How to make MORE money as a personal trainer | Client Referrals

What if focusing on your current clients could be the key to unlocking a flood of new referrals and boosting your business potential? On today's episode of the Show Up Fitness Podcast, we dive deep into innovative strategies for personal trainers to enhance their referral processes. By drawing inspiration from successful business models like Starbucks and leveraging the SWIFT analysis, we reveal how you can transform your client relationships and foster a growth mindset. We discuss actionable steps such as offering complimentary sessions, providing cash incentives, and organizing workplace wellness seminars to generate more referrals and create a thriving, client-focused training practice.

Listen as we cover the extensive resources and opportunities available in the fitness industry to elevate your career. From over 15 hours of corrective exercise videos by Tony Gentilcore to the rigorous certification programs offered by Show Up Fitness, we highlight how investing in your professional development can lead to higher levels of success. Join us as we share insights on the logistical considerations for independent trainers and the benefits of building strong, referral-generating relationships within a gym environment. Don’t miss out on these game-changing tips to elevate your personal training business and secure a bright future.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the Show Up Fitness Podcast, where great personal trainers are made. We are changing the fitness industry, one qualified trainer at a time, with our in-person and online personal training certification. If you want to become an elite personal trainer, head on over to showupfitnesscom. Also, make sure to check out my book how to Become a Successful Personal Trainer. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review. Have a great day and keep showing up. Howdy y'all. Welcome back to the Show Up Fitness Podcast. Today we're going to help you get referrals Now.

Speaker 1: 0:36

I was consulting with a couple Equinox trainers and they were asking me about how they can optimize the referral process. If you know me and how I teach, I love to go off on tangents, wrap it back around and tie it all together, and so that's what we're going to do today, especially with it being near the end of the month. You know I love my SWIFT analysis. This is goal setting and this is going to play into how you can optimize your referrals. So, swift, what are your strengths, what are your weaknesses? The I's are action-based. What are things that you can innovate, improve, implement? What are your fears and what is your trajectory for the future? Not only a year, five years, 10 years and focusing on that regularly. Also, have some side notes. With the T, you have who's at your table, people who you look up to, people who you consult with to make you a better individual. And then threats. Don't focus too much on the threats and paralyze you, as with the W, which is your weakness. Your weaknesses cannot outweigh your strengths. So if you have three weaknesses, you have to have three strengths. You cannot have five weaknesses and put one strength on there. And so this call today is specific to trainers who have clients and as I talk about in my book how to Become a Successful Personal Trainer, volume 2 will be out at the New Jersey seminar next weekend, the 8th and 9th. We'll be out at the New Jersey seminar next weekend, the 8th and 9th. Really excited to be at Red Bank, new Jersey Never been there. I'll be flying in on Thursday getting some workouts in. Josh, katie and I will be doing the seminar two days. If you're interested, shoot us a DM or an email info at showupfitnesscom. Love to get you into that in person. Help you become a qualified level one personal trainer.

Speaker 1: 2:27

The Swift analysis is super, super important because I review this pretty much every week, monthly, quarterly and I dive into it aggressively and I always ask students and where are they at within the Swift? This trainer was asking me about getting new clients and I said pump the brakes. Why are we concerned about getting new clients when you already have clients? So I'm going to use a Starbucks analogy and relay it back into how to get more clients from your clients. I was getting my coffee this morning. My Venti Black and I was talking with the barista and she was chatty, catty. She's probably been up for seven hours and she's already gone through six shots of espresso. But she was yapping away about what Starbucks is offering in the summer and I did not know I'm sure you did not know that Starbucks just entered the energy drink market.

Speaker 1: 3:18

Trainers suck with business. Sales is so scary. But if you flip that script and you take a growth mindset and everyone who you talk to you relay it back into your business as a medical professional because that's what trainers are you can learn from the way that companies like a Starbucks which has thousands of locations, a billion dollar industry that they are in and they are conquering it. And so imagine if Starbucks got into the energy drinks in that first location they haven't even perfected the coffee and they're having all of these other lines. That would not be extreme focus. They did a great job of creating a coffee line and then they implemented the eyes within the swift what are things that we can innovate, what are things that we can improve, what are things that we can implement now? And so, 20 plus years later, they're now getting into the energy drink market and I find that so fascinating because that's the way that trainers should be thinking. That so fascinating Because that's the way that trainers should be thinking.

