Being a personal trainer can be a demanding job. Dealing with clients on a regular basis, advertising your services, organizing bookings, handling payments, the list goes on. Keeping on top of your workload can prove challenging, especially if time isn’t on your side.
To build up a good reputation, personal trainers must organize their workload properly. If you don’t keep track of your client’s payments, you might lose out on a lot of money. If you gain a reputation of double booking clients, you are going to have a lot of unhappy customers. You might end up rushing a gym session which can lead to injury. If your client sustains an injury during one of your classes, you can expect plenty of negative feedback. Making time for each of your clients is vital. If you find yourself with a lot of clients, you will want to have a system in place that keeps track of their progress, the different exercises they have been doing, and what you have planned for them down the line. If you don’t have a functioning system in place, it is going to be very hard to remember details about each of your clients.
Embrace Technology
In today’s society, technology is everywhere we go. There is plenty of software and applications that personal trainers can use to their advantage. Logging everything into a physical diary can cause a lot of confusion, especially for personal trainers who have a lot on their plate. That is why so many people nowadays are investing in the best personal training software. These software packages will help you with the following:
- Bookings: Some software packages will allow you to add your own brand to your booking page. This will make your PT service look professional.
- Most booking pages are mobile-optimized so people won’t have difficulty reading the content on their smart device.
- It will handle your payments: Asking your clients for payment can create an awkward situation. Instead, why not let the software package handle all your payments for you. This will help you focus on your job, and keep track of the money coming in. With this system in place, you can keep track of the clients who have paid, and which fees are still outstanding.
- Organize your daily schedule: Every human makes a mistake now and again, but personal trainers who have a long list of clients often ask their clients to come in at the wrong time. To avoid double booking customers, you can create a schedule on the software system which you can share with your clients.
These software packages are like having your own personal assistant. There are plenty of reputable software developers creating apps and software packages that can help manage and organize a personal trainer’s entire workload.
Give Your Clients Homework
Sometimes, clients think that the only time they need to exercise is when they are with their personal trainer. However, if you want them to achieve their goals sooner rather than later, you should provide them with an exercise plan for the week. If they work hard during their classes once or twice a week but refuse to exercise during the rest of the week they will struggle to hit their goals.
To give your client’s a better chance of succeeding, give them some homework to do. If they don’t bother doing their homework they can’t expect to reach their goals. This puts a little pressure off the personal trainer, as it makes their clients accountable.
However, you don’t want your clients to overdo it either. Don’t forget to warn them about the dangers of working out too often, especially if they are new to the gym. If they have little experience, especially when it comes to lifting heavy weights, they could sustain a very serious injury. Ask them to avoid using equipment they don’t know how to use. If they want to avoid getting hurt, they must know the different techniques used.
An Organized Personal Trainer Can Do a Better Job
If you are properly organized, you are on the right track to becoming a successful personal trainer. It might leave a good impression on your clients because they will see that you value their time. If you are not organized there is a good chance that you will get stressed now and again. If you have these negative feelings it is highly likely it will rub off on your client, which might create a toxic environment. Even if you are having a bad day it is vital that you stay positive while you are dealing with a client. This will help them stay motivated while they are working out, and it might make your classes fun and exciting.
Just because you have a limited amount of time to work with each client, under no circumstances should you rush any of their sessions. If you encourage your client to work out faster they could easily get injured.
Ask Your Clients to Come in Earlier
Most people spend approximately ten minutes warming up before they start exercising. If you have your client for one hour, you’ll only have 50 minutes to show them what to do. If your client can warm up themselves before your class begins, it can save both of you ten minutes. This way they will be ready to work hard as soon as the class begins.
Also, you can ask your client to warm down themselves too, which again might take another five or ten minutes off their session. Although warming up and down is easy, you want to make sure that your client does it before and after each session to avoid getting injured. If they haven’t warmed up before your class begins, make sure they don’t skip it.
Invest in a Smart Watch
Smartwatches have been around for some time, but recent models have taken the device to the next level. The first models that went on the market seemed to have very poor battery life. Having to charge these watches every 12 hours or so proved extremely frustrating. However, the latest version can last up to three weeks without having to recharge them.
Of course, they are used by exercise enthusiasts all around the globe, but they can also be used to organize your busy schedule. Consider investing in a smartwatch that connects with your smartphone or computer. This way you will be notified about upcoming classes without having to look at your phone. Looking at your smartphone during a class can make your client feel like you are not giving them your full attention, which can be very frustrating for them, especially after they have spent their hard-earned money on your services. Taking a glance at your smartwatch won’t interrupt your session.
Conclusion
If you have a small personal training business with only a handful of clients, then you are probably managing your workload and time well, however, if you want the business to expand, you should consider investing in a decent and reliable system. Although some of these software packages can cost a pretty penny, they will help you take your business to the next level.