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Fitness Marketing BlogMarketing Systems, Tips and Strategies to Make Your Fitness Business More Profitable. Aug 5, 2008, My Secrets To Business GrowthThe 2 questions I seem to get asked the most are: 1. How do we (Nick and I) keep creating new opportunities and growing our businesses? 2. How do we 'juggle' managing several different businesses and dozens of separate projects simultaneously? Well, today I'll answer question number one as best I can and tomorrow I'll tackle number two. The key to our success in growing businesses and taking advantage of opportunities primarily hinges on three things: ::Building a powerful network. Virtually all of our current projects have stemmed from developing relationships with people in our network and teaming together to develop an idea into a business or a product. ::Studying. We are constantly reading, listening, researching and studying to find ways to grow our current businesses or capitalize on new opportunities. Nick spent Saturday with a billionaire (yes, with a B) learning about an opportunity we've been considering for a while. ::Taking action. When we get an idea or an opportunity we work fast to make it happen. If we don't it gets pushed to the back burner and most likely lost among the many new things that come our way. Obviously there is more that goes into it that these three things, but they are clearly the foundation of our growth. I suspect they will be for you too. If you're interested in growing your business and uncovering new opportunities - our latest project is something you are going to want to be a part of. Along with Jim Labadie, Nick and I have taken over Personal Trainer University. For all 3 of us - and hundreds of others - it was a breeding ground for much of our success, so we've decided to re-launch it so you can reap the same type of benefits from it that we have. We've given it a new look, added some incredible new content and lined up a faculty made up of some of the most successful fitness pros in the world. Because we want you to see how incredible the new and improved PTU is and how it will affect your business, we're going to let you try it out for 30 days for only a buck. One buck. Plus we've amassed over $1170 in gifts for you when you take advantage of this limited time trial offer. So get over to PTU and start on the path to working less and making more...and grab your bonuses before they're gone. Dedicated to your success, Pat P.S. - $1170 in bonuses, the largest group of six-figure trainers in the world and tons of business building information... Jul 31, 2008, Do You Have Raving Fans?One of the things that separates thosebusinesses that grow virally from thosethat have to force growth is that they turn customers or clients into raving fans. Think about the businesses or products that have grown by getting their customers to rave about them: ::Starbucks ::MySpace ::Firefox ::Mac Computers ::Ipods ::Harley Davidson ::Whole Foods Holly's Fit Yummy Mummy has a touchof that 'raving fan culture'...she went to a cookout some local 'Fit YummyMummies' were having last night. Do you think there are many other e-books online that lead to customers going on shopping trips, meeting for dinner or holding cookouts to get together? I'd be surprised if there were any. When you create raving fans, they becomeyour marketing army. They talk to everyone about your business. They become your walking, talking billboards. Plus they almost always buy your back end offerings. So forget about creating satisfied clients and customers. Create raving fans. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - Today is the last day to get Rocco's Ultimate Consultation System for 29 bucks. After midnight it goes to 67 bucks, so grab it now: http://www.ultimateconsultationsystem.com Jul 28, 2008, A Business Rule To Live ByOften a person that has some degree ofsuccess in a field or endeavor seems to think that they can replicate that success anywhere. Rick Schaden founded Quiznos and enjoy tons of success, eventually reaching Entrepreneur magazine's top 5 five franchises. So Rick decided that the fitness industry would be his next conquest and he launched 1-2-3 Fit. It didn't work out as planned and 1-2-3 Fit is apparently going to file bankruptcy and is currently being sued by over 50 franchisees. What was his mistake? Well - there could have been many, but one I know for sure is that he got too far away from his core business. One of the key things that I think you can do to maximize the likelihood of your own business' success is to not move too far away from your core business. If you one-on-one training, open a bootcamp or a studio. Heck - even open a gym. Package your knowledge and sell it as aninformation product. Don't open a sports bar. Sounds simple - but I'd recommend taking this a step further - let me explain. I as talking to Steve Preston the other day and we were discussing his business. He's already successful and established in one niche but was considering going into another niche that he didn't have any presence in. After talking for a while, Steve and I came to the conclusion that he'd only achieved about 15% of the potential business he could in his current niche. We figured out a variety of offerings that he could create that were only a couple of degrees away from what he currently offers - and were potentially VERY lucrative. That's something I think more fitness pros should consider - find ways to completely dominate the niche you're in, rather than seeking out a new niche. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. So the moral of the story is this...don't stray too far from your core business. Instead - look for different ways that you can maximize what you already have, do and know. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - If you want to discover virtually everything you need to know to build an ultra successful fitness business, you can learn it here, with an investment of less than ten bucks:
http://www.fitnessbusinessrevolution.com/trial-offer.html Jul 25, 2008, When Quitting Is A Good IdeaIn today's world the word 'quit' has areal negative connotation attached to it. Everybody - including me - sings thepraises of persistence...and with goodreason. But there is a difference between persistence and stubbornness. Persistence is sticking to something when there is still a good chance of making it work. Stubbornness is continuing with something when the likelihood of success is minimal. So I'm going to go ahead and say it once and for all: Quitting isn't necessarily a bad thing. Let me give you an example: A few years back Nick and I owned a smoothie bar. As people became more and more comfortable making purchases online - our sales diminished. There was no way we could match the prices online retailers offered. So, through lots of marketing and hard work we were still profitable - but the smoothie bar provided - by far - the lowest return onour time. So we cut it loose. It wasn't that we couldn't make it profitable. It just would never be as profitable as the other things we could invest our time and resources in. So we quit the smoothie bar business. Sometimes you need to quit swimming upstream because your unwilling to quit. There have been several times in my career I should have quit something sooner - but didn't because I refused to quit. Don't make the same mistake I did. If you are working on several projects and one of them seem to be like fighting a continual uphill battle - drop it and focus on the other projects. You'll be much happier. Dedicated to your success - Pat P.S. - Yesterday I told you about the Ryan Lee Bootcamp. This is a MUST attend if you want to find the easiest path to where you're trying to go. Sign up here before it sells out: Jul 24, 2008, My Breakthrough Moment(s)The turning point for our business wasthe first Ryan Lee Bootcamp. Prior to that we'd had a successful training business and had just opened a health club, but we didn't really see the opportunities that were really out there. It had never really crossed our mind to go beyond running businesses locally here in Kentucky. We had never really considered sharing our knowledge with other fitness pros. Holly hadn't ever given thought to making the programs she provided locally available online. I remember driving home - yes, we drove and took a van with Nick , Holly, me and 3 members of our staff - mapping out the change in our business vision. From there the Fitness Consulting Group was born. But on top of that, the second Bootcamp was where we started really developing our network - it's where we met Alwyn Cosgrove and started developing the plan for the Ultimate Fitness Business Success System. It was where Brian Grasso and I first started talking about working together. It was where Jim Labadie, Nick and I started laying the groundwork for the several businesses that we work together on now. The doors were opened for the third Ryan Lee Bootcamp Tuesday - and I can't wait. Not only will I be presenting (it's come full circle), but so will good friends like: Dax Moy Alwyn Cosgrove Jim Labadie Brian Grasso ...and of course Ryan Lee. There are very few points in my careerthat I can identify as real key or turning point moments: Leaving the college coaching ranks. Meeting and partnering with Nick. Starting our first business. Becoming Co-Owners of the IYCA. I can honestly say both Bootcamps werethose types of moments. They opened my eyes and opened lotsof doors. If you're interested in the same happeningfor you, join me at this year's bootcamp. You can learn more here: I look forward to seeing you there! Pat Jul 17, 2008, Will you be there?I'm off to Indianapolis today to meet Gray Cook and Chris Poirier at the Perform Better event they're hosting. Actually, Nick, Brian Grasso and I area all going. It should be a great couple of days. We're meeting with Gray about the development of the Functional Movement Screen for kids. We're meeting with Chris about the live IYCA events we'll be doing together in 2009. We're holding another 'Evening With The IYCA'event Friday evening. Hopefully I'll even get the chance to drop over to Mike Robertson and Bill Hartman's new facility: http://indianapolisfitnessandsportstraining.com/ But one of the best parts of the trip will be seeing dozens of fitness pros that are there to learn more and get better at what they do. That's one of the biggest keys to success. Never stop learning. Take advantage of the learning opportunities that are out there. Go to seminars like this. Attend the upcoming Ryan Lee Bootcamp. Check out Craig Ballantyne's event I mentioned the other day. Grab an information product or a book about a topic you want to learn more about. Every really successful fitness pro I know is constantly studying and learning. Make sure you're in that group. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - If you want to learn more about training young athletes, the best resource available to you is Complete Athlete Development. Get it before it's gone forever: http://www.completeathletedevelopment.com P.P.S. - If you're in Indy for the seminar or you happen to live there - be sure to come on over to the 'Evening with the IYCA' Friday night. If you need directions, shoot me an e-mail. Hope to see you there!Fitness Consulting Group Jul 9, 2008, Camps, Clinics and Schools – Your GoldmineI was talking to one of my former baseball players (Brian) yesterday and we got to talking about his job. He's an assistant baseball coach at a D-I school in the Midwest. Unfortunately, being an assistant coach doesn't pay so well for most college baseball programs. Brian's salary is 20K a year. But then he told me he'd been applyingsome of the stuff I'd talked to him about and some of the materials that I gave him to their youth baseball instructional programs. Before Brian got there, they we're doing about 15-20K per year in camp revenue. When Brian was considering the job butleery of the salary - I told him not to sweat it - if he'd run their camp / clinic programs like a business, he'd make the additional m.o.n.e.y he needed. Well, this year - Brian's first with this program, they did 52K in camp / clinic / school revenue. Brian keeps about 1/3 of that...so he's basically turned a 20K per year job into a 37K per year job. Almost double the income. Pretty important since he has a son on the way;) What did he do? 1. He got hundreds of kids in the funnel with a series of 1 day clinics. A low barrier to entry option for the kids and parents...$35-100 for one day. 2. He upsold the clinic attendees into 3 day to 1 week camps. 3. He upsold the campers into 6 week instructional 'schools.' He had offerings for different niches (pitchers, catchers, hitters, college prospects, etc.) All his external marketing was focused on driving kids to the 1 day clinics. If someone wasn't willing to make that small commitment, probably not going to make a bigger one. Pretty simple, huh? You could probably use this same type of blueprint for your own business. 1. Target niche markets 2. Have a very low barrier to entry front end offer you drive everyone to. 3. Upsell those customers into a medium level Program. 4. Upsell those people into your 'elite' program. Simple but effective. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - This model works like crazy with the youth athlete market. If that interest you - check out Complete Athlete Development at:
www.completeathletedevelopment.com Jun 19, 2008, Fitness Business Products and ServicesA complete catalog of the Fitness Consulting Group's products and services as well as recommended resources. Permalink -- click for full blog postJun 18, 2008, 15 Minutes To SuccessOne of the biggest mistakes I seefriends, fitness pros and pretty much everyone make when it comes to trying achieve their goals is dragging their feet getting started. You have a great idea or a project you want to complete, but you constantly put it off until tomorrow. Most dreams die right there...in the 'I'll get started tomorrow' phase. Here's how you can prevent this phase form holding you up...in only 15 minutes. Break your project down into 15 minute units - and do one unit a day. Too simple, right. If you wanted to create an e-book, you could probably do one page in 15 minutes. 60 Pages in 2 months. Write a newsletter to you clients...once you get rolling, a newsletter in 15 minutes is about right (that's about what it takes me.) Even if it takes you twice this long you'll have the e-book in 4 mos and the newsletter in 2 days. Writing a marketing plan? Building a website? Making phone calls to get speaking engagements? 15 Minutes a day will get you there. It's such a small amount of time you won't have any problem doing it - and it will get the ball rolling and generate the momentum you need to reach your goals. Some days you'll want to spend more than 15 minutes...that's the idea. But regardless - every day you'll be moving closer to your goals - and that's what matters. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - If your dream is to have more clients, Mega Marketing For Fitness Pros has dozens of strategies and tactics getting Clients as well as over 20 ready to use tools. www.megamarketingforfitness.com Jun 16, 2008, Who Loves Ya?Not only is this my good buddy Jim Labadie's signature line, but it's also the key to building the business of your dreams. Last week Jim and I both mentioned personal things we were experiencing - Jim's grandmother had passed away and my stepson Tyler was having an MRI about a seizure he'd had back in April. The outpouring of support both of us received was absolutely incredible. Personally it's one of the most rewarding things I've ever experienced to know that the relationships I've built thought our business transcend that of typical professional relationships. I'm sure Jim feels the same way. As you probably know, my wife Holly has a business providing fitness products and coaching to moms - Fit Yummy Mummy. The relationships she's developed with her customers is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Just one example: Saturday several of her 'Fit Yummy Mummies' met in Cincinnati, Ohio to shop and have lunch. There were women that traveled from 3 different states to attend. This is 'Marketing 2.0'...building real relationships with your clients and customers...and it's the key to your future success. Last week I mentioned our IYCA Coffee, Tea and Talk that people came from several states to attend...another example of 'Marketing 2.0'. If you haven't started figuring out how you can build extraordinary relationships with your clients, don't wait another minute - don't let your competitors beat you to the punch. Later this week I'll be sharing an example of one of our students that put this into action and generated 11 referrals for his fitness bootcamp. Stay tuned and get ready to add 'Marketing 2.0' to your business arsenal. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - If you want to be part of the first fitness organization to embrace this concept, on Wednesday we'll be accepting 100 new fitness professionals into the IYCA. If you want to secure your spot, go here: Jun 13, 2008, Just Do ItI know a lot of people with great ideas. I know a lot of people with talent and smarts. But the only people I know that are always successful are the 'do-ers.' Honestly, I can't think of anyone I know that hasn't had at least one good idea, skill or talent that if really acted on, could turn into something relatively big. Unfortunately, no wealth is found in ideas, skills or talents - only on using the talents and skills or acting on the ideas. I've probably never mentioned it, but Holly had the idea for doing an infoproduct after the first Ryan Lee Bootcamp back in 2005. Not exactly what became Fit Yummy Mummy, but close. We new she had the ideas and talents to build a following online, but we kept getting sidetracked and putting things off. Idea - yes. Action - no. Two years later we finally got her product to market - but admittedly after enlisting the help of Craig Ballantyne to refine the ideas and help bring the idea to fruition. I'm gonna guess that this hesitation cost us 500K. Ouch. Don't let your talents, skills and ideas go to waste. Find someone to help you take action. Partners, Mastermind Groups, Business Coaches, etc. Set deadlines. That's a biggie. Break things down into small pieces - and make incremental progress. Just don't wait. What I've found is that if you wait someone else will have a similar idea - and they'll take action on it. Just do it. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - Lately I've received a number of questions from fitness pros who want to add an additional stream of revenue to their business by creating an information product. To better help those of you interested in this, I've created a really brief survey for you to complete so I can be as helpful as possible. Please complete the survey at this link if you do or wish to have your own infoproduct: Jun 12, 2008, Off To The HospitalToday we go to get my stepson Tyler an MRI as a follow up to the seizure he had back in April. Fortunately, he's not had another seizure since the initial one, but since 67% of kids that have a seizure have another within 6 months, we are grateful, but not out of the woods yet. At times like this - where I can take off and go to the hospital for the day and not have to worry about if I have enough vacation days or if my clients will be upset - I truly recognize the importance of having multiple streams of income and systems in place. Really, that's the biggest benefit to me - being able to work to live - not the other way around. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE what I do. But it doesn't own me. To put it in perspective - Tyler's father is a Harvard educated attorney...who won't be able to be at the hospital today because he can't get away from work. And it drives him crazy. He's a great guy, but I can't imagine spending 200K on an education that prepared me to have a job that I was a slave to. So if you take anything away with you today - take this: Build your business so that it ultimately provides what you want. There is nothing worse than achieving a 'success' that you don't enjoy. Create the necessary systems, infrastructure, multiple streams and leverage that allow you to serve who you want to serve, accomplish what you want to accomplish and earn what you want to earn - without sacrificing your freedom. That doesn't happen overnight or without labor / expense. But it's worth the investment of time, effort and money. Well worth it. Oh - and don't be an attorney;) Take care - Pat Jun 11, 2008, Dream + Action = SuccessAlready this week nine fitness pros haveapproached me with opportunities to doeverything from partner with them to do a launch, a franchise, or to get involved with their M.L.M company. The funny thing is, except for the occasional rude e-mail I get if I pass on the opportunity, I appreciate every one of these inquiries. With my plate as full as it currently is, it's tough to add anything else to it - but I love opportunity. See, my feeling is that most of these inquiries come from people that have a vision and truly believe in what they're presenting to me - regardless of if it is a good fit for me at the time. There is nothing wrong with dreaming big with the hope of one day launching a franchise or building a seven figure income. But equally as important as having the dream - these fitness pros are at least taking some action. They've e-mailed me - and probably several to many others. In many cases they've developed a business plan or created a product. Some of them have already developed thriving businesses. Dream + Action = Success. Sure, it's not quite that simple. They type and intensity of action largely dictates the degree of success - but in general the equation is true. Take some time and step back from your 'day to day' to spell out what you want your business and your life to look like 2, 3 or 5 years form now. Get vivid with the details. Then make sure that you're taking actions (no matter how small) each week to move you closer to achieving your own version of success. