your B.U.T principles

There are three components to business growth and long jeopardy. I call it the BUT principles.

B = Business
U = You the person
T = Technician

In working with business owners, business growth is applicable to U (you). Your personal development strategy and plan is clearly relatable to how much money you earn. Aside from personal development is the consideration to the following areas:

Development of you includes:
- Your health
- Mental state
- Long relationships
- Personal interests/hobbies
- Social skills
- Personal development
- Family responsibilities

For long jeopardy in business the development of your business skills are a fundamental. Multiply your results by outsourcing the areas you are weak or are not entirely excited about doing and work with your strengths.

Development of business includes:
- Accounting
- Budgeting
- IT
- Staff
- Marketing
- Sales
- Systems
- Business plans
- Multiple income streams

Specialists in niche areas earn the top dollars. They also have a referral-based business and they name their availability, terms and conditions.

Development of the technician includes
- Becoming a specialist in a chosen field. Ideally the area you are most passionate to work in.
- Regularly attending workshops, reading and listening to other experts in your chosen specialist area.
- Regular reading of journals, web surfing, books and developing skill in a specialist field
- Regular writing of articles, blogs and a commitment to educating your clients

In an unbalanced world juggling all three of these principles is the challenge we face. The first stage is awareness. As business owners we have a fair amount of responsibility to ourselves, our businesses and our professions. Constant evaluation and assessment, input from mentors and consideration to what needs to be done is a great way to survive.

personal training prostitution

Are you feeling burnt out, buggered and busted? Chances are, you are prostituting your services. I get quite a few of these cases into my office. Only this week a legend in the industry walked in and said “It got me”. It was very obvious to his wife, family, friends and clients.

The symptoms are
- Saying yes to everyone who asks for your services
- Working mornings, nights and weekends
- Not getting paid enough for your efforts
- Skipping your own training sessions
- Been two years in the industry

These are all classic signs of PT prostitution and when your burnt out, buggered and busted you will probably even deny that this is you. When you are overworked and underpaid life is really tough, decisions hard to make and it will feel like you’re on a treadmill.

My role is not to rescue you but make you aware that there is an easier way. Start saying No, get some self respect and be teachable to other ways. Change your priorities by managing you first then everything else will fall into place.

education is a commodity

A key ingredient to growing your business is via education. If you have an educated client then chances are they are ready to purchase.

Our clients have access to all kinds of information and are more informed than ever before. See we all want to buy, we all want to spend, but no-one wants to be sold too.

The purpose of education is “gently” reminding your database of your business. There is no need to sell, sell, and sell every time you send information. Educate your prospects and clients so that whenever they think of your industry they think of your business. Your purpose is to provide knowledge and information frequently. This also adds to your credibility and paints you as a guru. As a fitness professional and true leader it is your duty to share all those many hours of reading and study with your database. When you share information, those that are educated will buy.

advertising is dead

When was the last time you responded to a TV commercial, radio advertisement, billboard or back of bus advertising? More relevant to health and fitness businesses is the brochure issued in a shopping mall or main street. Those bi-fold leaflets or letter box drop techniques that cost a lot of money and yet are so ineffective.

So why is it that so many of us still use ineffective forms advertising? Is it to do with how we were brought up and sold things as kids. Is it because our personal training course delivered by non-business owners read it from a text book ten years ago! Maybe it is the feeling of perceived credibility? Other reasons may include free advice from your mates, doing it for ego or lack of a marketing plan. All normal and acceptable amateur mistakes in trying to grow a business.Save your valuable money and your resources.

The challenge businesses face in this fast paced world is having a message that sticks and working a strategy of getting into the lives of busy people. Traditional advertising is dead because it does not allow educated consumers to get to know you enough to be confident to purchase your products or services.

In a recent meeting with a newly appointed and highly credible National Sales Manager. Her summary comes on the back of being head-hunted for successfully achieving a record three years of sales in some of the toughest economic conditions. "New age advertising is going back in time. It is now about personalised service, niche business, meeting your clients, building relationships, understanding clients needs, delivering what you promise, thank you gifts and being genuine".

What refreshing news and to prove the point I have built my businesses for the last 4 years without one business card. Interested to learn more effective techniques to building a health and fitness business?

the world is flat – again

the world is flat - again
I clicked on the monthly report and it said 31,252 hits to our webpage. The pie report went on to display the global breakdown. It included Turkey, Brazil, USA, UK, India, Argentina, and Spain. The world is flat and easier than ever before to “surf” around. It is like a return of Captain Cook!

new world and new words
How’s this for a month of work in 2008? Teleconference calls, podcast interview, blog, website stickability, skype and webinars. This new world has new words. In fact the spell check on my computer did not recognize the word webinar. Ironically I had to google it to double check the spelling of the word.

