Every personal trainer needs to be on Craig Harper’s list.

If you have not heard of him, he is an amazing motivational speaker, media presenter, exercise scientist, author, performance coach and also owns a personal training studio. In his studio he has over 80 000 sessions annually.

So he knows a thing or 2 about how to become successful.

I am also proud to have him in my book (which is now only weeks away of being released).

This was a blog that he recently did.

If you own a personal training business then you definitely need to read this.

Like I always say, there is no quick fix, there is no magic ingredient to fitness business success it is a combination of the following.

Hello. Mr ‘Can of Worms’ here.   Well, it seems that my last two posts may have caused something of a minor ripple in the blogosphere. Or, at the very least, in our humble little community. How boring would it be if we all agreed on everything? On with the show…

Your Best Life

So, what’s standing between you and your best life? Do any of these ring a bell?

1. Inconsistency. It’s hard to succeed if you never finish anything.

2. Lack of clarity. What is success for you? If you can’t define it, you probably won’t create it.

3. Procrastination. Are always ‘about’ to change your life.

4. Who you hang out with. Are you surrounded by people who drag you up or down?

5. Self-limiting beliefs. What do you need to unlearn?

6. Relying on (the emotional state of) motivation. Motivation comes and goes. Success requires you to maintain certain behaviours and commitment even in the absence of motivation.

7. Over-thinking. Analysis paralysis; the modern scourge.

8. Your expectations of others. Expect more from yourself and less from others.

9. Being addicted to comfort. Enjoying comfort: fine. Being addicted to comfort: not fine. Like it or not, pain can be a great teacher.

10. Not acknowledging what ‘is’ (lying to yourself). You can’t address what you won’t acknowledge. Just ask an alcoholic.

11. The need for approval and validation. It’s exhausting and unnecessary. You’re big now.

12. Dormant knowledge and understanding. Having knowledge is not the same as using knowledge. Success lives in the application of the information.

13. Lack of accountability. What’s your accountability system?

14. Asking the wrong questions. Some questions propel us towards action, transformation and solutions. Some reflect our need for attention and sympathy. Better questions produce better results.

15. Attitude. Like many things, a good or bad attitude is optional. You can be the problem person or the solution person.

So instead of trying to find that magic personal training marketing strategy, start with yourself and ask what you can do to become a better person that will lead you to success.

Do yourself a favor and check him out www.craigharper.com.au

To be a successful personal training business you must create some successful habits.

It is not a case of hit and miss, it is about creating small daily disciplines that come a few years down the track equal massive results for both you and your fitness business.

Here are some simple habits that you need to be taking action on:

Habit 1: Always Exceed Expectations

This has nothing to do with your school results or what you were born with. It is a habit that anyone can take start doing today. If you are a personal trainer who charges $50 for a session, then give your clients value for 10x that amount.

The #1 piece of advice that I took away when I did the interviews for my up coming book by a number of people was when you create more value and focus on that and how you can best serve your clients then the money will come.

Habit 2: Be Proactive

If you want to be a successful personal trainer then you have to be proactive and get out there. People who are millionaires make things happen. People who wait for things to happen are what we call reactive.

Great example is the economy at the moment, proactive people will not sit still, they will go and look for opportunity, instead of waiting for opportunity to come to them.

By having this mindset you will put yourself in a position of power and choice, you are in control.

You will be the one who takes the actions that lead to your wealth and success.

Habit 3: Take 100% Responsibility

Successful people understand that they alone create their wealth through strategies and actions. As a result they have the power to change by changing their strategies and actions.

Habit 4: Delayed Gratification

By sacrificing the immediate enjoyment, the rewards in the future will be amazing. Millionaires never take short cuts in business. They always look at again providing that value even if it means earning less at the moment because they know that building their reputation will be worthwhile down the track.

You also have to learn how to invest money rather than spending it. The moment you want to spend, think twice and ask yourself whether that thing you are about to buy will make you money in the future.

Habit 5: Do What You Love

All successful people have 1 thing in common, they love what they do. And because they have such a passion for their work they don’t distinguish work from play.

As a result you you will spend every single day enjoying what you do and be naturally focused, committed and energized.

Habit 6: Acting With Integrity

Integrity is about being honest with others and adhering to high moral standards.

It is also about doing what you say you were going to do.

When you act with integrity your clients, friends and family will place their trust in you.

‘It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think of it like that then you will do things differently’ 

Warren Buffet

Habit 7: Be 100% Committed

Personal trainers who achieve phenomenal success did not just want it, they were 100% committed to achieving it. When you are committed it no longer becomes a want, wish or hope..it becomes a must!

