There’s been a sudden surge of personal trainers in the fitness industry. Likewise, increased demand for healthy eating, keeping fit and building muscles. This means that personal trainers have more chances of booking clients daily or weekly.
Also, it also means more income flow and expanded clientele. With nice reviews from the clients that you help as a personal trainer, you can book more clients. The very first step to a successful client relationship is the process of personal training consultation.
This is the stage where you get to understand who your client is, their goals, what they seek to achieve, and in what length of time they seek to achieve those results.
Hence, there’s an emphasized need for personal trainers to take this consultation period, seriously and build that bond with their clients from day one.
There are tons of reasons why you need to build a strong relationship during the phase of personal training consultation:
- It helps you understand the person you’ll be working with
- Your client is more open and willing to share their difficulties with you
- It makes the process more seamless and faster to get to their goal
- You’re able to surmount every wall between you and the client
- Finally, both parties i.e the personal trainer and the client reach an agreement on the terms and conditions of membership
Source: fitagain.co.uk
All these and more are reasons to take personal training consultation sessions seriously. The question is asides from just talking about the rate and length of membership which a lot of personal trainers focus on, how do you get the best out of this consultation with clients?
By this we mean:
- What should you talk about?
- Are there things they need to know?
- Are there sensitive matters the clients need to discuss with you?
That’s the reason we’ve taken the time to put together a step-by-step guide to a successful personal training consultation.
If you read through to the end, you’ll have more results and help your clients achieve more.
Sounds like a plan? Let’s get started!
A step-by-step guide to a successful personal training consultation with clients
Source: 1-life.ca
The clock ticks, one hour left before the client walks into the studio for your first consultation with them. Your palms are sweaty and cold sweats break out on your forehead. Maybe your first time and you can’t reconcile the expectations you have about the session.
You’re worried about whether the client will like you or sign the deal with you. The truth is that this happens to almost every personal trainer in their first consultation session.
For some people, the feeling lingers for a while until they master how to take charge and be in control. There is only one reason a client walks through the door or places you on a call for personal training.
One is that they trust you and the second is that they believe that you’ll help them reach their goals.
Your internal wrestling might lie in the questions in your head:
- Can you help this client?
- Will you be able to relate to them?
- Will the relationship yield profitable results for both of you?
The answer is YES. As a personal trainer, you’ve got the best skillsets to introduce clients to your preferred workout builder software, workout schedules, nutrition plans, proper adapting exercise for them, motivation, and super for clients.
The only thing standing between you and that contract is nailing your consultation session with them. Once you achieve that, you’re good to go.
We’ve listed a few things that can help you take charge of the room and command results on your first personal training consultation, tidy.
Let’s have a look!
Rehearse your lines
Source: boomfit.com
Always stay ready so you don’t have to get ready. Rehearsing your lines is a sure-proof way to make sure that the consultation session is successful. This doesn’t mean that you’ll cram up a bunch of stereotyped questions and lines.
Rather, you need to draft a few related questions for each client since all clients have peculiar reasons and goals, you need to make sure that these things reflect in your notebook.
So, the best way to nail the consultation session is to have the questions well written in your notebook first before the client comes. Don’t make the mistake of drafting the questions when the client is already there instead of listening to them.
Focus on the clients
This is where a lot of personal trainers get it wrong. They focus on themselves, their skills, and their difficulties. What happens is that the moment you direct the attention on yourself, it will no longer be about understanding the clients but about dealing with the wall within you.
A step towards progress in your personal training consultation session is to direct the focus on your clients. Ask them questions, understand why they are, find out what they wish to achieve, and discover how they want to achieve their goals.
If there is a motivating reason behind their desire to keep fit or lose weight, it’s in your court to take advantage of that and build them forward on it. This is the point where you pull your best arsenals and shower them with the encouragement they need.
The truth is that most clients who attend consultation sessions aren’t fully sure if they should go ahead with their plan or back out before they even get started.
If you’re able to bring them from point A of uncertainty to point Z of assurance, you’ve got a new client signed up on the platform.
Listen and take notes
Source: ptacademy.edu.au
Listening is a critical communication skill for every consultation session with clients. Clients love it when they see you nod to their conversations, and ask the returning questions to show that you’re sincerely following what they’re saying.
Now, we mentioned earlier that you shouldn’t focus on drafting questions or taking notes instead of listening to clients. Here’s a continuing thought on that. Make sure to also listen and take notes when necessary. The notes you take might reconcile with your personal study of the clients before the call or during the consultation.
Questions like:
- What is their fitness goal?
- When do they want to reach that goal?
- Are there obstacles the client mentioned that’ll stop them?
- How do you help them cross those obstacles?
- Are there health challenges you need to know?
All these and more can come up during the talking phase. Your job is to simply take note of these things and make reference to them in the future.
Analyze challenges and set goals
Having taken note of the questions you may have about the clients. It’s time to discuss challenges and set goals for the clients. This is an important step in the process of consultation with clients. That way you have a bird’s view of what to help them accomplish and challenges to help them overcome.
Most clients have health, psychological and physical challenges. These challenges are road books that may stop them from achieving their goals and reaching their targets on time.
It is the job of the personal trainer to make sure that these challenges are addressed head-on to avoid any limitations to the training sessions.
Assessment and mini-workout sessions
Source: nourishmovelove.com
Now, that everything is out of the way. You need to hold a mini-assessment and work out sessions with the clients. There’s a need to tell the clients what to wear or to pack their training gear in their bags.
- Get client’s measurements: measure their height, weight, waist circumference, and body mass index. You can also use your tape to check their shoulders, chest, and arms. Make sure to get all the necessary measurements for reference purposes. This not only helps you know where to focus but also documents the process for both parties.
- Cardiovascular fitness: The best way to check this cardiovascular fitness for clients is to take the one-mile test or step walk with them. Your goal is to test the client’s fitness and establish a starting point for them. Here, you’re able to determine if they’re beginners, intermediate, or experts. Now, you can tailor the training schedule to match their ability and fitness.
- Check for Flexibility: Take your clients through basic flexibility training. This will help you determine if they can squat, bend forward, backward, and move freely. Will they need the help of workout equipment or can their body carry them through certain exercises? Thus, you’re aware of the client’s exercise program to help them stay healthy and fit and not attract injuries during exercise.
Talk about payment
The final stage here is to ask for the sale. Discuss the payment process and plans with them. Are you signing them on a recurring membership or a test membership? Always set the contract in place in order to hold the clients accountable. Most clients run off without paying up once they feel that they’re not meeting their target. Establish all these before you move on.