My point- there is a bigger world out there. One that is only an email or a website enquiry away. The information age has created a world that is flat. A world that doesn’t stop trading, a world that is 24/7, a world that is craving education and knowledge. This new world is global but flat and available to those that understand the tools, talk and technology.

one finger typing
So in just over three years how do you go from a one finger typist to having 31,252 hits with an international business? By getting in the information game. By surrounding yourself with the right people. Build a world class team and by investing in your business.

If you’re not working on these areas of you’re business you’re missing out on a lot of opportunity. Especially this industry. The businesses that are keeping up to speed in the information age are the businesses that are really cashing in.

You need to get started.

Click here for information on our information products

who you hang around determines your results...

It was an awesome time. Everyday consisted of early training sessions, then a big breakfast down by Cronulla beach followed by a few hours on the Nintendo at one of the boy’s house, where five or six would gather to see who would star. Lunch was followed by an afternoon nap. Afternoons were filled with more eating before team training at night. Life as a rugby league player was great.

There were other perks including sponsored dinners, free clothing and golf invitations. Weekends we played hard on the field and then would consume approximately our bodyweight in alcohol that night. Mixing it with the supporters, fans and party goers insured there was always a single guy who would have a story or two to tell at recovery sessions with a small element of truth.

Business success has a lot to do with who you hang around. From my own experience who you hang around strongly influences thoughts, how you spend your time and money. It impacts the kind of lifestyle you lead which determines your results

Let me explain.

From the outside I imagine the lifestyle of a rugby league player may sound attractive to some. However the outcome was this, I slept too much and became lazy. If nothing was scheduled in I would just hang around or sleep. I became great at burping and farting and in fact could pull one out on cue. That is the result of consuming a loaf of bread and buckets of pasta everyday as well as hanging around a bunch of guys eating the same gas producing foods in a very competitive environment. Everything was linked to a competition. I was one of the best Nintendo players around but struggled to hold a conversation with anyone who wasn’t a “leaguey”. My mates and I could have bought a brewery with the amount of money we pumped through some of the local night spots. Physically I was fit but mentally I had nothing. The brain just was not being stimulated or educated.

The result was a promising career that ended quickly, the good money I earned I spent, I related alcohol to a good time only and hanging around a bunch a great guys who had to much spare time on their hands led to gossiping and bitching and division in the group.

List who you spend most of your time with and how are their results?

The last couple of years have meant I have had to invest a lot of time and money into myself to shake some of those old habits. It hasn’t been easy.

Fortunately I now get to hang around guys who earn a million plus dollars per year. It is amazing the influence this has had in my thoughts and where I do and DON’T spend my time.

If you want to earn the big bucks you need to consider who you currently hang around and more importantly who you need to hang around. Who you hang around determines your business success.

Hang around with people every month that make hundreds of thousands of dollars by subscribing to our monthly podcast from the PT Plus website.

your best business asset

We all want success in business but are you “tooling” yourself with the right weapons to increase your success? Business tool number one is a database. Check in to see if you have the arsenal to make it in this fast paced business world.

what is a database?
Everyone you meet, every person who contacts you, existing clients, friends, family, neighbours, and business owners are all potential prospects. What you need to do is build a place to store, update and retrieve client information. This is your database and your best business asset.

how to create a database
The easiest way to start a database is to create a table in Excel or Outlook. When building your own database include the following columns:

• First Name
• Surname
• Contact Number
• Email
• Company
• Association i.e. Client, prospect, friend of a friend etc
• Date of birth

There are more advanced database tools available that provide detailed reports and client information, we use www.salesforce.com. Consider these if you plan on building a big business. Keep adding to your list! Have a goal to increase your database by 10-15 % every quarter. Put together a business strategy about how you will build your database.

Whilst having a database is a “must do” in business If you want your business and income to grow, you need to use it. One of the best ways is via a regular newsletter. To really add value write a newsletter that offers education rather than a “hard sell” all the time. A good blend is 80% content and 20% marketing. “People want to buy but they don’t like being sold to”.

Successful business practice puts a focus and strategy on a growing database. Education and awareness of your services via a newsletter will increase your chances of ongoing business growth and success.