Improving Client Retention As A Trainer
There are quite a few ways a trainer can increase their client retention. As a trainer, it takes a large investment of your time to build your clientele, so it is only prudent one would put the same amount of effort forward to keep them happy and coming back.
By ensuring you have good client retention you are working smarter, not harder since you do not have to constantly replace your clients with a new ones. Lastly, I would also advise you to only work on one or two of these following skills at a time so you do not become overwhelmed trying to be ‘perfect’ and overhauling your whole training experience.
Build A Rapport
This point may seem glaringly obvious to some. However, I have seen many trainers who do not listen with the intent to listen but rather listen with the intent to respond.
Truly listen to your client’s issues, problems, and concerns.
Doing so will result in a very close bond between trainer and client. By improving your listening skills you will not only build rapport with your client, but you will earn their trust as well. Ensure you stay professional at all times.
Have Regular Goal Assessments
Be sure to have a monthly meeting with all of your clientele. This meeting should cover:
- Goals for the next month
- Improvement areas for next month
- Successes of the past month
- Current results
- Their likes and dislikes
Be sure you take detailed notes of this meeting and write down the next month’s goals so you and the client do not forget. If you have done the aforementioned and earned the client’s trust you can have the hard conversations if they are not holding up to their end of the expectations without offending them. Just remember to be polite!
Keep In Touch
Following up with clients could be one of the more important factors to consider when keeping a client on track. We only see a client for only 2 hours a week, which is about 1% of the total hours; therefore there should be many points of contact in-between sessions.
My general rule of thumb is to contact your client at least 3 times a week outside of your sessions; this could be via text, email or phone call. Follow up points should include but not be limited to
- Nutrition
- Recovery
- Homework
- General questions
Create Intelligent Workouts
By creating a program that is personalized to the client’s goals and wants you can ensure that the client’s buy-in is high. Your workouts should never be made upon the fly or on the day of the training session. Rather, the workouts should be planned out at least a month in advance.
By intelligently designing a program you will be sure you get the best results for your client and in the long run, it is less stress on you, the trainer. Lastly, by having a plan for each workout you will appear more professional and each workout will carry a larger value, which will result in the client showing up more consistently for their sessions.
Have Great Customer Service
If a trainer can put quality customer service at the forefront of their mind they will reap the rewards of loyal clients. Some key aspects include:
- Frequent follow-ups
- Birthday and Christmas cards
- Rewards for accomplishing goals
- Taking clients to the grocery store
- Teach them how to meal prep
- Getting to know the clients family
Doing the above will not only build a strong relationship, but it will show the client that you genuinely care!
Get Clients Emotionally Invested
Getting your client to emotionally invest in their goals instead of logically will help their compliance with every aspect of training. From an emotional standpoint, many clients may not even know why they are sitting in front of you, which can make finding a client’s underlying motivation difficult.
That underlying motivation is the emotional connection to their fitness goals. For instance, a client wants to lose 50 pounds (a goal) because they want to be able to get up and down off the floor to play with their toddler (an emotion). Finding this emotional connection to their goals is paramount to driving long-term success.
Show Clients Results
The last fairly obvious point is that we must get clients the results they are searching for. If a client fails to reach their goal, the trainer has failed to motivate them properly, and you will likely lose the client.
The single best way to keep clients for an extended period is to get them the results they are searching for. If you can follow the points outlined above, then you will have a great chance at the client achieving their goals and staying motivated, which will lead to greatly increased client retention for your business.