Running a personal training business can be an exciting, rewarding, and empowering journey. Not only do personal trainers help clients reach their personal fitness goals, but they also help them reach new levels of self-confidence. They also can do so while generating revenue in a highly sought-after segment.
While the personal training business is a great one to be in, success in this area is not guaranteed. In fact, 80% of personal trainers are out of the field by their 2nd year. This is surprising since the industry is valued at $9 billion annually.
In order to succeed as a personal trainer, it is important to have clear business goals that will steer your business in the right direction. This goal should help the personal trainer grow themselves and their business. In this article, we’ll look at a number of goals that personal trainers should set for their businesses.
Find Your Niche
A great short-term business goal to start with as a personal trainer is to find your niche. This means that you are narrowing down the area of personal trainer where you want to specialize in. Once you find your niche, it will be easier to find the target market for your fitness business. For personal trainers, this is a crucial first step. People who decide to work with personal trainers want to know that their trainer is an expert in the area they are working in.
The good news is that for a business like personal training, there are numerous fitness niches a trainer can focus on. Also, there are new types of fitness training being created annually as well as new groups of people who are looking for personal trainers.
Here are some examples of niches a trainer may want to focus on:
- Youth Athletic Training: Specializing in training young athletes to improve their sports performance, focusing on age-appropriate strength, endurance, and agility exercises.
- Senior Fitness: Focusing on older adults, emphasizing balance, flexibility, joint health, and strength to improve quality of life and maintain independence.
- Pre/Postnatal Fitness: Workout plans for women during and after pregnancy.
- Rehabilitation and Injury Prevention: Working with clients recovering from injuries or surgeries, focusing on regaining strength, mobility, and function.
- Weight Loss and Body Transformation: Helping clients achieve significant weight loss and body composition changes through personalized exercise and diet plans.
- Endurance Sports Coaching: Training clients for endurance events like marathons, triathlons, or long-distance cycling, focusing on cardiovascular endurance, strength, and specific event training.
- Bodybuilding and Strength Training: Assisting clients in building muscle mass, and strength, and preparing for bodybuilding competitions.
Once you’ve identified your niche, tailor your marketing strategies to reach your target audience. This might involve creating targeted social media content, networking at specific events, or partnering with relevant organizations. Also, trainers will need to customize their training programs to meet the specific needs and goals of your niche market is also vital. We’ll talk about this last point later in this article.
Attract New Clients
Attracting new clients is a critical aspect of growing and sustaining a personal training business. This involves a strategic blend of marketing, networking, and providing exceptional service that encourages word-of-mouth referrals. Firstly, it’s important to have a strong online presence. This includes an engaging, informative website that showcases your services, client testimonials, and success stories. Utilizing social media platforms effectively can also play a crucial role. Regularly posting engaging content such as fitness tips, client transformation videos, and interactive stories can capture the attention of potential clients.
Networking is another key strategy. Establish relationships with local businesses, healthcare providers, and community centers. Participating in local events, health fairs, or fitness expos can also increase your visibility. Offering workshops or free introductory training sessions at these events can give potential clients a taste of your expertise and training style.
Referral programs can be a powerful tool for attracting new clients. Offer incentives to current clients for referring friends or family, such as a free session or discounts on future services. This not only brings in new clients but also strengthens the loyalty of existing ones.
Understanding the demographics of your target market is crucial for effective marketing. Tailor your advertising and promotional efforts to appeal to the specific needs and preferences of your target audience. For example, if your niche is in senior fitness, consider advertising in community centers or local magazines favored by older adults.
While attracting new clients is a good long-term goal for any business, new personal training businesses should also focus on that from the very start.
Retain annual client retention rate of 80-90%
Once personal trainers attract their clients, they need to do what they can to retain them. This is why personal trainers need to make sure that client retention is a top goal for their businesses. While this isn’t easy to do right away, it should be a constant focus.
Personal training studios have an 80% average retention rate, compared to 71% for traditional health clubs. For this reason, it is reasonable to shoot for an 80%-90% retention rate. Since personal trainers often have a stronger relationship and connection than employees of traditional health clubs, it is easier for them to build a bond that allows them to retain clients at a higher percentage.
Trainers who notice a slip in annual retention need to begin to pay attention to the way they relate to their clients. They should also address any issues with the workout program or sessions. If clients do not feel as though they are getting the results they want, they will be likely to find a trainer who can deliver those results. Not only that, clients will also want to work out with a trainer with whom they have a connection. Trainers need to work on interpersonal relationship skills to make sure the latter is not a reason for low retention.
