listing yourself online

How are you using the internet to market yourself? Are you using individual sites or are there online communities where you can market your services?

If we define marketing, it is the ability to ‘get’ new clients, ‘keep’ clients and ‘grow’ the business then a combination of traditional style marketing like brochures, advertising, business cards and letterbox drops combined with a modern approach of online strategies is an effective way to ‘get’ and ‘grow’ any business.

There are a multiple of strategies that fit into the online strategy. Your key objective is to increase search engine optimisation (SEO) by having a high listing on any of the online searches. Also any great marketing campaign should be measured so that you get an understanding of what works in the market place, so try a variety of techniques.

In getting started in building your SEO a website is a necessity. Now there are two kinds of websites. An expensive brochure that sits on the world wide web or an interactive income producing website. Let’s talk about the later as a much more efficient way to increase online awareness. Income producing websites have information products like audio downloads, e-books, visual downloads, are interactive for the user with blogs, forums or chat rooms, shopping carts to purchase goods and a members section. These allow ‘browsers’ to purchase a wide range of products plus allow a client the chance to get to know your business. A key consideration is ‘key search words’ to help increase SEO. As a personal trainer consider ‘key search words’ that a typical client would type into a search engine like Google with regards to finding a personal trainer. Words like ‘weight loss’, ‘fat loss’, ‘fitness’ and ‘personal trainer’ would be typical words. By including these words on your website, blogs, chat rooms, forums, social networking sites and anything else you have online then you increase your SEO. In answering your question a combination of having your own site as well as sharing information via other sites is a very smart techniques towards building an effective online marketing strategy.

read this or die

I have about 15 seconds to keep your attention and get my point across. The headline ‘read this or die’ serves as a teaching purpose that I hope helps you and your marketing. Typically as an industry we suck at connecting with our customers because we talk apples and dumbbells or metabolic syndrome typing phasic holistic blah, blah, blah and completely miss attracting the attention of our market.

Understand it is a lot like the newspaper. As a sports nut I flick the back of the newspaper over and read the headline. 'Cronulla beats premiers' gets me excited and I continue to read on. Why? Well it’s a sport and a team I follow. It is in my interest zone and the headline caught my attention and it deserves my time.

Now look at your last attempt at an expensive brochure, also consider your business card or current marketing campaign. Are you talking apples and dumbbells or metabolic syndrome typing phasic holistic? Sorry you just missed the important 15 seconds of attracting the attention of your market.

'Australia wins gold in synchronized swimming' As I flick over the paper and read the headline I acknowledge a gold medal however my level of excitement for synchronized swimming is a lot lower than that of rugby league. So I turn the paper over and head on off to work.

Who cares if you have new treadmills, the amount of letters after your name, under new management or free session. Your clients want to know what is in it for them!

Consider these headlines 'Want to fit back into your jeans?', 'How to remove the muffin top', 'Your right! Exercise is not fun'. These are examples of sensational headlines that you then need to deliver a reason for connecting with your market. Understand that the headline is just the headline you then need quality content to deliver key words and a marketing message. However put some serious thought into the headline.

Understand your market by connecting with them in their words, not the words of the health and fitness industry and watch your lead generation increase for the market you are trying to attract.

income brackets

In going forward here are our solutions to promoting you to the next income bracket:

Income Bracket: $0 - $60,000
Solution: Business Starter Pack, Podcast, Book and Audio Club
Our March Offer: We have 20 complimentary packs to give away, titled 'Your First 20 Clients', simply email the office at business@ptplus.com.au. Email quick as we are limited to 20 only!

Income Bracket: $60,000 - $120,000
Solution: 6 Figure Group Mentoring
Our March Offer: Sample a group coaching session before you buy. *conditions apply

Income Bracket: $120,000 - $250,000
Solution: Private Mentoring Program
Our March Offer: 2 spots left. Request a matching meeting here.

Income Bracket: $250,000+
Solution: Tailored Program
Our March Offer: Program full until end of March. Please call the office on 02 9690 0503 to have a meeting regarding April and May. This is an exclusive program so please contact to the office to see if you qualify.

income streams

So here are the initial observations of our report. There are significant income brackets which we have stated in the information below. Look at where you are and consider what you need to focus on in order to go forward.

