Wednesday 30 April 2008

American Idol Strategy For Personal Training Success

Yesterday I told you about one of my clients who's a world-famous musician and what he told me about how he and his band 'made it'.

I got some great email comments about that post so I thought I'd tell you about another of my clients (also a celebrity) who beat the odds and and made a career, a life and a ton of money by following her dreams... and taking action on them.

My client went through audition after audition for the UK show 'Pop Idol' which is the sister show to American Idol over there in the states.

Her amazing voice, passion for her music and obvious love of performing quickly won over the judges in the early stages and she eventually made it to the televised stages of the show.

All good so far, right?

Now, if it had come down to passion, performance and skill as a singer alone then she was always the clear choice for the winner's spot as she had those areas down to a tee but there was a fly in the ointment.

Quite a big fly in fact.

You see, the trouble with most of the music and television industry is that they tend to go for a 'certain look' and, well, no two ways about it, my client didn't have that look.

In fact, by her own admission, she was far, far from that look.

She was over 200lbs heavier than that look!

Every week she'd have to read newspapers and trashy magazines putting her down saying "She's got a great voice but no-one who looks like THAT will ever win a show like this!"

Every week she'd take the stage and perform in front of a live audience and a TV viewing audience of MILLIONS who, whilst rooting for her on the one hand, were writing her off on the other with statements like "Well, she's done well to get this far but I can't see her getting any further"

And every week... she proved them all wrong!

Week after week, despite the 'negative support' ("You should be really happy to have got this far, but don't expect more") she was standing on the stage at the end of the show whilst others who, by appearances at least, seemed more likely to win were sent packing.

Come the final, people were still saying "she's good but..." and, despite what she'd already accomplished, were as certain as certain could be that she couldn't possibly win.

They were wrong.

Dead wrong.

Despite everyone telling her to 'be realistic', or 'be happy with with what you've accomplished' or even 'you'll never make it' (and an even more vicious beating up in the national press), this powerful, passionate and purposeful singer went ahead and achieved 'the impossible'.

She won!

Later, when I started working with her for a TV show we were filming together, I had the opportunity to ask her why she thought that she succeeded where everyone thought she would fail.

She told me "My belief in me was stronger than the doubt of others. Besides, most of those who were putting me down never even had the courage to apply for the show, let alone get up there on the stage and show the world what they were capable of. Just by being there I was already a winner..."

Four things stand out to me most.

First, she put herself forward, not for the thing that seemed 'logical', or 'do-able', or 'sensible' but for what she wanted most of all and, because of this, she invoked the power and the passion to accomplish her hearts desire.

Second, she took massive action and got 'into the arena' rather than sitting on the outside 'thinking about it' like most people tend to do. This immediate, massive and persistent commitment to pursuing her dream was a huge part of making it happen.

Third, she believed in herself fiercely. More than this, she refused to accept the judgement of others as to what was possible or not. In doing so, she made what she wanted far more important than what others thought and freed herself from the bonds of others (we could all do with learning this valuable skill).

Fourth, she provided a valuable service to millions of people, not only through the gift of her voice but through the hopes and dreams she rekindled by pursuing and finally winning her prize.

Imagine what would happen if you took and applied these four 'American Idol' steps to your personal training business.

Imagine if you focused on what you most wanted to do as a fitness professional rather than merely what's logical.

Imagine if you took immediate, massive and consistent action to bring that idea to life.

Imagine if you could learn to believe in yourself so much that you pursued your goal regardless of the judgements of others.

Imagine if your dream was based upon providing an amazing service to others and rekindled their hopes and dreams.

Imagine....

To your success!

Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.ning.com

P.S - A big part of winning the game is getting onto the field where the game's being played!

Tuesday 29 April 2008

What's Your Song?

One of my clients is a musician.

A very well known musician.

His face has adorned the cover of practically every popular magazine, his music is known worldwide and the band he's part of is one of the most successful in the world in terms of popularity, longevity and record sales.

He's definitely 'there' as far as realising his boyhood dreams of making it big in the music world, for sure.

Yesterday I was asking him about the success that he and his fellow band-mates had achieved and what, if anything, had been the turning point. That point at which they knew they were going to make it.