Hit 60% Profit Margins
One of the benefits of a personal training business is the low cost of doing business in most cases. Trainers may opt to work out of a studio. However, they also have the option of going to clients’ homes or conducting classes in public spaces like parks. This is why a good goal for personal trainers is to reach profit margins of 60% or more.
For many trainers, the costs associated with the business are marketing and equipment-related. These costs can be fixed and relatively low compared to other types of fitness businesses. Personal trainers who have their own studio also have options when it comes to keeping costs low.
For example, the studio can be small so that the cost per square footage is kept to a minimum. This allows the trainer to have small classes throughout the week which may make their clients more comfortable. There is also very little need for things like furniture, refreshments (besides water or sports drinks), or additional staff. Keeping these things to a minimum can help costs stay low for the personal trainer studio owner.
Develop and Launch Signature Training Programs
Creating and launching signature training programs is a vital strategy for setting your personal training business apart. Start by identifying unique needs and interests within your client base or community. For instance, you could develop a “12-Week Total Body Transformation” program, targeting individuals looking for a comprehensive lifestyle overhaul. The program could incorporate exercise as well as nutrition and mental wellness. Alternatively, consider specialized programs like “Senior Strength” focusing on age-appropriate fitness for older adults, or “Athlete Advantage” for competitive sports enthusiasts.
The success of these programs hinges on their uniqueness and expertise. Use your knowledge and experience to create programs that offer more than just workouts — including educational components, personalized nutrition plans, and progress-tracking tools.
Promote these programs as exclusive offerings that clients can’t find elsewhere. Host introductory workshops or webinars to showcase the value of these programs. Regularly updating and refining these programs based on client feedback and the latest fitness trends will keep them fresh and in demand.
Establish a Recognizable Brand on Social Media
Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are a fitness entrepreneur‘s best friend. It seems these platforms were designed to help individuals build a business around their brand. That is why establishing a recognizable brand on these platforms is an important goal to have.
Fitness and Gym is the 8th most popular variety of influencers on Instagram. However, health in fitness is often intertwined with lifestyle influencers on the platform. And, it just so happens that the “lifestyle” category on Instagram is by far the most popular. This means that personal trainers need to tap into these platforms to establish their brands.
To effectively establish your brand, set tangible goals such as reaching 10,000 followers on Instagram or attaining a minimum of 1,000 subscribers on a newly created YouTube channel. Achieving these milestones requires a strategic approach. You may want to use the SMART goal setting method in order to reach these tangible goals.
Consistently post high-quality content that resonates with your target audience. Share transformation stories of your clients, workout tips, nutrition advice, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of your training sessions.
Engagement is key. Host live Q&A sessions, create interactive stories, and respond to comments and messages to build a community around your brand. Collaborate with influencers in the fitness and wellness space to expand your reach. Utilize social media advertising to target potential clients based on interests and demographics. Regularly analyze your social media metrics to understand what content performs best and refine your strategy accordingly.
Increase Revenue Streams
Personal trainers should aim to boost your annual revenue by 30%. If the persona training business is a one-person venture, this could be hard to do since trainers typically need to be present to earn. However, increasing revenue streams for personal trainers is easier to do these days.
One way to do this is by introducing additional services or products. Consider online personal training sessions. These sessions can cater to clients who prefer working out from home or living in different geographical locations. Trainers can also live-stream their in-person sessions. The trainer can then make those sessions available to clients who would like to workout remotely or cannot attend in person. The trainer can charge a fee per session or include it in a membership.
Nutritional planning services are another option that can complement training programs. Many people who want to get fit are also interested in improving their diets and nutritional habits. As a trainer, you may be able to be a one-stop-shop for many clients.
Explore the potential of selling branded fitness merchandise like workout gear, resistance bands, or water bottles. This not only provides an additional income stream but also enhances brand visibility. Group training classes, such as boot camps or specialized workshops, can attract different demographics and increase your business’s reach.
It is important to keep track of which revenue streams are most profitable and customer preferences to continuously adapt and grow your business sustainably.
Also read:
10 Powerful Non-Financial Business Goals to Set for Yourself
5 Long-Term Goals for a Fitness Business
How to Succeed as a Fitness Entrepreneur
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