Habit 8: Accept Failure and Turn It Into Success

The truth is everyone fails at one point or another. Millionaires fail more times than anyone else because they take so much more action. Understand that you will make mistakes however it is how you deal with them that determines how far you go.

Habit 9: Respect and Love Money

Only by adopting new beliefs about money can you create your success. Many of us have come from working class families and see parents working hard for money that they subconsciously think that it is the only way to make money.

Your beliefs determine your success.

Frank Kern is an amazing marketing guy who many of you would of heard me speak about the tell you how it is guy previously and how he made a gazillion dollars in 1 day.

He sent out an email a few weeks ago which will help any personal training business.

Let me tell you something about YOU.

YOU can do anything you want. YOU are in control.

YOU can achieve as much success as you want to.

YOU can and will pick yourself up when life knocks you down.

However if you’re looking back on the past year and you’re NOT happy with where you are now, IT WILL NEVER GET BETTER.

Not if you keep doing the same stuff that’s gotten you the results you’re not happy with.

So if this is you then LET ME SHOOT YOU STRAIGHT

You have change what you’re doing.

It’s not working.

If it was, you’d be thrilled with your progress.

But if you’re not, then it’s time to change.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Get absolutely focused on what you really want.

Do this by TURNING OFF THE DAMN COMPUTER and just writing down the answer to this question:

“What do I REALLY want?”

Screw what the emails tell you you SHOULD want.

Screw what your wife, husband, parents, kids, or anyone else WANTS you to want.

This is about YOU.

What do you really want?

Want to sell training plans to cross-dressing MMA competitors?

Great. If that’s your thing, go for it.

Wanna run off and play guitar in coffee shops across South America?

Good. You only live once. Be happy. Play ”Freebird” at least once. For me. Thank you.

Whatever you do, get clear. Otherwise you’re ripe  for falling into someone else’s agenda.

2. Dump The Crap Out Of Your Brain.

You do this by writing down a huge list of EVERYTHING you THINK gotta do to in order to do what you REALLY want.

Just doing that will kind of “clear it from your brain” and free up space in your “mental computer’s” RAM.

3. Decide what’s doable.

You know that big list you just made that’s probably  freaking you out?

Go through it and put star by all the stuff you can actually do.

4. Decide what you can do NOW.

Now. You know all the stuff with stars by it?

The stuff you can actually DO?

Go through all of it and find the stuff you can do in the next 30 days.

Put two stars by those items.

5. Screw the other stuff.

All the other stuff can be dealt with later.

Now – let me address critics in the audience who want to debate whether or not that’s a good strategy.

“Isn’t that procrastination?”

“Isn’t that other stuff important?”

The answer to both questions is …PROBABLY!

But here’s the deal.

You can’t do anything about it right now, and if you worry about it then you’re just taking away focus and energy from the stuff you CAN do.

And that’s not going to get you anywhere.

Also – actually DO the “immediately doable” things for the next 30 days, my experience  tells me that your momentum will be so great you’ll actually be able to easily do a lot of the things from your list you originally thought were impossible for you.

You’ll also have new clarity and will probably find that much of the other stuff on the list isn’t even needed.

6. GET TO WORK.

Listen.

If you get all caught up on the little details, you’ll be in the same place a year from now.

Don’t let that happen.

7. ACCEPT REALITY

You wanna know something?

This is NOT gonna be easy.

Remember how I told you I lost 20 pounds of fat?

Man, that first week in the gym was a NIGHTMARE.

And to make matters worse, my trainer (who is a terrible person) would make me display my physical weakness in front of GIRLS!

So not only was it hard, it was embarassing!

I was failing in public.

But that’s what it took so I did it.

And in the end, it wasn’t so bad.

So if I can muster up the gumption to struggle through my first few pushups  in front of a room full of pretty girls, you can break through you comfort zone too.

I’ll leave you with a quote from the wise men of Kool And The Gang:

“GET DOWN ON IT (If you really want it).”

Competition has never been more fierce.

Clients have never been so well-informed and demanding.

And what worked yesterday just might be obsolete today.

But this time is also a great time, for the astonishing few who are ready to show for it. Leaders are at their absolute best during messy cycles versus during the easy ones. And messy cycles bring with them amazing opportunities.

Here are 50 powerful rules to amp up your game so this business cycle is one of your best business cycles yet.

The 50 New Rules of Work that can be applied to your fitness businesses.

