Hey Fitness Pros.
What are you doing this holiday season to show your clients how much you appreciate them?
Will you host a party or get-together? It can be a big affair or as simple as inviting everyone out for a night of Karaoke. We always like to show an Inspirational Slide Show with photos of all the fun adventures, events and activities we did with clients over the last year. It's a wonderful trip down memory lane and gets them excited for next year! Do something so that your clients really know how much you love and care about them outside of your actual training sessions.
Will you send out Holiday cards? Maybe you order a customized fun holiday card for your clients? Maybe you get crafty and make your own? Or maybe you visit a website like www.jibjab.com and create a FREE fun holiday greeting that you can email your clients. Do something so they know you are thinking about them.
Will you offer your clients a gift? The best kinds of gifts that I like to give clients are ones that remind them of their commitment to their health and fitness. Last year, we gave out water bottles with our logo on it. This year, we're giving them a gift card from our business. You could try a gym bag, a t-shirt, a journal...you don't have to give a gift, but it is a really nice gesture if you can.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I feel very thankful that we all work in such an incredible industry changing people's lives. And I feel very honored to work side by side with all of you on this mission!
Yours in health, fitness and business,
Sherri McMillan
Monday, November 23, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
There is a sense of Urgency!
Hey Fitness Pros.
The year is starting to wind down and I’m hoping and praying that you are using this time to plan for an incredible 2010.
You see for the Fitness Industry, January is 'make or break' time. It's like the bottom of the 9th inning and the bases are loaded. Or it's the NBA Finals, tie score and there's a minute left on the buzzer. Or it's the SuperBowl and it's the 4th down with 5 yards to go to TD.
Okay, enough metaphors - bottom line, January is when people are thinking about getting back in shape. It's just human nature that come the New Year people are motivated to start working out and taking better care of themselves. And successful marketing for any business is being in the 'Client's Mind when the Client is Ready to Buy." And come January, the client is definitely ready to buy!
A good analogy is this - You don't go to a fruit tree and try to pick fruit when the tree is bare. No matter how hard you look, you aren't going to find any fruit. You go to the tree when it is overflowing with fruit and that's when you shake that baby and you harvest an abundance of fruit. In the fitness industry, January is when the tree is full of fruit and it's harvest time. Now of course, our clients aren't fruits and we want to be ready and willing to help them throughout the entire year. But this is the time of year when most people WANT our help!
So what does that mean to all of us?
Here's some tips to consider. Think of this as a Fitness Pep Rally (a 'Win one for the Gipper' speech!)
Start Planning Now! If you are the owner or manager of a fitness facility, January is when you should spend the greatest amount of your yearly marketing dollars. But you’ve got to start planning right now so you can launch big and strong in January. If you wait until January to ask yourself what you’re going to do, it will be too late! Start now to increase your chances of a successful year! You might take out some ads in local newspapers, send out some mailers to clients or past guests, hand out a ton of trial gift certificates, ramp up your social marketing efforts, plan a fitness trade show at your studio, host an educational seminar for the community... Bottom line - you want to ensure that your name and services are in the forefront of people's minds as they’re thinking about taking better care of themselves.
Be at your Best: Well, as a fitness professional, we expect that year-round, right?! But it's even more important in the New Year. You can't afford to be away or sick - your clients and classes need you! So get lots of good sleep, eat well, drink lots of water and take your Airborne or Echinacea if you're feeling run-down. Put your game-face on no matter what is going on - you need to be positive, energetic and customer-service oriented. It's show time! And that goes for your working environment too! Use the holiday down-time to clean up, tidy up, get organized and get your fitness studios looking amazing and ready for the January rush.
Be present: If you can help it, try not to be away over the first few months of the year. One of our friends is a manager at Safeway Grocery store. And for the grocery store industry, one of their make or break times is Thanksgiving through the holidays. She knows to not ask for any extended vacations during that time. In the fitness industry, it's important to be present and at your best in January-March and September-November. The best time to schedule holidays in the fitness industry is June, July & August and December (keep that in mind as you plan your 2010 vacations.)
Be mentally & physically prepared to work hard: In January, you might need to stay late, come in early, work on a weekend. You might be juggling multiple tasks. You might be doing things that aren't part of your normal job responsibilities. You should be prepared to take phone calls, do tours and be really good at this. Be ready to find out what a clients' needs are and to show them how you can help them. Be genuine and honest and highlight how much you will take care of them.
