Does your Personal Training business currently have a 'Welcome Pack' for new clients? If not then this is something I believe you should implement immediately. The reasons for having a Welcome Pack include:
1. It will differentiate you from the scores of trainers that do not offer clients anything tangible at the point of sale and will reinforce your position as a professional
2. Most people buy based on emotion and then justify logically. Because the benefits of Personal Training are experienced in the future after multiple sessions rather than at the time of purchase, giving the client something physical that they can take away with them will minimize the chances of buyers regret and will make them feel good about the decision to purchase your services
Things you could include in your welcome pack include the following:
1. Welcome letter congratulating the client on investing in their own health and fitness. It would also include all the details they need to know about outdoor training sessions, cancellation policies etc
2. Information about your other products and services
3. Articles about common topics of interest such as nutrition, the importance of resistance training for fat loss etc
4. Training diary
5. T-shirt with your company logo
6. A skipping rope and/pr pedometer so they can do 'fitness homework'
The imagination is the limit as to what you might put into your Welcome Pack. The reason for putting one together is to reinforce your positioning as a quality Personal Trainer who has an excellent approach towards customer service. It will also help to create an initial WOW experience right from the beginning of the training relationship. It can also be the ideal lead in for your referral program and cross selling of your other products and services. The reality is that most Personal Trainers do NOT have a Welcome Pack or procedure so by implementing this simple strategy you will immediately position yourself as a superior trainer in the eyes of the client.
Aaron Whear
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
the game plan for personal trainers
The Game Plan concept evolved from reviewing my business and life experiences and pinpointing the common thread running through all the successful times. I found that whenever I had achieved success there was always a plan in place that has allowed it to occur, and whenever things had not gone well it was often the result of poor planning.
I believe this is true for most people. We all know that 'if we fail to plan then we plan to fail', however planning still remains one of those things we don't do enough of.
I preach the Game Plan message using a combination of tools and experience to ensure my business coaching clients set appropriate plans and complete the mission. I believe that success does not come by accident and that to achieve what you are truly capable of you must have a Game Plan that accounts for the following:
Learning - personal development and business development are directly linked, so address your ongoing education. After all, the more you learn the more you earn.
Earning - focus on the areas of sales, marketing and client retention as well as developing and refining your business-specific systems. Attention to these areas will contribute to increased cash flow.
Conserving - regardless of your income, the key to wealth is spending less than you earn and investing the rest. Have an organised savings and investment plan, allow for tax, and understand the difference between profit and cash flow.
Preserving - preserve both your mental and physical health. Put in place strategies for relaxation, getting adequate sleep, taking regular holidays and optimising the results you get from your physical exercise program.
You can hear more about the Game Plan at Business Bootcamp 2010, which will be held in Melbourne on Wednesday 17th February. If you are committed to making 2010 your best year in business ever then click here to find out more.
Aaron Whear
I believe this is true for most people. We all know that 'if we fail to plan then we plan to fail', however planning still remains one of those things we don't do enough of.
I preach the Game Plan message using a combination of tools and experience to ensure my business coaching clients set appropriate plans and complete the mission. I believe that success does not come by accident and that to achieve what you are truly capable of you must have a Game Plan that accounts for the following:
Learning - personal development and business development are directly linked, so address your ongoing education. After all, the more you learn the more you earn.
Earning - focus on the areas of sales, marketing and client retention as well as developing and refining your business-specific systems. Attention to these areas will contribute to increased cash flow.
Conserving - regardless of your income, the key to wealth is spending less than you earn and investing the rest. Have an organised savings and investment plan, allow for tax, and understand the difference between profit and cash flow.
Preserving - preserve both your mental and physical health. Put in place strategies for relaxation, getting adequate sleep, taking regular holidays and optimising the results you get from your physical exercise program.
You can hear more about the Game Plan at Business Bootcamp 2010, which will be held in Melbourne on Wednesday 17th February. If you are committed to making 2010 your best year in business ever then click here to find out more.
Aaron Whear
Monday, December 21, 2009
focus and commit
How did you go in 2009? When you reflect back on 2009 business how would you rate your performance out of 10 (1 being miserable, 10 being outstanding)?
What would you need to take your business performance from its current score to a 10/10?
For some of you it may be earning more dollars, for others it may be getting more control of your time. Getting more clients and getting organised are also common answers that I hear during coaching sessions with personal trainers and studio owners. When you've identified what needs to be improved, get specific about what the end product will look like and make a solid goal around how you want 2010 to be. For example - 'In 2010 I will earn $60,000'. From here you can break this goal down into smaller time frames - into quarters and months.
Having a focus or goal is great. What you focus on is what you'll get...but it needs to be followed up with action.
Peter Drucker (author of The Effective Executive) states that effective executives commit resources (time, money) to the possibilities of tomorrow. What actions and commitment will you make to develop the possibilities of your business in 2010? Useful actions of commitment may include devoting 2-4 hours per week to working on your business. At PT Plus we call this heads up time rather than just working 'in' your business. Committing time blocks to read or listen to business development resources to increase your business skills is also time well spent. As PTs we love improving our technical skills. We certainly need good technical skills - obvious too, but often neglected by PTs as they become technical biased! You won't go broke if you don't know 40 lower ab exercises, but you will go broke if you don't have a business plan or marketing strategy!
As 2010 knocks on the door we're making a commitment to help personal trainers get their businesses on track. We have 2 programs coming your way that will help raise your business score closer to a ten.
Opportunity number one starts on January 22 2010 and is a 6 week Business Booster program. Designed to give you a strategy, accountability and the chance to work with a coach on your business goals.
We have a one-day Business Bootcamp running in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch on February 19, 20 and 21. Designed by successful personal trainers for personal trainers this program is specific to the outcome you want for your income.
These programs are designed to help deliver business skills to personal trainers. To find out if your more suited to our Business Booster program or Business Bootcamp 2010 email us at info@ptplus.com.au and we will do a review of your business and decide which is the best program for you.
Dave Liow
What would you need to take your business performance from its current score to a 10/10?
For some of you it may be earning more dollars, for others it may be getting more control of your time. Getting more clients and getting organised are also common answers that I hear during coaching sessions with personal trainers and studio owners. When you've identified what needs to be improved, get specific about what the end product will look like and make a solid goal around how you want 2010 to be. For example - 'In 2010 I will earn $60,000'. From here you can break this goal down into smaller time frames - into quarters and months.
Having a focus or goal is great. What you focus on is what you'll get...but it needs to be followed up with action.
Peter Drucker (author of The Effective Executive) states that effective executives commit resources (time, money) to the possibilities of tomorrow. What actions and commitment will you make to develop the possibilities of your business in 2010? Useful actions of commitment may include devoting 2-4 hours per week to working on your business. At PT Plus we call this heads up time rather than just working 'in' your business. Committing time blocks to read or listen to business development resources to increase your business skills is also time well spent. As PTs we love improving our technical skills. We certainly need good technical skills - obvious too, but often neglected by PTs as they become technical biased! You won't go broke if you don't know 40 lower ab exercises, but you will go broke if you don't have a business plan or marketing strategy!
