Show Notes
Hey! It’s your buddy Marc and you are listening to session number 29 of the epic personal trainer podcast.
So the idea for this session came about because you see a lot of new trainers and they don't really know what to do on day one. They don't have this work Workflow or process about how to deal with a client once they come through the door.
So you see a lot of questions online, a lot of trainers just wondering what should I do. Do I do my consultation at this time? Do I do it after they've paid or before, you know, do you write programs? How do I track all this?
So I thought in this session, we can go over a very common workflow which covers all the basics of what to do with each client or even each lead that enters your world and wants some training.
So we're going to start after all the marketing has happened. We're going to start once all that is done and you actually have a lead come through the door.
Now. Once you've got that lead, you want to get them booked in for some kind of complementary trial or consultation, something like that. Now we do a mix of the two and I recommend you do the same. We have a consultation at this point right at the start because it helps us find out about the client to make things relevant, but it also helps us sell and convert.
You can listen to the previous session I did about consultations, it’s session number 2, right at the start!
But to give you a brief idea, in a consultation, you're trying to do four things.
First off is you're trying to build rapport. You’re trying to find common ground and build your ‘know, like and trust’.
It’s important that you get on well and like being around a new client so that you look forward to sessions with them. And they also need to assess the same thing during the session.
The second thing is you are going to do some fact-finding to get to know everything you need about your client. You can’t make personal training personal without knowing about the person!
Third is that you are going to set the scene. Setting the scene is setting the environment and the conditions. You're getting their mindset in the right place so they know what to expect and what is expected of them.
And then finally, you're trying to light a fire, which means you're trying to get them excited about everything or keep that excitement or enthusiasm high for what’s about to start.
Now once you've done this consultation, get in the gym Um, and do some practical training in the gym or wherever you're training them.
This practical element needs to be relevant to them and their goal. Try not to make it like some old school gym induction where you just show them a few machines or you show them literally every machine, like I've been on before.
You need to make it relevant to them. You also have to make it fun. Train using equipment that you know they may have never used before that. That they're going to really enjoy.
But make it relevant to the goal that they're trying to achieve which you now know, because you've done a consultation. A good consultation!
Now After this, you're going to ask the question. You're going to get them to hopefully sign up on some kind of package that you provide. Some kind of service. Whether it's block sessions, monthly payments or an inclusive package.
Go back to session number 27 for more about how to package your services.
You need to get a starting point of where your client is at the start of the journey. If it's fat loss, hypertrophy, or general fitness, you need some way of getting a starting point, some way of tracking a goal so that we can see improvements.
You’ll need to explain to your client what good progress is. You as a trainer know that clients can't always improve week to week. So again, setting the scene is vital for their understanding and also setting their expectations.
Clients can't improve all the time. There are going to be some ups and downs and you need to make sure that the client is aware of that. Otherwise they might lose that spark and dampen their enthusiasm.
Now once they've signed up and they've made the payment, you're going to want them to sign a personal trainer agreement. This form is you and your new client again, setting the scene. They get to know how your systems work. There may be information about refunds or what happens when somebody is late or somebody can't continue. There should be some disclaimers and all that kind of information.
Go check out session number 5 for more about that.
But it's a form to basically cover your ass a little bit should anything untoward happen around your training with them or any disagreements that might come up.
You've got this form that they have read and they have signed.
The next step in the system is you're going to need a program. Now obviously you can write them a pretty good program, given the consultation that you'd performed earlier.
But this is one reason why we do the consultation. We want to be able to advise them and show the client, whether it's about training or nutrition, in the best way that we possibly can, with the information that we have gained so far.
Now once the program is finished you obviously have your sessions. So doing your sessions are one-to-one dedicated time slots for each client. During this time they have your undivided attention.
And during these sessions what needs to happen is you need to track your sessions. Just like physical assessments, you need to track your progress with how your client performs during sessions.
And while you're doing that, it's also a really good idea to get that feedback from your client.
So make sure you're asking them questions.
Getting feedback about the weights being used, the difficulty, the sensations that they feel. Any potential pain that might crop up or anything like that so that you can modify or change your program. Tracking will also show progress as well keeping excitement and enthusiasm going for longer.
One form of feedback is having clients give you an RPE score for each set or exercise. This is going to help you decide about whether you can go in up in reps or in weight.
It can help you to progress with your client in the right way making sure that each session they are pushing just the right amount.
And also, there's no way, and I mentioned this before. There's no way that you can remember the weight and reps week to week for every exercise that every client does for each day of their training. You just can't do it.
You know, I mean just look at a lot of the guys and girls in the gym. The ones that really take the training seriously, either with or without a trainer. Most if not all keep a log book of some kind. And there's a reason why they do that. Okay. It helps to show progress. It helps to be organized. It helps them to progress in the right way.
You want to be able to push yourself, not miss out by doing the same thing for too long and the same week, the same reps or whatever it is, you know?
Next, once you get to the end of a program you will need to assess your client again. See what has happened during that time of performing this program. See what progress has been made. That's going to be really motivating for your client.
Hopefully you’re going to see a positive result, but if not, you've already explained to your client that on this particular reading we're going to have ups and downs.
The next thing in the workflow you will need to do is some kind of client review. We call it a client checkup. This is where you're going to have your client rate themselves on how they've performed. How consistent they have been. How they've been sticking to the nutrition advice you've been doing and checking that their goals are still the same. That they haven't changed anything there.
Having your client also assess you so you know you are delivering on their expectations and that they are happy with the experience so far.
Giving them the opportunity to give some kind of structured feedback if needed. You might discover they believe they might need support or help going forward to reach the next goal, or to make sure that they can stick to the plan a little bit better or anything like that. They've got the opportunity for you to add value if you haven't already discussed it with them in sessions about the obstacles that they're facing. Then you can obviously try and help them overcome those obstacles as well.
Now, once you are done with all that you've got more data, which means now you can refine the nutrition, you can refine the next program so you can try and keep your client moving forward month to month. Not getting stale, not getting bored, and continuously enjoying the sessions and making progress.
Because that's what it's all about. You need those two things for most clients. They need to enjoy the sessions that they're having. They need to enjoy the time and company with you, and then they also need to get results.
Links
Session #002 - Four Tips for an Effective Consultation