Fitness Marketing Truths... Can You Pass The Test?

Most of the personal trainers and bootcamp instructors that I talk to believe they know a fair bit about marketing.

Tell them about SEO and they say 'Oh yes, I know that'

Tell them about building lists and they're like 'Yup, doing that'

Tell them how to write ads and they respond 'I've been doing that for ages!'

A funny thing though, for all their 'knowingness' around what they should do and how they should do it, most of them still seem to be struggling to earn a decent living from their fitness businesses or, even if they make good money, they only achieve it by giving up huge amounts of their life to do so.

This isn't knowing.

This isn't marketing working.

You can read all the books, attend all the seminars, watch all the videos and sign up for all the masterminds and mentoring programs you want but that doesn't mean you've any savvy around marketing.

Every single mentor program I've run has had AT LEAST one or 2 of these people on it. They 'mmm hmmm' and 'uh huh' in all the right places, tell you that they understand the importance of what you're saying, tell you that they're ALREADY doing that because they read the books before the course and yet they STILL fail to see any appreciable growth.

Why?

Because they're confusing information with knowledge.

Information is just data. It's meaningless in most cases.

Knowlegde is information applied.

If you're not DOING what you've been told works then quite simply, you lack savvy.

As Yoda said 'There is no try, only DO!'

You're either DOING good marketing or you're not. If you're doing it, then it's working to bring you increased income and the lifestyle you want. If you're not well then...

Are YOU as savvy as you think you are?

Ready to find out?

Answer these questions as honestly as you can then check your score at the end.


I know EXACTLY who my target clients are

Do you know their age, profession, educational status, income bracket, marital status, parental status, pain points, pleasure points and more?

Can you name AT LEAST 2 major challenges that they face on a daily basis?

What SPECIFICALLY are they challenged by every day? What 'itching, burning, swelling' are they experiencing in their lives that are making it difficult to achieve their goals?

Do you have a clear solution strategy that demonstrates your value?

A solution strategy is a fully laid out plan of attack that encompasses every single aspect of overcoming your clients greatest challenges. You know these IN ADVANCE.

Do your prospects clearly understand EXACTLY what you can do to help them?

Being 'a trainer' means nothing. You need to postion yourself as a specific solution to a specific problem. Is your solution clear? Can your prospects understand how what you do is different to other trainers?

Do you have several services available, each matched to a niche within your niche?

Having a niche is important but that doesn't mean you should only sell one thing. Do you have 'bolt on' services that make your primary offer better or more complete?

Do you have a 'signature' product or service that is exclusive to your business?

This means NO-ONE else has what you have to offer. It's as uniques as your own signature and stands out from everything else (eg. Afterburn and Turbulence are similar but they are unique too. The products serve as the authors signature products)

Do you have have AT LEAST 1 free product or report that prospects can use to assess your knowledge of the area you work in?

People like to 'try before they buy' and a free report is a perfect way to show that you know your stuff about your area of expertise. This is not just beneficial, it's CRUCIAL in today's market.

Do you have a website that clearly explains my Unique Market Identity?

If I were to land on YOUR website right now, could I easily recognise that what you offer and how you offer it is different to your competitors or would I be hit with the 'me too' factor?


Does your website has a strong WIIFM factor?

Nobody wants personal training or bootcamps. They want the results that those services bring. They're asking 'What's in it for me?' Is your answer clear and unequivocal?

Does your website allow you to follow up with visitors by asking for opt-in ?

Got both an opt in box and a good reason to do so? Does your free report have professionally designed graphics representing it?


Do you have a regular newsletter that is content-rich?

Are you 'pushing the button' on your clients at least twice a week and giving them immediately useable information that they'll value or are you always plugging another affiliate product?

Does your website contain testimonials that serve to demonstrate the quality of your work?

Got testimonials, videos, audios and pictures from raving fans telling the world how good you are?

Does your website gives people a reason to visit more than once?

Does your site have any 'interactive' components that will make me come back or is it 'static' meaning that once viewed I never have to see it again?

Do you write articles that you post on your website at least once a month?

Blogs are great, but are you adding to your site too?

Do you submit articles to suitable link-sites that will enhance your site status on a weekly basis or more?

Are you writing and contributing articles to sites that can provide high value links and traffic back to your own site?

Do you have a clear site optimisation strategy that works?

Are you in the top 3 pages of search engines? If not, the answer is no.

Do you have a pricing strategy that ensures your services are attractive for the clients you serve?

If you're trying to attract bargain hunters is your prce low enough? If you want high end clients, are you expensive enough to be taken seriously? (Hint: most trainers pick their price by their competition NOT by the market they serve)

Do you regularly assess the market to ensure my prices are having the best possible impact

Or are you habitually stuck on the price bracket you're in?

Do you have a clearly understood risk-reversal strategy in place?

Do you make it easy for prospects to do business with you by actively shouting from the rooftops about your guarantee?

Do you regularly ask for (and get) referrals from clients?

Lack of referrals means lack of belief from your existing clients.

Is your client retention is high. Do they stay with you for 18 months or more on average?

Yes, we know that a good coach empowers their clients and that they may leave as a result blah, blah, blah but in truth, clients who love you, what you do and results you get them will stay for longer.

Do you have a brochure and business cards that are professioanlly created?

In the internet age we've been persuaded that many aspects of marketing are now 'old school' and unneccessary. They're not. Offline, people are still looking for that touch of class. Do you have it?

Do you have a uniform which is colour co-ordinated, smart and bearing your company logo ?

Or is it dirty sneakers, and old clipboard and whatever sweatshirt came to hand this morning?

Are you well known within your community as an expert on health and fitness?

Not just to your clients and your mum but to the community at large. Do they even know you exist?

Do you have a system of issuing press releases that gets you into the news AT LEAST 80% of the time?

Are you a regular newsmaker for your region?

Do you regularly give quotes to the media as their chosen expert on your subject?

Are you the 'go to guy/girl' for your expert area or do the press always seem to pass you by for joe trainer at the gym down the street?

Are you asked to present and talk on fitness related subjects AT LEAST 3 times a year ?

Are you getting talking requests for radio, TV or live events that involve you grandstanding your expertise to the public... or is Joe Trainer getting all that action too?

Do you feel that your marketing brings you all the clients you can comfortably handle right now ?

Are you as busy as you'd like to be? Are your employees? Do you have employees to earn you money while you sleep?

Do you have a mentor with industry experience who coaches you to faster results?

Or are you going it alone and making it up as you go, hoping that 'this year will be different'?

Is your business is AT LEAST 50% more profitable than 12 months ago?

Well, is it?



There's a lot more to ask, of course, but these 30 questions are a good place to start the exploration of just how savvy you really are about making a success of your fitness business.

If you answered yes to less than 15 of these (which will be about 80% of trainers reading this) then you really do need to start thinking about taking action right away. Fail to do so and your career in fitness will either be short lived or extremely stressful and unfulfilling... or both!

If you've accomplished 15-20 of these tasks already then you're doing slightly better than your average fitness coach but you still have a long way to go so don't rest on your laurels. Make it a priority to address your weak links right away and you should start seeing a pretty rapid improvement in your business success right away.

If you're at 21-29 then you're above and beyond most of the industry. Congratulations. Keep on doing what you're doing, tweaking, measuring and adding the missing aspects from the list above. Don't drag your feet on this. These few tweaks could quite literally double your profits overnight.

If you're at 30... what are you reading this for? Gimme a call and teach me everything you know : )

To your success!

Dax Moy
Fitness Marketing Made Simple

P.S - Be honest, how did you score? Tell us all and be done with it : )