Show Notes
Now, today is part 3 of the sales funnel mini series. And today is all about sales funnels for in-person person trainers.
Awareness Stage
So, starting at the top of your funnel, which is the awareness stage, we need to reach out to people that have no idea who you are. This is cold traffic.
Reaching out is nothing more than making yourself known to people that fit your ideal client profile.
So online, you can run ads and create content on social media or content platforms like blogs, YouTube or podcasts. And guess what? You can also do those things even if you're an in-person trainer.
Online Ads
If you’re running ads, you’ll need to set them up so they are only shown in your local area. When we run ads, typically limit them to a 5km radius around the gym.
This takes into account that traffic here is really bad and the time it takes to get to and from the gym.
So keep in mind that time and limit your ads so you’re not wasting money showing ads to people that can’t or won’t be able to hire you.
If you are a mobile trainer that visits people in their homes, you’ll need to think about what you are happy with when it comes to traveling and set your radius according to that.
Most trainers are prepared to travel further than clients are to make a session.
Content
When it comes to content, it serves exactly the same purpose as online trainers. It is a way to connect, show your way of doing things and build relationships. Also, to show your expertise.
So why do you need an online presence even if you’re an in-person trainer?
Well, in some ways you don’t. There are ways to go about your business without having a social media account, a YouTube channel or website.
But here’s the thing. A lot of people, when they want to hire a local trainer, will still go online and search first. They will check out Google listings, they will check Google Maps and look for recommendations and check out reviews to try and find the right trainer.
If you are not online at all, then there are a lot of missed opportunities passing you by.
One big thing that I recommend and a lot of trainers do not do this. And that is to set up a Google Business Profile.
Google Business Profile
Creating a Google Business Profile will allow you to show up when people search for terms on Google such as ‘personal trainer near me’ or ‘best personal trainer in (your area)’.
You can give some details about you, add photos and videos and link to your website if you have one.
It’s a great way, an easy and free way, to be more discoverable.
Now, at the top of the funnel, since you are local there are a few tricks up your sleeve that trainers that are only online can’t use.
Old School Marketing
You get to use flyers, posters, business cards and WhatsApp forward to help reach out to people. Local events, such as sporting events, running events, health drives.
Remember, your aim is to become known. You're trying to be the most well known trainer in your area for your ideal client. So if you are using local events, choose them carefully as you will want enough people that fit your ideal client profile in attendance.
Dream 100
I really like the Dream 100 approach. What’s this? Well, I learned about the Dream 100 from Russell Brunson's book called Traffic Secrets. And it is a way to reach your ideal clients in bulk!
Instead of trying to reach out to individual people that might become members, you reach out to a person, people or group that already have access to a lot of people that fit your ideal client profile.
If you can identify people in your community that might have access to a lot of people that fit your ideal client profile, then you can reach people in bulk instead of one to one.
You build a relationship with the person that controls the access, which can be just a single person, instead of trying to build relationships with a bunch of people which is less efficient.
Other benefits of this approach are that you are now being recommended or referred to by people in a large network. People can completely skip the research phase where they look around and check out reviews. They will come directly as you have been recommended by a person that has their trust.
This helps with your sales and conversions and getting new clients.
So, take a look and do a bit of research. Who do you have locally that you can talk to that already has an audience or group of people that has a lot of your ideal client among them.
For example, if you work with athletes, who are the local physios and chiropractors? If you are pre and post natal, you might look at maternity hospitals and clinics. If you are a weight loss specialist, check out your local pharmacy or weight loss groups. They tend to focus a lot more on food than they ever did training and activity.
Hopefully you see what I am getting at with the Dream 100. Think of your ideal client and think about and research the places they might already be going to. The places where they already congregate?
Then reach out to the head, the leader. The person that can control access and build a relationship with them. Make sure that you can add value to them personally and also to their people. There needs to be some kind of benefit to them after all.
They are going to be protective over their audience and they are only going to want to recommend people that can serve their people well with what you do but also in a responsible, trustworthy and professional way.
So…what are you going to offer them? Well, that’s up to you, but it should be something that can act as a lead magnet for you and that is going to be interesting and of some benefit for their audience.
This can be a free consultation, trial session or assessment. You could still even use some online tactics like downloading a scorecard or checklist.
Lead Magnet
For all enquiries that come through the door at Invictus, we have a pdf that we WhatsApp to them after the visit that is about what to look out for when deciding which gym to join.
It is a great value add that helps to demonstrate a few things. First, is that we really help them out and position us as a guide. The people that will give them the best advice we can.
Next, is that it positions us a higher value than other gyms in the area as we have this free resource and we are demonstrating value without expecting anything in return.
