Actionable guide on how to start building an online fitness business

Starting a personal trainer business can be both challenging yet rewarding experience. In this article I will help you by giving you actionable steps on how to start your personal training business.

Key takeaways:

• Embrace Online Training: Discover the untapped potential of online personal training and unlock new opportunities to reach clients globally.

• Craft a Solid Business Plan: Lay the foundation for success by outlining clear objectives, target market, pricing, and financial projections.

• Strategies Your Marketing: Define your target audience, leverage social media platforms, and utilise content marketing to attract and engage potential clients.

• Nail Your Sales Approach: Implement a sales strategy that builds trust, addresses client needs, and converts leads into loyal customers.

• Deliver Exceptional Service: Develop personalised workout programs, offer ongoing support, and use technology to streamline communication and progress tracking for a seamless client experience.

Embrace Online Training

There are many benefits to becoming an online coach these range from

• Being able to train your clientele from anywhere around the worlds

• Save money on travel expenses

• No more dreaded split shifts

• Can all be done in the comfort of your own home

• Increased Reach - your clients can be anywhere around the world

If you have not already. I have created another actionable guide here for you to read where we find your niche, creating an ideal customer profile and developing an irresistible offer for your service and the tools you need to get up and running.

Doing these will allow us to move onto the next steps.

Craft a Solid Business Plan

Creating a business plan is essential for any aspiring entrepreneur, especially in the realm of online personal training. It serves as a roadmap that outlines your business objectives, target market, competitive analysis, pricing strategy, marketing plan, and financial projections. 

By meticulously planning every aspect of your business, you gain clarity on your goals and how to achieve them.

It provides a solid foundation upon which to build and grow your online personal training business, ensuring that you stay focused, organised, and on track towards success.

I have a business template here for you that you can fill out, take the time to think about what each question wants and come up with a meticulous response for each. 

A good business plan serves as a strategic tool that provides direction, clarity, and structure for your business endeavors. It helps you identify opportunities, mitigate risks, and make informed decisions. Conversely, a bad business plan lacks detail, coherence, and foresight, leading to confusion, inefficiency, and missed opportunities.

Master the three segments to online growth

In the realm of starting an online personal training business, mastering the three segments to online growth is pivotal for success. 

Firstly, marketing involves identifying your target audience, leveraging digital platforms effectively, and crafting compelling content to attract and engage potential clients. Secondly, sales entails building trust, addressing client needs, and effectively converting leads into loyal customers through personalized consultations and persuasive techniques. Lastly, delivering your services focuses on providing tailored workout programs, ongoing support, and utilizing technology for seamless communication and progress tracking.

Strategize Your Marketing

In the dynamic world of online business, crafting a standout marketing strategy is pivotal. At the heart of this strategy are your lead magnets—those irresistible offers designed to capture the contact details of potential leads. Coupled with selecting the right marketing channels and employing effective pursuit tactics, your lead magnets can transform your outreach efforts. Here’s how to master these elements for your marketing strategy. If you want to watch this in video format its best to look at this video

Choosing Your Lead Magnet

The key to selecting a compelling lead magnet lies in understanding your audience's needs and challenges. Here are steps to ensure your lead magnet stands out:

• Identify Your Audience's Pain Points: Conduct surveys, social media polls, or analyze customer feedback to grasp what your audience struggles with.

• Offer a Clear Solution: Your lead magnet should provide a solution that's both valuable and immediate. It should solve a specific problem your audience faces

• Ensure Relevance and Specificity: The more tailored your lead magnet is to your target audience, the more effective it will be. Generic offers tend to have lower conversion rates.

To track your potential leads you can use this free client tracker template I have here for you

Examples of Effective Lead Magnets:

• A step-by-step guide for beginners on how to start a specific exercise regimen.

• A video series offering professional tips for advanced fitness techniques.

• A meal prep planner tailored to dietary restrictions or goals (e.g., vegan, keto, weight loss).

Choosing the Right Marketing Channel

Your choice of marketing channels is as crucial as the lead magnet itself. Here’s how to pinpoint the ones best suited for your business:

• Understand Your Audience's Habits: Where does your audience spend their time online? Use analytics and market research to find out.

• Consider Your Product and Message: Some channels work better for certain messages and products. Visual products excel on Instagram, while B2B services may find more success on LinkedIn.

• Test and Analyze: Don't shy away from experimenting with different channels. Use A/B testing to determine what works best and refine your strategy accordingly.

