CEC ARTICLE
3 OF 5 ARTICLES
GOING ONLINE
LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE SHIFT TO VIRTUAL PT
A shift to online coaching not only opened personal trainer Susy Natal ' s services up to new clients , it helped her gain some valuable insights into small fitness business operations that will benefit any PT .
T he past year has demonstrated the value of setting up
online services for at least a fraction of your personal training business model . Online coaching is its own beast , and the need for in-person training is never going to disappear entirely . However , life is unpredictable , and adaptability will best position your business for maximal success . There are also several ways in which elements of online coaching can further bolster the quality of your face-to-face services .
1 Start small , start familiar
One of the most common concerns that in-person trainers usually have about shifting to online is where the clients will come from . Typically , face-to-face clients predominantly come from either referrals from existing clients , or from the membership base of the gym at which the trainer works .
As with many other things , starting with what you already have and starting small is the best first step . Choose a handful of your existing face-to-face clients to be your first intake of online clients . These clients will be more honest in their feedback and more understanding of the learning curve you are on .
2 Decide which clients to invite
Not every client will be well suited to online training , but some will actually be better suited to this mode than they are to traditional face-to-face training . When you start inviting existing clients to participate in online training , select clients who :
• are already more independent and advanced
• find it difficult to get to the gym at times when you deliver in-person training
• struggle to financially commit to regular face-to-face sessions .
All of these clients , for quite different reasons , would take well to a conversation around shifting to an online service . These are also all clients who , for the very same reasons , are sometimes the most likely to drop off from a face-to-face service .
3 Sell the advantages of online
Online services are typically more affordable than in-person services , can be rolled out to anybody , anywhere and , while they don ’ t have you showing up in the moment next to a client , do increase your accessibility . Set up well , this can actually be conducive to more effective communication with clients , allowing you to have greater influence on their lifestyle factors - those elusive ‘ other 23 hours ’ where most damage to goals is done .
Communicating all these advantages to your clients will help them feel at ease , but you should also ensure - unless you intend to transition entirely to online services - that they don ’ t feel obliged to be one of your first cohort , particularly because you will make mistakes in the early days . Be prepared for things to go wrong and prepare your clients for this as well . This is another reason why it ’ s helpful to keep to small numbers and to people who already know you for what is , essentially , the ‘ Beta testing ’ phase of your new venture . Doing so will make any need for sudden changes to how you operate more of a quick scramble and less of a complete meltdown . It will also be easier to encourage this small , familiar cohort to provide you with feedback - information that will be beyond valuable , as they can tell you their roadblocks and frustrations far better than you will be able to predict them .
4 Get your systems in place from the outset
Though it may be tempting to ‘ wing it ’ at first to see what type of systems you might need , it ’ s best to take a more professional approach from the outset . Don ’ t wait until you have larger client numbers to set up systems : start immediately so that you are able to create structure for how you run the service and to respond proactively .