As 2010 knocks on the door we're making a commitment to help personal trainers get their businesses on track. We have 2 programs coming your way that will help raise your business score closer to a ten.
Opportunity number one starts on January 22 2010 and is a 6 week Business Booster program. Designed to give you a strategy, accountability and the chance to work with a coach on your business goals.
We have a one-day Business Bootcamp running in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch on February 19, 20 and 21. Designed by successful personal trainers for personal trainers this program is specific to the outcome you want for your income.
These programs are designed to help deliver business skills to personal trainers. To find out if your more suited to our Business Booster program or Business Bootcamp 2010 email us at info@ptplus.com.au and we will do a review of your business and decide which is the best program for you.
Dave Liow
dreading the loss of income over this festive season?
It is difficult to find a better time of year than the festive season. Especially as Fitness Professionals it can provide the freedom to go to the beach, relax the routine a little and spend some extra time with the family and friends. Of course there is the social and partying element to contribute too as well. Practicing what we preach means we need to take time out to relax, rejuvenate and recharge the batteries. Whilst it seems this is great in theory, the festive season in our profession is proving to create a little anxiety and worry amongst a lot of people in the industry. Here is why:
Over the last month in my presentations and coaching sessions the common concern about this time of year or what 'should be' a great time of year was that it resulted in loss of income over the holiday period. Chances are if you have mismanaged your business then you have just fallen into one of the most common business mistakes made this time of year. To stay on top of the game and to enjoy the festive season you need to ensure you Christmas proof your business.
Here are 3 simple steps to enjoying a business that supports your income during the festive season:
1. Plan - your planning should include strategies that will ensure all your marketing for next January is ready to roll out towards the end of December.
2. Execute - when you are relaxing you want your marketing efforts to be working for you and your bank account to be filling up.
3. Accept - this time of year to make hay whilst the sun shines and then enjoy sometime to recharge and enjoy the moment so get used to the fact that this is part of the life of a Fitness Business. Once you embrace this fact you can look forward to this period every year and use it to your advantage.
Adhering to this 3 step plan will allow you to stand above all other fitness businesses and go forward in leaps and bounds. Just imagine coming back to work half way through January with a list of waiting clients, a bank account with funds in it and totally recharged and ready to drive the health and wellbeing of all your members to their best levels ever.
David Virgo
Over the last month in my presentations and coaching sessions the common concern about this time of year or what 'should be' a great time of year was that it resulted in loss of income over the holiday period. Chances are if you have mismanaged your business then you have just fallen into one of the most common business mistakes made this time of year. To stay on top of the game and to enjoy the festive season you need to ensure you Christmas proof your business.
Here are 3 simple steps to enjoying a business that supports your income during the festive season:
1. Plan - your planning should include strategies that will ensure all your marketing for next January is ready to roll out towards the end of December.
2. Execute - when you are relaxing you want your marketing efforts to be working for you and your bank account to be filling up.
3. Accept - this time of year to make hay whilst the sun shines and then enjoy sometime to recharge and enjoy the moment so get used to the fact that this is part of the life of a Fitness Business. Once you embrace this fact you can look forward to this period every year and use it to your advantage.
Adhering to this 3 step plan will allow you to stand above all other fitness businesses and go forward in leaps and bounds. Just imagine coming back to work half way through January with a list of waiting clients, a bank account with funds in it and totally recharged and ready to drive the health and wellbeing of all your members to their best levels ever.
David Virgo
Monday, November 23, 2009
10 ways to reward referrals
IHRSA which is the largest international health club organisation in the world has survey results that indicate that 46% of new personal training clients come as the result of word of mouth referral. This is a really interesting fact and naturally leads to the question I have been asked by several of my mentoring clients "what can I do to increase the amount of referrals my clients give me?"
In answering this questions I have 'borrowed' what a number of successful Personal Trainers from around Australia are currently doing. Here are 10 practical ideas from which you can choose.
1. Hand written thank you card with 2 movie tickets.
2. 12 month subscription to a Health and Fitness Magazine, such as Ultra-Fit, Men's Health or Women's Health.
3. 30 or 60 minute massage voucher.
4. Two free Personal Training sessions.
5. Voucher to a day spa.
6. $100 cash.
7. A bunch of flowers.
8. Bottle of wine.
9. Books.
10. CD or DVD.
In terms of tools it would also be a great idea to have a written referral form that you give to all of your clients as part of a welcome pack that they can pass on and to make all clients aware of the benefits of spreading the word about your services.
One of the keys to a great referral program is to reward people who refer and to give them something which costs you as little as possible but has a large perceived value. The cheapest thing you can give away when you are getting started is your time and the value of 3 free sessions may be more than $2--, therefore the perceived value of your services may be much higher than some of the other ideas listed with the only cost incurred being your time. As you become busier your time may become more valuable to you and the other strategies become more appealing. Whatever decision you make about how to reward those who refer you to others, just make sure that you do something!
Aaron Whear
In answering this questions I have 'borrowed' what a number of successful Personal Trainers from around Australia are currently doing. Here are 10 practical ideas from which you can choose.
1. Hand written thank you card with 2 movie tickets.
2. 12 month subscription to a Health and Fitness Magazine, such as Ultra-Fit, Men's Health or Women's Health.
3. 30 or 60 minute massage voucher.
4. Two free Personal Training sessions.
5. Voucher to a day spa.
6. $100 cash.
7. A bunch of flowers.
8. Bottle of wine.
9. Books.
10. CD or DVD.
In terms of tools it would also be a great idea to have a written referral form that you give to all of your clients as part of a welcome pack that they can pass on and to make all clients aware of the benefits of spreading the word about your services.
One of the keys to a great referral program is to reward people who refer and to give them something which costs you as little as possible but has a large perceived value. The cheapest thing you can give away when you are getting started is your time and the value of 3 free sessions may be more than $2--, therefore the perceived value of your services may be much higher than some of the other ideas listed with the only cost incurred being your time. As you become busier your time may become more valuable to you and the other strategies become more appealing. Whatever decision you make about how to reward those who refer you to others, just make sure that you do something!
Aaron Whear
Monday, November 16, 2009
is your business lost?
"Rowing harder doesn't help if the boat is heading in the wrong direction" - Kenichi Ohmae
Do you feel like you're continually on the run, chasing loose ends?
Is your today's to do list getting so big that it's overflowing into tomorrow's to do list?
Do you know what next year has in store for your business?
Do you have a plan that covers your monthly, quarterly and annual marketing and income goals?
If your working hard but going in circles, odds are your not working effectively. Let's get clear on what we mean by 'effective' work.
