get to know the client’s specific situation. If you have the knowledge and expertise to help a friend or family member, that’s certainly an opportunity you won’t want to pass up. Be innovative! Create trust by delivering value above and beyond the standard session.
chemistry behind losing a few pounds. What clients want is to see results, and what better way to do it than to take a before and after picture… literally! Take it one step further and let them have pictures of themselves as they perform some of the best, or worst exercises. It’s a great way to improve and it’s an opportunity for you to pro- vide reassurance and encouragement coupled with the traditional quantitative results of a fitness assessment.
4 5
Communicate Personal training is not a one-sided activity. It’s a dialogue between humans who need to understand one another be- fore any positive outcome can be achieved. As such, don’t hesitate to ask for opinion, feedback and yes, criticism. If a client knows that you’re looking to improve your service, just
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be ready to jot everything down, because it’s the best advice you’ll ever get. Let clients spoon-feed you the best way to keep them happy and follow it to the letter: you want nothing more than to be their ideal go-to person for health and fitness. Before you know it, they may just drag their friends and family to you.
Writing TIPS
BY AMANDA VOGEL
Measure and analyze Relax! Most personal trainers don’t want to get bogged down with mathematical formulas any more than clients want to listen to a scientific lecture about the molecular
Add value! Always think about what you can do to deliver value be- yond the limited duration of the session. Look for materi- als, e-mail links, answer questions, and don’t hesitate to
plan with the client, but it’s critical to ensure that it doesn’t incor- porate three common weaknesses I see in many situations: don’t let it be too long, too intense, too diluted. Treat the client’s goals as the scope of a project and address them accordingly. Don’t hesitate to bring in other components if necessary. Nutritional consultants and even workout partners can represent
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the critical elements of an overall strategy that will ultimately see none other than you getting the credit for a successful outcome.
Good business practices shouldn’t be a secret to any personal
trainer, but anything good is always worth revisiting, so be sure to remember this list of seven secrets that should be common knowl- edge. Take them, pin them to your fridge, incorporate them into your business and share them at will. Trust me: your business – small or large – is guaranteed to benefit!
Claudiu Popa, PTS, OAS consults with business owners and assists organiza- tions in building exceptional facilities and programs, enjoys educating clients and working with outstanding professionals. Claudiu is the founder of
WorkoutSmart.ca and can be reached by email at Claudiu@
WorkoutSmart.ca Follow him at www.
Twitter.com/WorkoutSmart
Share the plan When a client is able to articulate personal health and fit- ness goals, it’s your professional duty to create a realistic roadmap to achieving them. It’s important to share that
Not a lot to say about this
Misspelling “a lot” is a mistake people make, well, a lot. There’s no fancy grammar rule to remember except that writing “alot” is not cor- rect. “A lot” is always two words. Two. Never one.
Courtesy of Amanda Vogel, MA Active Voice Writing Service for fitness professionals Receive your copy of Active Voice’s FREE e-book 51 Need-to-Know Writing & Marketing Tips for Fitness Pros at
www.activevoice.ca
MARCH/APRIL 2011 canfitpro 31
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