Marketing & Sales
How to Get on TV
As a health professional who made the transition to television reporter, I was asked to host a “Fitness in Media” seminar at the 2011 IDEA World Fitness Convention™ in Los Angeles. I taught fitness pros how to procure a television spot on either a news report or an entertainment show. I then asked participants to submit a one-line pitch using what they’d learned.
How to Plan Your First Health Fair
“Me, plan a health fair? You must be kidding!”
That’s what I said when I was asked to organize our fitness facility’s first health fair.
Direct Mail: Now Fitter Than Ever
During my decade of experience in marketing, I’ve seen a lot of failures—and many more successes. With the Internet, the art of fitness marketing is more complex than it once was. However, many of the basic principles still apply.
5 Tips for a Successful Online Business
Jade Teta interview.m4v
Tricks of the Trade
As a stay-at-home mother of two, I offer only online training at this time. I find it fits well with my schedule and still allows me to work in the…
Selling Services in a Faltering Economy, Part 2
In Part I of “Selling Services in a Faltering Economy” (in the October 2012 issue of IDEA Trainer Success), I discussed five steps you can take to energize your business: target your expertise; differentiate your products, price and relationships; protect your current client base; develop multiple revenue streams; and give gifts that reward you, too. Here are five more steps you can take to boost sales in a weak economy.
Offer Multiple Purchase Options [subhead]
Financial Benefits of Daily Deal Sites
Have you ever wondered if partnering with daily deal sites is worth the investment? According to Bloomspot, one of many daily deal companies, the answer is yes.
The organization analyzed customer transaction data from about 2,000 participating businesses in core markets. Here are a few highlights:
30 Ways to Make More Money: Win the Leverage Lotto!
You don’t observe, research and report about the fitness industry for close to four cumulative decades without learning a thing or two about profit centers and revenue streams. As IDEA’s…
Measure Social Media Efforts
Wise fitness professionals take advantage of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter™ to increase Internet presence and enhance revenue potential. But how do you know if your efforts are hitting the mark? These social media measurement tools, courtesy of IDEA author Melissa Spraul, will help you gauge whether your message is being heard:
Radian6 (www.radian6.com). This paid social media listening, tracking, monitoring and engagement tool allows you to understand how social media and social customer relationship management can impact your success.
Facebook and Negative Body Image
Facebook. You log on to connect with friends and colleagues, post pictures and market your wares. But could that daily networking session be hurting your self-esteem?
According to the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt, in Baltimore, the answer is yes. Researchers reached this conclusion after surveying 600 Facebook users, aged 16–40.
Here are some insights:
The Anatomy of a Successful Client Testimonial
Customer testimonials can be fantastic tools for driving new business to your door. But boring, photo-free client comments buried deep inside your website are unlikely to do the trick. To quickly capture the imagination (and training dollars) of the masses, it is critical to breathe life into client success stories.
So what makes some testimonials tedious and others terrific? Follow these four steps to avoid the mistakes of time-wasting customer snooze stories. Bring your facility’s testimonials back from the brink—and attract new-member dollars to your door.
Promoting Your In-Home Training Business
In this five-article series, we have covered the nuts and bolts of creating an in-home personal training business from scratch. First, it was critical to do all the background work to determine whether starting a business in your area was feasible and could support you full-time. Second, you created a business identity by looking at your core values, needs, vision, purpose and mission. Third, you outlined your financial needs and ideal work schedule and set 1-, 3- and 6-month goals.
Multicultural Marketing
The United States is experiencing profound demographic changes, and if fitness centers want to remain successful they must take these changes into account. Minority groups are increasing in size?on their way to becoming the majority of the American population.
Get On Online Radio
Sample Guest Introductions
The following intro bios worked well because they are concise, easily read aloud and written to be heard, which is different from written to be read silently.
Marketing Secrets From the Pros
What can you do to bring clients through your doors? We asked studio owners and program directors to tell us their marketing secrets: What works to attract students to Pilates programs—and what doesn’t work?
Promote Your IDEA FitnessConnect Profile
By now you know it is to your distinct advantage to set up a profile in the IDEA FitnessConnect online directory. Whether or not you use all the features, it at least ensures you one more point of contact for potential clients. Why not take things to the next level and maximize how you promote yourself and your business? Here are 10 ideas (plus a bonus tip) on doing just that.
Generate and Follow New L.E.A.D.S.
The term social media typically refers to popular online tools like Facebook and Twitter™. However, social media broadly includes any form of media used to communicate and interact with an audience. When fitness professionals leverage social media tools to engage clients, colleagues and fitness enthusiasts, the resulting increase in the pros’ online presence can further their career opportunities. This is why IDEA FitnessConnect offers a range of social media tools to assist fitness professionals in generating new business.
Expanding Your Audience Reach
IDEA FitnessConnect (IFC) is reaching greater audiences by syndicating its information to top health and fitness websites. Think of it as embedding the directory within a third-party site, making it easier for fitness professionals to reach potential clients in high-traffic areas. This also positions many fitness pros in front of new markets.
You can select which websites display your profile information. By clicking on “Privacy Settings” in your profile page, you can enable (or disable) your profile on each website.
The Top 5 Truths of Best-Selling Trainers
One of the best sales lessons I ever learned came from watching an amateur 10K race from the finish line. The winning runners made excellent times, easily cruising across the finish line while barely breaking a sweat. The next group had obviously undertrained and overpushed, stumbling to the race’s end flushed and sometimes physically ill. Last were those who clearly embraced the joys of strolling and socializing, but who seemed unconcerned about how well they finished.
Winners Tell All
FFitness professionals often use success stories and client testimonials to strike an emotional chord with potential clients. Personal trainers who incorporate these elements into their pitches (often via “brag books”) may find them powerful during new-client interviews or business development meetings, according to Derrick Wilburn, MBA, IDEA presenter and director of education for Achieve Fitness USA (Wilburn 2010). But what if potential clients or business partners do their initial research about you over the Web?