Operation: Crush January 

By now you have seen the New Years “ resolutioners ” in the gym.

The cardio machines are packed and members are pacing back and forth anxiously waiting.

The 10 and 15 kilo dumbbells are nowhere to be found. Ever!

Your clients are aggravated because they can’t find any equipment to do the workout that you gave to them.

January can be a madhouse.

Well, we all know that it will calm down over the course of the next few weeks. That is why these first few weeks of the year are CRITICAL for you to set up your business for the year.

As a serious and committed personal trainer, the goal is to have long-term clients that will stay with you for years. We need this to add structure to our lives and schedule, have a steady stream of income, and to not lose money by spending our time giving out complimentary consultations and free sessions.

With that being the ultimate goal, if you don’t have that type of clientele yet, January can be the launching pad to get you there!

Hopefully, you rested up over the holidays. A lot of people were out of town and you were probably down on sessions. That is the perfect time to recharge the batteries and start planning for the big year ahead.

We need that time, because coming into January, it’s important to think of this month as the month that helps you set up your business for the rest of the year.

There are 3 times during the year that people exercise the most.

1) January/February , to get rid of the Xmas holiday weight and to make this the year that they finally lose that weight.

2) September the sun is out again after Winter, to get back into a routine and work off any excess weight from the Winter hibernation

3) November to get ready for beach season and fit into those swimsuits again!

These months should be outlined in your yearly business plan as the months that are the most important to your success.

You should have it set in your mind that you need to work extra hard these months.

If taking an extra day off before is needed, do it. You should head into these months hungry and ready to get new clients.

As you aim to get 1-2 new clients every week over the course of January, you should be able to add 10-16 additional sessions per week. This should help you to increase business until the June/July downturn.

This should equate to an extra $600 – $1,000 per week.

The goal is ultimately to have all of your new clients stay with you by focusing on Client Retention Techniques and Getting Results!

You MUST also use these new clients as a way to build on your business. Getting Referrals from new clients and retaining them too, is the only way to break the cycle and elevate yourself into elite personal trainer status.

As April/May comes , you should be looking to add more clients to replace the one’s from January that did not continue on with you and to fill in the additional times to complete your ideal schedule.

Then, as September rolls around , you should have the same mindset that you have in January if you experienced a drop off over the winter. This will keep you busy through the last quarter of the year.

Next year, you should be able to build off of this year. And… so on and so forth.

With all that said, here are a couple of ideas to help you generate business this January

Having a passion and a niche is great. It will keep you loving what you do. BUT, be careful not to miss the boat on what your clients or demographic want.

Believe me, when I was doing loads of PT hours, my speciality was correcting movement pattern distortions. I could easily pick up someone’s irregular movement pattern and want to fix it straight away before I even introduced myself!

The problem with that is I sometimes was too focused on what they needed I didn’t listen to what they wanted .

So, as a result I had to adapt and concede that t he average uneducated person may not understand how correcting their postural dysfunctions will help them lose weight or gain muscle (the reason they came to see me in the first place) .

It is up to you as a trainer to educate health club members and potential clients as to why this is essential to reaching their ideal body composition. If a potential client is lost because they do not understand how your expertise or “niche” may help them, then both parties lose in the situation.

Also, running “ Joe’s Booty Bootcamp ” in a suburban area where the median age is 60 years old may not be a good idea. Just think about your current demographic and if your current image and/or approach is working.

STAND OUT!

See what other personal trainers are doing and think of a different way to approach marketing.

If a co-worker or another PT in your area is offering discounted rates for the new year, don’t try to beat it, try a different approach. Offer value over price.

Make marketing material that clearly outlines all that they will receive by training with you. ( E.G. a free subscription to your newsletter, a comprehensive 8 week program with workouts to take home, recipes etc. )

With all of that said, don’t kick yourself if you are not set up yet for January. We are only 1 week in. But… you better get started now.

Remember, many people try to workout on their own and then come looking for a personal trainer after a few weeks with no results.

In my experience, you’ll get most of your enquiries in February, so best to be ready!