What Do You Want???

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Read this WHOLE Post as the Best
10 responses will get a prize from
me worth $99 (I'm giving you REAL
Products that I actually charge
$99 for......)
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So.

After all this talk of how being transparent about our beliefs, I thought I'd take this 'game' a little further by having you ask yourself a few questions that may just make 2009 and beyond a TOTALLY different experience to the one you've been having up to this point.

It's just a collection of 7 little questions but I assure you, they have the power to literally change EVERYTHING in the days, weeks, months and years ahead.

You ready?

1. What Do You Want In 2009?

What is it that you actually want to happen in the coming year? Be as specific as possible about what you'd LOVE to have happen in the next 12 months of your life.

2. WHY Do You Want Those Things?

What is it about achieving those particular goals that makes them so appealing to you?

3. What are you willing to do differently to achieve them?

What you've been doing so far has gotten you here, to this point. Stands to reason that to move on to the next level you'll have to make changes. What canges do you feel you need to make?

4. What are you willing to give up?

Despite what you've been told, in order to get something you have to give up something. It's about balance. What do you think you might have to give up in order 'make space' for your goals?

5. Who have you shared your dreams with?

Have you announced your dreams to the world? Making goals real involves having the courage of your convictions and not being afraid or ashamed of what you are determined to accomplish. Do others know of your goals? Who?

6. What's the reward for achieving them?

When you finally achieve the goals you've set for yourself, what will be the reward? Sure, the goal is often the reward but in business you may want to double the turnover for example... then what? What will be your SPECIFIC reward for accomplishing what you set out to do?

7. What's the consequence for not achieving your goal?

Most people don't like to talk about consequences because they sound negative, yet there are ALWAYS consequences to every action we take (or don't take!) what will be yours? Will it be that things merely stay the same or will you take a specific action or series of actions as a consequence of not 'getting there'?

This is important stuff.

It's life changing stuff.

As in, it can literally change your life.

That's why I'm awarding the best 10 responses by giving them a very special program that's worth $99 (actually, I CHARGE $99, it's worth a LOT more!).

You've got til midnight Monday!

I can't wait to hear what you've all got to share!

Truth, joy and love

Dax Moy
http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.ning.com

Have Your Say About Guaranteed Personal Training

I just got this excellent email response to my 'Do you have the balls?' post about guaranteeing results from fellow fitness philosopher Christopher Warden and wanted to share it with you all both to demonstrate how to put together a classy and well thought out argument (as Christopher has) and to fill you in on my own beliefs and rationale for taking the viewpoint I have....



"Dear Dax,

Let me preface this first by saying that I appreciate that your writing on PTSA is targeteted to fitness professionals, and so I'm sure this context leads you to write in a different tone, with different points of emphasis, than if you are writing to prospective clients.

You wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about your attempt to transform the fitness industry by challenging the big clubs to offer a "money back guarantee." I think there's an incredibly valid reason for the guarantee: it holds the professional accountable, while encouraging a flood of business because prospective clients feel they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

But don't you think it also puts an emphasis on achieving the end result without justifying the means? And isn't that emphasis (on speedy results/the quick fix) part of the reason that we've got such a problem with obesity/poor health in the first place?

Are guarantees and deadlines important? Absolutely. But the health and well-being of our clients is of utmost priority. . . and offers of quick results may not be reasonable, or even safe -- especially when considering clients with health restrictions or other limitations. I'm sure you agree that there's much more to this profession than guarantees of rapid physical change; not the least of which is teaching that the "quick result" is not always the best, nor is it necessarily long-lasting.

Your challenge to the fitness industry is incredibly admirable. At the very least, it pushes us to be "ballsy enough" to be better for our clients. Guarantees in our business should be a given. I simply think we've got to be careful about the time constraints we put on change, in light of the variety of (unhealthy) clients we work with on a regular basis.

Your thoughts?

All the best to you as you begin your week!

Sincerely,

Christopher Warden "

What great points!