Hone your skills now: When you spend a lot of time and money to get people to check you out, you need to be masters of the phone and tours. What a waste it would be if an individual is motivated to call you or come in to check you out and their first impression is a poor one. Also take this quieter holiday time to learn some new exercises with a cool new tool. Read some educational books. Get certified in a new program that you can launch in January.
Get in people's minds: Now is the perfect time to call or email those clients who haven't been in for a while. It’s an excellent time to ask for referrals and distribute guest passes. As people are thinking about fitness, you want them to think about you!
We hope the coming of the New Year excites you as much as it does us. We love coming into our studios when classes are energized, the private area is full and the studio is just humming. It always makes us feel like we're really doing a good job and are positively impacting our clients' lives. So embrace the busyness and celebrate it.
Now go inspire the world to a fitter life!
With love and thanks,
Sherri McMillan
ps. One guaranteed way to have an incredible 2010 Business Year is to sign up for out Personal Training MasterMind Group. The cost is peanuts compared to the revenues that you will generate following along with our systems. We do $1,000,000 a year in our 5000 square foot facility and so can you! Let us show you how! Email our Fitness Education Director, Kari Schunk, at kari@nwpersonaltraining.com and she'll provide you all the details. Here's to your business success!
The year is starting to wind down and I’m hoping and praying that you are using this time to plan for an incredible 2010.
You see for the Fitness Industry, January is 'make or break' time. It's like the bottom of the 9th inning and the bases are loaded. Or it's the NBA Finals, tie score and there's a minute left on the buzzer. Or it's the SuperBowl and it's the 4th down with 5 yards to go to TD.
Okay, enough metaphors - bottom line, January is when people are thinking about getting back in shape. It's just human nature that come the New Year people are motivated to start working out and taking better care of themselves. And successful marketing for any business is being in the 'Client's Mind when the Client is Ready to Buy." And come January, the client is definitely ready to buy!
A good analogy is this - You don't go to a fruit tree and try to pick fruit when the tree is bare. No matter how hard you look, you aren't going to find any fruit. You go to the tree when it is overflowing with fruit and that's when you shake that baby and you harvest an abundance of fruit. In the fitness industry, January is when the tree is full of fruit and it's harvest time. Now of course, our clients aren't fruits and we want to be ready and willing to help them throughout the entire year. But this is the time of year when most people WANT our help!
So what does that mean to all of us?
Here's some tips to consider. Think of this as a Fitness Pep Rally (a 'Win one for the Gipper' speech!)
Start Planning Now! If you are the owner or manager of a fitness facility, January is when you should spend the greatest amount of your yearly marketing dollars. But you’ve got to start planning right now so you can launch big and strong in January. If you wait until January to ask yourself what you’re going to do, it will be too late! Start now to increase your chances of a successful year! You might take out some ads in local newspapers, send out some mailers to clients or past guests, hand out a ton of trial gift certificates, ramp up your social marketing efforts, plan a fitness trade show at your studio, host an educational seminar for the community... Bottom line - you want to ensure that your name and services are in the forefront of people's minds as they’re thinking about taking better care of themselves.
Be at your Best: Well, as a fitness professional, we expect that year-round, right?! But it's even more important in the New Year. You can't afford to be away or sick - your clients and classes need you! So get lots of good sleep, eat well, drink lots of water and take your Airborne or Echinacea if you're feeling run-down. Put your game-face on no matter what is going on - you need to be positive, energetic and customer-service oriented. It's show time! And that goes for your working environment too! Use the holiday down-time to clean up, tidy up, get organized and get your fitness studios looking amazing and ready for the January rush.
Be present: If you can help it, try not to be away over the first few months of the year. One of our friends is a manager at Safeway Grocery store. And for the grocery store industry, one of their make or break times is Thanksgiving through the holidays. She knows to not ask for any extended vacations during that time. In the fitness industry, it's important to be present and at your best in January-March and September-November. The best time to schedule holidays in the fitness industry is June, July & August and December (keep that in mind as you plan your 2010 vacations.)
