From my experience, the single most effective method of generating more clientele is though client referrals. If you only have 1 or 2 clients and they have been with you a while, have seen good results in their training and have seen an increase in skill and fitness levels, give them some of your cards to distribute. Then, if someone comes to you and said that a certain person in question recommended you, give them a free session or 2, afterwards sit down and talk about the cost of the investment (assuming that you sell training packages which include various numbers of sessions). If you close them and they sign up, reward the referring client by giving him/her a number of free sessions depending on the size of the package that you sold. I usually go by this standard:
Referring client gets 1 free session if new prospect buys a 6 pack.
Referring client gets 2 free sessions if new prospect buys a 12 pack.
Referring client gets 3 free sessions if new prospect buys an 18 pack.
This system has worked well for me and I'm not a very aggressive sales person. Out of all of the promotional methods that I have used, this one works the best.
A couple of other things that I recommend is to always keep cards on you and a note pad. If you happen to get into a discussion about jobs and the topic of training comes up, the majority of people will either say "I always wanted to do that." or "I really need to get back into shape." Offer then 2 free sessions to try it out and give them your card. Don't stop there though. Ask them for their name and number and write it down and tell them that you will call them within a day or so to schedule an appointment. Most people will take the card and put it in their wallet or put it down and lose it. the number of prospects that you see in your facility will increase dramatically if you are proactive and get their info as well.
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