1. You are not just paid to work. You are paid to be uncomfortable – and to pursue projects that scare you.
2. Take care of your relationships and the money will take care of itself.
3. Lead you first. You can’t help others reach for their highest potential until you’re in the process of reaching for yours.
4. To double your income, triple your rate of learning.
5. While victims condemn change, leaders grow inspired by change.
6. Small daily improvements over time create stunning results.
7. Surround yourself with people courageous enough to speak truthfully about what’s best for your organization and the customers you serve.
8. Don’t fall in love with your press releases.
9. Every moment in front of a customer is a moment of truth (to either show you live by the values you profess – or you don’t).
10. Copying what your competition is doing just leads to being second best.
11. Become obsessed with the user experience such that every touchpoint of doing business with you leaves people speechless. No, breathless.
12. If you’re in business, you’re in show business. The moment you get to work, you’re on stage. Give us the performance of your life.
13. Be a Master of Your Craft. And practice + practice + practice.
14. Get fit and look amazing.
15. Read magazines you don’t usually read. Talk to people who you don’t usually speak to. Go to places you don’t commonly visit. Disrupt your thinking so it stays fresh + hungry + brilliant.
16. Remember that what makes a great business – in part – are the seemingly insignificant details. Obsess over them.
17. Good enough just isn’t good enough.
18. Brilliant things happen when you go the extra mile for every single customer.
19. An addiction to distraction is the death of creative production. Enough said.
20. If you’re not failing regularly, you’re definitely not making much progress.
21. Lift your teammates up versus tear your teammates down. Anyone can be a critic. What takes guts is to see the best in people.
22. Remember that a critic is a dreamer gone scared.
23. Leadership’s no longer about position. Now, it’s about passion. And having an impact through the genius-level work that you do.
24. The bigger the dream, the more important the team.
25. If you’re not thinking for yourself, you’re following – not leading.
26. Work hard. But build an exceptional family life. What’s the point of reaching the mountaintop but getting there alone.
27. The job of the leader is to develop more leaders.
28. The antidote to deep change is daily learning. Investing in your professional and personal development is the smartest investment you can make. Period.
29. Smile. It makes a difference.
30. Say “please” and “thank you”. It makes a difference.
31. Shift from doing mindless toil to doing valuable work.
32. Remember that a job is only just a job if all you see it as is a job.
33. Don’t do your best work for the applause it generates but for the personal pride it delivers.
34. The only standard worth reaching for is BIW (Best in World).
35. In the new world of business, everyone works in Human Resources.
36. In the new world of business, everyone’s part of the leadership team.
37. Words can inspire. And words can destroy. Choose yours well.
38. You become your excuses.
39. You’ll get your game-changing ideas away from the office versus in the middle of work. Make time for solitude. Creativity needs the space to present itself.
40. The people who gossip about others when they are not around are the people who will gossip about you when you’re not around.
41. It could take you 30 years to build a great reputation and 30 seconds of bad judgment to lose it.
42. The client is always watching.
43. The way you do one thing defines the way you’ll do everything. Every act matters.
44. To be radically optimistic isn’t soft. It’s hard. Crankiness is easy.
45. People want to be inspired to pursue a vision. It’s your job to give it to them.
46. Every visionary was initially called crazy.
47. The purpose of work is to help people. The other rewards are inevitable by-products of this singular focus.
48. Remember that the things that get scheduled are the things that get done.
49. Keep promises and be impeccable with your word. People buy more than just your products and services. They invest in your credibility.
50. Lead Without a Title.

I get these inspirational tips from Robin Sharma who absolutely nails it when it comes to being successful, all of them can be applied to your personal training business.

Check his website out at www.robinsharma.com.

Thought I would share this quick post before I head to Filex today.

It is commonly believed that if things in your fitness business are really difficult than what you are doing must not be working.

I disagree.

When we first go into business I believe many personal trainers expect their businesses to take off immediately and when they don’t get the results you expect rather quickly then you think that they are a failure.

All of my fitness businesses took a year or two to really take off.

Please do not give up!!!

I’ve seen so many people walk away from fantastic personal training businesses because they didn’t think that they were becoming successful fast enough.

Rome wasn’t built in a day people.

The difference though is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

As long as you believe in yourself and take action every single day then you are on the right track.

Hang in there and keep plugging away.

If you get stuck or overwhelmed with what generates you leads and clients then you need to ask for help.

As you know Facebook is always rolling out changes to keep up with the latest crazes.

Coupon sites like Cudo, Spreets and Deal One have made a huge impact to how people buy.

Now Facebook has integrated this feature into your fan page.

It is still in Beta testing phase howver for some fitness business fan pages it is now available.

This is what it looks like when you go to update your fan page status, if it is not there then check in a couple of days.