Be mentally & physically prepared to work hard: In January, you might need to stay late, come in early, work on a weekend. You might be juggling multiple tasks. You might be doing things that aren't part of your normal job responsibilities. You should be prepared to take phone calls, do tours and be really good at this. Be ready to find out what a clients' needs are and to show them how you can help them. Be genuine and honest and highlight how much you will take care of them.
Hone your skills now: When you spend a lot of time and money to get people to check you out, you need to be masters of the phone and tours. What a waste it would be if an individual is motivated to call you or come in to check you out and their first impression is a poor one. Also take this quieter holiday time to learn some new exercises with a cool new tool. Read some educational books. Get certified in a new program that you can launch in January.
Get in people's minds: Now is the perfect time to call or email those clients who haven't been in for a while. It’s an excellent time to ask for referrals and distribute guest passes. As people are thinking about fitness, you want them to think about you!
We hope the coming of the New Year excites you as much as it does us. We love coming into our studios when classes are energized, the private area is full and the studio is just humming. It always makes us feel like we're really doing a good job and are positively impacting our clients' lives. So embrace the busyness and celebrate it.
Now go inspire the world to a fitter life!
With love and thanks,
Sherri McMillan
ps. One guaranteed way to have an incredible 2010 Business Year is to sign up for out Personal Training MasterMind Group. The cost is peanuts compared to the revenues that you will generate following along with our systems. We do $1,000,000 a year in our 5000 square foot facility and so can you! Let us show you how! Email our Fitness Education Director, Kari Schunk, at kari@nwpersonaltraining.com and she'll provide you all the details. Here's to your business success!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
And the Winner is...
Hey Fitness Pros.
When I was awarded an industry award like IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year or CanFitPro presenter of the year, it was a highlight to my career. It was like the Oscars of the fitness industry. To be recognized for your contributions provides such a strong sense of accomplishment.
Unfortunately, only one person wins these types of awards every year amongst the hundreds of thousands of trainers out there.
So in our business, at our annual Holiday party, we recognize our team with our own in-house award system that the whole team votes on. In addition, I consider client feedback too. So the votes are now in for our business...
And the winner is....
Sorry, if I told you, I'd have to kill you! ;)
We order a nice looking trophy and we have a plaque that we post at the studio.
There is most definitely a sense of pride with winning our NWPT awards and the trophies get displayed proudly.
At our business, we award the following:
*Personal Trainer of the Year
*Most Improved Personal Trainer of the Year
*Group Trainer of the Year
*Customer Service Rep of the Year
I hope this gives you some ideas. If you're a solo trainer, maybe give yourself an award! Hey, you deserve it! ;)
Yours in health, fitness and business,
Sherri McMillan
ps. If you're a strong personal trainer on the floor with world-class practical skills, but lack in the business, marketing, organizational, systematic approach to running your million-dollar training business, you should consider signing up for our Personal Training MasterMind group. Both of our studios do $1,000,000 per year and we can teach you how we do it. Email Kari Schunk our Fitness Director at kari@nwpersonaltraining.com for more details
When I was awarded an industry award like IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year or CanFitPro presenter of the year, it was a highlight to my career. It was like the Oscars of the fitness industry. To be recognized for your contributions provides such a strong sense of accomplishment.
Unfortunately, only one person wins these types of awards every year amongst the hundreds of thousands of trainers out there.
So in our business, at our annual Holiday party, we recognize our team with our own in-house award system that the whole team votes on. In addition, I consider client feedback too. So the votes are now in for our business...
And the winner is....
Sorry, if I told you, I'd have to kill you! ;)
We order a nice looking trophy and we have a plaque that we post at the studio.
There is most definitely a sense of pride with winning our NWPT awards and the trophies get displayed proudly.
At our business, we award the following:
*Personal Trainer of the Year
*Most Improved Personal Trainer of the Year
*Group Trainer of the Year
*Customer Service Rep of the Year
I hope this gives you some ideas. If you're a solo trainer, maybe give yourself an award! Hey, you deserve it! ;)
Yours in health, fitness and business,
Sherri McMillan
ps. If you're a strong personal trainer on the floor with world-class practical skills, but lack in the business, marketing, organizational, systematic approach to running your million-dollar training business, you should consider signing up for our Personal Training MasterMind group. Both of our studios do $1,000,000 per year and we can teach you how we do it. Email Kari Schunk our Fitness Director at kari@nwpersonaltraining.com for more details
Monday, November 16, 2009
Fitness Pros - this is super easy to organize, tons of fun and great marketing!
