Comments on: ON-LOCATION PERSONAL TRAINING: TRAINING WITHOUT LIMITS – Looking at in-home and on-site training … (video commentary attached)

By: Carlton

Carlton — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:18:02 +0000

Hi. I just visited this site. I’m thinking of approaching a few condominium complexes that have small gyms in order to conduct training there. Does anyone have a specific approach to getting a foot in the door at these complexes. I tried one complex early in the year and didn’t get very far.

By: Lee Smith

Lee Smith — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:43:01 +0000

This is a great post! Kaiser, you’re right on point with this – even though I’m WAAAY late reading it. I think the “on-site” personal training title will get you a better perception in the eyes of your customer than “in-home”. I think of movie stars when they go “on-location” so I think the same principle applies here.

In thinking about the on-location personal training, I figured it’d be very unprofessional-looking to show up carrying all that equipment in my hand and clumsily dropping it into their flower beds and things. (I think people get a little irritated when you drop an 8-lb. medicine ball on their garden gnomes…) I checked out Target and found some pretty good bags to carry all the equipment into their house so you can train them. I think it’s possible to fit a bunch of heavy stuff in the bottom of it, a few forms, charts, measurement tapes and things like that in the top so they won’t get crushed. Plus, you could carry business cards, referral certificates and stuff in it too. You guys can check out the link here at http://www.target.com/Rolling-Duffel-Bags-Luggage/b/ref=sc_fe_l_2/190-5455041-5745340?ie=UTF8&node=16292031

It’s not an affiliate link or anything like that. I’m just found that I found a forum of trainers who actually TRAIN people who are about building their business. Kaiser, no doubt you’re the man…no doubt!

By: Kaiser

Kaiser — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:36:34 +0000

Hey Abena –
I know how it is when you’re first starting out – sending out a
mailing to this group is probably out of your budget – it would cost nearly a couple of grand to produce and mail, and would require a good website to follow up with –
But find out if they have a local community newsletter or magazine – most of the better buildings and communities do, and advertising with them can be relatively cheap (less than $400) which should be paid back with one solid new client -

On a shoestring, I’d do some detective work on the phone -
find the numbers to their healthclubs (if they’re staffed) and
find out about the policy regarding outside trainers – if they’re
allowed, ask to meet the fitness manager just to tell them a
little bit about you, and speak to other members of the
staff (on the phone) and let them know about you and what you do in a casual, non-threatening way, and leave behind plenty of business cards, or better yet, brochures. Also, for employees besides the fitness manager, let them know you have a very generous referral fee – give something like $200 or more, since a new client’s value is many times that to you – after you’ve met them, also try bribes like buying them all lunch and things like that (nothing special, just pizza is good enough) – I keep the staff at the places I train VERY well taken care of –

Also offer this same kind of finding fee to the other local health and wellness people in your area – chiropractors, massage therapists, physical therapists – massage therapists and therapy centers are especially good – leave everyone plenty of business cards and brochures -

Yeah, just a little bit of calling and finding out in the beginning, but finding that one good place to train out of will basically leave you set and never have to look for clients again – so be creative and keep searching -

The “stickyness” of your service – how many resigns, referrals, and new inquiries you get – depends on your personal marketing and the quality of your service – keep following the blog and e-letter and you’ll have that handled -

You also need to get a little lucky – just work in the high-income areas, form relationships, do some local advertising, and eventually you’ll penetrate that market – and all it takes is one client for it to take off from there -

By: Abena

Abena — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:39:28 +0000

Hi,

Love the site! I am a new personal trainer and based on my research for the area I’m now living in, I think in-home/onsite training is a great service to offer. There has been a boom in condo construction here and I wondered: what is the best way to approach condominium managers to offer onsite training in their fitness centers for residents? If anyone has any feedback/advice, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

By: sam pont

sam pont — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:50:11 +0000

Hi Kaiser,
Love the site and the article. I must say i’ve cut back on training clients at home as i try to get my days to make the client sessions run back to back throughout the day with a couple of hours break for my own training as I found I was loosing alot of money driving around town stuck in traffic jams! This does obvioulsy depend on where you live though- Brighton Uk is horrific! To travel 3 miles can take up to an hour – quicker and more healthier to run but can’t carry the equipment! http://www.samuelponttraining.com/

By: Kaiser

Kaiser — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 09:56:59 +0000

Yeah real simple – what I mean by that is just feeling around until you find a situation that works really well for you – this could take a few forms:
- a private condo that has a lot of wealthy residents, no trainer fees, and is underserved (this is my “sweet spot”, so much so that I even moved into the building)
- a gym that’s giving you a great percentage (look for 75% or over), and is working with you on marketing and keeping out competition
- an advertising source that’s working really well for you in bringing in consistent leads every time you run it and is turning out to be a worthwhile return on investment
- a business you have a partnership with (like a massage studio or health food establishment) that’s working with you on marketing and always bringing you good leads –

Even if you get one of these situations going however, you can’t rest on your laurels – if anything, you now have the free time to market even harder – this will allow you to find more of these so-called “sweet spots” and also allow you to refine your client list, host semi-private sessions (more than one person at a time), and charge higher prices. It also brings you that situation of putting your practice on “autopilot” that I always talk about.

By: Manny

Manny — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:23:27 +0000

Hey Kaiser – great posts! All of the recent ones and especially getting your ideas on alot of these things that I’m going through right now! Just one question ….

What did you mean by “sweet spots”, that thing that you mention at the end of this post? Can you expand on that for me a litle bit?

Thanks for the motivation! I’m now a devoted reader!

By: Kaiser

Kaiser — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:17:54 +0000

Yup, all I ever real carry to sessions are bands and boxing equipment – but in the car I keep a bunch of other things, pretty much every thing you mentioned Doug – you’ve got to see my trunk – it looks like a Perform Better catalog in there! I also notice those Trainers On Site guys carry the Lebert Equalizer (http://www.lebertequalizer.com/index.htm) which is very adaptable –

Remember that when it comes to all of this, I’m not referring to just sessions in-home – I wouldn’t consider myself an in-home trainer, just that’s one of the options available to my clients (I really only train three current clients in their actual homes, and with one of them could hardly call it that since he built a complete gym in there!)

- I’m usually looking for an alternate place to train my clients, at or close to their location – one of my clients drives to meet me at a public park, another I train at a gorgeous park near her home, and the rest at the gyms in their residential condos – and you’ll also want to find out trainer’s gyms and private gyms that allow outside trainers when those other options aren’t available. Through your marketing and when you speak to them on the phone, just let them know that you’ve got a ton of options in terms of location –

And yeah Jason you said it – they need to have some heart, internal drive and commitment – or else they’re not ideal clients!

By: gaby

gaby — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:37:45 +0000

Actually in regards to in home training you dont necessarily need many tools; as pointed out by Doug Murphy. I am sure he gives his clients an excellent workout and results. In fact when I started all I used for the first year were powerbands and boxing gloves and thai pads. My clients hated every minute of it but they LOVED the results. In my opinion if you could only carry ONE peice of equipment then that would be a kettlebell and incorporate that into bodyweight training.

By: Doug Groce

Doug Groce — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:10:35 +0000

Thanks Doug for sharing what type of equipment you use–Very interesting that you do only in-home training because I see that as one of my biggest barriers– figuring out how to find a place to train and/or learning to give quality workouts in someone’s home.