Struggling Fitness Trainer looking for much needed sales help!

AZBroker

Challenges: Confidence and On location Prospecting.

At first blush, I'd say work the gym and give value first. You can do this the next time you're in the gym. When you see someone who could use a little help with using the equipment or proper form give them a quick hand. This will help you with confidence approaching people you don't know and getting to know the clientele (vice versa) which can lead to future opportunities including sales and/or referrals.

Fitness Trainer

yeah...I have offered people a free weeks worth of training b4 and its amazing how few of them bite on that, lol. hard for me to understand.

its just hard for me to "push myself into people" but I see that its totally neccesary in my position

Liberty

Welcome to the community Fitness Trainer.

Will management allow you to prospect the gym's member base?

Will management allow you to use promotional items in the gym (water bottles, apparel, etc.)

__________________
“The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed”. - Lloyd Jones

Fitness Trainer

im sure...there r no "rules" per se. The only "rule" I could think of would be if I plastered 2 many flyers up or something like that

IMO the main problem is ME personally. I am just 2 "inward". for whatever reason peopel arent drawn TO me per se. Some, women for example, may say that I am nice looking etc...but are they DRAWN to me? no, lol.

I am BARELY noticed when I am the ONLY trainer in the gym. When another trainer is there I may as well be invisible...at least that is my perception.

I see people being drawn to these other trainers...but not to me.

how to change THAT? how to become a people person? How to command attention and respect? how to shake that "poverty mentality" that people can smell on u?

The trainers in our gym that are "making it" are friendly with the owner in some way and are in the "inner circle". When they walk in there r smiles all around etc. Even when I was there during the day it didnt seem like I was in that same category. Now I am there at night only and I may as well be a ghost, lol

One problem I see is that I just dont have a crapload to talk about...I am focused on what I am focused on and thats about it. I dont watch TV so I dont have mindless jibber jabber on my mind to chat about. I have never learned the art of chit chat etc. I dont have a big house to invite people to bbbq's or pay per views. I drive a 92 tercel, lol. Whatever I do is coming from THAT framework or at least from that past direction.

So really all marketing would do is bring me to the place where I am face to face with someone having to do some actual selling...but THATS where the real problem starts IMO. How to fix that?

Houston

"Selling" isn't about you, chit chat or bbq's it's about working with qualified prospects and helping those prospects get what they want. If you don't have any prospects to work with then you've got nothing. If you don't understand your prospect's probable or specific interests or problems then you're working in the dark.

Fitness Trainer

Im not so sure about that. Arent u basically selling yourself? ESPECIALLY as a personal trainer? The conversations etc I overhear from the "successfull" trainers in my gym damn near always revolve around their latest trip to the beach or road trip on their harley etc.

a certain % of people hire a trainer just to be seen with him or her....fact of life. "i train under so and so". Its like a status symbol thing. Thats where I am losing out hard, lol...since I have always tended to be "anti" those things. Id like to be hired on my knowledge etc but it wont ever get to that point it seems because u have to get your foo tin the door with the people first. To me that seems to be where the chit chat etc come into play.


another sad example. our gym is having a Christmas party. Im not even going to bother attending since all it will be is a bunch of gushing and backslapping for the "top" trainer who is "mr inner circle". Right now, I just feel I cant compete with their cult of personality.

So how do I strengthen my position without brownosing, lol. (remember also, shoestring budget)



or are you seriously telling me that people dont make judgements about you driving an old beater car or the fact that you are 40 and never been married? pullease!

Its possibly an exercise in futility because I already have such a chip on my shoulder against the owner/inner circle crowd. Its very hard to make it without that stamp of approval.

for instance the xmas party is also having a male and female best body type contest. U have to be nominated. Nope, no one has seen fit to nominat eme, lol...though 2 of the other trainers names r on top of the list. y should I go to the party only to be seen as a loser/also ran? why be a wallflower to their little backslapping party?

yet, it seems impossible to make headroom 'from the outside'

there must be an answer

Houston

I am (sure about that).

Fitness Trainer

well then "how to get prospects" comes to be the issue. Doesnt that still come down to selling YOURSELF as a solution to their fitness needs? In other words u still end up standing there in front of them pitching yourself.

reading what I posted...do u think it is worth my time to stay and try to learn to sell in this sort of "slanted hard against me" environment?

Snowman

Welcome aboard.....

__________________
www.optimumautomotive.com

Gold Calling

Fitness Trainer;

Yes, you will benefit from basic sales skills.

You will also benefit from basic direct marketing skills - learning how people who already know they want a trainer, seek them. At present you seem to be working with people who are not thinking of doing that in advance.

I am not sure where you live but I took the liberty to check out where people search online and may be able to offer some insight.

Lastly, there are other methods of finding prospects. This would include contacting businesses and offering free services as a sales contest prize if you can advertise to their staff. Very effective - you trade time when you would not have been busy anyway for exposure & free advertising!

Gotta go but contact me by PM if you want more help.

__________________

Hunger for Profit System©
want to make more commissions or more profit,
then you need to stop wasting time now!
http://hungerforprofit.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -