Business or “busy-ness”?

4 hours spent working with clients
1 hour spent on a new client assessment
1 hour spent teaching a group fitness class
2 hours spent on paperwork
1 hour spent on marketing
1 hour managing finances and paying bills
+  1 hour on sales and follow up
Typical Day Personal Trainer

Have you had one too many days like this recently? There is a huge difference between “business” and “busy-ness”. We’ve all been there – it’s that hamster-wheel feeling where every day is so crazy that you barely have time to breathe. When you feel this way, something has to give and it’s usually either your personal wellbeing or the health of your business.

So, which should you sacrifice? Neither.

As trainers, we have options. We teach people everyday how to streamline life’s activities so there is time for the really important stuff – like taking care of your body. Why shouldn’t it be the same with your business?

You don’t have to be crazy busy to be successful. In fact, many of the most successful trainers in our industry got to where they are today by using tools that allow them to run a successful business without all of the “busy-ness”.

If you want a little more downtime and a little more peace of mind, eFit Office can help. We take the busy work out of tracking, creating programs, logging sessions – all of that boring paperwork. That gives you more time for one-on-one client interaction.

Check out eFit Office’s free trial during the month of April and you could win an entire year of free service! That’s right — one lucky person who signs up for a FREE trial during April 2012 will win a one year subscription…FREE!

At eFit Office, we take the busy-ness out of your business. Sign up today.

~ Noell Zwahlen
MS, NASM CPT-CES
Co-Founder, eFit Office

Are You Leaving Your Wallet Open?

Tags

deductions, personal training, taxes

Tax season is upon us. When it comes to your Personal Training business, are you leaving your wallet wide open? There are many potential deductions that you can earn through the things you buy to run your business. Be sure to check with your CPA to find out what deductions your business is eligible for this year.

Some of the most common tax deductions for entrepreneurs are marketing and promotional expenses like websites and advertisements; ongoing educational expenses like magazine subscriptions, books and certification courses; expenses related to buying or repairing equipment; and travel expenses like the gas it takes to get you to and from client sessions. Last, but certainly not least, is technology expenses like computers and software.

Yep, that’s right. Your subscription to the eFit Office software could be tax deductible! After all, it is something that helps you run and manage your business. And right now, we are offering a free trial of the software so you can test drive it and see if it’s for you. Visit www.eFitOffice.com to get started.

~ Noell Zwahlen
MS, NASM CPT-CES
Co-Founder, eFit Office

Win A Free Year of eFit Office

Have you been thinking about signing up for a free trial of eFit Office, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet? BAM! Let’s make it happen!

Register for your free trial by April 30th and your name will go into a drawing to win a FREE 1-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to eFit Office to help you organize and grow your Personal Training business.

With eFit Office you can:

• Manage your clients
• Organize your calendar
• Provide professional assessments
• Track sessions
• Build programs
• Search the exercise database
• Add your own exercises
• and more!

We know that once you try it you’ll never want to be without eFit Office. And when you regsiter for your free trial in April, you could get an entire year of service ($150 value) for FREE! You’re probably wondering how to get started, right?

It’s easy:

– Sign up for your free 30-day trial here: www.efitoffice.com/pricing

– Start using it right away! Meanwhile we’ll register your for our drawing for a free year of service with eFit Office!

~ Noell Zwahlen

MS, NASM CPT-CES
Co-Founder, eFit Office

The “S” Word

Tags

clients, personal training, results, sales

What’s standing between you and the chance to grow your income as a personal trainer? In a word — sales. [GULP!] Yes, I said the dreaded five-letter word. Our sales skills are the major factor holding most of us back from taking on more clients and earning more money.

So, what can we do about it? Know what objections you will run into and be armed and ready to overcome them. Here are few ideas to get you started:

OBJECTION: I am already doing my own thing. I don’t need a personal trainer.

STRATEGY: Everyone wants to know that what they are doing is going to get them results. Ask about the results they have achieved working out on their own. Try “have you met your fitness goal?” It’s a great way to suggest that if they haven’t, hiring you could be just what they need to finally (FINALLY!) get there.

OBJECTION: I am too busy right now to add personal training or fitness to my life.

STRATEGY: For this one you could say: “I would love to show you some things you can do to work fitness into your day. There are so many ways you can incorporate it into the things you’re already doing so that it doesn’t have to be a total time sucker. I offer a free assessment – let me show you.”

OBJECTION: Let me think about it. 

STRATEGY: This one is right up there with “let me ask my husband/wife.” What is there to think about? To overcome this objection, share the story of one of your clients who has had tremendous success. “I have a client who started out working with me reluctantly, but the important thing was she got started. Now it’s been 6 months and she is in the best shape of her life. Her only regret is that she waited so long to get going. Let me show you how we can get results for you too.”

OBJECTION: I don’t have the money right now.

STRATEGY: This is a tough one, but it’s also the most common reason people choose to go it alone and not work with a trainer. The really weird part is that most money objections come before you tell them how much you charge for a session. If you offer a free assessment or a free session, this is a perfect opportunity for the person to get to know you better before committing. And depending on your policies, they may even be able to do one or two sessions at a time without agreeing to a huge package. Don’t’ accept “no” when they don’t know what they are saying “no” to.

