Self Promotion: The Keep In Touch Strategy

An automated Keep In Touch strategy is the cornerstone of self-promotion. The KIT approach helps you build your network and establish a base of enthusiastic fans who trust you and are interested in what you have to offer. The bigger your network, the more likely you are to be booked solid.

Many personal trainers and fitness entrepreneurs fail at business because they lack an automated KIT strategy. Trainers who don’t look for new clients until existing clients start to take their business elsewhere will find themselves in a reactive cycle that leaves income unreliable and confidence shaken. Taking time to set up a KIT strategy that works will save you time, money and heartache in the long run!

Choose a database program.

First, you’ll need to invest in a Customer Relationship Management system. No, your address book is not a CRM! An address book can help you keep track of people’s names and email addresses, but a good CRM will help you track your relationships with people (e.g., where a lead came from, any contact you’ve made, the lead’s response). Good examples of CRMs are Infusionsoft®, GoldMine® and Act! (this list is not all-inclusive). With research, you can find a system that meets your needs, your budget and the size of your contact list.

Use your CRM.

Begin by entering the data. Then, make sure you continue to connect with the leads, consistently, to build trust and credibility over time. The quality of your relationships (not the number of people on your list) will directly impact your financial health!

Communication with your leads might be direct (one-on-one), but you will also need to stay in touch with your entire list. Consider the following options:

• mailed newsletters or direct mail (effective, but time-consuming and costly)
• email newsletters (easiest and most cost-effective)
  
  Hint:
  
  If you have not begun to use IDEA FitnessConnect’s Client Newsletter (free to IDEA members), it’s time to get set up. This tool makes creating and managing e-newsletters simple for any fitness professional. For those of you who supplement your promotional materials with blogs, Facebook and Twitter, the newsletter integrates seamlessly with these other social media tools. IDEA’s award-winning editorial team provides the educational content, which includes three articles written for the fitness consumer, a healthy recipe and a “Move of the Month” instructional exercise video. Best of all, the newsletter goes out automatically to your custom database on the first day of each month­—with your private label on it. Click the “Create Client Newsletter” link on your profile page to begin customizing your Client Newsletter in minutes: www.ideafit.com/client-newsletter-product.
• social media (free and wide-reaching)
  
  Note:
  
  If you’re not already using IDEA Social Poster to keep in touch with clients, you can start your free trial today: www.ideafit.com/social-autoposter. IDEA’s experts have tested what works on social media, and they do everything for you. They curate the best daily inspirational content from the most reliable sources, and they post it to your Facebook page automatically. It’s a clean and easy solution that keeps you focused on what you do best instead of spending hours on social media.
• phone calls (this does
  
  not
  
  include cold calling; make your calls only after at least one positive interaction)

The goal is to add value to a potential client’s life. Ensure that you have a meaningful connection with each person on your list and that you have permission to communicate. Then, implement the

80–20 Rule

: 80% of content should be free and helpful to your target audience (that is, it should be about them). The remaining 20% is your chance to share more information about you and your services.

To read a more about ways to promote yourself as a fitness professional, please see “Strategic Self-Promotion for Fitness Pros” in the online IDEA Library or in the September 2015 print issue of IDEA Fitness Journal. If you cannot access the full article and would like to, please contact the IDEA Inspired Service Team at (800) 999-4332, ext. 7.