Firstly, working effectively and working efficiently are two very different things.
Effective = doing things that get you closer to your goals. Note that if you have no business goals or direction it's highly unlikely that your working effectively.
Efficient = performing a given task in an economical manner (whether it's important or not)
The bottom line is - what you do is infinitely more important than how you do it.
If you're looking to make 2010 an effective year with clear business direction, you need to start planning NOW. PT Plus has a Business Booster course starting on November 20th that will provide your business with clear direction for 2010. Make 2010 the year that your business takes off.
We have two places left to fill on this course. The last two applicants will receive a bonus 18 months worth of audio programmes with interviews from world leaders in business and personal training and a FREE I-pod (over $500 value).
Contact our office on business@ptplus.com.au to enrol.
If you need to get clear on your direction in 2010, see you at Business Booster starting in 4 days!
Dave Liow
Do you feel like you're continually on the run, chasing loose ends?
Is your today's to do list getting so big that it's overflowing into tomorrow's to do list?
Do you know what next year has in store for your business?
Do you have a plan that covers your monthly, quarterly and annual marketing and income goals?
If your working hard but going in circles, odds are your not working effectively. Let's get clear on what we mean by 'effective' work.
Firstly, working effectively and working efficiently are two very different things.
Effective = doing things that get you closer to your goals. Note that if you have no business goals or direction it's highly unlikely that your working effectively.
Efficient = performing a given task in an economical manner (whether it's important or not)
The bottom line is - what you do is infinitely more important than how you do it.
If you're looking to make 2010 an effective year with clear business direction, you need to start planning NOW. PT Plus has a Business Booster course starting on November 20th that will provide your business with clear direction for 2010. Make 2010 the year that your business takes off.
We have two places left to fill on this course. The last two applicants will receive a bonus 18 months worth of audio programmes with interviews from world leaders in business and personal training and a FREE I-pod (over $500 value).
Contact our office on business@ptplus.com.au to enrol.
If you need to get clear on your direction in 2010, see you at Business Booster starting in 4 days!
Dave Liow
Thursday, November 5, 2009
how you spend your time determines your results
Some of us are born bigger, stronger and richer than others. The one thing that we all share in common is how much time there is. There are 7 days in a week, or 168 hours or 10080 minutes in each week. How you spend this time will determine your results.
Everyone complains about not having enough time. In fact I can't remember talking to anyone who had too much time on their hands. Are you making the best use of your time?
One of the best solutions to time management that I've come across is by Stephen Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He categorises all activities that we do into 4 quadrants.
Quadrant 1 - Urgent and important
Quadrant 2 - Not urgent and important
Quadrant 3 - Urgent and not important
Quadrant 4 - Not urgent and not important
An example of a quadrant 4 activity would be spending excessive time watching TV or playing Playstation.
A quadrant 3 might be answering a phone or checking your email inbox.
A quadrant 2 activity might be exercise - it's important, but you don't need to do it right now.
A quadrant 1 is also known as a problem. For example not having enough money to pay your rent, or missing a session that you had booked with a client.
The secret to managing your life and avoiding quadrant 1 (problems) is to put effective systems in place to manage quadrant 2. This may include booking systems, financial systems, personal health systems, client booking systems, heads-up time working on your business and so on. If you're short of time - check in on your quadrant 3 and 4 activities to see if you can free up any time for quadrant 2 activities.
At PT Plus we're big on systems. Systems PRECEDE growth. Making a bigger business without systems will create more chaos. Our best product to help you develop your business systems is Business Starter Pack. The last business starter pack for NZers and Queenslanders starts on November 20th. This is spread over 15 weeks and will allow you to create not only a profitable business, but a business with systems that is able to grow. There are 3 more places available for this course. Contact our office at newzealand@ptplus.com.au to have a chat to us about this programme.
Dave Liow
Everyone complains about not having enough time. In fact I can't remember talking to anyone who had too much time on their hands. Are you making the best use of your time?
One of the best solutions to time management that I've come across is by Stephen Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He categorises all activities that we do into 4 quadrants.
Quadrant 1 - Urgent and important
Quadrant 2 - Not urgent and important
Quadrant 3 - Urgent and not important
Quadrant 4 - Not urgent and not important
An example of a quadrant 4 activity would be spending excessive time watching TV or playing Playstation.
A quadrant 3 might be answering a phone or checking your email inbox.
A quadrant 2 activity might be exercise - it's important, but you don't need to do it right now.
A quadrant 1 is also known as a problem. For example not having enough money to pay your rent, or missing a session that you had booked with a client.
The secret to managing your life and avoiding quadrant 1 (problems) is to put effective systems in place to manage quadrant 2. This may include booking systems, financial systems, personal health systems, client booking systems, heads-up time working on your business and so on. If you're short of time - check in on your quadrant 3 and 4 activities to see if you can free up any time for quadrant 2 activities.
At PT Plus we're big on systems. Systems PRECEDE growth. Making a bigger business without systems will create more chaos. Our best product to help you develop your business systems is Business Starter Pack. The last business starter pack for NZers and Queenslanders starts on November 20th. This is spread over 15 weeks and will allow you to create not only a profitable business, but a business with systems that is able to grow. There are 3 more places available for this course. Contact our office at newzealand@ptplus.com.au to have a chat to us about this programme.
Dave Liow
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
a lesson from alcohol?
In my local neighbourhood recently I saw a hotel building that had been revamped ready for business again but there was no indication as to what the new venture would be. There were shopping trolleys out the front so I automatically presumed it would be a mini super market or something to that effect. 2 weeks later I saw it had opened as a discount liquor store outlet. The car park was full and a steady trickle of people were coming in and out with purchases.
What is my point? Why can a new shop instantly create a mild sense of hysteria selling something so destructive, yet a personal trainer, gym or fitness business not be able to have that mini hysteria effect? Obviously the sensation and release alcohol gives the user contributes, but exercise and activity can offer the same effects just not as instantaneously!
Has it occurred to you that the preparation of the liquor industry in terms of marketing has been great? You need to get your marketing planning to a great level so when you are up and running it doesn't take you years to build up a loyal following of raving fans. I know the liquor industry has loads of cash to spend on marketing and sponsorships but at the end of the day they can't force people to buy alcohol. People talk and rave about products if they like what you have to offer and it gets results.
You know your product will be a winner but do you know your business building efforts are also a winner to match. Getting strategies and systems in place early to set up a steady stream of leads is going to fast track and guarantee you success.