His answer was amazingly simple and straightforward.

He said, there hadn't been a 'turning point' as such, there was just a lot of putting one foot in front of the other and taking the steps necessary to reach their goal of stardom.

Sounds a bit vague right?

That's what I thought... at first.

But then I asked, "what were those steps?" and I got the following reply.

1. We knew we wanted to make a difference so we kept that uppermost in our minds at all times... especially when things got tough.

2. We knew we wanted to be more than just another band so we did things differently from the start rather than playing the copycat game. We practically created our own genre of music and that helped us stand out from the crowd.

3. We knew that we were entering perhaps the most competitive industry on the planet and so we'd have to commit to being the very best we could be every time we went onstage or into the recording studio.

4. We knew that the rewards would not be immediate but that if we committed to the other steps, they WOULD come.

5. We KNEW we would make it!

Amazing huh?

I mean, becoming a multi platinum selling band and known around the world has GOT to tougher than making it as a six-figure personal trainer, right?

In fact, considering the attrition rates of rock-star wannabe's, making a measly hundred grand should be one of the simplest things in the world.

Especially if you were paying attention to the marketing lesson that my clients answers provided!

You were paying attention weren't you?

If not, here it is again.

1. Make a difference to the lives of those you're 'performing' for.


Yes, personal training is a performace just as much as playing an instrument or acting onstage. If you know your part well and you're truly committed to serving your 'audience' with the best possible service and results you're capable of, then you're halfway there!

2. Be unique right from the start.


Forget copycatting and trying to be like everyone else. People aren't interested in just another personal trainer, but they could be VERY interested in you... if you make yourself interesting.

Create a Unique Market Identity that differentiates you from everyone else and you're no longer competing with anyone.

3. Commit to being the best that you can be.

Gain the knowledge, skills and abilities to become a true professional in your field. Commit to excellence in all things that you do and ensure that your excellence shines through clear enough that you stand out from others. (Become outstanding!)

4. Be persistent in your actions.

Take consistent and persistent action toward achieving your goals. Even the tiniest step is still a step that will progress you in the direction of your dreams of success. Thinking about what you could do changes nothing.

Do!

5. Have faith and belief in yourself and your dreams of success.

It's been said that faith is the belief in something you cannot prove, yet it has a funny way of delivering proof if you believe for long enough.

Don't just wish, hope and dream of success. KNOW that it's on its way!

If this formula can work to create fame, fortune and world-wide recognition for a musician, just think what it'll do for your PT business!

To your success

Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccess.ning.com

P.S - Everyone has a song inside them. That 'thing' they were put here to do.

Finding the song and singing it with all your might is the true key to lasting success.

What's YOUR song?

Monday 28 April 2008

Why Doing Your Best Isn't Good Enough For Personal Training Success

I get emails every day from personal trainers who tell me they're doing their best yet still not seeing the kind of results they think should be coming.

I'm not surprised.

Despite what you've told, DOING your best is rarely, if ever the key to success in any endeavor, let alone one as competitive as personal training.

Doing your best is a nice thought but it lacks the power to really make a difference in your life.

Why?

Because doing your best is subjective.

It allows us to say in that all too familiar whiney voice "Well, I did my best!" based upon nothing more than how we feel about our efforts on any given day.

Doing your best is "At least I gave it a shot"

It's "At least I tried!"

Nope, DOING your best is nothing more than a vague, meaningless assessment of the effort you put into something.

And because your assessment of DOING your best changes from day to day depending upon how tired, stressed or busy you are, it's a fairly useless tool for using to build a successful personal training business or life.

But BEING your best, well, that's a completely different kettle of fish isn't it?

When you're BEING your best you know it!

You feel good about yourself, your efforts and your work.

You get better results consistently and predicatably.

You demonstrate an excellence in everything you say and do.

You live with power, purpose, passion and promise.

You win in everything you you do!

Think about it; are your prospects more interested in working with someone who promises to DO their best or would they rather work with someone who demonstrates that at all times they're actually BEING the best that they can be?

There's a massive difference.

The rewards are massive too.

Spend the next week BEING the best you can be and see what a difference it makes to your business.