Income Bracket: $0 - $60,000
Income Streams: 1 Income (eg. PT)
Business Focus: Week to week activity and business success is judged on the number of sessions held
Work Hours: 60 per week

Income Bracket: $60,000 - $120,000
Income Streams: 3 Incomes (PT, Groups, Product)
Business Focus: A month to month strategy building a business that can manage 50+ people
Work Hours: 48 per week

Income Bracket: $120,000 - $250,000
Income Streams: Up to 8 incomes (PT, Groups, Product, Coaching, Website, Lifestyle Programs, Seminars, Information Products)
Business Focus: Annual strategy and a clear set of KPI's. Outsourcing of tasks is common
Work Hours: 35-45 per week

Income Bracket: $250,000 +
Income Streams: Have a business and specialise in one of the 17 income streams
Business Focus: Business legacy and long jeopardy as a business leader
Work Hours: Business owners here are hard to track however observations suggest 4 a week with paid travel

how to get your first 20 clients

Following graduation from your personal training course the challenge most trainers face is getting their first few clients. Understanding most people gain certification with the idea of training people part-time, perhaps in and around another job or second income, the idea of getting to 20 clients makes sense. Consider the income of 20 sessions by $80 = $1600.00 which is a great return for 20 hours worth of work.

So how will you go getting those first few clients?

Traditional models of getting clients are:
- Printing expensive brochures
- Relying on business cards
- Ineffective letter box drops
- Hopeful newspaper advertisements

In an information age these techniques are dead and ineffective in building a business. Chances are if you follow these traditional techniques you will end up buggered, busted and broke.

Effective modern techniques include:
- Social networks
- Search engine optimisation
- Building referrals via allied Health Professionals
- Branding your business
- Websites and database systems

If these are foreign terms then why not get some great information from Australia’s leading personal trainers on how to get your first 20 clients.

We have 20 CD and e-books s to giveaway to help you get started on your first 20 clients. Simply email us at info@ptplus.com.au with your postal address!

getting more clients in 2009

A business without a marketing plan is like personal trainer with a tight fitting set of joggers. The business can work but with pain and soreness. Over time it is debilitating. To increase revenue you must be clear on how income will be devised. The title for this is a marketing plan. In PT Plus business coaching groups, we spend considerable time on marketing. These are the revenue building blocks that increase dollars into the business. By planning ahead, we can act now on implementing tactics to ensure that revenue will be met all year round.

What is marketing?
Marketing is the building of a business brand that puts you 'top of mind' of any perspective client. Marketing is the 'get clients' part of a business and a really good marketing plan removes the sell from the selling.

Business on steroids
The businesses that excel in our 6 figure group training programs are the businesses that implement the following marketing strategy. In fact not only do they earn more, they work less because the strategy does the work for them. It is like putting a business on steroids as it exponentially grows.

Annual overview
Pick the big events on the annual calendar and highlight them. Consider Valentine’s Day in February, Easter in March, Mothers Day in May, Fathers Day in September and Christmas in December. Understand that the money is in the air, people are spending it anyway so why not cash in on the spending and contribute to the improvement of the consumers health. Also consider local community events, school functions, sporting events and fun runs. Highlight the dates, then speak to the right people to see if you can add value to an event. Finally consider what you want to earn for the year 2009.

Break it down
With a view to what you want to earn, break the total figure into quarters. So if you want to earn $120,000 for 2009 then $30,000 is what you need to achieve as a revenue goal. The first quarter is January to March. If $250,000.00 is your target then $60,000 is the quarterly goal. By breaking the big total into calendar quarters it is more obtainable. Using the same system break the quarterly numbers into monthly figures. Consider your holidays, public holidays and schools holidays as these may impact or effect your earnings goal.

Monthly tactics
With a view to business revenue for the quarter the strategy needs to deliver dollars each month with revenue. Consider 2 to 3 income buckets for developing the revenue and then add 3 to 5 tactics to ensure revenue is met. A little bit like an insurance policy for your income. Get busy on developing product and putting the business services and products in front of the right people to get the result you want each month. This will set up the business for success by breaking down a bigger income goal into manageable monthly bits.

Blue Ocean Strategy – personal training style

A red ocean personal trainer competes against the tens of thousands of personal trainers in the market for clients by doing free sessions, cutting prices, handing out brochures and trying to get a competitive edge over the next trainer.

Using a blue ocean strategy, with lessons from the must read book 'Blue Ocean Strategy', by W. Chan Kim and Renee’ Mauborgne, a personal training business focuses on making the competition irrelevant by creating a leap in value for buyers by opening up new and uncontested market space.

Consider what Vision are doing with weight loss and Curves open a store every 4 hours somewhere in the world. Their blue ocean strategy taps into the female clientele, 30 minute workouts and non threatening environment of their gyms.

In the red oceans, industry boundaries are defined and accepted, and the competitive rules of the game are known. Here, companies try to outperform their rivals to grab a greater share of existing demand. As the market space gets crowded, prospects for profits and growth are reduced. Products become commodities, and cutthroat competition turns the red ocean bloody.

Blue oceans in contrast, are defined by untapped market space, demanding creation and the opportunity for highly profitable growth. Most blue ocean businesses are created within a red ocean by expanding existing boundaries like Curves and Vision. Competition is irrelevant because the rules of the game are waiting to be set.

Create your Blue Ocean now.