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - If you're dream is to open a thriving studio or club, the knowledge you need is right here: www.fitnessbusinessrevolution.com Jun 9, 2008, Are You This Passionate?We just got back from Chicago after wrapping up an 'executive meeting' for the IYCA where we worked on pretty much all facets of the company. Not only was this probably the most productive 2 day meeting I've ever been a part of, but it also allowed me to be part of one of the cooler events I've seen in the fitness industry. After our meeting the first night, we did a little thing we called 'Coffee With The IYCA' where we invited IYCA members - and really any fitness pro interested in coming - to hang out with us and ask questions for a couple hours. Sixteen people showed up from 4 different states. Incredible. This was amazing for a couple reason to me: 1. The IYCA (primarily Brian Grasso) doesn't just have members - it has raving fans. People don't drive from 5 or 6 hours away to hang out for a couple of hours if they're lukewarm or only moderately interested. 2. The passion of those fitness pros. You know you're doing the right thing as a profession when you're willing to drive several hours so you can be around a few like-minded people and you love what you do so much that the possibility of improving 1-2% from what you learn motivates you to make that type of effort to attend something like we held. There are a couple of lessons for you here: ::You should go that extra mile to develop these types of raving fans among your clients. There was one parent of a volleyball athlete Brian trained that has personally lined up 50K in business for the IYCA. We all want those types of relationships - and they come from going that extra mile. ::Whether it's youth fitness, running a bootcamp for moms or training tri-athletes - find something that inspires you like these people were inspired. Life's too short to have a job where you're watching the clock. Have a great week! Pat P.S. - If it's training athletes that inspires you, the best resource on the market is right here: www.completeathletedevelopment.com Jun 7, 2008, Here's a secret for youWant a secret to running a successful business? Make people like you. Here's what persuasion guru Robert Cialdini has to say on the subject: 1. People are more likely to follow someone who is similar to them than someone who is not. 2. People are more willing to cooperate with those who seem to like them. 3. People tend to treat you the way you treat them. 4. People are more willing to defer to experts. 5. People are far more likely to keep promises to those they like. Make your prospects and clients genuinely like you - not just the results you provide. Compliment them. Take a sincere interest in them. Overdeliver on your promises. Do the detail things that others aren't willing to do. Make the extra call, send the extra card, remember kids names and do all those things that you wish businesses did for you. You'll have a waiting list before you know it. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - If you want TONS of other marketing tips, strategies and done for you tools, get your copy of Mega Marketing For Fitness Pros here: http://www.megamarketingforfitness.com Jun 3, 2008, I got sold!I got to start out Monday by having the local heating and cooling sales rep over for a visit as our heat pump died. He was an absolute gem of a guy though. He saw some of Tyler's toys and began talking about his grandkids. (Building rapport) He asked me where I was from and talkedAbout the couple of times he'd passed through my hometown. (More rapport) When we got around to talking about the heat pump, he used wonderfully descriptive analogies so I could really understand what he was talking about. (Questioning, building value) He then talked a bit more about his grandkids and Tyler. (More rapport building) When he got around to the close, he gave me 3 choices and then narrowed it to the 2 suggestions he recommended. (Alternate choice close) Then he said he'd go ahead and schedule the install for Thursday. (Assuming the sale) Then he mentioned that since we'd probably be selling the home in the next 2 years (something he learned in the questioning process), he'd recommend a transferable warranty. (Upsell) An absolutely wonderful guy who did an absolutely wonderful job with his sales presentation. He was as friendly as he could be to Holly, Tyler and me. He did all the right things in his presentation. He was helpful when I asked questions and he sold me what I wanted to buy rather than what he wanted to sell. I had shopped around online a bit to get a gauge on what the costs would be , but because he did such a good job I didn't invite anyone else over to give me a quote. Do you build relationships well enough and handle your sales opportunities well enough that your prospects don't shop around? Do you make people feel like you're helping them instead of selling them? Do the people that you sell to genuinely like you? If you are as passionate about this part of your business as you are about designing programs and taking clients through sessions - the answer to all 3 of these questions will be a resounding 'YES!' Gene made me feel like he was sincerely concerned about keeping my family comfortable. You need to make prospects feel like you're genuinely concerned with helping them. Then selling will be a breeze. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - A sales presentation blueprint for you to follow that will guarantee more sales and bigger packages is right here: May 30, 2008, Are Trainers HypocritesSomething kind of strange happened yesterday. I had about 10 people unsubscribe from the newsletter. I guess they were pissed at the thought of being responsible for their own careers. This has happened only twice before. Once when I shifted to mailing more frequently. I guess some people that that was too much of me;) The other time was following an e-mail when I suggested that trainers themselves were to blame for their current degree of business & financial success. Kind of the same theme from yesterday. Don't be your own worst enemy. Don't make excuses. You're responsible for your success (or lack there of.) Let's step back for a minute. Isn't this the same type of stuff we tell clients? "You're responsible for what you eat." "Bad choices = bad results." You know the drill. The FACT of the matter is we are ultimately responsible for our success or failure. And you shouldn't want it any other way. It's empowering to feel that you're in control of your own destiny. Do you really want to feel like your success & happiness are dictated by everyone but you? God, I hope not. So let me go on the record once and for all, knowing the price of clarity is the risk of insult: 98% of fat people aren't fat because of McDonalds, tricky marketing, bad genes, under active thyroid or any of the other excuses that are passed along. They're fat because they prefer cupcakes, chips, sodas, television, sitting on the couch and a bunch of other unsupportive choices to exercise, good nutrition, active lifestyles and healthy habits. 90% of trainers make less than 30K per year because they whine about everything from their geographic location to their bad clients. If your location is bad...move. If your clients are bad...fire them. You decide. If you want to pass the buck and are unwilling to take responsibility - there's nothing I can do to help you. But, if you take responsibility for your own success, it's not a matter of IF you'll reach your goals. It's only a matter of WHEN you'll reach them. As for those guys that unsubscribed - don't worry about them. I don't expect them to stick around our profession much longer. For guys like that, the grass is always greener on the other side. Have a great weekend! Pat P.S. - If you've always wanted to launch a fitness bootcamp, but haven't pulled the trigger - it just got a LOT easier. Nick and I worked with Scott Colby to turn is ultra successful bootcamp into a franchise-like model that any trainer could implement. Operations manual, marketing manual, ready to use programs, everything you need to launch a six-figure camp of your own. Check it out here: www.sixfigurebootcampsystem.com May 29, 2008, How do you see yourself?How do you see yourself? Do you focus on what you don't want? What is causing you problems? What's not working? What you can't do? What's holding you back? The failures that you've had? -Or- Do you focus on what you want? What you have? What you're capable of? What is working? What you've succeeded at? What is possible? I really think that if you change the way that you see yourself and the world around you - you can change most anything. But it begins with you. If you don't think you'll be successful - you're right. But if you do believe that you're going to achieve your goals and your willing to do the work... ...your success is imminent. I wrote about 'Brick Walls' earlier this week, and for most people the biggest Brick Wall of all is themselves. Most people don't see the opportunity available to them. Don't be one of those people. Most people don't realize how much they're capable of. Don't be one of those people. Most people don't reach their goals. Don't be one of those people. Have a great day! Pat P.S. - My goal achievement tool of choice is Dax Moy's Magic Hundred. If you want a jump start on reaching your goals - you can learn more about the Magic Hundred here: www.fitnessconsultinggroup.com/magichundred May 28, 2008, My Best Marketing StrategyI frequently get asked what the best marketing strategy I know of is. To quote Dan Kennedy " I don't know any one marketing strategy that will produce 100 clients, but I know of 100 strategies that will each produce one client." But if I had to narrow it down to two, I'd go with f.r.e.e. samples of your service and Joe Girard's law of 250. You can't beat offering a f.r.e.e. sample for simplicity, costeffectiveness and ability to build value in what you do. Letting someone try our your bootcamp for a week or a couple sessions at no cost is the ultimate in risk reversal - a key marketing tactic. But I've talked about f.r.e.e. samples on a variety of occasions, so let me touch on Joe Girard's law of 250. If you didn't know, Joe Girard is the greatest car salesman of all time (according to the Guinness Book of World Records) and he attributes much of his success to his law of 250. See, on average - each person knows 250 other people. So when you overdeliver to the people you have relationships with, they'll share their experience with their network of 250. The key is really developing those relationships with your own 250. Joe sent 13 greeting cards to all of his customers each year. One per month and an extra card at Christmas. The result: an average of six cars sold per day. I'm not suggesting that you need to send every person you know 13 cards a year - but I'd definitely make a list of the 250 people you know. It sounds like a lot - but you'll get there. Start with the people in your cell phone and e-mail list. Then keep adding until you reach 250. Next - reach out to them. Send a card, a personal e-mail or make a phone call. Tell them you want to be their fitness resource and offer to help them. Give them a few complimentary sessions or a couple weeks of camp for free. Let them know you'll be there for all their fitness needs and the needs of those people that are important to them. Build on this by staying in touch, offering help and treating them the way you'd like to be treated. Before long you'll see your business growing at an incredible rate and new doors opening for you all the time. Like I said last week - relationships will ultimately be the key to your success, so don't take them for granted. