Personal training 2016: How to build your fitness brand

The fitness industry has experienced steady growth over the past decade and personal training has become a very popular option for many people, who want results for their time spent in the gym. People today have very busy and stressful lives and are looking for a service that fits in with their lifestyle and needs.

Personal training is a premium service and you must have up-to-date knowledge and information that will really benefit your clients and get them results. You need to be well-qualified and really know what you are talking about.

Carlos D’Souza, creative director of North London Personal Training studio, The CARLOS Method, shares his top tips for building a strong fitness brand in 2016.

Learn from the best…and the worst

Personal training is a very competitive market and there are a lot of good trainers out there. But there are also, almost equally, a lot of bad trainers. Analysing your key competition, identifying the weaknesses that lie in other fitness brands and learning from those mistakes, can put you at a great advantage.

Take a look and research who the best personal trainers are in the field and learn from their examples. Pick out the best bits that you like from every personal trainer and use their examples to then form your own, unique brand – based upon your own informed ideas, beliefs and creativity.

Have a clear message

Your branding will stand out if it is bold, professional and consistent. Personal training is a results based business and you must be confident in your ability to achieve your clients’ goals. Ensuring your brand is an accurate reflection of your professional standards and practice is key so that potential clients know exactly what you do and how effective your methods are. It also needs to be a reflection of what you believe in as a fitness professional and practice yourself, otherwise you risk losing some of your authenticity.

Be sincere  

A key part of your branding is to be friendly, personable and authentic. Your personal training brand must be about really looking after your clients, building genuine relationships with them and really going the extra mile.

Strike the right balance

Remember, we are talking about Personal Training here so the “personal element” and the “training element” are equally important. It is no good to be a super trainer, technically sound and highly knowledgeable, if you are unable to impart your knowledge to your clients and you have zero charisma, wit and humour about you. Clients want to train hard and have a good workout, but they also want to be listened to and made to feel special. The exercise is of course the important element but remember that many people do not love exercise and so it is essential to keep their sessions varied and fun, whilst still being highly effective.

Clients also love injections of humour where appropriate and this can really do wonders for someone’s mood and well-being. Who wouldn’t want these things from a personal trainer?

Not many clients like to train with a robot that just eats, sleeps and trains and who may not have many hobbies apart from lifting weights and eating eggs all the time!

It’s all about the client

Soon enough the conversations of you training your legs until you couldn’t walk, eating a massive plate of chicken and broccoli for lunch and sleeping for 10 hours to recover – will become boring, mundane and repetitive. Clients want to talk about interesting stuff like what they are doing at the weekend, what is happening in their week and what holidays and plans they have coming up. Remember, you are in a client-centred and focused business.