Hey Fitness Pros.
We just hosted our annual 3 hour Exercise-a-thon yesterday. It was such a blast. Check out the YouTube clip below. You can do something like this in your community too. It is super easy and a great way to give your clients a fabulous workout and help out an important cause.
If you can't see the clip above, go directly to the YouTube Video clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTtbhano3Yw
You can click on our event page below to get ideas on the logistics and more details. When you get to this page, just click on Event Details and use our event as a template to create you own.
http://www.nwpersonaltraining.com/subs/events/event_past_recap.php?event_id=72
Yours in heath, fitness and business,
Sherri McMillan
ps. If you were involved in our Personal Training MasterMind group, you would always have access to everything we do and all the templates to make it super easy for you to duplicate. Contact Kari Schunk, our Fitness Education Director at kari@nwpersonaltraining.com if you're interested.
We just hosted our annual 3 hour Exercise-a-thon yesterday. It was such a blast. Check out the YouTube clip below. You can do something like this in your community too. It is super easy and a great way to give your clients a fabulous workout and help out an important cause.
If you can't see the clip above, go directly to the YouTube Video clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTtbhano3Yw
You can click on our event page below to get ideas on the logistics and more details. When you get to this page, just click on Event Details and use our event as a template to create you own.
http://www.nwpersonaltraining.com/subs/events/event_past_recap.php?event_id=72
Yours in heath, fitness and business,
Sherri McMillan
ps. If you were involved in our Personal Training MasterMind group, you would always have access to everything we do and all the templates to make it super easy for you to duplicate. Contact Kari Schunk, our Fitness Education Director at kari@nwpersonaltraining.com if you're interested.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Highlight the Holiday Season and everyone Wins!
Hey Fitness Pros.
The holidays are just around the corner. My question to you is 'Do you have a plan to encourage clients to focus on the "Gift of Health, Fitness & Vitality"?!
Here's the thing - people are spending money and buying gifts in late November and all through December. So would you rather have clients purchase a gift that will literally change someone's life or let them buy someone a sweater that probably won't fit and their loved one will never wear?!
Here's some ideas for you:
1. Offer a Holiday sale or promotion. All smart businesses do this during the holiday season. You've got to entice your clients and prospects to want to invest in YOUR services. Plus it will get them to prioritize their commitment to their health and fitness NOW and set them up for a healthy and fit 2010 - BEFORE they have spent all their funds.
2. Give clients $25-$50 Gift Cards as a Client Appreciation Gift for the holidays. Again, this will encourage them to use it and therefore, increase the chances that they will continue with you into 2010. Consider giving them two gift cards - one for them to use and one for them to give to a loved one as a Holiday gift.
3. Give all your clients FREE or offer low-price Trial Pass Gift Certificates that they can give to their friends, co-workers, family members or acquaintances like Hair Stylist, Kids' Teachers, Neighbors etc. They make for great stocking stuffers and if they are free and super inexpensive, it's a win:win for everyone. Our Gift Certificates include an Initial Complimentary Training session and 1-2 weeks of Free Group Training sessions. Let your clients spread the word and help you launch into a fabulous January!
4. Display lots of great gift ideas throughout your studio/gyms. Hot items include Heart Rate Monitors, Foam Rollers, Tubing with Protective Coating, Stability Balls etc. You can usually sell quite a bit of product over the holidays and clients like the convenience!
I hope this gives you some ideas and gets the creative juices flowing.
Remember, if you are part of our Personal Training Mastermind Group, you would get access to all of our promotional and marketing templates year-round that you could use for your business. If interested, email our Fitness Education Director at kari@nwpersonaltraining.com and she can give you more details.
Yours in health, fitness and business,
Sherri McMillan
The holidays are just around the corner. My question to you is 'Do you have a plan to encourage clients to focus on the "Gift of Health, Fitness & Vitality"?!
Here's the thing - people are spending money and buying gifts in late November and all through December. So would you rather have clients purchase a gift that will literally change someone's life or let them buy someone a sweater that probably won't fit and their loved one will never wear?!
