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Q: What has my Personal Training website done for me lately?
A: Well, that depends on what you designed it to do for you…
Staking out your place on the Internet is an exciting, natural desire for any service based businesses. It seems everyone is doing it, so why not you?
A website gives you a designated place to call your own, describe your value to potential customers, and gain new clients. It’s the promise of the Internet where by putting yourself out there, your new clients will find you!
Guess what, generally they won’t. Not unless you bridge the gap between what new clients are interested in and how your services can fulfill those interests. Very few personal training sites understand this and even fewer take advantage of this knowledge.
It’s better to hear it from me for free than wasting time and money on designing a killer site that withers away in obscurity because you aren’t driving new (and current) customers to talk to you about your business.
In fact, let me state here, I don’t believe the money is well spent to have someone else create a ‘personalized personal training’ website for you. I’ve seen these services out there, but with this book and some effort, you can do this for yourself for less money with better results.
Having a space on the Internet that says “I’m Brian, I’m a Personal Trainer, I service this town and that town, and I’m as close as a quick email” doesn’t bring in many new clients. Why? Well, when you think about it, you already know the answer…
Personal Training is a service based business…a very personal service. We’re not product based (at least, as a majority of our business). Many times you’re asking to go into someone’s home, discuss their most uncomfortable weight situations, and be present when they wheeze and get embarrassed at failing very simple exercises.
The type of trust needed to allow a new personal trainer into your life doesn’t come from even the most professional web sites. The fact of the matter is the level of trust needed to sell a new client on a service business doesn’t translate well on static web pages.
Service oriented business have trouble selling their business without the personal interaction and relationship building process that one must go through for new clients. In-person conversations, genuine client referrals, and targeted marketing are the classic techniques that service oriented businesses use to get new business. Posting a sign in the sand doesn’t sell many services…in our industry or any other. This is especially true when you work in larger cities, where your site may be lost in the noise of hundreds of other trainers.
So where does that leave our Personal Training Website?
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have a website. What it means is that you need to use your website to deliver in areas where the web is advantageous to your business, and not expect your site to deliver in areas where it is can’t. It also means you need to perfect the skills that put your website at the top of Google searches so that new clients will find your site.
What to use a website for, if not primarily for new clients?
If my site doesn’t primarily bring me new business, what can I expect from it? Plenty, luckily…Here’s ways that a well run website can increase your business income, client retention, and brand name authority in the business:
* Forum to post articles you’re written for the fitness community and your clients.
* Storefront to sell products and services to your clients.
* Site for promoting yourself as an authority in the field or niche that you work in.
* Place to post news and medical research for your audience.
* Provide avenue for clients to pay you without hassle.
* Location for you to post client-specific programs and results tracking behind password-protected pages.
* Bring in a few clients that find your site, are impressed with what’s above, and email you for more information about your services.
Experimenting with self-promotion and brand building is where the Internet can really help in the long run. Establishing your presence as a competent, well-respected, and up-to-date Personal Trainer can help seal the deal with new clients that you meet offline. It’s fantastic to pass along your card and say “Check out my website if you have any questions.” People love that. Having a site won’t be all they need, but it definitely can help.
It’s important that we all apply our time and energy into the right vehicles to generate new business. Although your personal training website won’t be your main tool to gain new clients – don’t worry, you will gain quite a few – you should spend a measurable amount time perfecting your site to attract new clients and service your current clients. How? By distributing information, highlighting your expertise, and providing information for your current clients. New clients see these tools and respect your abilities much more than a static web page that says “call me…”
A Personal Training Website is one of the many revenue-generating vehicles your business can use, but don’t let it take away from your time and effort of getting real results through traditional ‘offline’ techniques to get new clients. The best way to accomplish this is to know what you’re doing when you start your website, utilize the right tools, and do it once.
For more information on this topic, download my free “How to Create a Personal Training Website” book right here!