I love it when someone challenges me and my thinking in this way and makes me have to make my position clearer. It's better all round for everyone, right?

So here's my take on this.

But don't you think it also puts an emphasis on achieving the end result without justifying the means? And isn't that emphasis (on speedy results/the quick fix) part of the reason that we've got such a problem with obesity/poor health in the first place?

There are a couple of questions here and more than a few answers to them : )

First, I think that you're right... there is the possibility of focusing on the end result rather than than the means. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, my friend.

I think that many coaches and trainers get far too caught up in their methodology and often forget what the sessions are supposed to be about... providing and end result!

I'm not really certain we have to 'justify' anything, my friend. I think all methodologies have merit, they all work to different degrees and for different timescales on different people and so, naturally, a good coach will find themselves using a vast array.

However, that said, I believe that the methods applied should be based on principles that are unchanging rather than based upon fads or personal preference.

With nutrition, the PRINCIPLE is clean, organic, wholesome foods. The METHODS may include high protein, low protein, high calorie, l9ow calorie etc.

With exercise the PRINCIPLE progressive overload. The methods are straight sets, supersets, EDT, superfast, superslow etc

The coach can and MUST choose the method that based upon kowledge, skills, ability and experience make the most sense to both the goal and the individual in front of them at that moment in time.

And, of course, maintaining the over-riding principle of them all; DO NO HARM.

This means simply that the best coaches will apply the principles and methods to their clients in ways that will dramatically accelerate the expected results AND they they can do so with a high degree of predictability.

Second, no, I don't think that speedy results/quick fix are that much of a factor in the obesity epidemic actually. I agree that they ARE a factor, just not as big as many people would have us believe.

No-one is fat BECAUSE they expect fast results. Once they are fat they may become despondant about their training/nutrition because the results aren't coming fast enough but the causal factors of obesity have little if anything (in my opinion) to do with quick fix mentality and far more to do with a contaminated food chain, hypokinetic lifestyles and an overload of environmental, social and endocrine stressors.

Are guarantees and deadlines important? Absolutely. But the health and well-being of our clients is of utmost priority. . . and offers of quick results may not be reasonable, or even safe -- especially when considering clients with health restrictions or other limitations. I'm sure you agree that there's much more to this profession than guarantees of rapid physical change; not the least of which is teaching that the "quick result" is not always the best, nor is it necessarily long-lasting.

Again, guaranteeing results based upon your experience and expertise puts no-one in danger unless your judgement is completely wrong. In that case it makes sense to improve the overall standard of the profession to the degree that those who cannot predict a result a relegated to positions of lesser reposnsibility and lesser pay... or out of the profession altogether.

A strong stance, I know, but if our years of knowledge, education and experience don't allow us to predict a result in advance then we're simply not good enough at what we do.

Sure, those with specific health restrictions may have different timelines, but we should be able to predict those too... and guarantee them.

As the senior consultant for the UK's very first medical referral scheme I was responsible for taking those with injury, illness, disability and dysfunction through health reintergration programs and managed to get results in every case in timeframes that most people would deem impossible. This included helping long term wheelchair users to be able to walk again.

When I work with these populations now that I'm in private practice, I guarantee my results based upon the findings of my Kinetic Chain Assessment protocols and STILL get the results within the timeframes I promise... and no compromising of safety.

The whole profession should be able to do this and, indeed, my entire staff as well as my peer group within the profession are accomplishing this also.

Why not the rest?

Regarding the comment that quick results don't imply lasting change, I agree with you 100% but they don't imply that they won't last either : )

I know from personal experience that the faster you can show a person an appreciable difference, the more motivated and purposeful they become about both their training and nutrition whereas when improvements seem slow in coming, the predominant thought is 'why did I bother?'

Fast results work in both our and our clients favor and, if used correctly, can serve to bring about lasting change in those we work with.

I think that the biggest thing we need concern ourselves with as an industry and fledgling position is not safety. That should be a given anyway, id you know anything about how the body works at all (I don't 'concern' myself with it because it simply isn't an issue), but rather, how much do the public believe in us and our abilities.