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - Tomorrow - Thursday, May 29th at 1:00pm EST we'll be holding another webinar to show you how to use the Send Out Cards system to maximize your relationships. Reserve your spot RIGHT NOW by clicking here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/523430740 May 23, 2008, My Birthday Wish(es)I turned 36 today. In our businesses I'm the 'old guy'. Out of our entire management team at both the Fitness Consulting Group and the IYCA - I'm the senior member. In what other industry is such a large portion of the workforce under the age of 40? Fast food? That's about all I can think of. Why is this the case? I think I have a good idea. In the personal training profession there has really never been a career path for people to follow. No real roadmap to success. If someone wanted to train athletes - they figured out how to make a career of it... ...or they didn't and moved on. More often that not it was the latter. Athletes, weight loss clients...it didn't matter - if you wanted any type of career you were on your own. To me this says two things: 1. The people in our industry that have been around for a while and achieved success should be applauded. They did it without much of a roadmap to follow. 2. It's no wonder that the attrition rate for fitness pros is so high. The educational process for personal trainers has been as fragmented as it could possibly be. Certifying organizations haven't provided any logical progression of education and have almost totally ignored the business side of things. Universities are just starting to offer degrees in Personal Training (I'm writing a textbook on The Business of Personal Training now) and who know how long it will take for these programs to mature. It's no wonder the average trainer make $27,000 a year. So, with all that being said - I'm going to make my 'Birthday Wish'. Actually 'Wishes'... :: I wish that 10 years from now fitness professionals over the age of 40 would be just as common as fitness professionals under the age of 30. :: I wish that more trainers would have careers instead of jobs. :: I wish that certifying organizations would get their heads out of their a$$es and empower people to have careers instead of just sell them certifications. :: I wish trainers would understand that marketing isn't about sales copy - it's about relationships. :: I wish every one of you could have as much fun 'working' as I do - if you don't already. So those are the things that I am wishing for on my 36th birthday. This is what I already know: Complaining without doing anything about it is something I can't stand. That's a big reason why we've done what we have with the IYCA. We know that much of what has always been done doesn't work - so we're doing it better. I don't know if you've considered becoming part of the IYCA, but do me this favor - go to our Youth Fitness Specialist page and read what is there. http://www.iyca.org/fitspecialist1.html Watch the videos. Watch Brian - the CEO - training clients: -- Pat May 19, 2008, Fitness Success Is MessyI talk all the time about planning andsystems and other things that imply that I'm an organizational nut. Not exactly. I'm (along with Nick) big on planningand systems and structure - no doubtabout it. But I must admit... ...success is messy. If it seems like I'm talking in circles, hang on and it will all make sense in a minute. I think you'll never reach your potential as a business person if you don't plan, develop systems for your business and have some degree of structure. But you'll never be able to tap into the vast number of opportunities available to you if you don't get a little 'messy.' What do I mean by messy? Well, here's an example: Currently, I'm working on 12 different projects. Yes, twelve. Several related to the IYCA, some stuff with Send Out Cards, a couple of JV's and a few others. Oh - and I'm writing a book for Human Kinetics. Make that 13. So when I say success is messy, I mean that it sometimes means biting off more than you can chew. It means juggling several things at once. It means having a little pressure because deadlines are approaching and you have so much to do. Seems like a lot - but it beats the alternative. I manage it by compartmentalizing projects, using tools like google calendar, google docs and dry erase boards - and working with great people. But no matter how organized I am - it sometimes still gets messy. But that's ok, because one of the keys to business(or any kind of) success is finding your ceiling. Most people don't even come close to finding their ceiling. They settle for much less. Don't settle. Be willing to get a little messy. Get ready for a great week, Pat P.S. - If you want some help in organizing and maximizing your business - it's right here: www.fitnessbusinessrevolution.com May 16, 2008, Warp Speed Fat Loss Q & AWow, I was amazed at the response to yesterday's e-mail about using the Warp Speed Fat Loss as the basis for a 4 week group program that you can add to your business. I was excited to see how many of you were ready to jump right in and take action. But I was also pleasantly surprised at the dozens of emails I received from fitness pros. Of the couple dozen e-mails I got about the program idea, most centered around three questions: Q: How can I offer a 'double your money back guarantee'? Won't people take advantage of me? A: We've offered a 100% money back guarantee for 3 years to over 950 clients. Guess how many people asked for a refund? Zero. A couple of tips though. We have clients and trainers sign a 'performance agreement' where we outline what clients can expect from us and what we expect from them. If they don't hold up their end of the bargain, 99 times out of 100 they'll be embarrassed rather than come looking for a refund. But even if you had to giveone refund for every 20 clients, the ROI for you adding the double your money back guarantee would more than pay off. Q: Is this really 24 sessions in 28 days? A: Yep. Remember, this is a short term program, perfect for someone trying to drop weight before a vacation, wedding, reunion or some other event. Also, people aren't going to stick with something like this much longer than 4 weeks. It's too regimented. I'd follow it up with a program for people who complete the first four weeks - something that teaches them how to make their own food choices instead of having done for you meal plans and also probably has a decreased volume of training. Q: Why did you come up with this program? A: I started to think about a program like this the minute I read the sales copy for WSFL. Everyone wants immediate gratification. Then I thought about how much success we had in offering short term programs and how much leverage it has given us. We've been able to turn one trainer's time into asmuch as $300 per hour using this same type of strategy: A good themeA strong guaranteeA group settingImmediate Gratification Seemed like a no-brainer. Whether or not this program is right for you, you should be looking for something like this to integrate into your business: :: Something with a lot of leverage :: A niched program :: Something that you can have other trainersreplicate :: Something that will set you apart from thecompetition If you do think something like what I wrote about yesterday is for you, Warp Speed Fat Loss is here: www.warpspeedfatloss.com/results.php If not, make a commitment that you'll find something similar to integrate into your business - soon. www.warpspeedfatloss.com/results.php, Have a great weekend! Pat May 15, 2008, A Turn-Key Fat Loss Business For YouI was recently reviewing www.warpspeedfatloss.com/results.php, the brainchild of my good friends Mike Roussell and Alwyn Cosgrove and I was overcome with an idea: You need to build a program around thisfor your business. If you don't know anything about WarpSpeed Fat Loss, it's a 28 day blueprint AC and Mike devised to shed bodyfat...fast! We're talking about 15, 18 even 21 pounds in 28 days. So my wheels were turning and I thoughthow simple it would be to build a kick a$$ program for your business by marketing the program and simply supervising clients as they performed the WSFL program. We've run a number of short term programs and they've been Cash Cows for us. In fact,before Holly started focusing on Fit Yummy Mummy she ran a short term program that produced 4-6K per month. Would you like an extra 4-6K per month? Thought so. Here's how I'd do it: 1. Use a headline like this on all yourmarketing materials: "Lose 15lbs in the Next 28 Days Or I'll Give You Double Your Mo ney Back!" 2. Send out a press release promoting your program as the area's only that guarantees results or will give you double your training fees back. (I've got to take a minute and give credit where it's due - my buddy Dax Moy is the originator of the 2X guarantee.) 