So what is stopping you planning to succeed in your PT business? Self belief, knowledge, money or fear of failure? Here are some simple steps to follow if you know you want success in the fitness and personal training world, but don't know where to start:
* Start investing in yourself and gaining any knowledge possible about specific fitness businesses and what the good ones are doing. Enroll in an audio course or go to a business lecture at a fitness event. You have done this step technically so why not do it in a business sense
* Start living the dream. Let yourself imagine freely and without restraint the wonderful life you will be leading with a fitness business that rocks and a lifestyle that is even more fulfilling
* I know it is a worn out cliche but I am going to use it anyway. Just do it. Take the knowledge and the dreams and place it in a rock solid foundation that can't ever be damaged unless you decide to rebuild
Back to the alcohol thing, don't think I am a wowser as I love a drink as much as the next person, in moderation of course. But the liquor industry has it happening and we need to declare war on them and make ours happen!
David Virgo
Something to think about and I would love to hear your views. Maybe I am way off the mark here and I don't mind being told so.
What is my point? Why can a new shop instantly create a mild sense of hysteria selling something so destructive, yet a personal trainer, gym or fitness business not be able to have that mini hysteria effect? Obviously the sensation and release alcohol gives the user contributes, but exercise and activity can offer the same effects just not as instantaneously!
Has it occurred to you that the preparation of the liquor industry in terms of marketing has been great? You need to get your marketing planning to a great level so when you are up and running it doesn't take you years to build up a loyal following of raving fans. I know the liquor industry has loads of cash to spend on marketing and sponsorships but at the end of the day they can't force people to buy alcohol. People talk and rave about products if they like what you have to offer and it gets results.
You know your product will be a winner but do you know your business building efforts are also a winner to match. Getting strategies and systems in place early to set up a steady stream of leads is going to fast track and guarantee you success.
So what is stopping you planning to succeed in your PT business? Self belief, knowledge, money or fear of failure? Here are some simple steps to follow if you know you want success in the fitness and personal training world, but don't know where to start:
* Start investing in yourself and gaining any knowledge possible about specific fitness businesses and what the good ones are doing. Enroll in an audio course or go to a business lecture at a fitness event. You have done this step technically so why not do it in a business sense
* Start living the dream. Let yourself imagine freely and without restraint the wonderful life you will be leading with a fitness business that rocks and a lifestyle that is even more fulfilling
* I know it is a worn out cliche but I am going to use it anyway. Just do it. Take the knowledge and the dreams and place it in a rock solid foundation that can't ever be damaged unless you decide to rebuild
Back to the alcohol thing, don't think I am a wowser as I love a drink as much as the next person, in moderation of course. But the liquor industry has it happening and we need to declare war on them and make ours happen!
David Virgo
Something to think about and I would love to hear your views. Maybe I am way off the mark here and I don't mind being told so.
Monday, October 19, 2009
E.P.A
Placing extra and inflexible fitness regimes on already busy people is setting everyone concerned up for failure. In my experience you need to resist a one size fits all approach and try the individualised approach. The only way to do this is empower the busy and often out of balanced PT’s to look for a way that to stop just putting out bushfires and start taking steps to run an efficient business. It flips the thinking but has massive results in terms of you the busy person’s conformance. Use EPA to get you to this point.
See most PT’s think getting busy is a priority and training clients is all they think of. Unfortunately here is the problem. Once you have 10, 15 or 20 clients it’s bushfire season so you can forget even thinking of building a business.
1. Get Emotional. Empower yourself to see why it is you want to plan to build a business into your already busy lifestyle. What is most important to you, health, wealth, lifestyle or even family. Also what are your values?
2. Prioritise You. If you are already busy you will perceive there is no time for you anywhere as training clients will be all you can think of and giving all of your energy to them. Without a structure or plan for you and your business which run congruent, hopefully now you can see how staying in the PT game may be a little bit draining.
3. Be Accountable. Now you are emotionally charge and want to get your business building up and running all that is missing is accountability. It is too easy to say when the time comes I am too busy. So getting accountable means getting a coach or a mentor or even a fellow business owner to keep you moving forward. You will feel less inclined initially to let someone else down than yourself so tap into that mode of thought initially. It will be an initial investment that will pay you back indefinitely.
Everyone is time poor so the last thing you need to do is make yourself busier by just extinguishing bushfires and fixing problems. Stand above the PT crowd and become a star by planning and execute a business building plan starting today.
David Virgo
See most PT’s think getting busy is a priority and training clients is all they think of. Unfortunately here is the problem. Once you have 10, 15 or 20 clients it’s bushfire season so you can forget even thinking of building a business.
1. Get Emotional. Empower yourself to see why it is you want to plan to build a business into your already busy lifestyle. What is most important to you, health, wealth, lifestyle or even family. Also what are your values?
2. Prioritise You. If you are already busy you will perceive there is no time for you anywhere as training clients will be all you can think of and giving all of your energy to them. Without a structure or plan for you and your business which run congruent, hopefully now you can see how staying in the PT game may be a little bit draining.
3. Be Accountable. Now you are emotionally charge and want to get your business building up and running all that is missing is accountability. It is too easy to say when the time comes I am too busy. So getting accountable means getting a coach or a mentor or even a fellow business owner to keep you moving forward. You will feel less inclined initially to let someone else down than yourself so tap into that mode of thought initially. It will be an initial investment that will pay you back indefinitely.
Everyone is time poor so the last thing you need to do is make yourself busier by just extinguishing bushfires and fixing problems. Stand above the PT crowd and become a star by planning and execute a business building plan starting today.
David Virgo
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
a winning mindset for personal trainers
One of the biggest challenges confronting Personal Trainers is self-belief. There is a saying that best sums up self belief "whether you think you can or you think you can't you are probably right". I know many trainers who would either like to start up a business or take their current business to the next level but there always seems to be something stopping them. More often than not that 'something' is a limiting self-belief. Thinking you might not achieve your goals or that you are not worthy of success will ultimately lead to failure unless you can turn those thoughts around.
My background in sport and fitness instructing has taught me that one of the easiest things in life is to spot a fault. However it is a far harder thing to correct. This same philosophy translates into business and in understanding that limited thinking is probably the cause of why many are not achieving as much from life as they would like, the question becomes - what can you do when suffering from low self-belief?
The first step is to define what success is for you? For me in a business sense it is about achieving a level of financial independence where I can do what I want, with who I want, whenever I want. Coupled with this are goals around maintaining an optimal level of health and fitness, being the best husband and father I can be, as well as a commitment to lifelong learning, and then passing my experience to others through teaching, coaching and mentoring.
Once you have an understanding of what your goals really are it is like having a fog lifted from your life and you are able to see clearly and take positive steps in the direction you want your life to move in on a daily basis. The great business coach Zig Ziglar is famous for saying "the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire is that a millionaire reads his/her goals once a day while a billionaire reads his/her goals twice a day". The key learning point from this quote is about having clarity in what you want to achieve.
Another great tactic for developing a greater self-belief is to ask yourself better questions, i.e when you see someone doing something that you would like to do or achieving a result that you would like to achieve, ask yourself 'what would I have to do or change to make that happen for me?'. When you ask yourself better questions a magic thing happens - you get better answers and uncertainty about whether or not you will achieve your stated goals will often start to disappear.