To your BEING successful!

Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.ning.com

If you're looking to BE the best coach you can possibly be and reap the rewards as fast as possible then you really should sign up for my Excellence Module where you'll undergo an amazing 30 day transformation in practically every area of your PT business and indeed, your life!

You won't be alone either.

Pat Rigsby, Scott Tousignant, Nate Green, Josh Henkin, Zach Even-Esh, Troy Anderson and too many other great fitness professionals have all been through the program already and seen their lives and their businesses change massively as a result.

Check out the module at www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/curriculum.asp

...and don't forget to leave a comment and add your web address to claim that all-important back-link to your site : )

Sunday 27 April 2008

Do You DESERVE Success?

Whenever I start coaching a new group of students I always ask that question.

And the answer is pretty much always "Of course! EVERYONE deserves success!"

Interesting.

Even more interesting is when I ask 'Do you know what 'deserve' actually means?'. It's at this point that people start to 'um' and 'aah' and guess at the meaning of the word.

It's clear that most people have no idea about what 'deserve' actually means and so, that being the case, I can't help but wonder how they KNOW that they deserve success. After all, if you don't know the definition of a word, how can you know if it applies to you?

Let me put you out of your misery.

DESERVE comes from the latin word roots 'De' meaning 'of' or 'from' and 'servir' meaning 'service'.

So DESERVE literally means 'from service'.

That changes things a bit doesn't it?

It takes deserving from being a subjective feeling about what you should be getting to an objective assessment about what you're giving.

Not getting what you want from from your business at the moment? Give more service and it'll come.

Not getting what you want from your relationships? Give more service there too.

Not getting enough from life in general?... you know what to do!

Looking at what you're getting from life from the perspective of the service you're giving to others changes everything.

EVERYTHING!

If you don't feel like you're getting what you deserve then you're simply not giving enough service to others.

No if's, no but's.

This is an immutable law of success.

Want more?

Give more.

Period!

Don't think "What's the least I can do here to get a result?" Think, "What's the BEST I can give?"

Better pictures in your ebook?

Better sound on your audios?

Better handouts and Pdf's for your clients?

Better programs?

Better results?

Yes please!

Give better service and then, when you think you can't give any more, find another way to 'squeeze more in'.

To your deserved success!

Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com

P.S - Check out the Excellence Module of the PTSA diploma if you're serious about getting what you deserve. This one module has been responsible for more income increases than anything else I've ever put together.

www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/curriculmum.asp

Thursday 24 April 2008

Stop 'Selling' Your PT Business and Start 'Teaching' Instead!



It's funny.

Whenever you read the website, marketing or advertising materials of most personal trainers, you get the feeling that they're speaking to people who know everything there is to know about health.

That they understand the importance of good nutrition.


That they realise that good hydration is imperative.

That they understand the need for short, intense periods of resistance training.

That they know that they should be getting to bed earlier.

Yet the truth of the matter is that most people don't know this at all. They don't have a clue about any of it, and even if they claim to, most of 'em are just plain wrong!

And the reason is, they've never truly been taught.

Oh sure, they've read a few articles, the odd book and even watched a show or two about health and fitness but, in truth, they know zip about getting into great shape.

After all, if they DID then they'd BE in great shape wouldn't they?

So here's a thought that you might want to try on for size....

How about, instead of assuming that people know about exercise, nutrition, motivation and lifestyle, you assume that they don't?

How about if, from this point on, all of your marketing materials were created in six-year-old simple language that absolutely anybody could understand?

How about if, from this point on you make it YOUR responsibility to teach your prospects absolutely everything you want them to know about working with you and your company rather than leaving them to guess or 'fill in the blanks' on their own?

The thing is, everybody has to start somewhere.

EVERYONE has to be taught even those things that seem ridiculously easy to us once we acquire knowledge or experience. Take for example the photo above showing a 1931 picture of school children being taught how to use the telephone (yes, it was a real class!).

Seems too silly for words to someone who knows how but in 1931 not everyone had a telephone or even knew someone who had one, therefore the skill needed to be taught.

(If you've got young kids, no doubt you've taught them how to dial emergency services from your phone at home too, right?)