Providing guaranteed results within definite timeframes is a valid positive step in developing that belief and, ultimately, getting the results we're supposed to help people to get.

After all, no-one WANTS a trainer. They WANT the results the trainer is supposed to be able to help them get, right?

Finally, I think that there's a whole scepticism to getting anything quick. You hear people talking negatively about 'get rich quick' schemes all the time. Seems to me that they're saying they'd rather get rich slow... which seems odd to me : )

Get results quick makes great sense both for the client and our own businesses and I for one aim to devote my career to getting better and better at getting the fastest possible results that I an for myself and my clients.

What a great conversation Chris, thanks very much! : )

NOW HAVE YOUR SAY!

I'd love to hear your comments about what's been written here. Please take the time to leave a comment guys... this COULD change the industry!

I mean it! : )

Truth, joy and love

Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com

How To Climb The Search Engines And Get More Leads For Your Business

As you know, I recently conducted a survey of my fitness professional lists and have come up with some pretty interesting data about what the fitness profession wants from its marketing experts.

Click Here To Take The Survey Yourself

Whilst much of it may be as you'd expect, there were quite a few responses that astounded me, especially when it came to what, to me at least, seem to be the basic fundamentals of business and marketing.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking anyone for not knowing this stuff. After all, you either know stuff or you don't, right?, but I'm just so surprised that with all the great information out there already, that trainers still aren't up to speed with the foundation stuff that can make or break a business.

So...

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be outlining some of the baby steps again, as clearly as I can so that you can take them away and implement into your business immediately.

Sound good?

Thought so! : )

So, one of the questions I got A LOT was related to websites.

Basically, trainers are confused about how to get more people visiting their websites in the first place and then converting them either into subscribers or, better yet, customers.

Well, getting them there is pretty easy.

It starts with a sound website strategy that makes sense to both the searcher and the search engine.

Let's look at the main 7 steps:

First, choose a domain name that most closely matches the specific result that people are searching for.

That means, ultimately, that it'll be keyword rich and in tune with your market.

It's no accident that Personal Trainer Success Academy is called what it is; I read forums and blog posts and saw personal trainers asking questions about success.

There are better names I could have chosen too (and I've already bought most of 'em) but personal trainer success academy is pretty decent in terms of keyword density and description.

So is my fat loss website The Look Great Naked Challenge as it both describes clearly what the public want (I read THOUSANDS of posts and blog entries from people saying that they wanted to look great naked) and they're pretty decent as kewords; though admittedly, not as good as something with the words 'fat loss' in the title.

Take a look at YOUR site now.

Are the keywords (including common descriptors) in the title? If they are then good on ya, you're moving in the right direction. If not, then it's not the end of the world, my MAGIC Hundred site doesn't have anything from a decent keyword list in the title and still does pretty good, though www.onehundredgoals.com would probably work better which is why I just bought it : )

Second, make sure your title tag works for you rather than wasting space.

The title tag is the piece of code that that determines what goes into the header bar at the top of the browser you're viewing your web page in.

Most people waste this valuable real estate by simply putting 'Welcome to xyz training website'.

This is blasphemy!

You can MAJORLY impact the search engines by having a great set of title tags that describe in keyword rich terms what people will find on the page.

For instance, on www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com you'll find the header 'Fitness Marketing For Personal Trainers | Seriously Efective Marketing Strategies For Personal Trainers'.

Could I increase the keyword density?

Sure.

But I want the decription to make sense, not just pad it out with keywords.

What does yours say?

If it's being wasted then get to it. It's easy to edit, just find the tag
and insert a descriptive, keyword rich sentence here.

Third, pay attention to your description tags

Most people don't use their description tags at all or, if they do, they tend to write 'home of xyz personal training', again, wasting prime real estate on their site.

Real shame, you see it's these descriptions that you see when you're browsing through the search engines and they attract people further into the site... or not!

Not only this, the keywords add massively to the site keyword density too.