Your beliefs can create your reality, so forming positive beliefs is the first step to achieving positive outcomes. An example of this philosophy in practice would be to look at a statistic that says 90% of small businesses fail within the first 5 years. Someone with a positive belief system would focus on the 10% of businesses that do succeed and would ask themselves good quality questions about what those 10% of businesses are doing and then modelling a number of their business practices.
One of the ways I have changed my beliefs is to constantly look at people who are doing things better than me and to learn from them. There is real power in associating with people who have achieved what you would like to achieve.
If you have a desire to start your own Personal Training Business and need an injection of self-belief then why not hang around other successful personal trainers in our Business Starter Pack (BSP) Program. The next course starts on Friday November 6 in Melbourne - click here for more details.
Aaron Whear
My background in sport and fitness instructing has taught me that one of the easiest things in life is to spot a fault. However it is a far harder thing to correct. This same philosophy translates into business and in understanding that limited thinking is probably the cause of why many are not achieving as much from life as they would like, the question becomes - what can you do when suffering from low self-belief?
The first step is to define what success is for you? For me in a business sense it is about achieving a level of financial independence where I can do what I want, with who I want, whenever I want. Coupled with this are goals around maintaining an optimal level of health and fitness, being the best husband and father I can be, as well as a commitment to lifelong learning, and then passing my experience to others through teaching, coaching and mentoring.
Once you have an understanding of what your goals really are it is like having a fog lifted from your life and you are able to see clearly and take positive steps in the direction you want your life to move in on a daily basis. The great business coach Zig Ziglar is famous for saying "the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire is that a millionaire reads his/her goals once a day while a billionaire reads his/her goals twice a day". The key learning point from this quote is about having clarity in what you want to achieve.
Another great tactic for developing a greater self-belief is to ask yourself better questions, i.e when you see someone doing something that you would like to do or achieving a result that you would like to achieve, ask yourself 'what would I have to do or change to make that happen for me?'. When you ask yourself better questions a magic thing happens - you get better answers and uncertainty about whether or not you will achieve your stated goals will often start to disappear.
Your beliefs can create your reality, so forming positive beliefs is the first step to achieving positive outcomes. An example of this philosophy in practice would be to look at a statistic that says 90% of small businesses fail within the first 5 years. Someone with a positive belief system would focus on the 10% of businesses that do succeed and would ask themselves good quality questions about what those 10% of businesses are doing and then modelling a number of their business practices.
One of the ways I have changed my beliefs is to constantly look at people who are doing things better than me and to learn from them. There is real power in associating with people who have achieved what you would like to achieve.
If you have a desire to start your own Personal Training Business and need an injection of self-belief then why not hang around other successful personal trainers in our Business Starter Pack (BSP) Program. The next course starts on Friday November 6 in Melbourne - click here for more details.
Aaron Whear
measuring your wealth
There are many currencies that measure wealth - money is just one of them
As PTs we often get into this business because of the fabulous lifestyle it can deliver....if it's done well. As a PT Plus coach and mentor I often see a different side of PTing. I'm often called on by PTs to resurrect this dream after they have either not enough business (dollar wealth) or their businesses are out of control running their lives causing them to be dirt poor in other areas of their lives.
At PT Plus we measure wealth by a number of currencies. These questions should help direct your attention to other areas in your life that indicate your 'wealth'. Give yourself a mark out of 10 (0 being miserable, 10 being fantastic) for each category.
* Are you fulfilled in your relationships?
* Are you healthy?
* Are you happy with your body?
* Do you have systems in place to manage your health/well being?
* Are you satisfied with your income?
* Do you have a long term financial plan?
* Is your work enjoyable?
* Are you happy where you are living?
* Do you take time out?
* Do you have time for fun/hobbies?
* Do you take adequate holidays?
Being the richest man or woman in the graveyard with no experiences is not a well lived life. If you're not creating wealth in all areas in your life, odds are that you will not be in this business for the long-term. You will join the list of trainers that have been burnt out, unsuccessful, or given it away for a comfortable wage job.
Pick your 3 areas to work on from the questions above and make it a personal priority to get into action and bring these areas up to speed. Get a coach to really help you drive these areas back into balance.
PT Plus is about creating great leaders in the industry. Great leaders are great people. Great people have great careers, relationships and health. At PT plus we pride ourselves in creating great financial wealth for our clients. However, one of my personal joys in my role as a coach is to create wealth in all areas of life for my clients.
If you'd like to have a chat about improving your business wealth and your life wealth please contact me for a no-obligations chat about how we can make you a truly wealthy business leader. Simply email me at business@ptplus.com.au
Dave Liow
As PTs we often get into this business because of the fabulous lifestyle it can deliver....if it's done well. As a PT Plus coach and mentor I often see a different side of PTing. I'm often called on by PTs to resurrect this dream after they have either not enough business (dollar wealth) or their businesses are out of control running their lives causing them to be dirt poor in other areas of their lives.
At PT Plus we measure wealth by a number of currencies. These questions should help direct your attention to other areas in your life that indicate your 'wealth'. Give yourself a mark out of 10 (0 being miserable, 10 being fantastic) for each category.
* Are you fulfilled in your relationships?
* Are you healthy?
* Are you happy with your body?
* Do you have systems in place to manage your health/well being?
* Are you satisfied with your income?
* Do you have a long term financial plan?
* Is your work enjoyable?
* Are you happy where you are living?
* Do you take time out?
* Do you have time for fun/hobbies?
* Do you take adequate holidays?
Being the richest man or woman in the graveyard with no experiences is not a well lived life. If you're not creating wealth in all areas in your life, odds are that you will not be in this business for the long-term. You will join the list of trainers that have been burnt out, unsuccessful, or given it away for a comfortable wage job.
Pick your 3 areas to work on from the questions above and make it a personal priority to get into action and bring these areas up to speed. Get a coach to really help you drive these areas back into balance.
PT Plus is about creating great leaders in the industry. Great leaders are great people. Great people have great careers, relationships and health. At PT plus we pride ourselves in creating great financial wealth for our clients. However, one of my personal joys in my role as a coach is to create wealth in all areas of life for my clients.
If you'd like to have a chat about improving your business wealth and your life wealth please contact me for a no-obligations chat about how we can make you a truly wealthy business leader. Simply email me at business@ptplus.com.au
Dave Liow
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
success tips from a business coach
Customer service is usually the difference between trainers who succeed and trainers who don't. Delivering a good quality personal training session is every client's basic expectation, so take that as the baseline - its the customer service around those physical sessions that provides your point of difference.
Some customer service strategies that many successful trainers use include:
Reminder Calls - trainers that take the time to confirm appointments save themselves a lot of cancellations. It also shows the client that you care about them.