Speaker 1: 4:25

Don't think how can I go get more business from other people that are not in front of me New client acquisition? You got to be thinking how can I get more from my clients? So imagine if I was at Starbucks this morning and the management team was back there thinking, hmm, how can we market more to this area to get more business? When I'm waiting there in front of them, they should be asking excuse me, mr Customer, what is it that you like here? What is it you haven't tried here? How about here's a little sample? What do you think? The next order I'm going to give you a discount on it. We would love to get your feedback and if you give us a five-star review or a Yelp rating, we will give you one complimentary drink or snack, whatever it may be. So they're building what's referred to as reputology. They go hand in hand, and so if you have clients and this podcast today is about trainers who have clients you should be focusing on how you can get more from your clients.

Speaker 1: 5:22

Do you think Starbucks loses sleep over offering fucking cake pops? Not at all. They don't have a moral compass. They don't care about the health of their customers. They are offering what the market wants, and if people wanna eat pie and cupcakes for breakfast, they create a great product, so people will purchase it. Now we are in the health space, and so we can offer so much more as trainers and we should be getting compensated for it. So when you deliver on your amazing product, which is you being a great trainer, your clients are going to get results. So now you have to talk about getting new business. A huge mistake I see with trainers is they don't talk about their business enough with their clients.

Speaker 1: 6:10

Carlos, this podcast is for you. Do all of your clients know that your goal is to hit 110 sessions per month? If they do not, that's a missed opportunity. Your clients are your biggest fans. They want to see you succeed. You need to talk about your goals and your aspirations. Would you be mad if a client told you that they're going to open up a new bakery shop? Or if they're going to open up a restaurant or start a new clothing line? You're going to be ecstatic. You're going to want to help them out. What can I do to help? Can you give me some of the products so I can try it out and pass it along, because I want to see you succeed? That is the lens that we are really poor at viewing through other individuals. People in our community want to see us succeed, so you have to let them know what you're doing.

Speaker 1: 6:57

I'm really struggling right now. I was at 90 sessions dip, back down to 75. And in the summer months I take another dip, and so I'd really like to kind of brainstorm on some methodologies that you may have to help me bring in more business. And so you're just having a conversation. You're not saying give me a referral. Using Carlos's scenario, here I'm going to talk about the two techniques that I constantly use and I'm really great at getting referrals. And so by talking about your goals and aspirations. Hell, have a swift analysis with your clients. They're going to see that light in your eye and they're going to help you become more business savvy. So when you have these conversations, more times than not they will make the recommendation that you ultimately wanted, but you could be getting some good pointers from your clients.

Speaker 1: 7:44

We got our first $125,000 investment from a client. I was talking about our SWIFT analysis and how we were seeking investors. The next thing you know, we're sitting down signing documents and now we're a partner. Covid happened and so that ended up not going through, but that opportunity came from having a conversation. So a huge, huge missed opportunity is if your clients do not know what you're striving to do. Now be careful. If you're at a lifetime or an equinox and you say I want to leave here in three months and start my own business and someone overhears that, well now you're up a creek without a paddle and that's not what you want. So be smart of your environment and who you're talking with.

Speaker 1: 8:27

First time client. I'm not talking about my swift analysis and how I want to start charging 30% more. These are loyal clients. They are team Carlos, team Sarah, team. Show up. They want to see you succeed. And so, after that conversation has been planted, those seeds are set in their mind. Then it's time to start getting into the referral process. So what I like to do is get your clients to commit before you ask how do most people ask for a referral? Hey, beth, I was wondering if you know anyone who maybe they want to train with me sometime, and that'd be great. Thanks, as they're leaving the door, could you imagine going to a restaurant and on your way out the door they say oh hey, can you leave us a five-star review? Thanks, bucko, you're not going to do it, you're full. You're out the door.

Speaker 1: 9:14

There needs to be a face-to-face interaction, just like you do during the assessment, just like you do during the assessment. Trainers who kick their client's ass, pat them on the butt and walk them out the door and say, hey, maybe you should train with me are going to close at an extremely low percent. So what you do is you sit down, you smile and you have a conversation. So that's what you do with your clients when it comes to referrals. When they come in, you say James, you've been kicking ass, I'm super proud of you. You've been kicking ass, I'm super proud of you, what have you liked the most about my training? And you get him to start talking about the successes.