3. Offer the program as a small group class and when one time slot fills, open a second one. 4. Base your program fees on your market and the number of people you can comfortably supervise at once while delivering the program. There are 24 sessions. $399-499 seems very reasonable for a guaranteed loss of 15 lbs in 28 days. 5. Deliver the program verbatim, take before and after pics and get testimonials. Use them in your marketing and repeat. I can't imagine a scenario where this wouldn't pay off big. People WANT immediate gratification, summer is almost here and that guarantee completely eliminates the risk on the client's part. I think this is a no brainer. In my opinion AC is the best fat loss trainer in the biz and he has proven this system in his gym, so all you have to do is plug and play. So if you want a turn key fat loss program that could easily pull you in an extra 4-6K per month - there it is. The Warp Speed Fat Loss program is here: HREF="http://www.warpspeedfatloss.com/results.php">www.warpspeedfatloss.com/results.php Let me know if you decide to take action and do this. I'll probably ask you to buy me lunch with some of the extra coin you'll be making;) Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - A system, leverage, something you can easily delegate, a real 'hook' - this plan has it all from a biz standpoint. It just takes someone to implement it. HREF="http://www.warpspeedfatloss.com/results.php">www.warpspeedfatloss.com/results.php May 14, 2008, Are you inspired?Think about your typical day for a minute. Are you one of those trainers that go from session to session watching the clock? "I have a 10 O'clock, an 11 and a 12, then I can focus on..." Don't be ashamed to admit it. We've all been there in some job. We had a job, not a career. We weren't inspired. It was a means to an end. I was that way when I trained clients for fat loss. I came from a background of working with athletes and when I transitioned to training more fat loss clients I quickly found that I wasn't inspired. I became a clock watcher. It kind of reminded me of working at my dad's garage when I was a kid. The epitome of a clock watcher-type job for me. I never was a clock watcher when I coached baseball or trained athletes. Once I recognized this I worked hard to build a career that excited me. One that was inspiring enough that 'work' became fun. Thomas Edison said "I never did a day's work in my life, it was all fun." That's what we all should be striving for...from my perspective at least. I'm really close to being there. 98% there at least. Are you? If you want to see some of your colleagues that have found their 'sweet spot' and discovered a career that inspires them, you need to see this video: http://iyca.org/wordpress/?p=8 Talk to you tomorrow, Pat P.S. - I'll have a business idea that you can apply immediately tomorrow. Don't miss it. May 13, 2008, 2 Words That Will Change Your LifeThe other day I was at Barnes & Noble where I occasionally go to brainstorm when I stumbled across something that might have made more business sense than anything I've read in a long, long time. I came across two words that are the foundation of more successful businesses than you can probably imagine. So what were these two magical words that have made millions of people wealthy? Bet you can't guess. C'mon, give it a shot. O.K., I'll let you in on what might just be the two most powerful words for businesssuccess. Are you ready? Here you go: 'I wish.' Not what you expected, right? 'I wish' is your secret weapon if you know how to use it. If you realize that people are looking for people and solutions to address their 'I wish...'statements you're going to have one heck of an advantage over your competitors. 'I wish I could lose weight...' 'I wish I had more time...' 'I wish there was an easier way to...' 'I wish someone would...' My wife Holly addressed mom's 'I wish there was a weight loss program that took into account the challenges that we face as mothers' with her Fit Yummy Mummy product and her Club FYM social network. We're working to address trainer's 'I wish there was a career path for us that would let us have both a financially rewarding career and make a real difference.' People buy based on wants...or in other words - wishes. Make those wishes come true and you'll have more business than you can handle. So what 'I wish' are you going to provide the solution to? Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - If you 'wish' your business ran like a well oiled machine, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of the best fitness business product on the market at: www.fitnessbusinessrevolution.com May 10, 2008, My Mother's Day AdviceI was going to pass on sending you anything over the weekend, but I was having a conversation with Holly and decided to pass along what we talked about. With Mother's Day tomorrow we were talking about our moms and I brought up how unconditionally supportive my mom was and continues to be. See, I've made a few professional decisions that a number of people questioned. When I graduated college, I enrolled in chiropractic school but at the last minute I was offered the opportunity to become the head baseball coach at my alma mater. This opportunity wasn't exactly 'prime'. The team had never had a winning season, were eliminating scholarships and the job was part-time with an annual salary of $3000. While most people were telling me to pass on it and go to school, my mom said 'if there's anyone who can turn that program around it's you.' A few years later I was ready for a new direction. When I decided that I wanted to move on from coaching and eventually own my own business, most people I knew tried to steer me back into coaching. Comments like 'you're a baseball coach, forget that business stuff' were pretty common. My mom had a different perspective. She simply said: 'if you have as much passion for the business you start and work as hard at it as you did coaching baseball, I'm sure you'll be a millionaire.' Really - my mom only gave me advice once after I passed adolescence . When I was trying to identify what I wanted to do when I graduated college she said: 'Do something you love. Something you'll enjoy. Most people do something they don't enjoy for 50 weeks a year and then vacation 2 weeks a year. You'll be a lot happier if you find something you love to do for those 50 weeks. And don't worry about mon ey - if you're better than everyone else at what you do, mon ey will never be a problem.' I think that might very well be the best advice I've ever received so I wanted to share it with you. Happy Mother's Day! Pat May 8, 2008, Are you ahead of the curveHave you ever noticed that the personor business that takes action on an ideaand brings it to market first is often the most successful. People and businesses that recognize where the market is going before their competitors can become the market leader by such a big margin it's almost impossible for the competition to catch up. Think about Curves. How many knock offwomen's only fitness centers are there now? But all the other women's only franchises combined don't add up to have one third of the locations that Curves has. And what about Starbucks? No one else dreamed of selling a coffee for what most people spent on lunch. Now dozens of restaurant chains have tried to follow their lead - but none with even close to the same degree of success that Starbucks has enjoyed. On a smaller scale, the person who starts the first fitness bootcamp in a community always has a head start over the followers. Heck, a lot of times being first will prevent many competitors from even trying to jump into the market. They feel like that niche has been filledand they'd rather try their hand elsewhere. So the key is recognizing these trends first. Well, my friend and business partner Brian Grasso might be able to help. See, he was invited to speak at this event in Colorado called the Meeting of the Minds where over 170 executives from the world's biggest fitness organizations and health club chains gathered to talk about the future of the fitness industry. Brian was so excited with what he learned by talking with these fitness industry leaders that he put together a brief video to let you in on where the fitness industry is headed over thenext 2-4 years. Check it out here: Some hard hitting stuff that will give you a definite leg up on the competition if you are proactive. Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts - we're interested in hearing where the trainers who 'get it' see things going in the industry. Talk to you tomorrow - Pat P.S. - Do me a favor and be sure to watch the video. This information is too important to ignore. May 7, 2008, Can you relate to this?I got an e-mail yesterday from a subscriber and he was clearly frustrated. He asked 'when do I have the time to listen to these audios and read all these things you recommend - I work 75 hours a week.' He then went on to say he didn't know how he was going to pay the bills every month and he was tired of the knots in his stomach from the stress his business is causing him. Finally he shared that he hadn't taken a paycheck in 4 ½ years. Ummm yeah, you read that right. 4 ½ years. There are about a dozen different ways that I could've responded to him. I'm sure that some of you reading this are thinking...4 ½ years, he's out of his mind. Or you might be thinking 'you don't have time not to learn this stuff, I don't care how many hours you work.' But some of us are thinking: 'Man, I've been there before.' If you're like me, you've had those moments where it seemed like you were in' business quicksand' and no matter what you did, it seemed like you just kept sinking. And you were happy to just keep your bank account in the positive. I wish I could give you the magic solution for that scenario - but there isn't one that I know of. But here's what's worked for us: :: Focus on solutions instead of problems. If you don't, the negativity will eat you alive. Have you ever known anything to improve by bitching about it? :: Study like there is no tomorrow. You've got to arm yourself with the knowledge to make changes. Books, products, other fitness businesses, non-fitness businesses...study everything. :: Take action. When adversity comes a lot of people get that 'deer in the headlights' look and do nothing. That just makes the problem worse. Attack it head on. We've cut costs, marketed on a shoestring, upsold our current clients and members, held off vendors and about anything else you can imagine. But everything really hinged on those three points. Hopefully you're not in that spot right now, but if you are - I'd give that approach a try. It's worked for us and I feel pretty confident in saying it will probably work for you too. Talk to you tomorrow, Pat P.S. - Everything you need to know about building a successful fitness business is right here: www.fitnessbusinessrevolution.com P.P.S. - Be sure to check out tomorrow's e-mail Because I'll be sending you a link to what I consider the most important video you'll ever see about the future of the industry. May 6, 2008, What Makes You So Special?What makes you different than the hundreds of thousands of other trainers out there with C.P.T. or some other acronym after their name? While we might know what certifications are more reputable than other - our prospects usually don't. So that doesn't work. You say you get results. Do you know any trainer that doesn't say that? Strike two. I think you have to bring something truly unique to your market to be 'special' and stand out from the crowd. My buddy Dax Moy