Personal Trainers- Do You want to Make 6 Figures? Here's 10 Ways to Do It!
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More and More I see personal trainers struggling to make a dollar. They have several clients that they see on a regular basis, but they can't seem to make a good living at what they do.
A close examination reveal a lot about what they are not doing in their business that keeps them from reaching a 6 figure income.
Let me explain....
Personal Training is in fact a business at the end of the day. So we must focus on the business side as much as we do the training side. You can't do one without the other and make the kind of money that will give you "financial freedom".
If making a living as a Personal Trainer is something you want and if making a six figure income is something you desire. Lets take a look at what you need to do get there.
1. The first thing you need to do is set a goal. How much do you want to make? What kind of personal training business do you want? What's your niche? Is it fat loss, training brides, bootcamps, training seniors..etc.
For some writing their goals down seem to be pointless. Actually this is probably the most important step, as it drives everything that you will be doing in your business! Those that have no visual goals, often do not know what they want to do or where they want to take their business. This leads to a business that is staggering and not generating enough business to stay alive.
2. Calculate your income. Figure out how much you need to charge each client on a monthly basis to reach your 6 figure goal. Here's a formula to help you determine that:
Your hourly rate x The number of days you train your clients x 52 weeks in a year now divide that by 12 months. That will give you the amount you need to charge your clients monthly. Once you have your end result, determine how many clients you will need paying that amount every month to reach you income goal.
Leverage Your Time With Group Training!
3. EFT Payments, Auto Debit - Set your clients up on auto debit or EFT where you would hit there credit card or checking account every month. You can use a system like Paypal to set this up. You should have all your clients sign a contract that commits them to 3 months to a year. (Accepting cash payments and selling packages are not good for long term income). If you want to reach a 6 figure income auto debit is the only way to go. With auto debit your customer will still pay you even if they wake up one morning and decided they no longer wanted to workout or skip a session. So get a contract with auto debit!
4. Leverage Your Time- If you are doing 1 on 1 training. You are probably working way harder than you have to. A great way to leverage your time and make more is with Group Training. Lets use an example, you have 10 clients. You train them all 1 on 1. You charge each one $45. Your making $45 an hour. Not bad. You've made $450 for 10 hours work.
With group training you will see 10 folks in 1 hour and charge them $15 each. Now your making $150 an hour. Do you see where this is going? If you only worked 4 hours you'll make $600. The beauty of group training is you make more while working less!
5. Determine your hours of operation. If you want to work a particular schedule then you need to make sure your in the gym at the hours you want for your schedule. Alot of trainers make the mistake of thinking potential clients will just pick up their business card and call for those time slots. If you want to work from 5am - 12pm you will need to be in the gym at that time promoting to get that time slot filled. It's not hard to do. Just being there will naturally fill that time slot you want to work.
6.Get referrals- Ask your current clients for referrals. Offer a free training session or a discount when they refer someone that signs up with you. This is a good way to generate new business without the cost of advertising.This will keep your funnel full of cash generating clients.
7.Be a Motivator- Encourage & Motivate your clients. When they make achievements reward them with a free session or certificate of achievement. Let them know you recognize their accomplishment and are proud of them. People love to be recognized when they do something great! This will keep your clients coming back to see you and trying even harder to make themselves and you proud. You may wonder what's this got to do with making 6 figures? Everything! Treat your clients right and they will reward you with referrals and repeat business month after month!
8.Exude Energy - I know sometimes, we get tired and worn out. But it is absolutely important that you show high energy at all times. This may take some acting at times. But the client should always feel you're ready to give a good workout and are excited about doing it. I'm not saying you have to be wild and crazy , I mean be alive, attentive and motivating for your client. This also will keep your clients with you. Boring workouts leads to your clients having a boring time...eventually they get bored half to death and stop coming.When they stop coming so do the referrals.
9. Get a Website or Blog to promote you and your business. No business today can survive without a website, in my opinion. If you want to make the big bucks you need to open your business up to the masses. The Internet opens up opportunities not available offline. Imagine having a way for current clients and potential clients to find out about you, buy products and get information 24 hours 7 days a week! Your website is like a salesperson that works for you around the clock, even while your on the beach in Tahiti! One of the biggest advantages of taking your business online is..... see #10
10. List Building. On your site you can collect names and email address of potential clients and current clients that visit your site.( You can use an auto response email service like Aweber to help you manage this process). Over time you will have many names and email address that you can market to over and over again with your newsletters, tips, promotions, specials, new products and more! This is how the Big Money Earners do it. They are constantly in the face of their clients and potential clients via their list with information that attracts people to them! This list will help you create a relationship with people that begin to trust you and your knowledge. When people trust you, they will buy from you and use your services again & again! There is big money is list building.
