Fitness, Business, Fitness Business, & Achieving Life Goals

Spring is the biggest season for health/fitness conferences. Do you attend any? What is it that you’re hoping to achieve by attending? Do you get you’re money’s worth? My agenda with this post is to not only get you to attend conferences, but also to squeeze every bit of benefit you can out of the conference.

A personal note: I attended my first conference back in 1980. I was still in college and I presented at the state AAHPERD conference (topic? “Hands-On Weight Training” I think). I learned a lot from the presentations that I attended and from presenting myself. I have been attending and presenting at conferences ever since.

At least once a year I end up in Las Vegas. I’m not really a fan of Vegas, but it’s a very popular place to hold a conference. I think that’s because people “go to the conference” and skip sessions, meetings, etc. and sitesee, gamble, and go to shows. They may have a great time but they’re missing out on all of the important aspects of going to a conference.

At Conferences you can:

Get new information that can help you in your business. Whether it’s training information or business, information is power. Always come away with one thing (action item) you’re going implement right away.

Reaffirm information you already have (also very important).

Reconnect with industry friends. There are industry friends that I see every year that I look forward to socializing and discussing ideas with.

Introduce yourself to people that impress you. I’ve become friends with many people that I sought to meet because they either really knew their stuff or just seemed very interesting. These new connections can enrich your work and/or your life.

Introduce others when you think they’re a good match. Being a “connector” can be very satisfying.

Give back by getting involved in the organization. I’ve volunteered my time and services for many organizations. This can help you understand the runnings of the organization better, have a say in it’s direction, meet a lot of new people, and, dare I say, it can also be fun.

Meet Trade Show Vendors Find out about the latest equipment and getting to know the vendors can come in handy when it comes time to make a purchase.

Networking master Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your Back has a great tips article called 15 Tips from Keith Ferrazzi: Conference Commando

How are you approaching you conference attendance? Are you getting the most out of the experience?

PS – I try to immediately “friend” and/or “follow” new people I meet at the event on Facebook and Twitter. It allows an easy way to follow up with them and stay in touch.

Please let me know if you have any tips or tricks for conference or clinic attendance.

Be Your Own CEO While Working for Others is a session I will be presenting at Club Industry East in Boston this year. The idea came from club employed Personal Trainer complaints that I’ve heard through the years. “The club is getting half of the money, so why should I work hard at selling Personal Training for them?” That kind of mindset limits their ability to build their business. Which isn’t good for them or the club.

I get it. You don’t want to work for “the man.” You want the money to be all yours. I can’t blame you. BUT, if that’s the case, then you had better be ready, willing, and able to go and start your own business. And, by the way, the money is never “all yours”. What about your facility overhead, taxes, insurance, etc. that is currently taken care of by the club you work for? Now, I still believe that most people should be working toward owning their own business, but know what it really takes to do that. Don’t just think it’s as simple as hanging a shingle. Read The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber.

So, in the meantime what do you do…resign yourself to doing a half-a** job because you’re working for some else? Get over it! Your brand, your reputation, how smart you work, your business within the club, is in your control. Yes, the club takes it’s cut, but you get yours as well. Are you doing what it takes to make the most you can in the club. Ask yourself these questions(and there are more):

If there are Personal Trainer tiers, are you taking the steps necessary to move up to the top tier?

Are you always friendly, smiling, and approachable?

Do you always look and act as a professional?

Are you exceeding your existing clients’ expectations, constantly showing the value?

Are you asking them for referrals?

Are you spending time in the club and on the workout floor (on your own dime if necessary) connecting with members and seeking opportunities to sit down with them to problem solve and make a recommendation (if appropriate) to train?

Are you connecting with your club sales people and letting them know what you specialize in and what kind of members you work best with? You could even treat them to a session so they will know what they’re promoting in you.

Are you opening your schedule up to connect/integrate new members into the club.

Are you teaching group exercise classes for greater exposure as a fitness expert and to build rapport with a large group of people?

Are you doing small group trainings to maximize your $/hr earnings?

Are you creating an contact/email list to: re-connect with people, see how their program is going and if you can be of help to them, send e-newsletters, blog postings, links to articles of interest which helps to make you the go-to person for information?

Are you using/creating the tools to monitor your productivity? (i.e. a closing ratio spreadsheet)

This is not a complete list, by any means, but is a great start on taking control of your business within the club you work for. Good luck, make it happen, and if I can be of help to you, please email me at m a r k @ m a r k n u t t i n g . c o m.

Best wishes, Mark