Just use the keyword suggestion tool and type in your primary keyword (fat loss, for example) and you'll recive an bundle of keywords coming back. Use as many of the most relevent and popular keywords within your description as possible.

For example "XYZ training in Tempe, Arizona offer the fastest guaranteed fatloss training system around. Simply commit to our rapid fat loss workouts and you could be burning pound after pound of belly fat in no time at all" That was just off the top of my head but you get the message, right?

Check your site and see if your description is doing any work for you or if it's just wasting space.

Fourth, use all relevent keywords in you keyword meta tags

It never ceases to amaze me when I see that personal trainers and fitness professional have neglected their keword meta tags.

This is like opening a business but without putting out a shopfront sign explaining what you do.

This meta tag is how the search engines initially decide what your site is about and, if you don't use it well, you'll find yourself getting overlooked... exactly as you are now, probably.

Again, use the keyword selection tool and put all relevent keywords into the tag.

You might use fat loss, fatloss (they look the same but they're not) lose fat, belly fat, body fat loss and many, many others. Note: Don't put them ALL as this doesn't help and Google will penalise you.

Check yours today, do you have the right ones in place to make it easy to index you?

Fifth, Use Your Headlines

Not only are good headlines vital to your sales copy, but they play a major role in optimising your site for the search engines too. You see, h tags or header tags search as decription indexes for search engines and so any header tag is working hard for you to tell the web what your page is about (though especially a h1 title).

Make sure your page headline is within a h1 field and that any sub heads fit within a h2 which, again, will seriously increase your chances of getting found.

Sixth, Use Your Images!

Google loves indexing images!

Trouble is, most fitness professionals don't bother to make this easy and leave graphics titled 'man running.gif' or 'woman on scales.jpg' on the site rather than using the 'alt tags' to provide an alternate description of the graphic.

Again, this is wasting so much of your potential findability.

Simply by taking your graphics and making them keyword rich with words like, fat loss, lose fat' etc, you give Google a better picture of what your site is about and make them more likely to point internet searchers in your direction.

You using your images to generate traffic?

Seventh, content is king!

We all know that content is king, or at least, I hope we do, and we should always attempt to put as much content into what we write as possible (like this article) but you can help your articles and your findability MASSIVELY by making use of as many relevent keywords as possible in each and every page of your site.

Talk about what you do in terms of the key search terms rather than in vage and general fitness language.

Check your content to see if you're doing this.

Summary

Getting found on the web is no fluke, it's not luck and it's not haphazard. It's easier than most people think, but few people are doing anything near to what's required to help them climb to the front pages.

Put these seven steps in place, however, and you'll see dramatic improvement almost overnight.

In fact, I'd like you to do something about this right now.

First, go to google and find out the following:

1. What page you show up on for your product or service.
2. How many search returns come back for your product/service.

Post them along with you message about this article : ) in the comments section and then take the action steps I've laid out in this article come back here in 1 week and post 'em again.

In effect, it's your chance to show the world what you've done and how well it works.

You up for it?

Go on, I dare ya! : )

To your success!

Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com


P.S - If you need a hand with writing good web copy then check out http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/scientific-advertising.asp for what is probably the most complete copy writing course available for fitness professionals today.

Check it out!

The 10 Reasons Why Your Fitness Business Is Struggling

I've read nearly 30 emails in the last 3 days from fitnessprofessionals asking me why they're still struggling... despite doing 'everything right' (their words, not mine).

They tell me that they've bought all the books, been to all theseminars and studied marketing like crazy and yet still, even afterall this, they're struggling.

And they ask "What gives??"

Well, I'll tell you EXACTLY what gives....

...But you might not like it : )

Here we go:

1 . You've no clue about what you REALLY want - you talk about having an excellent business, excellent lifestyle, excellent income etc but you've no idea whatsoever about what that excellence looks like.

Because of this, you've very little (if any) chance of getting anywhere close to your goals and you're doomed to tippy-toe tiny incremental improvements in your life rather than giant leaps.