doesn't like the term Unique Selling Proposition since rarely is someone unique. Even if you start out that way, you'll soon be copied due to your success. So how about this: YMI - Your Marketing Identity. What is it and how's it different from everyone else's? For Dax, he offers a double your money back guarantee. For my wife Holly, she's the mom's fitness expert. For a long time I considered writing an e-book on fat loss to the mainstream market. I know I can market & sell - and that is a great market. I'd trained a lot of people and gotten good results and our trainers had applied many of the same strategies very successfully. But I decided that I had nothing that would set me apart. I don't know as much about fat loss as Alwyn Cosgrove. I didn't have anything to say that would be significantly different from what Alwyn, Craig and Dax have already shared. No YMI. On the flip side - I (and Nick for that matter) do have a variety of things to share that are pretty unique on the topics of business, systems, marketing and sales. Because of that it's been much simpler to carve out our place in the market helping trainers and small facility owners grow their businesses and earn more revenue. So do you have something unique to offer or maybe a niched crowd to offer it to? If not, I'd start moving in that direction - because the fitness industry is getting too crowded with people who are 'generalists.' So that's your assignment if you choose to accept it, identify (or create) your own YMI. Then everyone will know what makes you so special. Talk to you tomorrow, Pat P.S. - In developing our own YMI, we've developed a lot of resources to help fitness pros succeed. The most comprehensive one is now available here for less than 40% of it's original price: www.fitnessbusinessrevolution.com May 5, 2008, My first business lessonI'd like to share the beginning of my business education with you. My first job was serving as the janitor at my dad's garage. I did that for a couple of years until I graduated to the role of 'gopher / bad mechanic / janitor' when I was capable of doing things like oil changes, brakes, exhausts, etc. My dad opened his garage around the time I turned 12 and I'm 100% convinced that he's the hardest working guy I've ever met. Working part time at the garage I learned a few things very quickly - the first of which was that I had NO desire to be a mechanic. But I also learned that my dad worked HARD to earn what he did. He took our family from poverty to a 'middle class' income by working 16 hour days - and for that I'm grateful. But it became obvious very quickly that his business owned him. If he took a day off he didn't make money. While he usually had 1-2 employees, he didn't really have any systems that would allow him to leave for a vacation or a sick day without closing up shop. So, while he was (and is) extraordinarily good at delivering the service - he had almost no leverage and essentially had bought himself a job. When I got into the fitness industry I quickly discovered that most trainers that had their own business followed the same basic model that my dad did in running business. Sure, they worked in air conditioned gyms instead of garages, they didn't have to worry about getting covered in grease and didn't incur busted knuckles from turning wrenches - but they were essentially held hostages by their businesses. They were training clients from 5 a.m. 'till 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. If they went on vacation or got sick, their income instantly disappeared. I knew there had to be a different way. Fortunately I learned the power of combining leverage and systems to build a business. This combination has allowed me to do all the things that my dad couldn't: - Coach Tyler's T-Ball team- Take vacations without our businesses taking a hit- Run more than one business at once- Go out and play with Tyler or golf on a summer afternoon without closing up shop- Not worry about how we'd survive if I couldn't work for a while I can't decide what's important to you, but those things were critical for me. I love what I do for a living and honestly, for me work is fun. But that doesn't mean I want my business to own me. I prefer it the other way around. If you feel the same way, you're in luck because we're making the Ultimate Fitness Professional's Business Success System available as a downloadable product today. So if you want to start running your business like a business instead of just owning a job, the answer is here: www.fitnessbusinessrevolution.com May 3, 2008, Business Lessons From The Kentucky DerbyWell today is "Derby Day" here in Kentucky. I had no idea how big this was until I moved to Kentucky from Ohio. I just took over running the personal training in all the Gold's Gyms in the state, so I planned my visit to Louisville to check out the operations at the locations there. I arrived the Monday before the Derby only to find that the gyms were almost empty. When I went to find a hotel, I was astounded to discover that prices were triple what I was expecting. The manager at the hotel clued me in to what was going on. Derby Week. Everything is focused in the world's most popular horse race. People miss work. Kids 'study' the Derby in school. Celebrities come from all over the world to attend. Last year everyone from Queen Elizabeth to Michael Jordan attended. This year a cast of celebs are here again including the one and only Jim Labadie ;) So what's all the fuss about? People want to be part of something. They want to say 'I went to the Kentucky Derby. The Derby organizers and the city of Louisville recognize this and capitalize on it knowing that if they attract the celebrities, everyone else will show up too. Your training business isn't the Kentucky Derby, but you want to make it something people want to be a part of. You want attendees to feel like their part of an elite club. People want to belong and feel special. Based on what some folks are spending for a couple days in Kentucky - apparently they'll pay a king's ransom to feel that way. Take it from me and everyone else attending the Derby, you can build a heck of a business around this one simple idea. Have a great weekend! Pat P.S. - Remember, Monday we're making the Ultimate Fitness Professional's Business Success System available as a download for only $97. This price will not last long, so make sure to check the blog on Monday. May 2, 2008, Are you Relentless In Your Fitness Business?Yesterday I picked up a copy of U.S. News & World Report's Secrets of the Super Rich. It shared stories about the super-affluent, both modern and historical. But my favorite part was the section on secrets and habits of the super rich. There were a variety of traits - perseverance, risk taking, work habits, timing, etc. But a couple things that really stood out: The super rich are all competitive and they are relentless in their desire to improve. The competitiveness drives them even if they're already billionaires. I understand...for me, business is a game, not unlike baseball was when I was coaching. There's just a different way of keeping score;) That relentless desire to improve is something I can relate to as well. I'm always trying to learn a better way of doing things, be it marketing, selling, teaching - everything. I'm sure you can relate to both as well. If you're bothering to read this, settling for being average just isn't in your plans. I'd recommend that you run out a grab a copy of the magazine...it's a good little motivational resource. But even better that that, I have a couple other things for you that fall right in the lines of competition and relentless improvement: First, my buddy Craig Ballantyne is holding a online business transformation challenge that is f.r.e.e. to all participants. He's awarding over 6K in prizes including 1K in cold hard cash. Check it out at: http://www.onlinesuperprofits.com/transformation Second, we've finally decided to make the Ultimate Fitness Professionals Business Success System available as a download. As a hard copy product, it sells for $247, but we're going to make it available on Monday for $97. When Alwyn Cosgrove and I put that product together we were both convinced that it was the best fitness business product on the market. After a year - I'm even more convinced;) Gotta go...lots to do before the big Kentucky Derby Weekend! Pat May 1, 2008, Relationship Building In ActionToday Holly and I received a wonderful card from one of our TIC members, Val Fuji. Val, like many of you, was aware of the health scare that we had with my stepson Tyler a couple weeks ago. Val uses the Send Out Card system I've talked about a few times. Apparently he went into the system, picked out a thoughtful and appropriate card, then wrote a couple of sentences expressing his wishes that everything was well. I'd guess it didn't take 5 minutes... Probably less. But by spending about a buck and 5 minutes, Val made both my and Holly's day. He's also created something that is now sitting on the mantle in my living room. And he's strengthened an already good friendship and ensured that anytime he needs something from me - he can count on me delivering. That wasn't his intention - I'm sure. He was just reaching out to friends to show he cared. But I wanted to illustrate how much impact doing 'relationship stuff' can have. Val made our day...I'm going to send someone a card today and hopefully make theirs. I'd like you to do the same...my treat. Here's what you need to do: 1) Go to http://www.sendoutcards.com/free1, enter Username: free1 and PW: free1 and hit the 'Login' button. It will open a gift account for you that I will pay for you to send out a couple of cards. (Make sure you create a Picture Plus Card with your own pictures!!) You can also get a system tour while you're there if you want to learn about it. 2) If you have questions, email Nick at rnberry4@gmail.com and he'll answer any questions you have or help with anything you need. Now go make someone's day ;) Pat Apr 29, 2008, Are You Starting With The Fundamentals?Sunday I had my first T-Ball practice for the year. Fun stuff. But the league officials really don't have a clue what they're doing. They want to better prepare the player (ages 4-6) to play at the higher levels of youth baseball. Their solution: Make it more competitive - keep score and don't let everyone play. Stupid. If they want to better prep players to play, then focus on the fundamentals...hold clinics, teach the coaches, etc. If you were trying to help your client lose weight is the best approach to make them wear a bikini all the time but don't worry about their training and diet? It's the same thing with business though. Trainers don't focus on the fundamentals and instead dwell on stuff that probably won't have much if any impact on their results. Completely the opposite of how you train your clients I'd suspect. It doesn't matter if it's T-Ball, Training or business - if you want long term success, start with the fundamentals. After that, everything is easier. