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time you have gotten past title and read first line of this article, you should already have one reason in your head why a prospective client would hire you. If you don't, then you may have already discovered biggest obstacle to success of your personal training career!What we're talking about here is a very important sales tool known as a "Unique Selling Proposition". Basically, this is single most important thing about your business that makes you stand out from other professionals in your industry. The basic, bare bones, from gut, instinctive answer that comes to your mind when someone asks, "Why should I train with you instead of another trainer"?
After all, isn't this absolute most important question that you could possibly answer? Isn't this similar to a question that you ask yourself every single time you are about to spend money?
When you are headed out to grocery store, you decide to go to a particular store. Why? Better prices, usually, although that is not always answer.
If you are going to get gas in your car on way to work, you choose a specific gas station to fuel up. Why? Price sometimes, but often with a convenience store, location is more of a deciding factor.
What about if you are going to go shopping for clothes? What makes you decide to go to an anchor store like Sears or JC Penney instead of going to Target, or Wal-Mart? Certainly not price, since department stores are usually cheaper. Why did you go to mall?
By now you should be starting to see a pattern developing here. Whether you are talking about buying groceries, gas, or clothes, each time when you decide to shop at a certain establishment, there is always some underlying reason WHY you decided on that store. Whatever that reason is, that is Unique Selling Proposition of that store, and way they got your business!
For grocery stores, it is often selection that brings in customers. Gas stations have price wars, but in end it often ends up just being about convenience. Clothing stores get a lot of their business from brand names that they carry, rather than their rock-bottom prices.
Those 3 examples were chosen to illustrate an incredibly powerful point for you in your personal training business. That point is that you need a Unique Selling Proposition, and contrary to popular belief, having a lower price is not one that you want to choose. In fact, lowering your prices can help you to actually LOSE customers, and will definitely help your business to a lower bottom line!
Now ask yourself same question again, only this time, really take time to think about answer. Why should someone train with you instead of another trainer? It is possible - in fact, even likely - that you may not have a good reason! If that is case, your business is surely suffering as a result, and coming up with your own Unique Selling Proposition should become your highest priority.
Here is a brief but hardly all-encompassing list of ways that your business may stand out from your competitors. Even if none of these ideas apply to you, utilize this list to start thinking of other ways to make yourself a more appealing option for potential clients than your competitors.
Customer Service. This has been one of most basic business success secrets since dawn of time, yet personal trainers often don't take care of their customers nearly as well as they should. For some great tips on customer service, see article 'Personal Training: 6 Secrets of Award Winning Customer Service' at following URL: http://www.completepersonaltrainingbusiness.com/article2.html
