Top 3 fitness training obstacles

Before focusing on the pre-natal fitness niche, I had plenty of obstacles that I would have to overcome in order to obtain a new personal training client. With the more focused pregnant mothers target market, there are even more obstacles. These are the top three that could apply to almost any market you’re trying to target for your personal/small group fitness training business.

1. Building trust. This is huge. It’s hard when you first meet someone/start talking to them to build trust but I have found it helpful to ask certain questions about them in order to get them talking about themselves and their fitness goals. Asking open-ended questions is key here. Rather than asking if they want to lose pounds, ask them what or who they admire and want to look like. Almost everyone (especially millenials) have a fitness Instagram account they follow and want to look like. You’d be surprised at how many male clients I would have pull up a male fitness guru’s account to show me his goal.
2. Find their X-factor. Trust me when I tell you that every potential client will say something close to “I want to lose X lbs” or “I want to gain X lbs of muscle” or a mixture of both. Obviously, the prenatal market is looking to stay/be healthy for baby and to shorten labor time. That’s an X factor. So for those people who just tell you they want to lose weight and/or gain muscle you have to find their why. Some examples I’ve heard include: upcoming event (i.e. wedding), want to keep up with kids or grandkids, and doctor’s orders. Find out what’s driving them to get back in shape and your job will be much easier.
3. Financial. This is the biggest obstacle to overcome. While everyone wants to get in shape, not every has the extra cash to pay for a personal trainer 3-4 times a week. If you do a little digging, most people can give up their starbucks/fast food/alcoholic beverages to afford about 30-80 dollars a week. Finding something comfortable is important, as you don’t want them to not be able to pay their bills. But also, you don’t want them to pay too little where they don’t take you seriously. So I like to have a range where I’m comfortable getting paid. I take a few things into account. I charge less for my online clients versus my clients I physically meet at the gym. All things considered, I wouldn’t undercut myself if someone could only afford 15 or 20 dollars a week. I could still help them by writing up a generalized meal plan and workout plan for a month at a time and charge them a flat rate for that month. But it would be on the client to follow through with the workouts.

What obstacles do you see in the fitness industry? How do you overcome them?