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - If you want a blueprint for taking a fundamental approach to your business, check out the PT Business Action Plan: www.ptbusinessactionplan.com Apr 28, 2008, What you can learn from an 18 year oldLast week one of those kids came to my door selling magazines, apparently raising money for college (I have my doubts based on our conversation.) In spite of his best efforts I didn't buy any magazines (I already get the ones I want), but I did ask him a few questions and the answers I got were interesting: He makes one sale for every 10 doors he knocks on. At about 50% of the homes no one opens the door. Women are twice as likely to buy as men. Homes with children are twice as likely to buy as those without. 40% of buyers purchase more than one magazine. Why should this matter to you? Because he knows more about his prospects than 90% of the trainers I meet - and he's 18. He knows his ideal client - moms. He knows his closing percentage - 20%. He knows his upsell percentage - 40%. He knows how many doors he needs to knock on to earn the money he need to make. Do you know this same type of information for your business? If you want to make 100K, do you know how many leads you need to generate? How many sales you need to close? What your average lifetime client value is? Here's an example for you: If you want to gross 100K, here's what you need: - 50 clients at $2000 per year. If you close50%, you need 100 sales opportunities - or less than 9 per month. - 25 clients at $4000 per year. If you close 75%, you need less than 4 sales opportunities per month. The first approach could easily be accomplished with a fitness bootcamp and the second would work fine for a one-on-one trainer. So figure out what you need to do...how many leads you need, how many you'll close, etc. Then go do it. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - Today is the last day to grab The Fitness Business Summit DVD Set, do yourself a favor and grab a copy at: http://www.fitnessconsultinggroup.com/fbs.html Apr 26, 2008, Is this your client?Who's your personal training client? Please don't say 'anyone who wants to lose weight.' Way too general. Why should people choose you as over: Weight WatchersJenny CraigNutriSystemGold's Gym24 Hour FitnessCurvesThe Ab LoungerLifetime FitnessJazzercise And the thousands of other solutions marketed to the weight loss crowd. You need to be different. You need a more targeted niche. You're not going to win the battle to capture general weight loss clients' attention...not consistently at least. How about targeting: WomenMomsBusy GuysBaby BoomersBaseball PlayersSoccer PlayersDiabeticsKidsThe Affluent I know that you might have done fine going after the general weight loss crowd in the past, but every day it's getting more and more competitive to go after that group. Health clubs are going up at a record pace. They're taking their training 'in house' more often so independent trainers are opening bootcamps, studios and in-home business more now than ever before. Your key to thriving in the fitness industry as these changes happen is to find a small market and OWN it. I'll write more about that next week and give you some ideas - but I wanted you to start giving it some thought over the weekend. Have a great weekend! Pat P.S. - I just found out that Bedros will only be taking orders for his Fitness Business Summit DVD Set through Monday. If you want them (and you do want them) - go here now: http://www.fitnessconsultinggroup.com/fbs.html Apr 25, 2008, Are you getting better?Hey AJ, Are you better at what you do than you were a month or two ago? Are you a better trainer? A better business person? A better writer? A better marketer? Did you learn a new skill, strategy or technique? If not, why not? Were you too busy to improve? Were you just passing the time? If so, how did you get better? Did you go to a seminar, listen to an audio or read a book? Did you fail at something and learn from it? Did you just take action and practice something until you got better? If you did get better - would you like to get better faster? A lot of questions - I'll give you some answers too. If you feel like you've been stagnant over the past couple of month and didn't really get any better here are 2 quick ways to turn the tide: 1. Go to a live event. There is nothing better than a Seminar to get you pumped up and motivated. I'll be attending one on May 17th that Mike Robertson and Bill Hartman are holding. You can learn more at: www.robertsontrainingsystems.com 2. Read something about someone that's gotten to where you're trying to go. That strategy has always helped me recharge and get motivated to improve. If you did improve, but would like to accelerate your progress even more, dive into something and focus all your spare time and energy on becoming an expert in that area. In a couple months you can digest a ton of information on one topic and improve in that area tremendously. If you choose the right areas to improve in, this approach can totally transform your business in record time. Go get better ;) Pat P.S. - If you want to get better at sales, marketing, building an online business or any number of other fitness business topics - the Fitness Business Summit DVD's are now available - but you have to act fast! Bedros is only making them available for a limited time, so you'd better get over to his site right now: http://www.fitnessconsultinggroup.com/fbs.html Apr 24, 2008, fbstext Permalink -- click for full blog postApr 24, 2008, The Most Important 10 Minutes For Fitness SuccessI was just about to sit down and go through what I consider to be the most important 10 minutes of my day - and then thought I ought to share what I do with you. Who knows, it might even help you improve your business. Basically, at the end of my work day...after all the phone calls, e-mails, writing, meetings and whatever else the day might hold...I sit down and do three things: 1. I review my daily action plan. I assess what I accomplished today that moved me closer to my business and personal goals, what I failed to get done that I set out to do and the progress that was made on the tasks that I delegated. 2. I review my short and long term goals. I read these goals aloud simply to affirm. Not only does this strengthen my resolve to accomplish the goals that I've set, but it serves as a great motivator to see myself accomplish things at an even faster rate than I initially anticipated. This time also serves as a period to reflect on the good fortune that has already come my way. I've been extremely fortunate and I never want to take that for granted - so I make a point to appreciate all that has come my way each evening. 3. I create my action plan for the upcoming day. I list and prioritize the actions that I will perform during the upcoming day...primarily focusing on things that will move me closer to achieving my goals. Every task gets scrutinized because I have no interest in falling into the trap of creating a "to do list" that keeps me busy but does little to help me achieve my personal and professional goals. Doing this activity in the evening also offers the added benefit of allowing me to clear my head. Several years ago, when I was still creating my action plan in the morning - I was rarely able to get to sleep at a reasonable hour due to the abundance of ideas and thoughts racing through my head. You probably read this and thought "what's so special about that"? Honestly, not much. But I will leave you with 3 questions: 1. How much time do you spend planning your day? 2. What is the ratio of time that you spend moving you closer to your goals vs time you spend that doesn't move you toward them or moves you away from them? 3. What are you doing to improve that ratio? I am frustrated if I go a couple of hours without taking actions (even small ones) that move me closer to my goals, but I know dozens of people who go weeks - sometimes months - without taking even a step toward where they want to be. How are you spending your time? Talk to you tomorrow, Pat P.S. - The best business planning system for fitness pros in the world can be found at: Apr 23, 2008, What have you done today to grow your fitness business?I don't mean training clients, writing programs or doing assessments. That's maintaining your fitness business. I'm talking about GROWTH. Have you scheduled a speaking engagement? Did you send a card or two to clients encouragingreferrals? Maybe you met a couple people and told them about how you help people and let them know how they could get your special report. Did you have a mastermind call where you learned something new? Or you wrote five pages of the e-book you've been wanting to launch. You did something to grow your business, right? Look - I'm not asking you to spend 5 hours a day growing your fitness business. Most of us don't have that luxury just yet. But 30 minutes - you can swing that. Like I've said many times before - you're getting better or your getting worse - the choice is yours. By spending 30, 45 or 60 minutes a day growing your fitness business, you guarantee that you're getting better. Small steps yield big results. All you have to do is take a couple of those steps every day - you'll get where you're trying to go in no time. Dedicated to growing your fitness business, Pat P.S. - Over 25 ready to use marketing tools, dozens of marketing ideas and strategies...Mega Marketing for Fitness Pros gives you everything you need to grow your fitness business. http://www.megamarketingforfitness.com Apr 22, 2008, What's Your Next Fitness Move?When a fitness coaching client asks, "Here's where I am right now; so what's the next step?" they expect me to be able to answer them. But it's not a one size fits all answer. Questions about "the next step" invariably make me ask, "Where are you trying to go?" Why do so few fitness trainers realize that the correct "next step" depends entirely on their choice of direction? Until you've settled the issues of goals and objectives, hopes and dreams, assets and willingness to accept risk, measuring sticks and milestones, there can be no intelligent answer to questions about "the next step." Maybe the fitness trainer asking for "the next step" is secretly hoping that I can tell them what to do with their lives. I'm not in that business;) But don't sweat, I do have some help to offer. All you need to do is answer a few simple questions: 1. What are your non-negotiables? Do you have any unspoken principles that tell you the way to take when you come to a fork in the road? 2. How do you measure success? 3. Can you name the things that you're definitely NOT willing to do to be successful? Though you may never have formally identified them, you likely have a set of core principles that you should build your career around. The most successful fitness pros always do. Once you've discovered your own unifying principles, achieving the success you're looking for and answering that "next step" will become easy. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat
P.S. - If you want access to the best tool available for planning your career around your non-negotiables, grab your copy of the PT Business Action plan at: P.S.S. - My non-negotiables are that I'll never be an employee again, I'll always deliver extraordinary value to my clients / customers, I'll only involve myself with businesses and partners that do the same and I'll always keep my family and the legacy that I want to leave at the forefront of my mind when making business decisions. Apr 21, 2008, Success leaves cluesWhen I was coaching college baseball many of the coaches I competed against just continued to plod along in mediocrity never changing a thing. I knew that wasn't for me. I couldn't fathom how someone could spend as much time and energy as coaching requires and be content with being average...or worse. I immediately sought out the most successful coaches and programs in the country and figured out how I could apply what they were doing to make our program successful. By modeling the successes of others we were able to become tremendously successful in a fraction of the time it might have taken otherwise - if it happened at all. When I decided I wanted to own my own business, I knew that I'd use the same approach. Nick and I studied some of the most successful clubs, training companies and businesses totally unrelated to fitness to develop our business model. The outcome was a much, much shorter road to success and profits. When we wanted to take the successful approach Holly had developed for working with women - primarily moms - online and develop a internet business around it, we took the same approach. We enlisted Craig Ballantyne and modeled his successful approach. The results: A list of almost 10,000 and well over 1000 sales in 5 months. We're doing it again now with the IYCA, studying the most successful businesses in the world that have similar traits. This approach has proven time and time again to be the fastest way to success. So take it from me - if you want to accelerate your progress, remember this: success leaves clues. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - If you want to use the same blueprint we used to develop Holly's Fit Yummy Mummy business, you're in luck. Craig just set up a payment plan for his Online Super Profits DVD set to make it even easier to start your own online empire. Check it out at: www.fitnessconsultinggroup.com/internetprofits.html Apr 18, 2008, What's holding you back as a trainer?Yesterday I had a call with a trainer that couldn't understand why they weren't as successful as Alwyn Cosgrove, Craig Ballantyne, Brian Grasso, Stephen Holt or any of the other fitness professionals that have climbed to the top of the fitness industry. I think the quote was something like: "I know as much as they do." I don't know about that, but this trainer seemed to be knowledgeable enough to be having more success that he was, so I figured I'd give him the benefit of the doubt and start discussing his business. I made a suggestion about his USP. "I already knew that." I made a suggestion about marketing strategies. "I know all about marketing." I talked about his sales process. "I'm already a good sales person." At that point I was pretty convinced I knew what was holing this guy back... ...Himself. I made some suggestions about taking action on what he supposedly already knew, but realized that he was pretty much a lost cause. He was way too smart to listen to me. But it was a good education for me and I wanted to pass along the two things I got from it. - You gotta keep learning. Every successful person I know is continually investing in their education and is humble enough to admit they don't know it all. - Knowing and doing are two drastically different things. Maybe this guy did know all that stuff – but he sure wasn't applying it. Take the books and products you already have and review them. Try to take one thing and apply it form each book you read or audio you listen to. Every day you move a little closer to your goals or a little further from them. Which one is up to you. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - In our PT Business Action Plan product there are 'working on your business' worksheets that guide you to make small improvements in your business each week. They've been a great tool for us. Check it out at: www.ptbusinessactionplan.com Apr 17, 2008, Motivation From An Unlikely SourceSo I'm hanging out with my stepson Tyler and we're reading one of his favorite Dr. Seuss books - The Cat In The Hat. Undoubtedly you've read it or heard of it. Like most children's books, there is a moral to the story - in this case it's to be willing to try new things. I guess it's to get kids to eat their veggies or something. But I got something entirely different from it. Over the course of the book Sam tries to get his morose friend to try Green Eggs and Ham 16 different times before he finally says yes. Sixteen times. That's some hellacious persistence. Have you ever wanted something so bad that you wouldn't take no for an answer? Sixteen times? Our PT Dept Manager, A.J. Roberts sold 3 training packages yesterday - all to people who had previously said no. I guess persistence pays. If there is something that you really want... Don't dwell on the problems and the hurdles, Don't let things stand in your way, Don't take no for an answer. Keep plugging away and what you want will eventually be yours. I guarantee it. Have a great day! Pat P.S. - If you want to follow in the footsteps of over a dozen fitness pros that made their dreams a reality, check out: http://www.fitness-riches-book.com Apr 16, 2008, Actions Speak Louder Than WordsYesterday a member at our health club came in and was genuinely distressed. She had recently committed to 12 months of personal training and then got hit with a medical bill that she really couldn't afford and insurance wasn't going to cover. As a business owner, this type of situation is tough because once you let someone out of a contract for one reason - where do you draw the line? If the bill was $5000 we cancel? What if it was $2500? Ultimately, we just did what we thought was right and treated her how we'd want to be treated. In the fitness industry this practice of treating people well is not common enough. Trainers refer to their clients by their time slot..."I have a nine, ten and an eleven-thirty." Health club salespeople promise to help you get the body of your dreams to get you to sign up and then send you out of their office with a pink copy of your contract and a group fitness schedule silently hoping they don't ever have to talk with you again. I know one 'expert' who is so 'talented' at this approach, he'd make used car salesmen seem like they have ethics that would rival the Pope's. So, if you want to make your marketing better, treat people BETTER than they want or expect to be treated. If you become not only your client's fitness expert, but also their trusted friend - you have a business relationship that will be much bigger than any one package or program. You have a long term client, an ambassador for your business and the foundationof a truly extraordinary business. Talk to you tomorrow, Pat P.S. - If you're ready to build those types of relationships with your clients but don't have as many clients as you'd like, you need Mega Marketing For Fitness Pros. Get it here: http://www.megamarketingforfitness.com Apr 15, 2008, Are you ready for opportunity?I'm sitting in the Cincinnati airport waiting for our delayed flight into Louisville after a couple days in New York city. Airlines astound me - but I'll talk about that some other time. The trip to New York was incredible. We got to hang out with Brian Grasso, Sean Hyson from Men's Fitness, Dan Huff, Joe Stankowski and Geo Derice. On top of that we has an IYCA seminar at Equinox in Manhattan that was awesome and is most likely going to lead to a much bigger relationship with that club chain. But perhaps the most interesting part of the trip was something that was completely unscheduled. Holly and I were walking around the city and she was doing a little shopping. She saw a store she wanted to go into and I noticed a bookstore nearby so I headed for the bookstore. On my way into the bookstore I noticed a table that made me wonder if there was a book signing about to happen. I picked up a copy of the book on the table and it was titled "Momma Rock's Rules." I flipped through the book and found out that it was a book on raising kids by Chris Rock's mom. Knowing that Holly was looking for one more addition to her lineup for her upcoming teleseminar series for moms, I asked an employee if there was going to be a book signing. He said yes and that it would begin soon. I bought a copy of the book, called Holly and told her to come to the bookstore. Fortunately, this was an unscheduled book signing so there was no big line and Holy was able to spend some time talking to Ms. Rock. The outcome: she said that she'd love to do the teleseminar series. Hopefully this all pans out because she'd add a little more 'star power' to the event and she certainly seems to have a lot of valuable info to share. When you're places other that work, are opening yourself up to opportunity? When you're at a restaurant and you get extraordinary service, do you see that as an opportunity to discover a new employee? When you meet people, do you try to learn from them and look for ways to develop win / win relationships? When you're in a new city do you look at businesses that you couldn't see in your own town?Do you look for things that you could apply to your own business? I'm not telling you to turn every trip into a business exploration, but opportunities are everywhere if you're willing to look. Dedicated to growing your business, Pat P.S. - If you want to see how over a dozen successful fitness pros capitalized on their own opportunities, check out: http://www.fitness-riches-book.com Feb 1, 2008, Creating Your Own Profit Improvement StrategyDiscover a systematic approach to improving your business' profits. Permalink -- click for full blog postFeb 1, 2008, INCREASING RETENTION, REFERRALS AND REVENUE WITH A CONTINUOUS SUCCESS PROGRAMINCREASING RETENTION, REFERRALS AND REVENUE WITH A CONTINUOUS SUCCESS PROGRAM Permalink -- click for full blog postJan 30, 2008, Case Study #2Case Study #2 Permalink -- click for full blog postJan 26, 2008, Are We in the Product Sales Business or the Training Sales Business?Where is the true profitablility in our business - Product Sales or Training Sales? Permalink -- click for full blog post |