out ebook content, wrote various drafts, wrote a new chapter each week, read over, checked, used apps such as Grammarly to check spelling, proofreading from parents, marketed the ebook on my blogs and Instagram page. I also tracked sales, looked at what worked, and discarded what didn’t. 

The above are just abbreviated examples, BUT I knew what I wanted to achieve this year, and I broke my goals down into small bite-sized chunks and took one step at a time.  

Accomplishing these goals has allowed my business to grow to the next level, and I’m excited about the goals I’ve set for 2020! I’m not going to reveal just yet, BUT stay tuned!

What do you want to achieve in 2020? 

Write down the three things that you really want, then reverse engineer to where you are now and take: daily, weekly, and monthly action steps. Make-sure that your prioritise high priority tasks and do the things that are important to growing your business!

#9 Monday Morning Meetings 

At the beginning of each week, on a Monday morning, it’s super important to sit down with yourself (or your team) and get motivated for the week ahead.

Reflect on last week: what went well? What could have been better? And what’s the biggest priority for the forthcoming week? 

Also, go through all your client list and assess who’s on track and who needs a kick up the butt! 

It’s essential to be professional and to have weekly meetings with yourself, especially if you want to excel as a personal trainer. 

REMEMBER You’re not just a personal trainer, you’re a businessman/women too – and you need to have board meetings (even if it’s just with yourself). You can then gain clarity on your weekly goals, and have the drive to make the forthcoming week count. 

If you do this for the next 52 weeks, I can guarantee that your business growth will accelerate through the roof! 

#10 Read The Ultimate Guide To Building Your Personal Training Business 

Earlier this year, I wrote an ebook called The Ultimate Guide To Building Your Personal Training Business. I wrote the book to help fellow personal trainers get fully booked up, and to share my tips and strategies for building a successful small PT business. 

The book has done remarkable (nearly 500 copies sold so far!), and it’s lead me down a new path of helping fellow personal trainers, mainly through mentoring coaches on a 1-1 basis – which is something I love. 

I love helping fellow coaches with the business side of personal training, and want to help as many coaches as possible! I know the struggles of starting and running a PT business, BUT I also know how to overcome them too!  

The ebook is 85 pages and covers all sorts of topics such as:

• PT Branding – logo, tracksuit, social media
• How To Stand Out As Personal Trainer 
• Personal Development – book, podcast and audiobook recommendations
• Sales & Marketing Tips & Strategies 
• Website Tips 
• Social Media Tips
• Content Creation
• SEO – how to boost your web rankings 
• Cancellation Policy (saving you thousands each year!) 
• Payment Methods
• Pricing Strategies 
• Invoicing 
• Perfect Consultation Questions 
• Client Management
• The Best Apps To Improve Your Business 
• Expanding Your Business 

And Much More!

Typically the ebook is £18. However, in this post, I’m making it available for just £15!  

If you want to start transforming your personal training business in 2020, then swipe up your discounted copy below…

Was £18 Now £15