Click the offer, Event + tab and it will let you create your offer:

Then just follow the prompts to enter all of your details.

Remember it is like any other fitness marketing material, you need to have a eye catching headline to attract the market you are trying to target.

It will be about testing and measuring what works for your fitness business.

In saying that remember not to bombard your fans constantly with offers.

All you need to do is create an offer for each calender month, for example what has worked well this month for many of my clients is 2 PT’s for $22. At the start of the month you would promote the new offer and then for the rest of the week pop up posts like motivational posters, results that clients have achieved, links to your new blog, video about a question etc.

Post the offer again every 10-15 days. Then one last time about 5-7 days before the end of the month.

Then start the process again.

All of my clients generate new leads from Facebook, the most important aspect is consistency.

Make it a daily discipline to post everyday.

When you do this for a period of time you will notice a huge growth on your likes and interaction.

Let me know how you go and if you haven’t already make sure you pop your details in above to receive these regular updates to grow your personal training business.

Great blog I read the other day by Craig Ballantyne about a interesting conversation on the radio between the co-hosts…

Female Co-Host: Oprah’s in Toronto this week filming her show,but I guess you’re not a big fan?

Male Co-Host: Ugh, Oprah. Can’t stand her. Actually, I guess she’s not so bad now.

Female: Why don’t you mind her now?

Male: Well, I heard she’s struggling…

And that’s the kind of BS that we have to deal with everyday.

THAT is the guy’s reason for not hating her anymore…because she is STRUGGLING.

He then goes onto say how he gets his fair share of hate mail too.

Reminds me of a few weeks ago I received an email about something similar. the person then went on to criticize about my physique?

I had a bit of a chuckle.

Now there is a massive difference between feedback and criticizing.

These insults raise an extremely important point.

As you become more successful in your personal training business someone will try and bring you down.

How you respond to these insults is likely a good indicator of your potential for success.

If you get upset and fire back with an insult of your own, then you will struggle.

But if you accept the insult for what it is, just an ignorant comment.

When it comes to your business always remember this question from the legendary Dan Kennedy:”Where’s the profit in this?”

Trust me, there’s no profit in arguing with someone.

Because those that matter don’t mind and those that don’t matter mind!

You would of heard that it is easier to retain a personal training client than it is to gain one.

The majority of your clients should be coming from referrals.

These 10 commandments are a sure fire way to boost those leads coming in the door.

So what do you actually need to do in your fitness business to do that?

1. Build rapport the #1 thing you need to do with all of your clients so they feel comfortable in opening up to you and sharing the real reasons behind their goals. What is the definition of rapport and what does it mean? It means finding a common ground with that person. Have you ever been to a party and you were having a conversation with someone and it was just chit chat weather conversation? Then all of a sudden you both realised that you went to the same school or have a friend in common…then the conversation just took off, there was laugher and can’t shut each other up?  That is rapport.

2. Know everything about them, you know this information about your friend, so why wouldn’t you know what is important in your clients life? Make sure you ask them questions and actually listen and be interested in the answers.

3. Help them achieve results its simple if they are not seeing results they will leave. Make sure you have a system in place that you monitor their results and celebrate the wins with them.

4. Go above and beyond their expectations there is nothing better than exceeding your clients expectations, it will make their day and they will tell everyone that they come into contact with about their amazing experiences with you.

5. First impressions make a huge difference you only have about 7 seconds to make an impression. Regardless of what anyone says we all make judgements when we meet someone for the first time. Be conscious of how you look, smell, what your personal training studio looks and smells like. Also what words you use and how you first greet your potential client all make a big difference.

6. Undivided attention a client is paying you good money each session to help them reach their goals so it is your duty to ensure that you give them your undivided attention. That means no eating during their session, mobile phone is turned on silent, no replying to txt messages or having a conversation with anther person. Be interested in your clients. Remember actions speak louder than words and your clients pick up on body language very quickly.

7. Stay true to your word if you say you are going to do it then do it. There is nothing worse than you committing to doing something and then not following through…do this a few times and you will gain a reputation. Someone that we know in our personal training studio will phone us and say he is calling in to visit  yet each and every time he says that don’t believe it,  he always rings back up and tells us that he is running behind and won’t make it in today, he will then surface a few days down the track.

8. If you stuff up and make a mistake say so we all make mistakes, it’s called being human. The biggest difference is do you admit the mistake or do you try and cover it up with excuses. People hate that! You will gain much more respect from clients by doing so and apologizing.

9. Gone are the days of being fake…people want you to be true and not have that fake persona. You will develop much more fulfilling relationships with your clients by letting that wall down.

10. Most important have fun – no need to explain that