The key to standing out as a personal trainer
The fitness industry can sometimes feel like a very crowded space. Everywhere you look, there’s another trainer with similar offerings to yours. So, how do you differentiate yourself from the competition? You might think it’s about building a slick-looking website, branding yourself so you stand out from other trainers, being a social media dynamo or upskilling in the latest training techniques. While these strategies can be useful, what’s at the core of standing out is actually much simpler, says Enterprise Fitness Founder Mark Ottobre. “The game in my eyes is about impact and adding value to people’s lives, and at the same time walking away with income to better your life as well,” he says. “You’ve got to develop yourself as a coach and become a person of value.”
Establishing your value
According to Ottobre, concentrating on the core service you offer as a personal trainer – that is, being someone who works closely with people, builds relationships and get results – and doing it superbly well, is essential to setting yourself apart. “The way I got my break is that I started getting phenomenal results for clients, going over and above and becoming a master of my craft,” he reflects. “Back when I was a personal trainer, I’d be charging $150-200 an hour and people would wonder why I was so expensive, but then they’d train with me and realise I knew my stuff, which elevated me from selling a service to selling a program and an experience.” Honing your craft means knowing how to properly screen clients, how to create personalised and effective programs, and how to put meal plans together. “You need to understand about supplementation as well or at least be able to have that conversation and navigate your way around it,” he adds.
Remember to walk the floor
For trainers working out of big box gyms, it can be frustrating paying rental money to get access to members, then finding you’re out on your own trying to source leads. However, Ottobre insists that you should never rely on the sales team or your PT manager to give you clients. Instead, it’s about walking the floor, offering useful instructions, being personable and cultivating relationships. “In a large chain gym there might be 3, 5 or even 10,000 members, so a PT can walk the floor and meet 10 new people easily every night of the week, and offer say five intro sessions,” he says. “If you’re good at what you do, you’ll probably convert 50%, so out of 10 people you’ll book five appointments, then you’ve got two or three new clients right there.”
The truth about ‘nicheing’
There’s a lot of buzz around ‘niche marketing’, or zoning in on a small but specific segment of the population. Yes, having a clearly defined niche can help you stand out, however you shouldn’t ever choose a niche simply because you think it will be lucrative or in high demand. “It doesn’t matter how much perceived money or opportunity there is in a specific field, you still need to be dedicated to it and have a passion for what you do and the people that you serve,” says Ottobre. It’s rare that a fitness professional will be able to choose a niche at the beginning of their career. Instead, it tends to be born out of what you love, and what you’re good at. From there, you’ll amass a body of work, testimonials, credibility and authority in the field. In Ottobre’s case, one of his key niches is training female competitors. “When I started out, I thought I’d be prepping young guys because I was a young guy, but I quickly discovered they didn’t have the money or even want the advice,” he says. “I fell into training female competitors because I had a client who began winning lots of titles, which brought me more female competitors who’d book in and get exceptional results, although it was never my intention to be the female prep guy, it just happened that my skill set and training style were suited to that.”
Think solid expertise, not novelty
Studying new training techniques is an excellent investment in yourself and your business. While some trainers will specialise in a modality, then brand themselves accordingly, Ottobre cautions against over-complicating your branding, in an attempt to stand out. “I was part of the biosignature community and observed a lot of trainers labelling themselves as biosignature practitioners and doing away with the term personal trainer,” he reflects. “Yes, those trainers may have done a course and learned some awesome stuff, but clients won’t know what biosignature is; what they want is a knowledgeable personal trainer.” Yes, add to your toolkit with courses, but use them to further your craft as a personal trainer, rather than for ‘novelty factor’.
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