4 ways to pick up new personal training clients in the gym

This post is for the Personal Trainer who works for any type of gym but for this article will stick to your traditional big-box club. Maybe you’re in a competitive environment with goals you’re struggling to meet or maybe you’ve exhausted your traditional pipeline and you’re looking for some new avenues to explore. Well, you’ve come to the right place!

Some personal trainers dislike working for large corporate gym chains but honestly, I can’t understand why. The metrics that higher-ups compile to create each trainer’s goals can seem high at first but you must understand that you as a trainer are at an advantage vs other private business trainers. 

Let me clarify, every day new people are enrolling into your gym location. Maybe current members referred them, other possibilities can be that the sales team prospected and brought in the new member or the marketing team is promoting and their campaign is bringing people through the door. Whatever the reason the result is new memberships for the gym and also new opportunities for you to introduce yourself and set an appointment to give an assessment, floor orientation, complimentary session or something of that nature to the new member. 

Congratulations you’ve identified pipeline number one, but wait there’s more! In addition to new members you also have existing members who are working out on the floor and as you walk through the gym you’ll notice a thing or two. Usually, it’s members doing one of the following: 

1. Working out with the incorrect form. 
2. Reading their workout notes that they found online. 
3. Working out with their partner (almost always they’re not adjusting the weights to accommodate to their need)
4. Doing a circuit on the selectorized equipment and they’re going throw the motion with no intensity. 
5. A person on their phone who is letting their rest between sets go on longer than necessary. 

I could keep going but let’s stop there for a moment. By walking the floor and identifying this you could easily introduce yourself and offer assistance or recommendations. Maybe you suggest a free workout right there or perhaps you schedule a future appointment with them, you could also just be simply establishing cred with them and over time you’ll circle back and set up an appointment. 

Okay, now we have pipeline number two. Let’s move on to number three. 

Offering a complimentary 15min ab class several times throughout the week. This can really build up over time and during that class, you can build report with the members but also learn a lot about them by seeing how well some respond to coaching vs others. After the class, acknowledge John or Jane & recommend a free appointment where they can better explain to your their goals. 

We’re cooking now! Here’s number four.

Go to your Fitness Dept Manager or whoever has access to metrics and ask them for a prior month’s new member report or even quarterly. 

Look at those members and access their check-in history. If you notice that they’ve been a member for one month already but only worked out three times, this is a huge red flag and one could assume that if they don’t get reintroduced to their gym membership soon they could be canceling. Give them a call and get something set up asap!

While I have several other ways you can attract new personal training clients in the gym, I’ll stop right there and let you get to it! 

Are you currently a trainer in a big box looking for more resources or willing to share their techniques for acquiring new clients? Please feel free to share in the comments and don’t forget, Together we’re stronger!