Honestly, just relying on word of mouth referrals is not a sound marketing plan for one to grow a business. Word of mouth referrals are a testament to you being a great trainer and helping your clients achieve results. The best clients are the ones who sing your praises and refer you to their friends and colleagues. Establishing great long lasting relationships with your clients, means working with clients who match up well with your skills and experience. Less qualified clients who don’t match up may not stick with you over the long-term, leaving you with the task of finding a new client to fill that session time again. That can take a lot of work. Conversely, what about when a client finds you? They see your skills match their needs. They see your experience matches their struggles. These are the personal training clients who stay with you and call you a “godsend” or a “life changer.” They mention you often and with great appreciation.
Visualize a tree root system and how it fortifies the tree’s foothold in the ground. As a tree grows, it’s roots grow thicker and deeper into the ground seeking water and nutrients. The thickest roots are always those that sprout from the tree’s base. As the thick roots grow, smaller roots sprout from the thick roots so they can absorb more water from the ground. From those smaller roots, offshoot even thinner roots, but eventually the roots become to thin to split off again. If the tree is to continue its growth trajectory, it needs additional thick roots to come from its base and produce new roots from it. Can you see the correlation? Each root is a client, that can produce additional client. The thicker the roots, the stronger your client relationship. These can grow over time. However, sometimes just like in tough economic times, eventually the soil can dry up and the root begins to shrink. If the tree roots cannot attract any water they will die.
What does a tree root system have to do with your Queens personal training business referrals? A lot if you followed the example. No matter how busy you are, you always have to be marketing. “I get a lot of my business through word-of-mouth referrals.,” is what is heard from many personal trainers. That’s great, but often, you’ll come to find out that they don’t have enough clients. So what does that mean? It means that word of mouth referrals isn’t making the grade. You have to have another avenue. What do you do when the referrals dry up, what is your plan B? Every great plan needs a plan B to sustain success.
Why do you always need to be marketing even in the best of times? Because strong roots can help you set off a growth spurt. Growing your personal training business is your goal. Also, because nothing is guaranteed. what if one part of the tree’s root system dies or becomes sick? The recession hurt a lot of fitness businesses. Lastly, on a more positive note, you are always more in demand when you look like you are in demand. People want what they can’t have.
Someone needs you in 2012. But how will they found you? Nine out of ten people start researching a purchase online and like all of their information readily at their fingertips. Many Queens personal trainers already have a facebook page, twitter account, and a Youtube channel. However, their existence is separate and fragmented. Give your clients one source for learning more about you. Bring them all together, along with all of your skills and experience in one easily accessible online profile.
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