Setting Homework - many personal trainers make the mistake of delivering a great session once or twice a week but not following up with their clients outside these times. You are doing yourself and your clients a disservice if you don't set homework or follow them up outside of session times. Homework should include specific exercise prescriptions - cardiovascular training, resistance training, flexibility exercises and group exercise classes that are appropriate to their training goals. Other homework tasks should include a focus on incidental exercise and diet.
Follow Up - whether this takes the form of a phone call, e-mail or SMS doesn't really matter, but follow up contact is vital. For a new client this may be a call to reassure them that its normal to feel sore after the first workout and that this will get better as their body adapts to training. For an experienced client this may be to check that you have worked them hard enough. Successful trainers also communicate, educate and interact with clients via a regular newsletter, as well as educational and social events.
Aaron Whear
Some customer service strategies that many successful trainers use include:
Reminder Calls - trainers that take the time to confirm appointments save themselves a lot of cancellations. It also shows the client that you care about them.
Setting Homework - many personal trainers make the mistake of delivering a great session once or twice a week but not following up with their clients outside these times. You are doing yourself and your clients a disservice if you don't set homework or follow them up outside of session times. Homework should include specific exercise prescriptions - cardiovascular training, resistance training, flexibility exercises and group exercise classes that are appropriate to their training goals. Other homework tasks should include a focus on incidental exercise and diet.
Follow Up - whether this takes the form of a phone call, e-mail or SMS doesn't really matter, but follow up contact is vital. For a new client this may be a call to reassure them that its normal to feel sore after the first workout and that this will get better as their body adapts to training. For an experienced client this may be to check that you have worked them hard enough. Successful trainers also communicate, educate and interact with clients via a regular newsletter, as well as educational and social events.
Aaron Whear
Monday, August 10, 2009
marketing tip - the chicken or the egg?
I remember when I was starting my career as a budding fitnesspreneur (fitness entrepreneur). I designed what I thought was the world’s greatest workout program for mums at home. What a great audience, they are looking to get back into shape, lots of them out there and a majority are at home. I was going to take the fitness world by storm. This was my ticket to freedom. My program was well structured, had minimal equipment, and the exercises were world class. This program would get results and change the post natal market forever. I bought this home proudly presenting to my wife like a proud cat bringing home a mouse to eat. “Nice program darling –shame it’d never sell though” she said after 5 minutes of browsing through my pride and joy. This was from not only my wife but a potential client and I got a ‘no’ first up.
My wife is a clever woman (she constantly reminds me of this). She proceeded to awaken me to a key marketing principle I’m about to uncover. The problem with the program was that it was designed by a male, using male exercises structured in a male workout from a male’s perspective. I was trying to produce a product for a market that I really didn’t understand. Thank goodness I learnt this lesson before I threw more time, money, and effort into the project.
When we try to create a product then find a market we often miss the mark. Here’s a different approach:
Find your market and THEN find the product.
What markets do you really understand?
If you’re a PT and a mum, odds are you really understand what it’s like to be a mum trying to get back into the gym. You’d understand how having kids can really change your body, pelvic floor dysfunction, and the difficulty in giving yourself some time with a new born. It’s most likely you’ll understand this market better than I ever would.
Once you know your market, ask yourself “What can I sell to this market?” – Whether it be PT sessions, mentoring, information products or any of the other 17 income streams that we’ve talked about at PT Plus.
By following this process when you develop your next great marketing idea your chance of hitting the mark and connecting with your audience will be greatly improved.
Chicken or the egg? Who knows, but find your market before you make your product.
Dave Liow
My wife is a clever woman (she constantly reminds me of this). She proceeded to awaken me to a key marketing principle I’m about to uncover. The problem with the program was that it was designed by a male, using male exercises structured in a male workout from a male’s perspective. I was trying to produce a product for a market that I really didn’t understand. Thank goodness I learnt this lesson before I threw more time, money, and effort into the project.
When we try to create a product then find a market we often miss the mark. Here’s a different approach:
Find your market and THEN find the product.
What markets do you really understand?
If you’re a PT and a mum, odds are you really understand what it’s like to be a mum trying to get back into the gym. You’d understand how having kids can really change your body, pelvic floor dysfunction, and the difficulty in giving yourself some time with a new born. It’s most likely you’ll understand this market better than I ever would.
Once you know your market, ask yourself “What can I sell to this market?” – Whether it be PT sessions, mentoring, information products or any of the other 17 income streams that we’ve talked about at PT Plus.
By following this process when you develop your next great marketing idea your chance of hitting the mark and connecting with your audience will be greatly improved.
Chicken or the egg? Who knows, but find your market before you make your product.
Dave Liow
Friday, July 31, 2009
steps to achieving your goals
One of my favourite past times is spending time with my family and it is something I plan into my week. What I want to pass on today is the reinforcement of the need to set goals but more importantly the need to break them down into a step by step process. It may sound like an extra job but taking the time to do this will be a vital part of your success.
Sabina (my eldest daughter) was casually remarking to me how it would be so hard to count past 100 and how she couldn't do it. I calmly took her to the number chart on the wall and highlighted to her how easy it was to count to 1000 if she could count to 100; and how easy it was to count to 100 if she could count to ten - which she can do. From that point on she started counting and made it right up to 200. This was monumental for her, small for you I know, but there is a lesson to learn from this.
Are you trying to create a sustainable and profitable PT, fitness, lifestyle or wellness business? I’m guessing you are or you wouldn’t be reading this. The lesson I’m highlighting will apply to your business success.
Where ever you are in life the big dreams can seem too big and out of reach. In reality it is only a matter of breaking the dream down into achievable segments to get you to your destination. The power is in the process as Sabina found out. Once she knew counting in blocks of ten could lead to making it to 100 she worked on counting to ten, then 20, then 30 and so on. Same with you; break it down, see the process is achievable and you have the motivation to go and achieve because you can see a path to take you there. The key is making your path clear and visible. Something we are passionate about teaching people like you.
These are the steps to take to get your PT business success:
• Think big - get your goal front of mind and don't disbelieve it. When your thinking says it can't be done, correct it to be, "it is possible and I will find the way"
• Break it down - what is it that you need to address that will allow you to get that dream or outcome. There is always three or four things if not more you need to attend to.
• Get a strategy- For each area of challenge or concern put together 4 or 5 (or more) strategies that will help you improve the areas needed to be addressed that will drive you to your end point.
• Commit to you and honour it - by following the strategies to the letter and all of a sudden the points to come out of the 'Break it down' phase are being improved and addressed. Sticking to the strategies consistently will drive you to your dream.
There you have a simplistic and broken down approach to getting your desired outcomes. Constant attention to the process and details will ensure massive results, guaranteed.
