Author Archives: Dave McGarry

About Dave McGarry

I am a fitness and nutrition coach who has a passion for impacting and transforming lives both physically and mentally! From an early age I loved to work out and push myself to achieve better results physically and mentally. Over the past several decades I have helped hundreds of people get fit and change their lives. Now, I am on a mission to impact and change the lives of 5 million people across the globe. Your health is your wealth and I am here to serve others by sharing my knowledge and passion for health and wellness!

The Answer to the Million Dollar Question

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So how do you get more personal training clients?

This is the million dollar question that every personal trainer asks at some point in their career and I have a simple answer for you today. If you want more personal training clients then you need to create raving fans. Yes, I mean clients who at every chance they get they talk about you and brag about how great their personal trainer is. Now not every client is going to be a raving fan so the key here is to find the ones who are and get them out there talking about you. Okay so you are asking how do I create raving fans? Well it is not as hard as you think and by the end of this post you will know what constitues a raving fan and how to create them.

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So what defines a raving fan?

First of all a raving raving fan comes often. In our profession they personal train 2-3x a week and come week in and week out throughout the year.

Second, a raving fan pays full price. You do not need to give them free sessions or give them a package deal.

Finally, a raving fan is someone who tells people and tells us about it. You will absolutuely know who your raving fan is because they will tell you that they talk about you to all their friends and family and at the same time tell you how much they LOVE you!

Now, let’s assume you are just getting started or maybe you need some more raving fans well this next section is going to be about how to create Raving Fans. 

I have said this before but the single most important way to attract and build a raving fan is to build trust with them. They need to trust you as much as the trust their closest friends and family.

Deliver 2nd Mile Customer service. Matthew 5:41 in the bible states ” If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” Essentially, what this passage is referring to is do the unexpected don’t just reciprocate go beyond. Going the second mile can make the difference between a normal client and a raving fan. It does not have to be something totally crazy but surprise your client by doing something they would have never thought you would do. It could be as simple as sending them a gift card to their favorite retail store after they reached a weight goal. You don’t have to give a lot but you need to give something your client would not ever thought you would do.

The final step to creating a raving fan is to create an emotional experience with your personal training client. If it is all about reps, sets, and exercises you will not connect with them. You need to make it personal and find that emotional hot button that really gets your personal training client engaged. Also, I cannot tell you how important it is to conduct your personal training sessions with enthusiasm. There is nothing more troubling to me then to see a personal trainer stand there with their arms crossed and lips shut throughout the entire session. Show your enthusiasm and energy towards your client.

If you build trust, dekiver 2nd mile customer service and create an emotional experience with your personal training client then you will succeed in building raving fans and ultimately you will get more clients!! Now go get some raving fans!!!

What you can learn from “Shamu” the Killer Whale

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Well I am back from a wonderful relaxing vacation with the family. Despite the sweltering heat we had an amazing time visiting San Antonio and Sea World. Now, I would like to be able to say that I did not think about work but unfortunately I can not help but think about how my experiences can help give you an edge or tip to increase your knowledge and business. So, my question for you today is, what can you learn from a killer whale named “Shamu”? 

I am assuming everyone has had the opportunity to visit a Sea World and has seen the Shamu Show. If not, I highly recommend that you visit a location near you and take in the experience. So with that being said, each year Sea Worlds change things up with the themes of their shows and currently the theme of the Shamu show is “Believe”. What a great theme for what we are currently experiencing right now in this economy. I know people are struggling right now and now more than ever it is important to continue to believe in what you are doing and most importantly, believe in yourself.  Beleiving in yourself is an important first step for your success, but the real lesson I want to get across to you today is what you can learn from Shamu the killer whale.

The first and most important lesson to take away is that Shamu is the predator of all predators in the ocean; however, as dominant as this creature is the killer whale and the Sea World trainers have developed a trust that is incomprehensible to think of. Who would ever think that a whale and a trainer could come together and develop a trust that allows a unique relationship to develop and flourish. Building trust is the single most important  trait that you need to develop with your clients. Trust will open up doors that you never thought were possible and once the doors are open then you will be able to help solve the emotional pain that your client is experiencing. I guarantee you that once you have established trust with your client you will create a raving fan. (More on raving fans at a later date)

The second take away from Shamu is the adaptability that exists between him and the environment that exists at Sea World. It is almost unfathomable to think that a killer whale is able to adapt to different elements and ultimately succeed no matter what environment that he is in. This is important for personal trainers if you want to succeed. The best way to become a successful personal trainer is to adapt to your environment and your client. Each client will present a different opportunity and with that you will need to adapt to their personality and their needs if you want to retain them as a client. Listen, if a killer whale can adapt from being the dominant animal in the sea to a trained entertainer then I know that you can adapt to whatever client personality that is presented to you.