Speaker 1: 9:44

Now it's time to lock him into a free personal training session, and I like to offer it for free because I'm going to be asking for business. You could do it at a discount if you wanted to Just be careful where you're at so I could show up. It's fine because we have the ability to toggle the rates At a big box gym, you don't? What I mean by that is maybe you charge 200 per hour and you wanna say do you wanna come in for a discounted session on Friday? It's only gonna be 100 bucks. You could do that, but the way I like to do it is free. For the first one.

Speaker 1: 10:13

Again, this is a client you've been training for a while, loyal client. They believe, they believe in you. So I'm going to say, james, are you going to be around this week? And if he says yes, I'm going to say how would you like to come in on Friday for a free workout? And then he says, yes, I would love that. What time works for you? Four o'clock, chris, great, I'm going to schedule you in. I'm going to let him know. I just scheduled him in.

Speaker 1: 10:35

So what I want to talk about during this free session is how we can drum up more business for me, and I'm really looking to bring on three clients at my new rate, which is 170. Right now, you're getting 130. And this session on Friday is going to be free. So if you want to bring me a cup of coffee, you can. But I want to continue this conversation on if you know anyone who is looking for a great trainer who's experienced the results that you have, and if you give me a referral. What I would love to do is keep you on Fridays at four o'clock for free. So essentially, I'm going to be giving you.

Speaker 1: 11:13

Do the math in your head prior or, if you're good at math, do it on the spot. If you're charging $150 times that by four, that's going to be $600. I'm giving you $600 worth of personal training in exchange for a client. On top of that, whatever package they sign up for, I will give you 25% cash, not a $5 gift card to McDonald's. Pay them in cold, hard cash. People love it. So when they come in, you have a great workout. You show the value. Maybe you give them something new. You take them from a CCA to now. What we have in our level two is the 4CA programming Significantly more challenging. Your client sees the value and they go. Holy crap, chris, that was a hell of a workout.

Speaker 1: 11:51

Now that we've had this conversation, let's go grab a cup of coffee and go through some coworkers or family members that you know who would benefit from my services. See the difference between asking someone if you know anyone who wants to train with me, let me know Passive, they're not going to do that Versus. Let's talk about some coworkers who could benefit from the same results that you are experiencing, whether it be pain highlight pain. Remember when you came in and you had knee pain. Now you don't. Let's think about some coworkers who may be experiencing some knee pain. Maybe what we can do is schedule a day while I come in and I have a little 15 or 30 minute wellness seminar that I give to your coworkers help them with movement, give them a couple of tips with nutrition, and then, if anyone wants to train with me, that would be an awesome opportunity. What do you think about that, james? And so try to go to their work.

Speaker 1: 12:45

Why aren't we getting involved with our clients in their workspace? Do you really believe that the person in front of you doesn't have more opportunities in their workspace? It blows my mind when people say it's so hard to get clients. I just don't know what to do. Have you asked your clients if you can give a free service because you're the best fucking trainer in town to their coworkers? Obviously you're not gonna show up in a dental floss T-shirt talking about fucking shit and ass. No, you have a professional aura. You show up on time, you smile, you're in shape, you look the part, you talk the part. They believe in you and they know that you're going to kick ass. They want you to succeed.

Speaker 1: 13:30

So go to your client's workspace and deliver on something that they need. If it's a bunch of doctors and nurses, come up with a cool mobility flow that you could show them, because they're standing all day, they have tight hips, their calves hurt, their back hurts. Give them some exercises that are nifty. Go over some soft tissue mobilization things that we really dive into in the level two and the seminars get into their infraspinatus, get into their rhomboids. The pec major guys, not the girls get into the calves. Show the value of you. And then they're thinking, wow, I see a bunch of weirdos at the gym rolling around on this cylinder thing and you're taking the time to educate me. And you even talked about the rotator cuff muscles.

