When I started my business LEP Fitness (6 years ago now!) I didn’t even consider what type of clients I wanted to work with. 

In fact I was happy to take on anybody and everybody if that meant I could build up my business and have enough money to pay the rent!

I’ve come along way since then and I can tell you one thing for certain…

You need to attract the right type of clients otherwise you’ll end up with…

• plenty of appointment cancellations
• lack of results because of undisciplined clients
• feeling burnt out, tired and overworked – with little to show for your efforts

In this post i’m going to touch upon some very important points that you need to consider in order to attract the right type of clients…

#1 Who Is Your perfect Client? 

The most important thing to consider first off all is…who is your perfect client? what do they look like? How long do they work with you for? what type of job do they have? how old? etc, etc.

By profiling your perfect customer you can start to attract these type of people towards your business.

#2 Language

What type of language do you use on your website? how do you approach people when meeting face-to-face? Are you confident in your own abilities or do you come across slightly desperate, willing to give discounts and take any client on? 

The language you use can really set the tone of your relationship. 

As a personal trainer wanting to grow a successful business and earn a good living you need to be confident and very authoritative. 

I think the perfect balance is somewhere between being approachable and friendly, whilst also at the same time commanding respect, so that your clients listen to you and also respect your service i.e. turning up on time, paying on time, and going away and practicing what you advise them.  

#3 First Impressions Say Alot…

Not always but i’d say 95% of the time first impressions are usually very accurate. 

If somebody cancels their initial consultation with you, then depending on the reason (if it feels valid) then i think you should give them another chance. But if somebody cancels again it could be an early warning sign that they will repeatedly mess you about. 

The more that you tolerate certain behaviours the more likely you are to keep attracting the same results going forward. 

If you give off the impression that it’s ok for a client to cancel 10 minutes before a session, and not be charged for your time, then you are basically saying “it’s ok to treat me this way” – you may as well write DOOR MAT across your forehead lol!

Alongside clients judging you, you’ve also got to judge them based on your initial consultation. Are they going to be a good fit? do you connect with them? can you imagine spending 2-3 hours a week helping them? will they get results and be reliable? 

Go with your gut instinct it’s usually always right!

#4 Standards and Values…

As a coach you should have standards and values that you are not willing to break for the sake of taking on a new client.

For example a couple of years ago I had a client pay me £10,000 upfront for a years worth of personal training. Despite that being a small fortune to me, in the first month the client only turned up to 3 out of 12 appointments! and despite him being happy to pay for the missed sessions, this relationship just wasn’t going to work out. 

Regardless of how much money he paid me, I could not have a client like this, not turning up, not getting results and behaving like an erratic human! So I gave him a full refund. 

The point of me sharing this story is that you’ve got to have moral integrity and know your worth. You’ve also got to be able to communicate this to your clients so that they know ‘what is’ and ‘what isn’t’ acceptable whilst working together. 

You don’t have to be some alpha male, domineering military sergeant, who barks orders and goes around bossing people about! 

You can communicate your values and standards very politely, either face-to-face or in writing i.e. by sending clients a ‘Welcome Pack’ or by having terms and conditions clearly written out.

Regardless of how much money somebody is paying you or who the person is (celebrity, footballer, etc) if you are not happy with how they are treating you/your service you must take the moral high ground and either communicate your feelings to them, or fire them lol!      

#5 Know Your Worth…

How much do you charge per session? Is it a fair reflection of the service you deliver? Is it over priced or underpriced? 

I see a lot of coaches who massively undercharge for their services. When I started LEP Fitness i was charging £7-9 per session! 

I did this to attract more clients, and whilst it worked, i also attracted lots of the wrong type of clients and wasn’t charging enough for my time. It was basically my own confidence issue holding me back. 

It’s important to know your worth and what you value your time at. 

I know it’s difficult to start with, especially when starting your career – it’s natural to start out on a lower wage. But as your confidence and experience grows and also as the demand for your service increases you should charge what you believe you are worth. Whether that’s £40 per hour or £200 per hour (especially in certain areas of London!)

The lower your price the more people you will attract, but they are not always going to be the right kind of people you want to work with. Rather than seeing the short term fix of taking on any old client, instead look at the big picture and wait for the right people to come along. 

#6 Quality over Quantity…

With the rates that I currently charge at LEP Fitness, out of 25-30 enquiries per month, only 3-5 people are happy to pay my personal training rate. But the clients I attract are of great quality, they are happy to pay and are usually very reliable and results driven. Make-sure you provide an excellent service and go for ‘quality’ of clients not quantity. 

Thanks for reading,

Nick 🙂