David Virgo
Sabina (my eldest daughter) was casually remarking to me how it would be so hard to count past 100 and how she couldn't do it. I calmly took her to the number chart on the wall and highlighted to her how easy it was to count to 1000 if she could count to 100; and how easy it was to count to 100 if she could count to ten - which she can do. From that point on she started counting and made it right up to 200. This was monumental for her, small for you I know, but there is a lesson to learn from this.
Are you trying to create a sustainable and profitable PT, fitness, lifestyle or wellness business? I’m guessing you are or you wouldn’t be reading this. The lesson I’m highlighting will apply to your business success.
Where ever you are in life the big dreams can seem too big and out of reach. In reality it is only a matter of breaking the dream down into achievable segments to get you to your destination. The power is in the process as Sabina found out. Once she knew counting in blocks of ten could lead to making it to 100 she worked on counting to ten, then 20, then 30 and so on. Same with you; break it down, see the process is achievable and you have the motivation to go and achieve because you can see a path to take you there. The key is making your path clear and visible. Something we are passionate about teaching people like you.
These are the steps to take to get your PT business success:
• Think big - get your goal front of mind and don't disbelieve it. When your thinking says it can't be done, correct it to be, "it is possible and I will find the way"
• Break it down - what is it that you need to address that will allow you to get that dream or outcome. There is always three or four things if not more you need to attend to.
• Get a strategy- For each area of challenge or concern put together 4 or 5 (or more) strategies that will help you improve the areas needed to be addressed that will drive you to your end point.
• Commit to you and honour it - by following the strategies to the letter and all of a sudden the points to come out of the 'Break it down' phase are being improved and addressed. Sticking to the strategies consistently will drive you to your dream.
There you have a simplistic and broken down approach to getting your desired outcomes. Constant attention to the process and details will ensure massive results, guaranteed.
David Virgo
Monday, July 27, 2009
if I could accomplish one thing today, what would it be?
This is the question I ask myself every morning to help me focus my time. Time is my most valuable resource. I have two under 5's, a wife who I dig hanging around with, and 5 businesses in 2 different countries to manage. Things can get busy.
In the past I used to waste my precious time answering dozens of emails which weren’t important and spending far too much time surfing the internet wondering what useless consumer products that I needed to buy next. Don’t get me wrong. My work capacity and output were great. I had reasonable systems for managing my health and my business. How come I was still busier than a beaver, but not really getting the time to develop my businesses and live the life I wanted? This was hurting my business and my home life.
Here’s the thing I came to realise – being efficient and being effective are two very different things. Being efficient is working economically (whether the task is important or not). Being effective is doing things that get you closer to your goals. Just because you’re doing something that takes a lot of time doesn’t make it important. Doing something well that isn’t important still doesn’t make it important. I needed to become effective and then work efficiently towards my goals. My time was at a premium, and I was investing my time and getting little return on investment (ROI).
Since I have started my morning routine asking myself “If I could accomplish one thing today, what would it be?” my effectiveness has sky rocketed. Try this simple technique and see if you can boost your effectiveness.
Dave Liow
In the past I used to waste my precious time answering dozens of emails which weren’t important and spending far too much time surfing the internet wondering what useless consumer products that I needed to buy next. Don’t get me wrong. My work capacity and output were great. I had reasonable systems for managing my health and my business. How come I was still busier than a beaver, but not really getting the time to develop my businesses and live the life I wanted? This was hurting my business and my home life.
Here’s the thing I came to realise – being efficient and being effective are two very different things. Being efficient is working economically (whether the task is important or not). Being effective is doing things that get you closer to your goals. Just because you’re doing something that takes a lot of time doesn’t make it important. Doing something well that isn’t important still doesn’t make it important. I needed to become effective and then work efficiently towards my goals. My time was at a premium, and I was investing my time and getting little return on investment (ROI).
Since I have started my morning routine asking myself “If I could accomplish one thing today, what would it be?” my effectiveness has sky rocketed. Try this simple technique and see if you can boost your effectiveness.
Dave Liow
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
7 key customer service strategies for PT's
Ask any business owner worth their salt and they will tell you that on average it costs 6 times more to get a client than to retain an existing one. The costs include all of the time and money you spend on marketing and promotion. Couple this with a statistic from IHRSA (International Health Racket and Sports Association) which says that 46% of new clients come as a result of word of mouth referral!
With these things in mind it still staggers me as to why most Personal Trainers don’t place a much bigger emphasis on retaining existing clients and giving them reasons to spread the 'word of mouth virus' to more people. Perhaps it is because they either don’t understand the implication for profitability or simply don’t know what they can do to influence these factors. The purpose of this article is to remove the second of these excuses by giving you strategies that you can implement today.
• Welcome Packs – clients are often spending a substantial sum of money up front, or are entering a direct debit contract on the basis of a result they are hoping to achieve in the future. As we live in an instant gratification society, my advice is to give clients something tangible at the point of sale to help positively reinforce their purchase decision. The simple act of giving a backpack containing some merchandise, educational articles or fitness equipment tends to reduce 'buyers regret' and will separate you from personal trainers who don’t do this.
• Confirmation calls – trainers that take the time to confirm appointments save themselves from a lot of cancellations. It also shows the client that you care about them.
• Set Homework – many personal trainers make the mistake of delivering a great session once or twice a week but not following up with their clients outside these times. You are doing yourself and your clients a disservice if you don’t set homework or follow them up outside of session times. Homework should include specific exercise prescriptions – cardiovascular training, resistance training, flexibility exercises and group exercise classes that are appropriate to their training goals. Other homework tasks should include a focus on incidental exercise and diet.
• Follow Up – whether this takes the form of a phone call, e-mail or SMS doesn’t really matter, but follow up contact is vital. For a new client this may be a call to reassure them that it’s normal to feel sore after their first workout and that this will get better as their body adapts to training. For an experienced client this may be to check that you have worked them hard enough.
• Thank you cards – showing gratitude is one of the most powerful relationship building techniques you can use. It positions you as different from other Personal Trainers. Think about it, when was the last time someone you have purchased from took the time to send you a thank you card in the mail? My suggestion would be to send something physical in the post to your clients 4 times per year.
• Monthly Newsletter – a regular newsletter builds you credibility with existing clients as well as any prospects you have. Some rules about newsletters are that they must be regular, i.e. don’t be the trainer who sends out their monthly newsletter every 6 months! They should also include relevant information that you clients can either use or directly relate to such as an exercise of the month, recipe of the month, success profile of one of you clients, quizzes, recognition of client birthdays or special achievements, etc.
• Client Appreciation Days – the imagination is the limit as to what you could do here. You might have a day at the cricket or the football, a movie night, a bush walk, a picnic, etc. The key thing is to make the events something your client base would appreciate. Again a key thing here is that you are doing things that the average Personal Trainer does not and that is what will separate you in the eyes of you clients which in turn builds incredible loyalty.