The point is, until you're taught (and taught properly) EVERYTHING is more difficult, everything is more confusing and everything takes longer than it should.

Fitness, fatloss and health are no different.

And nor is marketing.

Change your marketing practices from 'selling' to 'teaching' and you'll see just how much more powerful and impactful you are in attracting clients to your personal training business.

You'll be stunned!

Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.ning.com
(Join The Personal Trainer Success Community)

P.S - Wasn't it the teaching aspect of being a personal trainer that you loved most when you first got into this industry? : )

Are You Pushing The Button For Success In YOUR Personal Training Business?

If there's one thing I've noticed about the top guys and girls in
this wonderful industry of ours it's that they rarely, if ever, are
out of sight for very long.

It seems that barely a day goes by when I don't receive an email
from Pat Rigsby, Ryan Lee, Craig Ballantyne or Jim Labadie with
yet another tidbit of wonderful information that I can use to
accelerate one or more areas of my business.

Likewise, many other seriously successful internet marketing stars
fill my inbox on an almost daily basis with message after message
about how to achieve greater online success.

Seth Godin, Yanik Silver, Armand Morin, David Frey, Rich Schefren,
Dan Kennedy, Jay Conrad Levinson.

They all do.

They all engage in a process that I call 'pushing the button'.

And for very good reason.

Because it's PROVEN to be the most powerful income generation method there is!

Now, when I say 'push the button', what I'm really talking about is taking action to make contact with your subscribers and ustomers on a daily basis.

Maybe it's a blog post like this one, maybe it's uploading another youtube video like those below or maybe it's answering a few questions over on your community site like my new www.personaltrainersuccess.ning.com or maybe it's all three, but whatever route you take, it involves reminding your readers about why they chose to sign up in the first place.

(Hopefully, because they saw you as a great resource for health and fitness information, right?)

Now, as obvious as the 'push the button' strategy may seem at first, it's clear that most personal trainers still aren't pushing the button nearly enough to create the kind of impact they could be.

Heck, until about 6 months ago, I wasn't doing it nearly enough and I was doing far more than most people reading this post today!

I used to think "You can't be posting to people more than once a week, you'll annoy them and they'll unsubscribe" and because of this, I severely restricted the amount of income I was able to make online.

I even started to listen to some of the unsubscribe comments from my mailing list from people who said that once a week was too much and contemplated reducing my mails to once or twice a month. (I realise now that that would have been business suicide, but I was so close to doing it).

But I didn't.

I watched what the other 'serious players' both within the industry and outside of it were doing and realised that their success wasn't just related to the number of times they pushed the button. It was because of it!

Every time they pushed the button they reminded people about how good they were at what they did.

Every time they pushed the button they demonstrated their expertise and mastery of their subject areas.

Every time they pushed the button they strengthened relationships with their readers.

Every time they pushed the button they strengthed the 'law of reciprocation' with their readers.

Every time they pushed the button they gave their readers another chance to say 'YES!'

Every time they pushed the button THEY MADE SALES!

Now think about it, even if you only ever make one sale from every time you push the button then that's still going to be 5-7 sales a week isn't it?

Would you rather make 365 sales of your ebook a year or 52?

Let's just do the math shall we?

1 email a week selling 1 $29.99 ebook equals $1559.48
7 emails a week selling the same ebookk $10,946.35!

If that's not good reason to push the button, I don't know what is!

"But what about unsubscribes?" I hear you ask "Won't I shrink my list?"

The short answer is 'yes' you probably will end up shrinking your list, but think about it; if those people unsubscribe then they simply don't value what you're sharing ANYWAY. That being the case, they'll never buy your product or service will they?

On the flip-side however, those that are receiving top-notch information from you on a more regular basis will fall in love with you and your message.

They'll become raving fans because of how much you've helped them.

And yes, even though it may take some time, they WILL buy from you eventually.

But you've gotta get committed to pushing the button.

In fact, I guarantee that if you make it your business to push the button every day for the next 30 days that you'll see an amazing increase in the traffic to your sites, the calls to your studios and the sales of your e-products.

Give it a go for just 30 days.

