Marketing and Sales Articles

According to the Kiplinger Business Resource Center, “The United States economy in 2008 should limp along, with little or no growth in some quarters and a lousy feeling to many businesses and consumers” (Idaszak 2008). When economic conditions create a difficult market, the fitness industry must respond quickly in order to weather the storm and prevent financial problems. Begin by reviewing your budgets and identifying costs that appear superfluous or redundant.

Most trainers are ill-equipped to sell their services. Without specialized business education, many trainers get emotionally involved when selling their services to prospective clients. Armed with the proper tools and resources, you can successfully pitch your services without falling prey to emotions. Wearing the Sales Hat To circumvent the emotional aspects of the sales process, look at the whole picture in four manageable chunks.

According to the 2008 IDEA Personal Training Programs & Equipment Survey, personal training continues to rank highest among health and fitness programs offered (Schroeder, forthcoming). In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (2007) forecasts a promising future for trainers, estimating a 27% increase in employment of fitness workers ...

It used to be that only those with disposable income availed themselves of personal training services. Now that more middle-class consumers are turning to personal trainers, the field has become even more competitive. That means trainers need to find a way to separate themselves from the pack. One way to do that is to generate more sales. Unfortunately, most trainers are ill-equi...

In recent months, we have all heard these unnerving terms in the media: economic downturn, recession, weak market. The fact is, we are hearing these phrases so often because it’s true: we are in a feeble economy, characterized by sluggish consumer spending and rising unemployment. In fact, according to the Kiplinger Business Resource Center, “The United States economy i...

To be successful in business, who you know is often more advantageous than what you know. For fitness professionals, a strong personal and professional network is helpful in building clientele. In an industry where

Did you build your own website from a template, and are you now wondering where all your visitors are? According to Yodle.com, an “online lead generator,” trying to build your own website is a marketing mistake that a lot of small businesses make. Enticing a website visitor to call on your business is “quite literally a science” and is often done incorrectly, according to the company. Yodle.com sa...

No doubt about it, today’s kids are savvy consumers who know what they want and how to get it from mom and dad. This fact has not been lost on fast-food marketers, who have stepped up their branding campaigns with television ads that target young children.As evidence, researchers conducted an “experimental” study that asked 63 children (aged 3.5–5.4 years) to taste five pairs of id...