2. You've gotten into the habit of thinking small - sure, you use all the coaching psychobabble on your clients and tell them to 'dream big' or 'reach for the stars' but you don't do the same for yourself. In fact, you've become a study in being realistic. The very worst offence you can make against achieving great things.

Because you're realistic, you think in terms of linear progressions and payrises rather than quantum leaps in your income.

Shame..

3. You confuse KNOWING stuff with DOING stuff - Sure, you talk a great talk about what you COULD do with your business, what you COULD do with your website and what you COULD be earning but you don't do it.

At least, you don't do enough of it.

And because marketing success is a function of both the quality and quantity of your message, you'll never really make an impact.

4. You think you know more than you do - This follows on from #3 but is a little different. With this reason you have the belief that your skills are already sharp enough and your good enough to get the success you want.

But you're wrong.

You DON'T write copy well enough.

You DON'T write articles well enough.

You DON'T have a great website.

You just don't!

If you did then the phones would be ringing off the hook... they're not, are they?

5. You're out of sequence - You think that marketing for clients is just the act of writing your emails, posting your blogs, creating your web sites, your ad copy, your sales letters.

It's not.

These things ARE important, but not as important as the sequence that they and many other activities are applied to your business.

Nobody's talking about this but, there's a sequence to success that MUST be followed... and you're not!

6. You're a skinflint on your business - I know, it sounds harsh but it's true.

You'll happily spend money on learning how to balance on a BOSU but you won't pay to learn marketing and business skills from experts who are PROVEN in their field. You won't pay for marketing strategies that seem expensive because they're 'scary' and you won't take make the big investments.

You justify this by saying that money's tight, but your money will ALWAYS be tight because you won't invest.

7. You spend time on the wrong things - It's almost cliche that you must work ON your business and not IN it if you want to be successful but it's true... and you don't get it.

Instead you try to 'squeeze' in the important projects between your appointments and your bootcamps and give your most valuable resource, your time, to pay-by-the-hour activities instead of those that will eventually pay you while you sleep.

Every day that passes while you 'squeeze in' (or not!) your important projects is another day that you waste on the unimportant.

8. You mix with the wrong people - you're spending your time talking to other people who're just like you... struggling!

Worse, you ask THEM for advice and expect, by some miracle that their counsel (even though it's not working for them) will somehow work for you.

Instead of seeking out people who already have successful fitness businesses, products and multiple sources of income, you mastermind with people who often have less than you... and wonder why nothing changes!

9. You don't have a coach or a mentor - You think that coaching is too costly, too time consuming, too intensive or [insert reason/excuse here] and so you dismiss it as something unneccessary and superfluous.

You don't see how having someone to teach you, coach you, hold you accountable and kick you up the butt could be of value and exponentially increase your results.

You don't see the value of someone showing all the shortcuts that could cut years or even decades off the learning curve to success, so you do it all yourself... and struggle.

10. You won't 'Pay The Price' - There's a price to be paid for success and that doesn't just mean financially.

But you won't pay it.

You won't pay the price of success in terms of money, time, effort, doing the things that attract success.

Worse, you have a whole bunch of reasons, rationalisations and justifications about why you won't or you can't. Because you have these 'stories' in place, you'll never pay the price... not in full anyway.

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Well, what do you think?

How did you stack up on points 1-10?

Did some of 'em cut you raw? If they did I can tell you it's because they're probably true.

To change things though, to completely turn your business around is really simple.

REALLY simple!

Just look at all the things you're not doing and... do them! : )

Look, if you were to start taking action on each of these 10 points you'd see things happen fast. Really fast. But unless you do, nothing will change for you.

Your choice, my friend, but Iknow which path I'd choose : )

To your success

Dax
http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/

P.S - I'm now accepting applications for my next coaching program.

As you know, it comes with a GUARANTEED '$10,000 payrise or your money back' promise so there's no question of you making having any risk at all.

I Only have 8 spaces left.

If you want one, if you're up for making a huge difference to both your business and your life in the next 12 months then pop on over to http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/mentor.asp and find out more.

