“How do you manage your clients and leads?”
I manage my client contact information in Microsoft Outlook. I also keep track of clients’ birthdays in Outlook and on www.SendOutCards.com. After I enter birthdays into a calendar on the website, cards are automatically sent to clients in time for their birthdays. All clients and leads who want to receive my monthly email newsletter get added to my newsletter distribution list. (Not only is the newsletter informational, but it also keeps my name in front of people every month.)
When I exhibit at events, I always bring a form for people to sign to receive my newsletter. At the events, I usually conduct a raffle; people can check off a box on the raffle form to receive my newsletter. I add the leads to my list, and I follow up with an email or phone call within 24–48 hours. Sometimes all it takes to get the sale is to respond quickly.
I know there is contact management software that can track all your contacts with clients and leads. However, I’m not managing hundreds of leads, so the return on my investment in that software wouldn’t be worth it. I keep track of who needs to be contacted in my Outlook calendar.
Holly Kouvo
Fitting Fitness In™
Boxborough, Massachusetts
I use a spreadsheet that I created to track clients, and I update it each month. I guess I’m kind of old-school with it! The
spreadsheet contains different columns for name, date I started training the client, payment type, goals, notes, and sessions per week.
I also created and use another spreadsheet for leads.
Dan Duran
Personal Trainer and Fitness Director, Yuba City Racquet and Health Club
Yuba City, California
Working in the fitness industry for almost 20 years means that I have many contacts that are relevant to my business and that I want to cultivate. My intent with all communication is that I want to be the first person my contacts think of when they use the term “personal trainer.” Almost all communication is through electronic channels by “push” (I send an email or newsletter) or “pull” (someone visits my website or my IDEA FitnessConnect profile page). I strive to make every interaction positive, informative and engaging.
I separate contacts into “Clients” and “Potential Clients” categories, which I manage in four ways:
IDEA FitnessConnect. All clients and business-related contacts receive the monthly newsletter. I read the articles and comment on them for specific relevance. I use the IDEA FitFeed articles more selectively, rarely sending them to the entire list. When I do email an article, I usually preface it with a reference to a conversation I had with the recipient.
Internet Email Management. The contacts in this server are almost identical to the ones in IDEA FitnessConnect, but the service allows me to generate the content and to slice and dice the contacts into groups of my choosing. I use this for business-specific emails and newsletters, and I send different ones to subsections of the entire list.
I try to limit this form of communication to no more than three times per month, to avoid inundating clients with constant emails. As a result, I have very few “unsubscribers.”
Good old email. I use this only for clients and only for communications that are necessary in the course of doing business.
Snail mail. Yes, I still send actual greeting cards through the mail. The main occasions are birthdays; I select a pretty card and use my own words to wish clients a happy birthday. I send a birthday card to everyone who is or ever has been my client, as long as I have a physical address.
Karin Singleton
Personal Trainer and Advanced MELT Instructor, Fitness Personified Ltd.
Raleigh, North Carolina
I depend on IDEA, ACE, TRX® and other databases, such as Mantra and Thumbtack, which forward blind leads to me. I also receive inquiries through my Facebook page and, of course, there are word-of-mouth referrals. As leads come in, I assign category codes to track the source of the leads and to assign a percentage to close, as I go through the sales process.
I currently track my client data through an app called WorkoutJournal Pro by Haize Fitness. I love that the PAR-Q forms are automatically attached to the client’s info. Plus, on a daily basis, I enter and edit each client’s workout of the day. This app also allows me to attach a payment schedule for each client and tells me when it is time to renew. I create spreadsheets to track overall revenue per quarter and all related quarterly business expenses. Doing this allows me to see where I spend money and lets me create budgets based on the reality of where my money gets spent— on equipment, uniforms, personal trainer insurance, marketing, etc.
The client PAR-Q and assessments are part of the app. However, before I even get to the app, in my first meeting with the client or potential client, we spend about 90 minutes going over all the necessary data; the PAR-Q is one of the items. I personally and manually collect the data during an intensive question-and-answer period. When I enter the client’s name into the app, I transfer the data into the online version. There is a tab on the client page that will bring up a health history questionnaire and the PAR-Q form.
Each year, I also start a spreadsheet filled with several pages. These pages include individual client pages, revenue pages and expense pages. I keep this as a backup. Once you have had software fail at some point in your career, you understand why it’s a good idea to keep a second set of data. I like the security of it!
Nancy Matican Bock
L.A.S.T., Lifestyle and Sports Training
Melbourne Beach, Florida