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Getting your first clients as a personal trainer or fitness coach requires strategy and dedication. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to get more clients for your fitness business, focus on putting yourself out there.
That could look like setting up discounts, networking and pitching your business for marketing opportunities, or building a following organically online.
1. Tap the people you know
If you’ve offered personal training services before or know people who might be interested in working with you regularly, reach out to them. Or see if your current gym buddies or fellow personal trainers would be willing to do a test session with you and give feedback. People who know and trust you are more likely to give you a try.
Focus on giving these first clients a great experience. Get a thorough understanding of their current fitness goals and level. Then communicate clearly about what you want to achieve with them, how you plan to get there, and how long it might take to see results.
Consider finding ways to track their progress with stats or photos so they can see what they’ve accomplished with your help.
2. Use testimonial marketing
Ask for feedback, especially from your earliest clients. Early feedback will help you figure out how to make your personal training the best it can be for your future clients. To make the process more seamless, send every client an anonymous feedback form with a few questions about their experience with you.
If your existing clients have positive feedback, you can use their positive reviews as testimonials in your marketing. Ask at the end of your feedback survey if they’d be open to being quoted by their first name and last initial in your website, social media, or email marketing.
Testimonial marketing is especially effective because it creates social proof. Social proof refers to the fact that we’re more likely to be interested in trying something that a real person reviewed positively. We trust our peers and view their recommendations as more authentic than standard marketing.
Learn more about how to use testimonial marketing in your business
3. Offer free trials or discounts
It’s important to price your services in a way that matches your experience and knowledge. That said, offering a price break is a common way to attract your very first customers.
Decide what you’re willing to offer within your budget. For example, you could offer a free follow-up session for new clients or 15% off packages for multiple training sessions. If you teach fitness classes in person, offer a 10% discount off the first personal training session to anyone in your classes.
Play with pricing, free session offers, and other discounts over time to test which earns you the most new clients.
4. Grow your brand
Many personal trainers build their business purely through word-of-mouth recommendations. If that path works well for you, there’s no harm in pursuing it. Another way to speed up your business growth, however, is to start building a brand for your business.
Building a brand is about establishing a story and character for your business. As a personal trainer, your brand is often about your training style, your target audience, your expertise, and how you express yourself. Your unique take on those things is what helps you stand out.
You can communicate those things to prospective clients by:
Pitching and writing guest posts about fitness and training
Joining fitness podcasts as a guest
Writing blogs or sharing workouts on your website
Writing a newsletter about fitness and your training methods
Posting fitness information and client testimonials on social media
Ask your current clients to share their experiences and fitness journey on social media as well. If they tag your account or website, they can send new clients your way.
Learn how to build a website for your training business
5. Boost your website SEO
Optimizing your website for search engines makes it easier for new clients to find you online. Find search keywords to target with a free keyword research tool or go into your website analytics. Squarespace website analytics show you which search terms are already sending visitors to your site so you have a place to start.
Once you have a sense of what your ideal clients are searching for online, find ways to include those keywords in your website copy. That could look like adding “strength training for beginners” to your homepage and adding your business to local directories.
Adding your business to local search means that it’ll show up when someone searches for “personal training near me” or “personal trainer in [CITY]”.
6. Get to know your peers
If you know other personal trainers or have one yourself, set up time to talk business with them. Or find a community for fitness professionals where you can build relationships and ask questions.
Getting to know other personal trainers gives you a group of people to turn to for advice, mentorship, and client referrals. Other trainers may introduce you to a new client because you’re a better fit for them or give you tips on how to get your business in front of new people.
Plus, a community of like-minded people is invaluable for a solo business owner. Your line of work is specific and you probably work alone. Having a peer support system will help you avoid burnout and problem solve as you grow.
Learn how Lottie Murphy found clients for her Pilates business
7. Offer online personal training
Starting an online part of your personal training business or becoming a full-time online personal trainer is another great way to expand your potential client base. Online fitness coaching lets you reach and train clients regardless of their distance from you.
You can add digital training to your list of services in a few ways.
Sell downloadable workout plans or programs.
Film and upload video training plans people can follow
Train live over video with individual clients or groups.
Start small—you don’t have to try every method right away. Take the time to get to know your clients and what you want to help people achieve so you can build a list of clients you love.