But hurry, we're starting soon!

When Will You Have 'Made It' In Personal Training?

I know you’ve not heard from me for these last couple of weeks, but that’s because I’ve been taking my summer family vacation to my favourite place on the planet.

THAILAND!

We just love it out here and have been enjoying the fantastic weather, the amazing scenery, the wonderful food and awesome experiences, such as elephant trekking, off road motorcycling (by accident, but that’s another story!) and simply exploring this beautiful part of the world.

I’ve even booked into an intensive muay-thai kickboxing training cam for 10 days of instruction and physical conditioning with top-notch coaches.

Let me tell you, these 3-4 hour sessions are brutal enough but in 34-36 degrees they quite literally reduce me to kneeling in the corner of the ring, fighting back the urge to lose my stomach.

But hey, that’s too graphic and not why I’m writing today : )

The reason why I’m writing is toask you if you know the answer to this question;

Ready?

“when will you be successful?”

No, I don’t mean a date, I mean how will you know you’ve ‘made it ‘ to where you want to go?

What does ‘made it’ mean to you?

I’m asking because so many personal trainers that I work with or who read my letters, simply don’t know, and these that do fond forward the pound or dollar figure as their measure.

“I’ve made it when when I’m earning six figures”. They say but here’s the thing, the real question you need to ask yourself.

If I were to be the success person I dream of becoming, what kind of person would I be? What kind of things would I do? What kind of things would I have?

BE

DO

HAVE

That changes things massively, don’t you think?

You see, most trainers are so hard in pursuit of the monetary figure that they’ve almost forgotten what the money was meant to buy them in the first place. I know of many, many six figure fitness proffesionals who work even harder in pursuit of the next dollar, yet rarely take a day of or a vacation to enjoy the fruit of their labor.

But be, do and have changes everything.

It has for me anyway!

I went from a workaholic focused on income to a person who thinks of my income as something that allows me to be, do and have more in my life. I also realised, as many do, that be and do are far more important to me than have.

So I and my family DO a lot.

This year alone we’ve been to Disney in Florida in January, 2 weeks to Bali, Indonesia in February, 1 week to Krabi, in Thailand, april and now 3 weeks to phuket in Thailand.

Last year we had adventures to ice-hotels and the northern lights in Norway, travelled all over the Australian outback for a month and had a month in Thailand.

In my family, we call it the ’12 weeks rule’ where we try to take a ‘trip/adventure’ as a family every 12 weeks.

This allows me to be the kind of father and husband I saw myself as being, when I thought of success and DO the kinds of
things I hoped success would allow

My point to all this is a simple one.

Stop waiting for success to come before you get to be, do and have the things that success brings in your life.
Start doing them now, create stories for your life then go live them.

To your success!!!

Dax Moy
http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com

P.S- its true that my income now exceeds six-figures, but I’ve been doing this since my income was less than £30,000 a year. Money has far less to do with success than you think.

P.P.S- many of my friends in the industry earn far more than me, yet they always comment on my ‘millionaire lifestyle’…Worth thinking about!

Here's How To Recession Proof Your Personal Training Business

I must admit, it's beginning to get on my nerves a bit.

I mean all this talk of recession.

It seems everyday I'm getting emails from personal trainers who're panicking because of impending recession and worried thattheir bootcamps, their studios and their gyms are going to go underor see such a big drop in business that they'll be struggling toget by and pay their bills.

The sad thing is, most of 'em are right!

Not because there's not enough business to go around and not because people are spending less but because they're choosing to accept that recession exists.

It doesn't.

Not for everyone, anyway.

Sure, it's easy to think that when something like a recession comes along that we all have to 'tighten our belts', curb our non-essential spending and ride out the storm until the next upswing but that's because we've been trained to think that way.

And we've trained ourselves to think that way too.

But the truth is, the only reason that so many people get hit so hard during times of recession is that choose to play the recession game.

Especially personal trainers.

They see their client list get smaller and their appointments drop off and so they start to discount their prices to attract more business. But the clients still don't come so they discount them even more.

