Coach's Chat
Coach's Chat
Why People Don't Sign Up For Your Free Training Sessions (And How To Change That)
"But the session is FREE?! Why don't they sign up?"
It seems counterintuitive to trainers but people don't run to sign up for complimentary personal training sessions. Instead, many run away as fast as they can!
In this episode, I talk why and discuss effective strategies that go beyond just offering complimentary sessions, focusing on building a connection that makes your potential clients feel comfortable and excited to give the free session a try.
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Hey, hey, this is Coaches Chat. I'm your host, Betsy Foster, personal trainer for over 12 years. I started on a completely different career path and headed into personal training with just a piece of paper. That said I could do it. I learned along the way, building a successful personal training career in commercial gyms, privately and remotely, And now I'm here to help you, whether you're a new grad, a career changer or somebody who's already a pro just looking to get better. I'm sharing what I know, the stuff the textbooks didn't teach you, and bringing on other colleagues to share their experiences, and I'm doing it with compassion, big smiles and a lot less bravado than you've come to know in the fitness industry. I'm happy you're here. Let's get going. Hello, hello. Welcome back to another episode of Coaches Chat, fast Friday Edition.
Speaker 1:Today we're talking about why people don't rush up to you and take advantage of that complimentary personal training session, and I think I have the key. I have the answer as to why. Because so many trainers are like oh well, i have these free sessions and I walk around the gym and I tell people that I could do a free training session and people don't take advantage of it. And people trainers, especially new trainers are like are they crazy? Are they crazy not to want to take advantage of this free training session? One, people don't quite know the value of training yet. Not everybody does, especially if you haven't experienced it, if you haven't had a good experience in fitness, if you haven't had an experience with a personal trainer before, if you haven't seen results over time. But that's even less, i think, the challenge with these free personal training sessions. I think free personal training sessions or, if you want to say complimentary, many places will encourage you to not say free and say complimentary.
Speaker 1:If you're having problems with that, it is because people have the same feeling about that free personal training session as going to the dentist. Okay, stay with me here. You'll know many people are scared to go to the dentist. Why are they scared to go to the dentist? Because a lot of unknown things are coming at them. They are left pretty powerless to the experience. So you're like laid back metal instruments kind of poking at you.
Speaker 1:I have never been to the dentist and this might be more a reflection of me, but there are a lot of people. I would also say this I have been to the dentist. I have never been to the dentist where they haven't had some comments about what I could be doing to do better. And I would say that they don't even say it quite like that. There's usually like an audible oh well, you need to be doing this or you need to be doing that. And maybe I will also say, potentially that is in my head that I am hearing those comments about how I'm flossing or how I'm brushing or whatever that may be. I might be hearing it as sort of judgment, whereas they believe they're just offering some help. Maybe they are just offering some help and I'm bringing in my own preconceived notions about it.
Speaker 1:But that's what people are thinking when they're thinking about personal training. First, they're thinking about going to an appointment where they are left to feel vulnerable. They're left to feel like everything about their behavior is on display for this person that they don't have a close relationship to. How many times do you go to the dentist? A year? once every six months. So you don't have a really familial relationship. Most people with their dentists Same thing.
Speaker 1:Especially some random person you just met in the gym is offering you a complimentary personal training session and you don't know them, you haven't built a relationship with them, so then you're supposed to, as this potential client, just come in with this person you don't know, put all your vulnerabilities about your exercise habits, your nutrition habits, sort of on display for someone and then potentially be chastised for it. That is what is in someone's mind about that personal training session. There's a lot of vulnerability there. There's a lot of this doesn't seem like a fun thing. People don't want to sign up for something, whether it be free or not, and not think that they're going to look forward to it because, one, what are their guaranteed results? None, you have no guaranteed results on this free session. You have very little concept of what it could lead to, other than possibly a sales pitch. That's probably what's going through the mind of this person. So they're looking forward to being very vulnerable, probably miserable, and then sold to. That is not something that someone is going to eagerly sign up for.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about how we can change our approach to offering a complimentary session so that we sort of avoid that. One is with conversations like this, in that conversation, as you're talking to them about the complimentary session. So you know, hi, i'm a personal trainer here. I wouldn't offer the complimentary session until I've had a really thorough conversation with that person And then I'd say you know we do offer complimentary sessions and I can totally understand where that kind of feels a little bit vulnerable. Or, you know, you can cue into words that they've already used with you about their fitness experience. But you can talk about how it's just an opportunity for me to share some of the ways in which I help my current clients with some of the challenges they have, as well as encourage them on some of the things that they're already doing so well.