Every night before you go to bed ask yourself "Did I push the button today?" and if not, take action there and then before your head hits the pillow.

Amazing things will happen.

(Don't forget to write in and tell me how it works for you!)

To your success

Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com

P.S - Pushing the button doesn't mean daily bombardments about your latest product, service or affiliate promotion. It means giving your readers great information as often as possible so that they WANT to buy rather you having to SELL.

By all means, add a sprinkling of promo's into your push the button strategy but don't kill your list by making every post an advertisement...


P.P.S - Have you joined the new community I've set up for you yet?

Pop on over to www.personaltrainersuccess.ning.com where you can learn more push the button techniques for free!

Wednesday 23 April 2008

Who Else Wants To Learn The 'Rayavadee Rule'?

I just came back from the amazing Rayavadee resort in Krabi, Thailand where my wife and I were celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary without the kids (a lovely, romantic break!).

Anyway, while I was there I noticed something about the hotel that I thought would really benefit my readers and their PT businesses.

The 'thing' I spotted enabled the rayavadee to ask for (and get!) $1000 a night plus for their rooms and, if incorporated into your PT business will allow you to ask for and get much, MUCH higher fees than you currently command.

Watch the video to find out what this 'thing' is...



...Simple huh?

Yet so amazingly underutilised by most personal trainers that they'll rarely, if ever, manage to break away from the 'average' career path and earning potential that most of the industry are stuck in.

On the other hand, apply the 'Rayavadee Rule' and you'll see your income increase almost immediately.

It did for me!

When I first applied this rule to my own business I quickly quadrupled my income (in fact it's now 30 times what it was before I applied the rule), opened my own studios and got more press coverage than most PT's will see in years.

Imagine what it could do for you!

Give it a go today and find out for yourself.

Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccess.ning.com

P.S - If you want a little help in the Excellence Department then you should check out my 30 day Excellence Module at www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/curriculum.asp. In just 30 days you'll experience a change in your business and your income that will astound you!

Tuesday 22 April 2008

Do This One Thing And See Your Business Change Almost Immediately

What one thing can you do that'll have the biggest impact upon your business?

Watch this short video and find out for yourself... then do something about it! : )



Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com

P.S - Have you joined the new Personal Trainer Success Community Yet? It's FREE and it's at www.personaltrainersuccess.ning.com so get on over there!

Thursday 10 April 2008

Seriously Sexy Personal Trainer Traffic Generation Tip #6

Here's another of the 'seriously sexy' series of traffic generation tips for Personal Trainers.

It seems that this series is really making an impact with you all as I'm receiving a lot of mail every day telling me how you've 'miraculously' gained more traffic, more sales and yes, better Google ranking from the free tips I've been sharing.

That's great!

I'm so pleased for you : )

Today's tip will take that even further by giving you a fantastic FREE resource that you can use to turn your readers into zealots for your business.

Seriously, this one tactic will not only make you a superstart in the eyes of your list but also generate plenty of moolah too (been reading too many of Jim Labadie's excellent mails lately : )

What is it?

Well, it's the simple, well known yet massively under-used practice of using social media platforms.

Not sure what social media is?

Well, it's basically user generated web content.

Facebook, Youtube, MySPACE are all examples of socail media.

Now, before you back-click and dismiss socail media as a waste of time, let me put you staright on something.

It IS a waste of time the way most people use it.

You know, it's used for general chit-chat, sharing pictures and goofing off.

I don't know about you but I'm much too busy to wast my time, energy and passion on anything that's not contributing to the bottom line of my business so from this perspective these sites are a major time-leech.

However, what if you could gather together a cluster of people, form them into a community and 'feed' them with your philosophy of exercise and nutrition, give them support, create a sense of loyalty to you and the rest of the group and then, without ever having to sell, tell them about great products and services that will benefit them?

Do you think this would be of benefit to you and your business?

Do you think that by gathering all of your readers together in one place and turning them into raving fans and 'born again' fanatics for you and your systems you might stand a better chance of becoming successful in your niche?

If you answered 'yes' then congratulations, your thinking is spot on. (If you're thinking otherwise, then your marketing needs some serious rethinking!)