Another good thing about it is that we have a lead magnet that meets them where they are right now.
For a lot of people they are still at a stage where they are just looking to get started. There is no point giving them a pdf that talks about the best 5 supplements or something like that. They are probably not at that point yet so it isn't relevant right now.
But a PDF that helps you and advises you on points of what to look at and think about when deciding on a gym is very relevant.
Referrals
Now, with the professional you want to work with and have access to your audience, you can mutually refer to each other. So if you are linking up with a physio, you can help train their clients and help with after care. The physio will refer those to you. And you will refer your clients to them when there is an issue or when some preventative care is needed.
So, now you have access to a larger group of people, where you are being referred to by a person they trust.
And you have your lead magnet that helps to get the relationship to the next level. A free trial gets you face to face and you should have their email so even if they do not buy from you now, you can keep in touch and keep building the relationship.
So that was quite a lot of information.
The main difference between online and offline sales funnels are in the awareness stage, because now your potential client is in the interest stage, you can do a lot of online work with email just as if you are an online trainer.
Most people are online so much everyday that even local businesses like yours can use it to build relationships and trust in the interest stage of the sales funnel.
The easiest way to stay in contact with people is through social media and even better, email. Even for in person trainers.
Interest Stage
So by now a potential client has been in contact with you, had a trial, free consultation or received your PDF.
You can now start to send what are called ‘nurture’ emails that can do all the relationship building and keep the conversation going.
Nurture Emails
These are automated emails that help you stay in contact with your audience. They can be used to continue giving tips and advice, you can use them to cover common objections and knock down limiting beliefs that people might have.
For example, if a common objection is that a potential client is worried about not sticking to a fat loss plan, you can create content and emails around that.
You can show people what you do to help avoid this, the system you use and the support you give. You can create content around FAQ’s and you can link to testimonials.
If you can have previous and current clients explaining how they managed to stick to the plan after previously worrying about it, any person watching that with the same worries is going to feel far more confident about buying.
So there is a ton of content you can create to send people in the interest stage. And every so often you want to move them into the desire stage.
You can do this by creating an offer and serving it up to them.
Check out this book called Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk. He is one of the most prolific content creators in history. The idea of what he talks about in the book is to add value over and over with your content (your jabs) and then make an offer (your right hook).
So you make a lot more jabs and you do hooks.
Make too many offers and things won’t look good for you. It will just look like you only connect with your audience when you want to sell something. That’s not going to help you build a relationship and connection with your audience.
But helping people over and over and then making an offer periodically avoids this and has a lot more success.
When you have built up interest in your audience then when you make the offer they are more likely to take you up on it.
So let’s say that you have a 3 month program you want to sell. You can create content to inform people what it is about and you can create the content to deal with objections.
Now, once you have built enough interest you can start to put your offer out there and start adding in some testimonies that prove you can help people.
Anyone that is paying attention will now be firmly in the desire stage.
Desire Stage
Your initial offer could be a more indirect offer than, just by my stuff!
You can offer a workshop, a 30 minute discovery call or even a consultation or trial again to move people from interest to desire. From this initial offer you can then put forward your main offer where people can finally make a purchase from you.
Action Stage
By making your main offer you are now moving them into the action stage where they can follow a process to finally buy your product or service.
Remember to make it as easy and simple as possible so that everyone that entered the buying process finishes it.
And that is that.
Now, just in case you didn't know, not everyone will follow this step by step.
And because you are an in person personal trainer, many people are more likely to make a purchase after a first contact when that first contract is happening face to face.
People are much more confident assessing and making a decision to buy from a person that is right in front of them.
If you can get a person in front of you, you will have a much higher chance of making a sale than if everything is done online.
One criticism that some marketers have about sales funnels is that people might think that a potential client has to go through all of the stages before buying.
That’s just stupid!
Like you’re not going to sell something to someone just because they didn’t take long enough or complete the interest stage.
Some people that are really excited and want to get going might buy from you the first time they ever see your content.
And you will let them!
They are excited, enthusiastic and ready to buy and get going, so you keep that going.
For some people, they will enter your world with a free download. But for others, they will enter your world at the last stage directly with a purchase.
And that’s great. Better even, in a lot of ways. So make sure your setup allows for both and don't think that a sales funnel is always going to be an exact process that everyone has to go through.
People can enter at the top, the bottom and even move up or down over time.
So, that’s just one example of a sales funnel. But you’re going to need to tweak it and change it to suit you and your goals, your area of training and the people you serve.
The key is to add value, which is simply to help people, at each stage so you can hopefully guide your potential clients towards becoming loyal clients.