Speaker 1:And in talking to you I hear that you do blank, blank, blank and blank already so well. So I'm cuing into that idea that this is not going to be an experience where I'm just telling you what you do wrong. I might be cuing into things. I hear about what your confusions are about the gym or helping you make, helping you feel more comfortable with X, y or Z. I'm really listening to the things you say before I set up that complimentary session. Then in that complimentary session I'm doing those things as well. So I'm making sure that I'm not giving the dentist environment.
Speaker 1:I'm probably texting or calling ahead of the session to remind them, to give them some heads up on what they might experience. To sort of allay any nervousness or fear. Checking in with them on any questions that I could be better prepared for, i would literally talk through where you're gonna meet them when they come in. What it's gonna look like Oh, it might be a busy time in the gym. I'm gonna come downstairs and meet you at the front desk. I'm going to be in a session right prior to seeing you, so you can come on into the gym and I'll meet you as soon as I'm finished, giving people as much information as feels appropriate. That's gonna help them sort of ease the nervousness that can potentially be there in their training session, especially something that's brand new.
Speaker 1:Now we have to remember when we do something where we're offering something for free, there isn't a lot of quote-unquote skin in the game, meaning by not doing it you haven't lost anything. Maybe you've lost the potential opportunity to have another free session, but nobody's put money on the line, which sometimes creates greater commitment, so you just have to be prepared for that. That's another reason why maybe people don't sign up, because they know they won't do it, because they haven't put anything down, and that's just something to think about too. In the same way that, like you know, if the doctor has a cancellation policy, maybe you're making it to the doctor or dentist. That's just something to think about with that complimentary.
Speaker 1:But helping allay those fears early on is going to be helpful, sort of anticipating the ways in which someone could feel like that, like they aren't going to enjoy the experience, and then preempting some of those things as you're, as you're setting them up for their appointment, just like I said, letting them know it's not going to be miserable. We're gonna have a lot of fun with this. Some of the things are gonna be hard, but what I'm really aiming to do is help you understand X, y and Z, because that's something you've been talking about, push you a little bit because you've been interested in that, and then we have a really good time. You know, i get to know you a little bit and I would try to punch up how many of your clients have a really fun experience and fun might not be the right word for everybody in these circumstances, but remember, someone isn't going to willingly sign up to something that they think they're going to be miserable doing So finding ways to highlight how it could be enjoyable. A lot of my clients really love trying these new exercises. A lot of my clients have a really good time when they feel like they've accomplished blank, blank and blank.
Speaker 1:You have experiences with clients or with friends if you're brand new or with yourself, where you can sort of share that. Other people have done it, other people have survived it and other people have had a good time. All those things are important. Again, unless someone thinks that they are going to get something out of it or have a good time, they're probably not going to sign up for it. So what of those things are they going to get clearly communicated early on?
Speaker 1:I wouldn't necessarily lead with that in an initial conversation with someone. I'd probably try to get to know someone before offering them a complimentary session, but I think I've spoken about that in previous episodes. So again, we do not want the free training session to feel like going to the dentist, but many people may already have that kind of vulnerability and yuck and fear associated with it. So what can you do to better communicate what someone will leave with and what kind of experience they'll have, help them allay their fears and give them as much information to be prepared and feel less vulnerable? Alright, that's Fast Friday. It's almost under 10 minutes. Go do amazing things until next time, bye.