Just take a look at Holly Rigsby's Fit Yummy Mummy community at http://www.clubfym.com for a perfect example of how these communities work.

Holly's done a fantastic job of winning the 'hearts and minds' of her niche market who trust her implicity. No, more than this, they LOVE her!

Because of this, practically anything she recommends makes sales instantly.

(Of course, she's extremely careful not to abuse this and only recommends things that will genuinely benefit her community)

My own Elimination diet and Magic Hundred communities are in their infancy but already each have close to 200 members who love the programs and share support to each other.

Naturally, whenever I bring out a complimentary product (or come across someone else's) these people are the first to buy... because they love my products and can see that I genuinely care for their success.

I demonstrate this by logging in daily, answering questions, giving support and solving problems...all without payment (these are not membership sites).

The great thing about these sites is that you can import youtubes, blog posts, pictures, affiliate links (don't add these until you're trusted) and even audios into them and make your community a 'one stop shop' for anyone seeking help with the soltion you provide through your products and services.

The sites I used can be found at www.ning.com and, as I said, they're entirely free.

You should DEFINITELY get on over and set one up for yourself today and send your list an email inviting them over.

You'll be STUNNED at the impact having your own community will have on your business.

Go on, try now!

To your conyinued succes

Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com

P.S - I've literally just set up a community especially for YOU : )

It's a place for SERIOUS personal trainers to go and share ideas and learn more about how to become truly successful in this industry.

If that sounds like you, then get on over and see if you can become the first member : )

www.personaltrainersuccess.ning.com


P.P.S - Let me know how you've been getting on with your 'seriously sexy' strategies on your own site. Post a comment and tell me what you've accomplished so far : )

Tuesday 1 April 2008

Seriously Sexy Personal Trainer Traffic Generation Tip #4

I've been getting some great feedback about the tips I've been sharing here on the blog (but not enough comments here on the site!) : ) and the pretty rapid results that people have been getting from them.

It seems (as I always thought) that the simplest ideas are the best.

Well, today I'm going to share another really simple to execute yet very powerful traffic generation tip that'll increase your findability in the internet and contribute to even more traffic.

Oh yes, and it's free!

What is it?

It's using online classified advertising.

No, I don't mean posting one pokey little ad once in a while, I mean committing to posting target, lead generating ads to very specific web pages upon your sites or blogs.

How does it work?

Very simply.

First, create 5 or 6 different classified ads with great headlines that are relevent to your offering and, of course, keyword rich.

For example, you might say "The fastest fat loss program in [yourtown] or your money back!" or "Top [yourtown] fitness expert reveals the truth about fat loss in special free report"

Then go on to explain how you work, what the report contains and where they can find out more.

The next, and vitally important step is to send them to a specific landing page on your website that relates to to the ad. This is usually NOT the homepage.

(Ideally, you want them to give your their email address and name so that you can build a relationship with them over time)

Make sure that you use the full http:// before your www. so that you get an active hyperlink to your site. Not only will this make the reader's navigation that much easier but you'll be seeding the internet with valuable backlinks to your site too.

Now, you're probably wondering where you should load these ads right?

Try www.craigslist.org or www.freeads.com for a start. There are many other places online too and a simple Google search will help you find more, but these should be your starting point and main 'seeding' ground for the ads.

The reason is that Craigslist especially is a very heavily used site with great pagerank and a lot of Google attention due to its constantly changing content. By adding content here you get to piggyback their popularity and benefit greatly.

Now the 'magic' part (it's not really magic, just common sense really) :)

Commit to adding 5 ads a day EVERY day.

You don't have to re-write the entire ad.

Use a different headline, switch some sentences around, change a word here and there but commit to 5 ads a day and you'll see not only an increase in your web traffic but also your general google findability too.

This is SERIOUSLY worth it.

5 Ads a day will create 150 new ads for your and your business, 150 new backlinks to your site and literally thousands of new google search returns for you and your products.

This is literally a 10 minute a day strategy but it'll deliver you some amazing results.

Give it a try!

Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com

If you want to learn how to write seriously impactful advertisements to make the most of this strategy then grab a copy of Scientific Advertising For The Fitness Professional today and watch the traffic pour in!