There you have it, 7 useable strategies that if implemented will give you an edge in customer service over the great majority of your competition. Some of the strategies may sound simple, however please do not make the mistake of thinking that simple is not powerful. If implemented, these strategies will make the world of difference to customer retention and referral which in turn will have a dramatic influence on your income.
Aaron Whear
With these things in mind it still staggers me as to why most Personal Trainers don’t place a much bigger emphasis on retaining existing clients and giving them reasons to spread the 'word of mouth virus' to more people. Perhaps it is because they either don’t understand the implication for profitability or simply don’t know what they can do to influence these factors. The purpose of this article is to remove the second of these excuses by giving you strategies that you can implement today.
• Welcome Packs – clients are often spending a substantial sum of money up front, or are entering a direct debit contract on the basis of a result they are hoping to achieve in the future. As we live in an instant gratification society, my advice is to give clients something tangible at the point of sale to help positively reinforce their purchase decision. The simple act of giving a backpack containing some merchandise, educational articles or fitness equipment tends to reduce 'buyers regret' and will separate you from personal trainers who don’t do this.
• Confirmation calls – trainers that take the time to confirm appointments save themselves from a lot of cancellations. It also shows the client that you care about them.
• Set Homework – many personal trainers make the mistake of delivering a great session once or twice a week but not following up with their clients outside these times. You are doing yourself and your clients a disservice if you don’t set homework or follow them up outside of session times. Homework should include specific exercise prescriptions – cardiovascular training, resistance training, flexibility exercises and group exercise classes that are appropriate to their training goals. Other homework tasks should include a focus on incidental exercise and diet.
• Follow Up – whether this takes the form of a phone call, e-mail or SMS doesn’t really matter, but follow up contact is vital. For a new client this may be a call to reassure them that it’s normal to feel sore after their first workout and that this will get better as their body adapts to training. For an experienced client this may be to check that you have worked them hard enough.
• Thank you cards – showing gratitude is one of the most powerful relationship building techniques you can use. It positions you as different from other Personal Trainers. Think about it, when was the last time someone you have purchased from took the time to send you a thank you card in the mail? My suggestion would be to send something physical in the post to your clients 4 times per year.
• Monthly Newsletter – a regular newsletter builds you credibility with existing clients as well as any prospects you have. Some rules about newsletters are that they must be regular, i.e. don’t be the trainer who sends out their monthly newsletter every 6 months! They should also include relevant information that you clients can either use or directly relate to such as an exercise of the month, recipe of the month, success profile of one of you clients, quizzes, recognition of client birthdays or special achievements, etc.
• Client Appreciation Days – the imagination is the limit as to what you could do here. You might have a day at the cricket or the football, a movie night, a bush walk, a picnic, etc. The key thing is to make the events something your client base would appreciate. Again a key thing here is that you are doing things that the average Personal Trainer does not and that is what will separate you in the eyes of you clients which in turn builds incredible loyalty.
There you have it, 7 useable strategies that if implemented will give you an edge in customer service over the great majority of your competition. Some of the strategies may sound simple, however please do not make the mistake of thinking that simple is not powerful. If implemented, these strategies will make the world of difference to customer retention and referral which in turn will have a dramatic influence on your income.
Aaron Whear
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Dave Liow
Dave started PTing at the beginning of personal training in New Zealand in the early 1990s. “Why compromise when you can have it all?” is a slogan that Dave has always lived by. He managed to complete a Masters in Physical Education and kayak 3 days a week while maintaining a successful PT business for a number of years. Dave isn’t one for compromising so decided to continue personal training, managing a gym, and became a senior lecturer for occupational therapists then in exercise science.Dave became an exercise rehabilitation and athletic training specialist based in Wellington, New Zealand specialising in helping clients return from injury to high performance. Dave was the head trainer for the New Zealand Black Sox for two successful World Series campaigns, and worked with NZ hockey as a head trainer and regional trainer for NZ Women’s and Men’s Hockey for several Commonwealth and Olympic Games. He was also the head trainer for the NZ Titleist Men and Women’s Golf Academy for several World Championships.
Dave is a qualified coach and mentor and has lectured and worked with hundreds of trainers mentoring them in technical, business and personal development.
Dave recently moved from New Zealand to the live in Sunshine Coast to live in eternal summer with his wife and two young daughters, while directing his health and fitness businesses in New Zealand.
Dave really enjoys developing business vision with trainers, and creating actions and systems to drive momentum to create their dream job and life.
David Virgo
David was born in the Upper Great Southern region of Western Australia in a country town called Narrogin.
David completed Year 12 in Narrogin but in between spent 3 years attending Hale School. Being bought up in the country allowed David the opportunity to play a wide variety of sports. Showing promise in cricket and football these were the sports that he put most of his efforts into. He then moved up to Perth as soon as he finished Year 12 to focus on playing cricket. David was in the Western Australian state cricket squad for 4 years and to this day still holds the record for the highest individual score achieved on the Mt Lawley Cricket Club’s home ground. He captained the Mt Lawley cricket club and later on coached the club.
In May 2000 a diagnosis of Leukaemia turned David’s world upside down. This turned out to be a pivotal point in his life as it forced him to take stock and look at his own values and lifestyle, making him realise his passion was in assisting others to grow and develop. This is when he made the decision to get into the health and well being industry. He now runs his own health creation and performance enhancement company called Lifestyle Improvers where he specialises in assisting and teaching others to build mental resilience and lead a more engaged and directed life.
He is happily married to Adriana and they both share their lives with Sabina, Tyrone and Daniella in their beautiful self built family home in the Perth suburb of Morley. He can be found spending time with his kids, reading or surfing, a skill he only recently learnt.
Aaron Whear
Aaron is the ‘trainer’s trainer’. With over 15 years experience at all levels he has a proven record working with all levels of trainers in developing and refining success strategies. In an industry where trainers have a very short life span Aaron has stood the test of time and long jeopardy. His specialty is success strategies for our industry. Aaron understands the fundamental platform for any success is having a strategy. With a proven background of success in business, sport and life, Aaron has a natural instinct for developing a personal game plan for your business. Aaron says “The difference between those that succeed and those that don’t in this industry is defining what you want and having a clear plan on how to get it. As health professionals we understand this in writing health and fitness programs however so many personal trainers miss it in their own businesses”
In business, sport and family life Aaron plays with a Game Plan. The result is he is a leading business owner, sporting warrior and supportive husband and father. Having worked with hundreds of health professionals Aaron’s Game Plan is tailor made for our industry.
Aaron began his career in the fitness industry as a gym instructor in 1992. He quickly moved his way up the ranks firstly as a personal trainer and then as a gym manager. It was during his role as a gym manager that Aaron realised there was a gap between what gyms required from employees and what training providers were delivering to students. This lead to his move into Fitness Leader education and a strong desire to help bridge the gap between education and what is required in the “real world” as a fitness instructor.
Aaron’s obsession is developing the next generation of successful personal trainers as business owners.
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