So, next time you go into an assessment with a potential client, or you meet someone at a party that could clearly benefit from your help, head off the objections with these strategies. And most importantly, be sure to ask for the sale again after you’ve talked through their objection! Don’t be afraid of the “S” word.

~ Noell Zwahlen
MS, NASM CPT-CES
Co-Founder, eFit Off

Personal Trainers Wear Many Hats

Tags

personal training, referrals, results, tracking, website

Your business success is 100 percent dependent upon your personal training experience, right? Not exactly. There’s more to running a thriving business than training expertise alone.

You may bring potential clients in the door based on the results you’re able to achieve, but you will keep clients over time based on what you do outside of the gym.

As trainers, we wear many different hats. Our clients expect professionalism and experience in more than just our training skills. We have to “wow” them with a whole host of other business management skills too including customer service, sales, marketing, accounting, quality control and more.

So, how do you do it all well? Put a system in place that allows you to promote, sell and track your product easily and efficiently.

Here are a few tips:

• Referrals are the key to your long-term success, so spend some time getting to know your clients and learning how you can customize their experience.
• Happy customers are your best advertising! Ask your clients who’ve had great results to refer you to others. You may think they will do this on their own, and some will, but a simple request will go a long way.
• Remember, sales is not a dirty word. Your clients expect to compensate you for the knowledge and expertise you apply to help them achieve great results. So when it’s time to renew a session package, the “selling” part should be straightforward and natural.

If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution to help you promote your services, sell sessions and track progress of your clients and your business, look no further than eFit Office!

Get your 30-day free trial of eFit Office – or if you’re ready to join today, enter the promo code “50dollarsoff” at checkout to receive 1 year of service for just $100!

~ Noell Zwahlen, MS, NASM CPT-CES
Co-Founder, eFit Office

Referrals: Take It Online

“I have the best trainer! You’ve got to check her out.”

When I overheard a client say this at a recent party I wanted to throw my arms around her! Don’t you just love getting referrals from awesome clients? But it was what she said next that was even better:

“Just Google her name and you’ll find her website. All her services and contact info are there.”

Let’s face it — growing your Personal Training business is all about moments just like this when you get authentic referrals from your most successful clients. When a client achieves great results, they will jump at the chance to tell others about their experience working with you. However, they don’t want to become a health and fitness expert to be able to do so. Having your own website will make it easy for your clients to refer you with confidence.

Having your own website as a Personal Trainer allows you to establish trust with your clients and it gives your business credibility. It also makes it convenient for clients to learn more about you and get a clear description of what you do.

But websites are expensive and you have to be a tech-geek to create one, right? Nope! Not with eFit Office.

With your monthly subscription to eFit Office, you have the opportunity to create a personalized website for your business at no extra cost – and you don’t have to be tech-savvy to do it. In fact, if you can update your Facebook page, you have what it takes to create a website with eFit.

• Free with your eFit Office subscription
• Takes about 10 minutes to set up
• Personalized with your pictures, bio, description of services, and contact information
• Gives you a place to highlight client testimonials
• Connects with your PayPal account so clients can get started right away

So, what are you waiting for? Get started creating your website today.

~ Noell Zwahlen, MS, NASM CPT-CES
Co-Founder, eFit Office

5 Tips for Getting (and Staying) Organized

As a personal trainer, you’ve probably had at least a few people tell you that they envy your job. After all, you only have to work 3-4 hours a day, you make great money and it’s stress free, right?

If only it were that simple. Personal trainers in business for themselves have to be equal parts trainer, business owner, accountant, marketing specialist and collections agent. You work 10-14 hours a day and spend most of your downtime wondering if you could be doing more. If it were as easy as people think it is, everyone would do it.

So, how do you manage it all? You get organized.

Let’s get started:

1. Organize your workspace. It’s time to de-clutter your workspace, whether that’s your desk, your studio, or your car. Yes, this means finally attacking that big stack of client programs, notes and exercise ideas that you’ve been meaning to file.
2. Organize your time. Why have a calendar on your phone, another one on your computer and a paper calendar on your desk if you’re not using them all? Choose one calendar that you can access from anywhere at anytime and update it with all of your upcoming appointments.
3. Organize your client list. Do you find yourself searching for scraps of paper with phone numbers or email addresses all the time? Keeping all of your client contacts in one place makes it easy to access the info you need when you need it.
4. Organize your resources. Where do you keep your assessments, exercises, and programs? Are they strewn about your office or car? Do you file them old-school-style in a filing cabinet? Move it online. This is 2012 after all!
5. Organize your goals. Do you want to make more money this year? Want to help more clients? Knowing what you want to achieve is half the battle. Write down your goals and keep them in a place where you see them often.

This sounds like a lot of work, right? It doesn’t have to be when you have the right tool for the job. Keeping Check out eFit Office for a mobile solution that will help you organize your calendar and client list. eFit Office also offers assessments, an exercise library, and a way to quickly and easily send programs to your clients, making you look like the organized, savvy business owner that you are.  Start your 30-day free trial of eFit Office today!

Spend just one of your working hours today getting organized. I promise you it will be worth your time.

Noell Zwahlen
MS, NASM CPT-CES

Copyright © 2012 eFit Office