Marketing Channels Explained:

• Inbox (Email Marketing): Great for nurturing leads over time, offering a direct line to your audience. Perfect for detailed content like newsletters or exclusive offers.

• Outbound (Direct Outreach): Useful for B2B services, where personalized emails or LinkedIn messages can open dialogues with potential clients or partnerships.

• Paid Ads: Effective for quickly amplifying reach and targeting specific demographics on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or Google.

• Referral Programs: Leverage existing customers by offering incentives for referrals. This method builds trust through word-of-mouth.

  
  

Pursuing the Chosen Marketing Channel

Once you’ve selected your marketing channel, the next step is to engage potential leads and present your lead magnet. Here’s what you can do:

• For Email Marketing: Create captivating subject lines and content that add value beyond the lead magnet. Use segmentation to personalize messages as much as possible.

• For Direct Outreach: Personalize your outreach messages to reflect the recipient's industry, recent achievements, or pain points. Make it clear what value you're offering.

• For Paid Ads: Utilize targeting options to tailor your ads to your audience's interests, demographics, and behaviors. A/B test different ad creatives and messages to find what resonates best.

• For Referral Programs: Make sharing as easy as possible. Provide clear, simple instructions and incentives for both the referrer and the referred. Highlight the benefits of your lead magnet as a bonus for participating.

In all cases, ensure your lead magnet is prominently featured and easy to access. Whether it’s a direct link in an email, a sign-up form on your website, or a call-to-action at the end of an ad, the path to obtaining the lead magnet should be frictionless.

Crafting a marketing strategy that effectively combines lead magnets with the right channels and tactics can significantly enhance your lead generation efforts. By providing value upfront and tailoring your approach to your audience, you're setting the stage for a successful online presence.

Nail Your Sales Approach

Once personal trainers have attracted leads with compelling lead magnets and engaged them through the right marketing channels, the next critical step is converting these leads into paying clients. 

This requires a tailored sales approach that resonates with the needs and motivations of potential clients. Here's how personal trainers can implement an effective sales strategy to maximize conversions.

The first step in a successful sales approach is to deeply understand who your leads are. This involves segmenting your leads based on their interests, goals, and where they are in the customer journey. 

For instance, a lead interested in weight loss might have different needs and objections compared to someone looking to build muscle. Tailoring your sales pitch to address these specific needs increases the likelihood of conversion.

Build Trust and Establish Authority

Personal training is a service based on trust and results. Before a lead decides to spend money, they need to trust that you can help them achieve their fitness goals. You can build this trust by:

• Sharing Success Stories: Use testimonials and case studies of past clients who have achieved similar goals.

• Providing Free Value: Offer free consultations or assessments to showcase your expertise and give leads a taste of what working with you would be like.

• Educating Your Leads: Use your content (e.g., blog posts, emails, social media) to educate leads on relevant topics, demonstrating your knowledge and commitment to their success.

Communicate the Value of Your Services

Your sales pitch should clearly articulate the value of your services and how they differ from the alternatives (e.g., generic gym memberships, other personal trainers). 

Highlight aspects like personalized workout plans, nutritional advice, accountability mechanisms, and any unique methodologies or technologies you use. 

Make sure to connect these features to the tangible benefits your client will experience, such as improved health, better fitness results, and a more enjoyable workout experience.

Offer Clear and Simple Pricing Structures

Complex pricing can be a significant barrier to sale. Offer clear, simple pricing structures that make it easy for leads to understand what they're getting and at what cost. 

Consider creating package deals or memberships that offer value at different price points to cater to varying budgets and commitment levels. You can use this template here to present these offers to your leads.

Deliver Exceptional Service

In today's digital age, delivering exceptional service as a personal trainer extends beyond the gym floor or video calls—it's about providing a seamless, interactive, and personalized experience for your clients at their fingertips. 

That's where our BULK comes into play, designed specifically for personal trainers who aim to elevate their service to the next level. 

Through our app, you can effortlessly schedule your clients, ensuring that both you and they keep track of workout sessions, consultations, and progress check-ins without any hassle. Moreover, it allows you to deliver your valuable content—be it workout plans, nutritional guides, or educational materials—in various formats like spreadsheets and documents directly to your clients. 

This ensures they have everything they need to succeed right on their phone. Additionally, the built-in messaging feature enhances communication, making it easier than ever to keep in touch, motivate, and provide personalized feedback to your clients in real-time. 

By integrating our app into your service offering, you're not just providing fitness coaching; you're offering a comprehensive, personalized fitness journey that caters to the modern client's need for convenience, accessibility, and engagement.