In this article, I’m going to outline five mistakes that I repeatedly see trainers in our industry make that cripple them from moving forward and creating a successful career for themselves.
Hopefully you haven’t already made one of these mistakes (I certainly have), and you can instead use it as a compass to avoid the landmines in this industry.
#1: You Think Lowering Your Price Will Attract More Clients
I know this sounds like a logical idea in theory, but, in application it just doesn’t work.
Lowering your price just lowers your credibility.
Every single person on this planet, including yourself, knows that it’s impossible to be both the best and the cheapest at the same time.
Stop charging too little, it builds a poor reputation for yourself and will only attract the clients you don’t even want.
#2: Your Training Methodology Overcomes Your Common Sense
I know it’s considered cool to have advanced program design that includes all of the minutiae of health science behind it, but, how often is that even necessary for the populations you work with?
Moreover, how often has it had the reverse affect for your client and instead of improving their results it made them worse by making adherence a major challenge?
Hurting someone by pushing them through a workout designed for an athlete because you aren’t smart enough to understand that not all squares fit into a circle is bad business, bad coaching, and bad common sense.
#3: You Think You’re Perfect
Few things are more painful to witness then when a fitness professional goes through that “pure” period in their life where even your family is annoyed by you coming over for dinner.
You want everything organic, everything you put in your mouth must be weighed first, you never have a glass of alcohol, you train every day, you meditate every day, and you think you are helping the people around you by lecturing to them every time you’re around.
That way of behaving is exhausting for the people around you, including your clients.
Instead, lead by example.
Quietly believe in your approach and meet the client where they are ready to be met.
Nobody can go from zero to perfect overnight so stop expecting it, and for heavens sakes, leave the preaching to the TV evangelists.
#4: You’re Boring
It’s okay to have a life outside of health and fitness you know, your goal should always be to become a fully functional, well-rounded being.
That’s what your clients want to be.
You have to remember that they have different hobbies and interests than you and if you have nothing to offer in conversation than to talk about programming strategies then you’re a boring trainer, and boring trainers never do well because we are in the people industry.
#5: You Are Thinking About Giving Up
In your heart, you know you want to be involved in fitness for the rest of your life.
But, there is a part of you that wants to give up your dream and get a “real job” because someone else thinks it’s time for you to grow up.
Listen, there is nothing nobler than helping people for a living. You can do this forever and make a great living while you’re at it too.
That’s why we have the Create Freedom Academy in place for you so that you can turn your passion for fitness into a successful and rewarding career.
Final Thoughts
We have all made one or more of the above mistakes, the important thing to realize is that these are mistakes, and in knowing that, you can overcome them.
That is the only power you need to succeed, and if you want the blueprint from two guys who have “been there and done that” in the online business world, check out the newly revamped How To Be A Successful Online Coach course.
Dan Garner
