Six Sales Tips For Personal Trainers

By Jim Labadie

Jim Labadie is a fitness entrepreneur, sales expert and speaker. You can download a free copy of his new e-book, 63 Must-Have Sales Tips for Personal Trainers at http://www.ptsalestips.com.
Salesmanship is a critical skill necessary for all fitness professionals to master. Whether you like it or not, much of your livelihood will depend on whether or not you can close the deal. And just like any other skill, you can always improve on your ability to sell.


Here are six sales tips that will improve your salesmanship.

1. Know the difference between a prospect and a client. A prospect is someone who is interested in learning more about you and your services. A client is someone who has made the commitment and hired you to train him or her.

2. It’s never a sale until you have the money in your hand. That is why it is imperative you obtain payment before the meeting has ended. Too many things could happen to make the prospects change their mind if they haven’t committed any money to becoming physically fit. Only when money exchanges hands does the prospect become a client.

3. Set a distinct consultation time when you are trying to sell them your services. In other words, don’t try to “sell on the fly.” If you know it takes you a minimum of 45 minutes to close a sale, then be 100 percent certain before the meeting starts your prospects have allotted that amount of time in their schedule. It’s your job to make sure they know exactly how long the meeting is going to take. Never assume anything. People are extremely busy, and the last thing you want is for your prospect to leave before you have a chance to close your sale.

4. Create a list of questions to ask prospects to determine whether or not they would make a good client. You don’t need to meet with every single prospect who is interested in hiring you. If you don’t feel someone would make a good client and turn into a “walking billboard” for you, then feel free to turn him or her away. Your time is too valuable to spend talking to people who aren’t serious about doing what it takes to achieve their desired results.

5. Find out what your prospects want to achieve and then explain to them how you can help them reach their goals. Never abdicate your expertise by allowing them to pick a training package based on price alone. When you present several options and ask your prospect to choose from them, it is the same thing as saying, “I’m really not an expert, and I don’t know what I’m doing.”

6. If they become paying clients, they should have one last opportunity to back out of the deal before they leave the meeting. Why? Because it allows you to alleviate any of their concerns while you are still face-to-face. You want to be sure your new clients are 100 percent committed to working with you. Otherwise, there is always a chance they will have buyer’s remorse and change their mind. This gives you your best chance of eliminating that possibility.

These tips are easy to follow, will improve your salesmanship considerably and save you enormous amounts of time and effort.