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4 Steps to Start Online Training the Right Way


By: Jonathan Goodman


Jonathan GoodmanEvery good trainer eventually hits an iron ceiling. You can’t work any more hours, and you can’t charge more per hour in your facility or market.

 

For many trainers, and an increasing number of gym owners, the solution is to start an online personal training business. Most do it part-time as a supplement, while others go fully virtual.

 

You already have the most important qualifications: experience and skill training clients in person. You already know how to write good training programs, how to adapt them to individual clients, and how to progress or regress exercises and movement patterns.

 

Online training is, in that sense, an extension of what you do. But, as you’ll see, it’s also different in significant ways, and requires some adjustments from your hands-on practice.

 

Adjustment #1: Narrow your focus

 

A good gym-based trainer will get the opportunity to work with clients of almost every description, from teenagers to seniors, and from competitive athletes to post-rehab patients. But when you market yourself online, you no longer benefit from location bias. The narrower your focus, the better it works.

 

Your goal is to go deep into your niche, to exploit what I call your 1% Uniqueness Factor.

 

What makes you stand out? What draws clients to you? What kind of clients are typically referred to you from your fellow professionals? What’s different and unique and (possibly) weird about you? Because only one of you exists, the 1% that makes you different is the biggest competitive advantage you’ll ever have.

 

It works because clients’ purchasing decisions are rarely based on actual merit. More often, a client buys because they feel some connection with you, a connection that may be irrelevant to your training.

 

Case in point: Troy Bennett, a coach at ChuloFit Training Studio in Palo Heights, Illinois, got his first five remote clients because of his involvement in the Chicago cosplay community—people who dress up as their favorite characters from comics, movies, or video games.

 

You may think this limits your market. It does. But it also simplifies your job in three important ways:


    Limited competition. With fewer online trainers focused on your niche, you’ll elevate your own status as the go-to expert among your target clients.

    More straightforward marketing. You don’t have to be everywhere online. You just have to be where there’s a critical mass of potential clients.

    Standardized training programs. If all your clients share key characteristics—gender, age, goals—you can work from multi-phase templates, making the appropriate adjustments for individual needs or concerns.

 

Adjustment #2: Set your price and package structure

 

There’s no “best” price, but pricing is very important.

 

Pick a number that’s too low, and you leave money on the table—possibly a lot of money, if you charge an average price for superior service that involves more time, effort, and expertise than the average trainer. Pick a number that’s too high, and you may find yourself without any clients willing to pay top dollar for someone who’s new to online training.

 

Your fees should be based on four considerations:


    • Your income goals

    • The hourly value of your time

    • The services you offer, and the time it takes to create and deliver those services

    • A realistic assessment of how many hours you want to devote to online training

 

The process is relatively straightforward. Begin with a list of potential services to offer—program design, video assessments or consultations, nutrition coaching, etc. Write down how many minutes a month it will take to deliver this service to each client, and how many hours per month you want to allocate to online training.

 

Finally, decide how much money you want to make.

 

Let’s say you plan to offer a package that includes program design and remote Skype assessments. You calculate it will take two hours per client per month. Because you plan to set aside 20 hours a month for training (with the understanding that you’ll also need time for building and marketing your business), you can take on a maximum of 10 clients at a time.

 

Now you need to decide, realistically, how much you have to charge to make this new venture worth it for you.



Adjustment #3: Develop a questionnaire for potential clients

 

An online questionnaire is a de facto application form. It tells you if the prospect is a good match for you, or if you’re the right trainer for the client. It should also give a hint of your personality, and help you establish rapport.

 

You can host the questionnaire on your website, or use Google or Wufoo forms. Here’s what it should include:



1. Basic information: Name, age, gender, email, Skype handle, phone number.


2. Health history: Ask about illnesses, injuries, or limitations,just as you would for an in-person client.


3. Training history:Is the client an athlete, now or in the past? What programs have they tried? What coaches have they worked with? What were the results?


4. Rapport builders:Ask about any random interest you can bond over—sports, movies, music, pets.


5. Script-flipping questions:Ask the client why they want to train with you specifically. You’re more likely to get their business when they have to prove themselves to you.


6. Prequalifying questions:First you need to know if the client is willing to invest the money you plan to charge (usually $200 to $400 a month) to achieve their health and fitness goals. If money is an obstacle, you need to know now so you don’t waste time trying to sell to a person who isn’t ready to buy. You also need to ask if anyone else is involved in the decision-making process, and needs to be convinced of the value of working with you.

 

Adjustment #4: Become the expert your future clients have been looking for

 

This could be the easiest or hardest part of the process, depending on how much time you spend on social media, and how much content you produce.

 

You don’t need to be present on every platform, but you should be where your ideal clients can find you. Is that Facebook? Instagram? Pinterest?

 

You want to post fitness-related content about issues that matter to these clients, with the goal of establishing yourself as an expert. But you’re not there to lecture, or to argue with anyone who disagrees with you. A sense of humor and a bit of humility will serve you well.

 

And don’t be afraid to pull the curtain back a bit, to show who you are outside the gym, and what you like to do. When people feel as if they know you on a human level, they’ll be more comfortable approaching you as a fitness expert.

 

Most of all, remember that people buy trainers, not training.

 

I’ll finish by circling back to where I started: You already have the knowledge and skills you need to be a good online trainer. The best ones often start out as the best trainers for in-person clients.

 

With these four adjustments, you should be able to apply what you do in the gym to clients you’ve never met face to face, and boost your income in the process.

 


 

Jonathan Goodman is the creator of the Personal Trainer Development Center. Since 2011, he has supported fitness professionals by publishing hundreds of articles, writing multiple books, hosting online communities, and establishing the Online Trainer Academy, the first-ever certification for online trainers. He's been featured in Men's Health, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Muscle & Fitness, Inc., and many other business and fitness publications. Originally from Toronto, Jon spends his winters exploring the world with his wife and son.

 

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