Speaker 1: 14:17

You are a different breed of trainer. Are you going to med school? No, I'm a qualified level one trainer. I'm sure you're familiar that most trainers they read a textbook and most quit within the first year. That's why they're called level zero trainers, not I. I went through one of the best internships. I have the best certification. You are in great hands because I have a team of physical therapists and registered dietitians. Now that professional goes. Huh, that is really neat. You are an entrepreneur. I respect you. I would love to come in for a workout. How much do you cost? So you say the first one's going to be discounted. It's normally 100 bucks, but it's going to be 50. I can take the payment upfront right now to schedule you in, and then we can talk about training at that time. That's if you're independent. Now, if you're at Equinox, you just tell them your pricing. I'm a level three trainer. My rates are 150. That's how much it costs.

Speaker 1: 15:10

Got to get a membership as well, Cause then they could be like well, why don't you come to my gym and that's a whole nother conversation, because if you're going to someone's apartment complex you're going to have to really factor in the time travel and all that stuff. Not time travel, like you know, flying through space and shit, but I'm talking about traveling to that location. That usually takes an hour, because you can't train someone from seven to eight and then magically be in their apartment complex by eight. So you train someone from seven to eight, you have to travel there for that nine o'clock. You're done at 10. You have to travel back, so it's a three hour commitment. I personally don't want to get involved with that. I like my sessions in our gym, back to back to back, and it works for me. But you got to do you.

Speaker 1: 15:54

That is technique number one on how to get a referral. You give them a free session, show value, have the conversation of which you planted the seeds earlier and kick ass, try to get into their workspace and that's an amazing opportunity to be in front of a sea of people who are interested. Because a third party hyped you up. It wasn't on an ad, it wasn't through an email. This individual, your client, said my trainer's going to come in and they're a fucking badass. We're going to spend 30 minutes on Friday. You guys got to show up for this. That's the best type of warm handoff. You guys got to show up for this. That's the best type of warm handoff.

Speaker 1: 16:30

Option number two invest into your clients. Give back. I'm not talking about going to McDonald's or Starbucks. I'm a big believer in whining and dining your clients. If your clients don't drink, more power to them. Take them to an appropriate restaurant. That is high end. Take out a credit card. Stop being a fucking frugal trainer. Like everyone is, I can't go to the seminar because it's too expensive. Yet you wasted $3,000 on a level zero certification. That does absolutely nothing for you. You need to invest in you. Continue with level one seminars and hands-on learning and investing into your clients. So take out a credit card, get a thousand dollar line on it, 10,000, whatever works for your FICO score. And then you take your clients to a nice restaurant and you spoil them. You get them a steak. You're not frugal asking for the cheapest glass of wine. You order a bottle if they do drink, and it's mid tier, a hundred bucks. You enjoy a very nice dinner.

Speaker 1: 17:33

I need to preface this by knowing your audience and the people skills. Because if you're a fucking creepy trainer and you're asking your client, they're thinking you're taking them on a date and you just lost them and you're gonna be like thanks, true up, fitness, you just lost me a client. These are the clients who are invested in you. As I mentioned earlier, they believe in you. You've probably been around them outside of the gym space, so don't make it awkward. If you have a client who's married or recently engaged, don't ask them on a date because they're going to think that you're hitting on them. Know your audience, don't be a creep, keep it in your pants. And so now you take that client to a nice restaurant.

Speaker 1: 18:12

So in Santa Monica we go to the Fig. In La Jolla we go to the Valencia Hotel. I know the bartenders because I train them. I say my client's coming in, can you treat us like royalty? And they literally do. They put little reserved tags on the seats, they walk them to their chairs, they talk very highly. Oh, you're working with Chris too. They feel like they're part of a community, almost like they're missing out. They get drinks, you have fun, but you keep it professional and you say you know what, katie, I really brought you here today to celebrate all the great things that you've been doing.

Speaker 1: 18:45

Do you remember when you first started, you were 195 pounds. Now you're at 170? How does that feel? What do you like most about my training? We've been together for six months a year, two years. I would love to continue to improve as a person and a trainer. We've talked before about a swift analysis, so I'm constantly going over my strengths, my weaknesses, business practices that I can implement, improve and innovate, and right now I'm seeking two clients to fill these time slots Monday, wednesday and Friday at 8 am. Tuesday, thursday at 6 am.

