Tackling the 'Growing Pains' Challenge of Your PT Business

Why You Need to Focus on Continual Growth

Finding new clients is one of the most common ‘growing pains’ for any small business, and this is especially true of the PT industry because it’s so competitive. The businesses that succeed in the fitness industry are the ones that have a solid, foundational business plan and are continually looking for ways to innovate and grow.

Before we get into that however, it's worth noting that winning new clients isn't the only growth strategy you should consider. It's rare that a business doesn’t already have some resources that can help it grow. There's a good chance that you already have opportunities to grow your sales revenue beyond its current levels. That's why you need to review your business and look at what possibilities already exist to help you expand. For instance:

• Can you make more effective use of your client database by establishing regular contact through newsletters?
  
  
• Do you let your clients know about special offers?
  
  
• Have you asked your clients if there's a service they wish you offered?
  
  
• Has your website been optimized to generate more leads?

What it comes down to is paying attention to what your current clients need and giving it to them.

Another way of working with what you have is to update your business model. Sometimes you can discover growth opportunities by changing the way you do business—such as finding new fitness niches to occupy —especially if demand shifts. We've seen that with Covid-19—there's been a big uptake of online personal training and remote workouts with a lot of trainers going virtual. These are proving very popular even as we navigate 'the new normal' generated by the pandemic. It's well worth thinking about what online opportunities you can harness as a means of growing your PT business.

7 Ways to Win More Clients and Grow Your PT business

The success of your personal training business is also dependent on how big a share of the available client base you can capture. Convincing potential clients to choose you over your competitors is about differentiating yourself from the competition, showing what sets you apart, and providing the best experience possible to back up your claims.

Our downloadable guide Growing Your PT Business - 7 Ways to Attract More Clients is aimed at helping you increase your sales and grow your business with 7 tips to set you on the right path

1. Identify your competitive advantage—this is what you do better than anyone else. It’s what sets you apart from your competitors and makes you stand out. The eBook provides guidance on how to identify your competitive edge, build it, and use it to make your business the one clients choose.
   
   
2. Understanding your client profiles—you can’t attract more clients until you know more about them. That’s why it’s so important to develop customer profiles that identify your best types of client.
   
   
3. Leveraging word of mouth referrals—this is one of the simplest, yet most powerful marketing tools at your disposal. What people think of you is critical, because it’s how they’ll describe you to others. People trust what friends and family tell them about a business more than any of your advertising, so it’s essential that you’re providing the best experience and service possible.
   
   
4. Showcasing client testimonials—once you’re sure of happy clients, it’s time to ask them to provide a testimonial for your business; something that you can include in your marketing.
   
   
5. Practise what you preach—position yourself as an expert and proving that you can walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Potential customers must have confidence that you are at the top of your game, at the place they are aspiring to be.
   
   
6. Get comfortable with sharing your knowledge—offering potential customers something of value (in return for their contact details) is a great way to build your client list and grow your authority by simply sharing your advice and expertise.
   
   
7. Measure your success—you won’t know what’s working and what’s not if you’re not measuring your results. Keep track of what methods are the most effective, and use the information to boost your brand.

The eBook also offers a series of ‘Top Tips’ aimed at putting into practise these seven goals. For instance, providing a top level client experience often means harnessing business management technology that will help you to save on admin time so you can focus on growth.

It's easy for PTs to become consumed with the daily demands of their business, i.e. their clients and how they're progressing. However if your business is going to grow and become more profitable, you do need to make time to plan your business around fitness trends, trial key growth strategies and focus on the long-term direction and goals of your business. Continually refer to each of our seven growth tips, and keep on top of each one so that your business doesn't stagnate.

Ready to set your PT business on the path to continual growth? Download the eBook and get your journey started.