Standing Out From The Crowd…

Are you standing out or blending in with the other 22,000 personal trainers in the UK?

What makes you unique to the industry, what’s your USP?

If you said… “because I get results!” that’s what everybody else says too!

But what really makes you stick out like a sore thumb? and why should a customer pick you over Joe (who lives down the road and gets results too!)

In this post I’m going to share with you some cool tips and tricks that (if applied!) will help you become one of the best personal trainers in our industry.

How To Become One Of The Best Personal Trainers in the UK…

Who Am I?

Figuring out who you are is absolutely imperative to becoming a success in the fitness industry, ask yourself the following:

• Why do you do what you do?
• What is it that you love about the fitness industry, is it your true passion?
• Why have you chosen to be a personal trainer?
• What do you specialise in? is it fat loss, muscle building, fitness, bodybuilding, sports specific or a combination?
• What does your business stand for? apart from getting results!

If you answered the above with hesitation, then it’s important to clarify your Why – the reasons for being a personal trainer. This is massively important, which if done properly will help lay a solid foundation, clarify focus, and establish ‘core company values’. It’s also very useful when devising a marketing strategy.

Follow The Best In The Business 

One of the many beauties of the internet is the information we have access to at the click of a button. On the flip side… the information paradox… too much blooming information! Headache city! It can be hard to know what to do for the best, who to listen to, who to trust and even… who to avoid!

Now I’m not going to name and shame (not my style) but there are some Clint Eastwood Cowboys (otherwise known as Dell Boys) in our industry. There are also many fantastic coaches who produce great content and have an abundance of knowledge and experience – helping you jump the queue like a fast track ticket at Alton Towers.

I’d strongly encourage you to check out the following coaches, who in my opinion are the best in the business:

• Mark Coles
• Phil Graham
• Phil Learney
• Ben Coomber

All the above coaches regularly produce fantastic content, sharing golden nuggets, and a wealth of experience to help enhance your skills as a personal trainer. You have to learn from the best to become the best.

Invest In Yourself…

When was the last time you dipped your hand in your pocket and invested in yourself?

What was the last training course you went on?

What was the last book you read?

You wouldn’t go into a Ferrari dealership and ask for a discount or for a free car – you’d get laughed at! Although there is plenty of free and useful information out there, the true, specified knowledge comes as an investment. In other words you need to spend money on yourself so you can become the very best version of you!

You need to be able to help your clients, physically & mentally and you need to offer value otherwise what’s the point in them hiring you? You must continually develop as a coach if you are to become one of the best. The journey is never ending. Learning never stops.

What To Invest In? I’d recommend Phil Learney’s ACA (Advanced Coaching Academy) – it’s brilliant, basically every week (for 52 weeks) you get the opportunity to learn from the best in the business – through privately shared video and written content. Topics included: nutrition, anatomy, training, psychology and business! all basis covered.

The other day I figured out that I’ve spent a whopping £60,000 on my personal training eduction (read full story here). I’ve hired mentors, trained with some of the best coaches, read hundreds of books and continue to focus on growing myself as an individual. It’s simple… You have to be willing to invest to be the best!

Provide Valuable Content 

Your business thrives or dies on sales. Providing valuable content is a sure way of attracting business to your front door! Too many coaches are scared to provide content to their audience, because:

• Scared of being judged – the truth is your going to get judged no matter what, whether your overweight, muscular or skinny somebody is going to have something negative to say about you. Try to accept that this is a part of life.

• Fear of being wrong about something – I see this a lot. Coaches are scared to put out content because they don’t want to come across as dumb to their fellow PT’s! The truth is your not marketing yourself to PT’s! Look at where you were 5 years ago, how much more do you know now? much more that’s for certain. Your knowledge will continue to blossom as you invest time and finances into your education. Share what you know and use the best information available to you at this given time.

When you share your knowledge you are showing that you are an expert and that you have a passion to help others. It shows you are committed and helps build positive equity with potentially customers. Whether your better suited to writing articles or more adept at standing in front of a camera there’s a medium suitable for everyone. Here’s some great content tools which if used correctly can boost your business:

1) Website

Having a website is like having a shop – where people can explore what you have to offer, and if they like can make a purchase or book in for a consultation. With 1.7 billion users on Google and people searching for a business like yours right now you can’t afford not to have one. You can start designing your website today with a great service provider like Wix.

2) Blogging

Blogging can be super effective, you can share some of your secrets and help others. It’s a great way of enticing people towards your business, providing you offer something to help them. You can then build up trust with your audience, who may potentially buy from you in the future. I average around 1 new client per month through blogging alone – bearing in mind my average client life span is high, that’s a pretty good return on investment.

3) Video

Video content is a killer (in a good way!). Just look at how it’s helped The Body Coach. Sharing your own engaging video’s is a sure way to get noticed. You could provide tips on: training, free workouts, nutrition, mindset, pretty much anything of value.

4) Social Media

As of January 2014, 74% of adults use social networking sites:

• 71% of online adults use Facebook
• 23% of online adults use Twitter
• 26% use Instagram
• 28% use Pinterest
• 28% use LinkedIn

Need I say more? Every personal trainer needs at least a Facebook business page. There’s a great book on how to maximise and engage your social media audience it’s called… Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vayner Chuck (Check out my Youtube Review).

There’s also a great app called Buffer which let’s you schedule posts across multiple platforms all at once. It’s a maaaahusssiveeeee time saver! I like to sit down 1x per month and get all my posts scheduled in advance.

Book Recommendations for Personal Trainers:

Coaching:

• Strength Training Anatomy
• Becoming a Supple Leopard
• Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy 
• How to Eat, Move and be Healthy
• The MAX Muscle Plan 

Business:

• Good to Great 
• How To Win Friends & Influence People 
• Start With Why
• The E-Myth
• Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook

Self Development:

• Think & Grow Rich
• Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential 
• The Alchemist 

Autobiographies:

• Steve Jobs
• Richard Branson 
• Jeff Bezos

Thought Provoking:

• Social Intelligence
• It’s Not About The Shark  
• The Art of Thinking Clearly 

I hope you enjoyed this post, did you find this article helpful? yay or nay! Please let me know your feedback by commenting below & of course feel free to ask any questions and I promise to get back to you.

 Nick