If you want to be a successful personal trainer learn two things from Shamu the killer whale. Build trust and learn to adapt to your environment and you will become successful with your business.

It’s not the Recession It’s You

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I am tired of hearing from everyone saying it is the recession that is causing me not  to do as well in my business. Apple, the company that has changed the way we listen to music and use phones today is a prime example of businesses that are prospering during this recession. The company sold 2.6 million Macs, up 4 percent from a year ago, and 5.2 million iPhones, a 626 percent leap from a year ago. Totally Mind Boggling! Those numbers are from the previous business quarter and they tell me one thing and that is if you have a product or service that people want, it does not matter how bad the economy is they will seek it out and buy it.  So, stop blaming the economy and focus in on changing you. People are going to buy from people they like and trust. Pretty simple and the first thing you need to do is start becoming a person who is likable and trustworthy and you will break this bad economic cycle and will start to prosper. See you on the other side.

Coach Dave

Do you really want to be a personal trainer?

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I get asked this question all the time. Dave, did you always know that you wanted to be a personal trainer? My answer is No. When I was going to school personal training as a career was not something that schools either had a curriculm for or it was not looked upon as a career profession. The perception was that all you needed to be a personal trainer was a great physique and a certification. Not so anymore. Today, personal training is looked upon as a viable profession and is earning the respect it deserves. Okay, I have that off my chest and what I really want to talk to you today about is whether or not personal training is for you?

     As I mentioned above I did not always know I wanted to be a trainer and one of the most common questions I get is “How did you know that you wanted to be a personal trainer?” Well, I tell them it took 33 years and the passing of my father from a massive heart attack to realize that my purpose in life was to help people with their health and wellness. Let me tell you I struggled early on with being a personal trainer. It was not easy making $18 that first paycheck but somehow I just kept pushing through and my constant push to improve myself has led me to where I am today. So, now I am going to ask you, ” Do you really want to be a personal trainer?”

 

If you can answer yes to the following questions then you might just have found the right career for you.

Can you take rejection from people whom you know need your help but choose to do it on their own?

Can you be positive and upbeat one session after another?

Can you work early mornings and late evenings to build up a clientele? 

Can you work off of 100% commission? 

Are you committed to constant learning?

Well, if you answered yes to all these questions above you are the right path to being able to say personal training is for me. Now, if you are still unsure about being a trainer and you have a passion for health and fitness don’t give up because passion and commitment can ultimately win out. You just need to know that the path can be challenging and I wanted you to know a little bit of what it takes to be a successful personal trainer. 

Coach Dave

You need to build this in order to get more personal training clients

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One of the biggest and most beneficial ways to get more sales and more personal training clients is to build rapport with current clients and prospects. Follow these five tips to build the relationship and friendship with your client.

1.) Be Real – If you put on an act or try to fake who you are then you are guaranteed to lose the client. People are not as dumb as you may think. They are already timid and have their guard up because they have been burned before, so the worst thing you can do is start to fake who you are. Also, a key point to being yourself is you will attract personal training clients who are like you and have things in common. Remember, you should not be everything to everyone. Use your personality and characteristics to attract people whom you fit in with.

2.) Quit being serious – It is important to build credibility but enough with all the serious stone face attitude. In the mind of the client personal training is already hard enough and the last thing they need or want is to have a personal trainer that is ALL business. Now, I know what your thinking and it is okay to be disciplined and consistent with your client but lighten up and show them you are human!

3.) Let your passion shine – If you love what you do and you show enthusiasm when you are with your clients then your clients will keep coming back to you. People are attracted to positive and energetic people and trainers that show this at every session gain the most clients.

4.) Listen and recall – It is so important that you listen to what your client says and talks about. You need to find out what profession they are in, if they are married, how many kids, birthday and etc… Make sure when you see them you recall things that they have told you. If you have a hard time remembering write them done, put them in notebook, set up reminders on a service like www.birthdayalarm.com.  

5.) Be honest and truthful – Do not sugar coat the relationship. You need to be honest and truthful about what you tell your personal training clients. Don’t lie and tell a prospect something that isn’t true just to get them to buy more personal training sessions. This will come back to haunt you one day and you will be sorry you lied and didn’t stay honest from the beginning. 

Building rapport takes work but if you follow these five tips then you will put yourself in a great position to build a long solid relationship with your client that can lead to endless opportunities.