Here's some ideas for you:
1. Offer a Holiday sale or promotion. All smart businesses do this during the holiday season. You've got to entice your clients and prospects to want to invest in YOUR services. Plus it will get them to prioritize their commitment to their health and fitness NOW and set them up for a healthy and fit 2010 - BEFORE they have spent all their funds.
2. Give clients $25-$50 Gift Cards as a Client Appreciation Gift for the holidays. Again, this will encourage them to use it and therefore, increase the chances that they will continue with you into 2010. Consider giving them two gift cards - one for them to use and one for them to give to a loved one as a Holiday gift.
3. Give all your clients FREE or offer low-price Trial Pass Gift Certificates that they can give to their friends, co-workers, family members or acquaintances like Hair Stylist, Kids' Teachers, Neighbors etc. They make for great stocking stuffers and if they are free and super inexpensive, it's a win:win for everyone. Our Gift Certificates include an Initial Complimentary Training session and 1-2 weeks of Free Group Training sessions. Let your clients spread the word and help you launch into a fabulous January!
4. Display lots of great gift ideas throughout your studio/gyms. Hot items include Heart Rate Monitors, Foam Rollers, Tubing with Protective Coating, Stability Balls etc. You can usually sell quite a bit of product over the holidays and clients like the convenience!
I hope this gives you some ideas and gets the creative juices flowing.
Remember, if you are part of our Personal Training Mastermind Group, you would get access to all of our promotional and marketing templates year-round that you could use for your business. If interested, email our Fitness Education Director at kari@nwpersonaltraining.com and she can give you more details.
Yours in health, fitness and business,
Sherri McMillan
Monday, November 9, 2009
Is it a Crappy day or a Miracle day?
Hey Fitness Pros.
We've all experienced business and life challenges. Maybe revenues are down, maybe you lost your star trainer, maybe your landlord raised the rent, maybe an event you organized wasn't as successful as you hoped, maybe your best client just discontinued training with you...We've all had to deal with some type of struggle.
The question is how do you deal with it? When you are presented with an obstacle - do you let it deflate your enthusiasm, do you lose your momentum or do you decide to go through, around, underneath or over the obstacle?!
I just got finished speaking at the fabulous Vancouver CanFitPro conference. I was able to listen to the keynote presentation with Rod MacDonald and it was great. The message was basically this. You can't control your life. Sometimes things happen that are absolutely outside of your control. But you can control how you react to what happens. You can control the meaning you attach to what has happened. For example, let's say I'm having a really crappy day and I'm really bummed, upset or angry about it. Well what is my crappy day, for someone else, say living in a 3rd world country, my crappy day, may be their Miracle Day. They might look and say 'Wow, how fortunate to have a house over her head and 2 beautiful kids and a career that she loves." So anyways, it's always a really nice reminder. When you're going through stuff, ask yourself is there a different perspective? Can you attach a different meaning to the event? Can you find a gift in any of it?
Yours in health, fitness and business,
Sherri McMillan
We've all experienced business and life challenges. Maybe revenues are down, maybe you lost your star trainer, maybe your landlord raised the rent, maybe an event you organized wasn't as successful as you hoped, maybe your best client just discontinued training with you...We've all had to deal with some type of struggle.
The question is how do you deal with it? When you are presented with an obstacle - do you let it deflate your enthusiasm, do you lose your momentum or do you decide to go through, around, underneath or over the obstacle?!
I just got finished speaking at the fabulous Vancouver CanFitPro conference. I was able to listen to the keynote presentation with Rod MacDonald and it was great. The message was basically this. You can't control your life. Sometimes things happen that are absolutely outside of your control. But you can control how you react to what happens. You can control the meaning you attach to what has happened. For example, let's say I'm having a really crappy day and I'm really bummed, upset or angry about it. Well what is my crappy day, for someone else, say living in a 3rd world country, my crappy day, may be their Miracle Day. They might look and say 'Wow, how fortunate to have a house over her head and 2 beautiful kids and a career that she loves." So anyways, it's always a really nice reminder. When you're going through stuff, ask yourself is there a different perspective? Can you attach a different meaning to the event? Can you find a gift in any of it?
Yours in health, fitness and business,
Sherri McMillan
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