Speaker 1: 19:18

Do you think we can brainstorm a little bit on anyone that you know in your circle that could benefit, as you have, from working with me? What are we thinking right now? And it's a conversation. You don't look at them weirdly drinking your pineapple martini and you say do you know anyone that wants to train with me? You're confident, you smile, you have fun, you engage in the night and the experience, and then they're going to go. You know, actually my boss could really benefit from working with you. Maybe next time you do this, you bring the boss. It's a nice warm interaction. You could even bring someone to that happy hour. There are so many creative things you can do to strum up new business. I don't wanna go off on too many more tangents, but in that scenario because I'm wired up for my coffee right now you could easily have a service that you offer to your clients. Let's say you have 10 clients for 300 bucks and what this includes is happy hour once a week at a location and you talk about nutrition and you go over how to order and you educate them because they're business professionals on optimizing their health when they are out.

Speaker 1: 20:27

The thing that really bugs me with trainers today it's like black and white. You have to cook every single meal at home. You have to go keto. You have to do an hour of cardio. You have to adapt to this psychotic lifestyle, which is pristine, sleep eight hours, have your glass of fucking water every 30 minutes and you got to go to bed at this time. You have your morning routine, cold plunge and the client's like that's not realistic, that's not me, and that's why you don't get the buy-in, because you are so unrealistic. They look at you like a weirdo and so you take your clients out and you have a social event. Maybe they bring a coworker and they're paying money for this. You train the bartenders, so then the tab's going to be significantly less than what it normally is. Can't tell you how many times I've gone to the fig and drank $300 plus worth of alcohol and I get an $18 tab. That's what happens when you network with the mavens in your community, and these are things that we're really going to highlight moving forward as I release my book, volume 2, how to Become a Successful Personal Trainer.

Speaker 1: 21:31

We have one goal at Show Up Fitness to create the best personal trainers in the world. We have the best certification. The best gyms in the world recognize that. That's why Lifetime has partnered with us. Out of their mouth, we need more qualified trainers like you. The manager at Lifetime in Sacramento said you're going to change the industry with these seminars. You are changing the landscape. That's what happens when you get involved. You ask great questions. You're always going through a swift analysis. We want to be known as the best, so we Belt buckle trainer are asking you for the help, just like you're asking your clients. Spread the word in your story. Let trainers know you don't have to get a $3,000 bundle with all these level, zero specializations, corrective exercise, precision nutrition.

Speaker 1: 22:23

The industry is a clusterfuck and that's the main premise of my book. I help you navigate it so you can become successful. The more you invest into yourself, the harder the conversations you have with your clients. The more open you are with your business endeavors, your swift, your clients are going to double down on you. I'm doubling down on you because I know you're a great trainer. You're not fucking around in a BOSU ball doing the FMS weird shit on your clients, scaring them. You are a qualified medical professional and the world needs more of you. So let the world know that there is a path for success where you can ask questions to professionals, you can learn about movement, how to regress and progress.

Speaker 1: 23:11

The fear that you're experiencing is normal. Those automatic negative thoughts, those ants that are crawling around in your mind. I'm scared about this interview. I'm not good enough, I'm a fat ass, I'm a loser those are normal thoughts. Your clients experience them too. But when you're in a community and you can talk to people to help calm you down and give you the confidence that you need to get in front of your clientele, who you can help safely, but, most importantly, you can turn your passion for fitness into a career. So hop into your story. Let the world know there is a certification out there that's gonna help trainers become successful.

Speaker 1: 23:49

If you are a trainer already, our level two is gonna be launched June 10th. It's a complete makeover because we did a swift and what we're doing is we're having more live classes. We have advanced programming with Katie. Josh is going to be doing soft tissue mobilizations and corrective exercise, helping your clients get out of pain. Travis is going to be leveling you up with your anatomy, knowing 40 muscles of the lower body, 14 around the knee. I'm going to be helping you with business building your brand. Danny is going to be helping you with social media. Mel or RD is going to help you with nutrition.

Speaker 1: 24:25

We have over 15 hours of corrective exercise videos on demand from Tony Gentilcore. You're going to get to work with physical therapists. A hundred hours are required to get your level two, shadowing a qualified physical therapist. Show up. Fitness has to approve that. If you are listening to this right now, you need to get into that level two. If you are thinking about becoming a trainer, get into the level one. If you have a level zero certification, you can get a refund. Take that money and implement the words that we're talking about in this podcast. I'm really excited about New Jersey. We're going to be in Dallas. We're going to be in New York and Boston, excited about our partnership with Lifetime and excited about the future of successful personal trainers. All begins by having giant biceps and keep showing up.