All businesses either thrive or die based on sales! It’s no different for personal trainers!

In order to have a successful PT business you need to keep attracting new customers through the door and signing them up or you’ll end up out of business.

There are many ways to generate new customers and in this post I will share 5 Ways Personal Trainers Can Get More Leads and Enquiries…

#1 Referrals 

One of the best (and most cost effective!) ways to get new clients is to ask your current clients to recommend you to their friends. If you’ve done a good job with the client you’re asking for a referral they will happily recommend you.

When I started my personal training business ‘LEP Fitness’ 6 years ago this strategy was something I used regularly. Thanks to using it I’ve received lots of new clients.

One client who at the time I had been training for 6 months, first recommend his sister, then his mum and then dad. They are all still training with me to this day. Put another way that’s £60,000 generated from just 3 referred clients over 5 years (or £12,000 per year!).

As extra incentives you could also offer a 10% discount on your packages for a referral or give them a free session in return for their recommendation. Trust me it works!

#2 Website 

In this day and age with millions of people searching the internet each day you simply cannot afford not to have a website. A good website is  one of the best tools you can invest in as a personal trainer.

With the right set up you will rank highly on google and potentially attract anything from 5-100+ enquiries per month. To get to this point can take time (anything from 3-24 months) but if you regularly write good content in the form of blogs and hire an expert website marketing company it can be done much quicker. For more info on building an effective website check out this post I wrote – 6 KEY THINGS YOU SHOULD INCLUDE ON YOUR PERSONAL TRAINING WEBSITE

#3 Networking 

I know a lot of marketing and lead generation can be done online, but face to face relationship building will always be a key tool when it comes to attracting new clients to your business.

If you work in a gym, make-sure you speak to at least 3-5 people each day (not including current clients). Build a relationship with people in your gym, offer free exercise advice and keep checking in with them to see how they are doing. You can even offer a free session to help them and then offer them a deal on a package afterwords.

Giving out free taster sessions can be really valuable, especially when starting out your PT business. Offer value for free and then ask for some financial commitment for clients to hire you full time.

You can also network at local business events, coffee shops, etc. Always have a bunch of business cards in your wallet or purse and be ready to sell your services.

#4 E-mail Marketing 

One thing I would highly recommend doing is building up your e-mail list database – this is basically obtaining as many potential clients e-mail addresses as possible. The best way to get an e-mail address is to offer something of value i.e. a free fat loss guide or diet plan. You offer this in exchange for an e-mail.

On my site I do this by offering a free 7 day detox plan – see below…

As you continue to build your list you can then send your database regular e-mails and build rapport with potential clients so that when they are ready to make a difference to their health and fitness you will be the first person they think off!

I’ve been using e-mail marketing for the last 4 years and it’s a great way to pick up clients and market e-books and other products/services that you sell.

#5 Facebook 

Most people have a facebook account and it’s a great platform to share your content, and build up a loyal community of people who are either a) willing to pay for your services or b) really interested in what you have to say.

Both are important because whilst you need paying customers, it’s also important to have a fan base e.g. people who ‘like’ and ‘share’ your content and help you increase your businesses exposure.

You can do this for free on facebook by creating a business page, but the best way to use FB is to pay for sponsored adverts. I would recommend paying an expert to do this for you, unless you are already skilled in FB ads.

Thanks for reading,

Nick 🙂

P.S. If you are PT and want more content to help you with your business please check out the personal trainers blog section on my website.