If they're lucky they may see a little rise in business only now, because they're charging less, they're working longer hours, earning less money and in danger of losing even these clients as the recession kicks in.

Sad to say but this is what most personal trainers will do. In fact, from the emails I'm receiving, many are already doing it!

So that's the bad news, but like I said, it doesn't have to be this way.

There's something you can do TODAY to not only avoid the recession but thrive during it.

You can stop being a 'luxury item' to your clients and start becoming an asset.

What do I mean?

Well, what's the first thing that goes out the window when people are struggling financially?

Luxuries, right?

Or in marketing speak 'non-essential spending', meaning everything that's not essential to that person's ability to get through life.

Food, mortgage, utilities etc are all essentials that people MUST have. New cars, personal training, opera tickets on the other hand are, for most people, luxurious, non-essentials that are cut as soon as the R-word begins to be taken seriously.

And here's the problem; the way most personal trainers market themselves is based upon the 'luxury items' model.

They sell their services to people with disposable incomes that, most of the time, allow for the 'luxury' of personal training. These people are 'treating' themselves to PT, they enjoy it (mostly!), they want it and they may even need it but it will always be something that they're happy to keep in their lives for as long as it doesn't interfere with their necessities.

Trouble is, for most trainers this group makes up the largest proportion (if not all) of their client base meaning that they ALL purchased their sessions with you based on price and will all quit when the price seems too high.

Yet consider this; there are groups of people out there who don't consider ANY price (or at least, any price that a personal trainer could ask) as expensive or luxurious. They simply decide what they want and are determined to get it because they see it as an asset or investment that will benefit them.

For example, my clients pay me £130 and hour (that's around $250). The kind of people that can pay that kind of money aren't worried about inflation, depression or recession. They simply know what they want and are willing to pay the price to get it.

I've routinely been paid £2500 ($5000) plus for a day's work.

I've been paid £30,000 ($60,000) for a single month's PT plus $1000 a day expenses whilst travelling.

Right now I'm putting together a PT program that will cost £10-12,000 a week. Yes, you read that right, per person per week.

And all of this (and more) is going on during a so-called downturn.

How?

By removing myself from the luxury market of people who have to scrimp and scrape to work with me and instead focusing my efforts on those with greater affluence. Those who know what they want and are happy to pay for it regardless of the percentage rate the banks are charging.

To them, it simply doesn't matter. Not one little bit.

If you're thinking "That's all great for you Dax, but how does this benefit me?" then here's your answer.

Put your prices... UP!

Seriously, put your prices up. Move away from those who consider your services to be a luxury and instead start marketing to the affluent, the wealthy and the downright rich.

Sound too mercenary?

It's not.

Working with the affluent is no easy ride You'll earn every single penny you earn from them.

They expect better service, better results and, well, better everything. And they're right, after all, they're paying for it aren't they? They're paying for exclusivity, for that little bit more, that 'something extra' that isn't delivered by the $40 and $50 an hour PT's.

So you've got to be better and, more importantly, you've got to be seen to be better.

And better is more expensive, no if's, no but's.

Look, I know this runs contra to everything you've ever been told about recession but nevertheless it's true. Putting your prices up, taking your business 'upmarket' and deliberately attracting the affluent is the best way to recession-proof your business.

Still not sure?

Try this; add a high end service to your current marketing materials. Call it 'platinum coaching', call it what you want but make it clear that this is for those looking for that something special rather than simply personal training. Proudly state that you're the most expensive coach around (I do it all the time because I am) and then wait.

It may take a little while but sure enough you'll come to know that what I'm telling you is correct; they're out there. Money in hand. Ready, willing and most able to pay you every single penny you're worth. They always have been; you just never asked before.

So ask!

To your success

Dax Moy

http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/

P.S - People who own yachts and aeroplanes and collectors edition sports cars won't even look at a £40-50 trainer... and they won't panic just 'cos someone say's recession either!

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

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? : )

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!

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!