It’s your job as a fitness professional to help others overcome the negative thoughts that keep them from exercising.
It’s true that sometimes during a consultation with a new prospect you’ll have to wear different hats.
You might be a financial planner, problem solving with them about where they are spending money now and not seeing the return that they obviously want from personal training but are telling you they can’t afford. Are there areas that you could cut back on for the next few weeks or month in order to create a personal training budget for yourself? How many times a week do you eat out?
You have to help them with time management and priorities. We all have time for the things important to us. The prospect may not have a realistic view of what time it takes. If they can only reasonably get in three 20 minute bouts a week- that’s where you start. What you and I know about exercise is that even those short bouts are going to help them feel better and will spill over to longer periods of time, reaping more benefits. How much time do you have? How much time is realistic for you?
You might have to make them realize money isn’t the only thing associated with ‘costs.’ How much is it costing for you to feel uncomfortable or overweight, lack energy or motivation to do the things you want to do? How much does it cost you to have to watch and not be able to participate in the activities you really want to do?
You will have to play the role of a counselor or therapist in your skilled paraphrasing. So you agree that this makes sense to you and you want to get started and have the accountability to stick with it and the help of a trainer so that you feel comfortable knowing exactly what to do in order to make the most of your time? Tell me what it is that you still want to think about?
And once that is said and done, you’re going to simply be you. Deliver a heart-felt honest message about why they need to get started now. What I’m afraid of is that if you leave today, you’re not going to go home and get more motivated; when we procrastinate what we tend to do is find reasons why it won’t work.
Selling personal training is part of helping people over come the roadblocks, the obstacles, the fears that they have. Whatever their limiting beliefs, it is their current reality. Help them paint a different picture. Challenge what they believe.
Ask the obvious. What makes you believe that you can’t succeed? What makes you believe that you can’t do this? And then when they tell you say it back to them and ask if you heard correctly.
State the obvious. So you came in today (they were 70% sold to do that!), and you find value in having us help you design an exercise program to get the results you want and keeping you accountable and motivated to come in? But you’re stopping short of doing this ? Tell me what I’m missing.
Ask the right questions. Let the prospect tell you the answers. Let them buy, rather than sell them. Most people want to buy once they realize the value, have all the facts, and even if it is the same product, doesn’t have the same satisfaction if it feels like being sold.