This is the foundation of every 6 figure Personal Trainer! If you want to be among the top earners in the fitness industry, you must know and practice what successful trainers do. If you are not doing these things, make it a point to add this to your list of things to do.
100k Personal Trainer Boot Camp
If your are serious about making a 6 figure Income from your personal training business, Sign up for My Free 100k Personal Trainer Boot Camp! Here I will give you everything you need to get started making money.
I'm showing you how to: Get more clients, Create flier's that pull clients like crazy, close more clients at the consultation, leverage your time by working less and making more money , how to get your clients referring others more consistently and much more!
You can sign up for the free Boot Camp Here: 100K Trainer . It's 10 day's long and packed with top marketing strategies that will catapult you into a whole new income bracket!
Much Success!
Candace
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Comments
Hi katherine. I agree. After the certification, the real work begins. I hope this info gets folks going in the right direction. Thanks for stopping by!
A lot of personal trainers really don't think of their venture are really a business. Remember trainers, fitness training is a business. Treat it like one!
Ok so i am currenlt takin courses while i am over seas to become an Elite trainer (nutrition,fitness and therapy) do i have to own my own gym or how do i put this to use when i get back to the states. I love working out and be healthy and motivating others to do so as well... Help me figure this out?
Hi Josh!
No you do not have to own your own gym. You can work for a gym that allows outside trainers to come in as
"independent contractors". These type of gyms will usually charge a monthly rent fee for you to train out of their gym. You don't have to worry about overhead, utilities and the sort. Good option, if you are confident about working
on your own and don't want to worry about upkeep of your own building right now. You have no cap on how much you can make.
Also you can become an employee of a gym. Your Elite Training Certification should make you a great candidate
for a gym looking for trainers. Good option if you need some experience and/or need to stack a little money before you go off on your own. The downside is you may not make as much as you would working as a independent contractor. Upside, no rent to pay, you get a check while you get experience working with clients.
Other option is finding a studio of your own. Just starting out, you will have overhead to worry about while building your clientele. Lights, gas, upkeep, plus the rent.So you will need to think about that.
You will need to weigh the pro's and con's to see what best fits your situation right now. As you build your clientele your options will definitely open up big time!
Hope this helps!
Nice article, Candace.
As someone who also trains personal trainers, it's important that they see their business as an actual business and work very hard at marketing their business. Your article really emphasizes the possibilities which are endless for personal trainers if they will adopt the right mindset and if they're willing to work hard.
Thanks again and God bless.
Hi cburrage! Thanks a bunch!
Yes just as personaltrainer and cburrage says,Personal Training is a business indeed. Treat it as such and you will see your income take a leap forward!
hello! this information is very very helpful. I really appreciate this wise advice! thank you! I am trying to become a personal fitness trainer. can you tell me please the process of becoming one and the right certification training. How long do I have to go to school to become one or do you think a few days in a workshop is sufficient to become a good trainer? And is there a separate class to become an Elite trainer? Thank you!
Hi mmia! To become a great personal trainer and set yourself apart from other trainers, you should: like working with people, have patience, be out going, and have an understanding of the body and how it works.
If you have no understanding of the body, take a class or do self study to help you. You will need a basic understanding of nutrition and kinesiology.
Trainers are also motivators, so knowing how to relate to people and motivate them is a technique you should know too.
Most certification programs require CPR training, so look into getting trained in CPR.
Getting Certified: Depending on who certifies you and what kind of certification you are getting will determine how long your course will be. It could be 1 all-day course in your town, 3 month course, or at your own pace distance learning..etc.
After getting certified, you will need insurance to protect yourself and your clients.
You can definitely get certified in a workhshop, online, or through home study courses for that matter. However, I suggest if you go this route and have NO experience in training or fitness get a seasoned personal trainer to be your mentor or work as an employee of a gym to get experience in personal training before going into your own business.
Yes there is a separate class for becoming an Elite Trainer. Elite Trainers are certified in nutrition and Post rehab, this offers a little more than the basic personal trainer certification.
Check out these certification programs: ASCM- American College of Sports Medicine, ACE-American Council on Exercise, AFAA Aerobic and Fitness Accociation of America.
Much Success!













Katherine_Huether says:
13 months ago
This article sort of makes me wish I was a personal trainer so I could use your advice! A lot of time is spent in actually getting the certification, sometimes it's harder to put on that business hat.