1 Managing a Team of Personal Trainers Wendy Sweet Reg Nurse/B.PhEd./P.G. Cert Health Promotion Strategies & Tools To Increase Profits Through Personal Training

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 2 Why have Personal Training in Your Club?  To  new member RETENTION over first 90 days  To  new member RESULTS over first 90 days  To  CUSTOMER SERVICE within your club  To  additional PRODUCTS to your existing line  To  bottom-line REVENUE

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 3  How Will Having Personal Trainers  Club Revenue? revenue if you have contractors  RETENTION revenue if you have contractors revenue if you have employee P.T.’s  SESSION revenue if you have employee P.T.’s for large numbers of gym instructors  DECREASES REQUIREMENT for large numbers of gym instructors  through P.T.’s and/or casual rate revenue  NEW MEMBER SIGN-ON's through P.T.’s and/or casual rate revenue through trainers  PRODUCT SALES through trainers

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 4 What Does a Trainer “Need”from a Club?  Commitment to the product from Management  A supportive, positive personal training environment with clearly defined contracts/boundaries  A distinction between the gym instructor product and the personal training product  Assistance with obtaining client leads  A great facility, with good equipment

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 5 What Does a Club “Need”from a Trainer?  Positive, enthusiastic, professional approach/attitude to personal training  A trainer who gets great RESULTS  A trainer who SELF-GENERATES their client base  A trainer who is financially therefore commits to rental payments  A trainer who is financially SUCCESSFUL, therefore commits to rental payments  A trainer who is to the club & promotes other club services  A trainer who is LOYAL to the club & promotes other club services

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 6 - The Issues Employees Vs. Contractors - The Issues Employees  Who are also gym instructors may cause “ product confusion”  Often don’t have the same “hunger” to reach financial targets  May cause fluctuations in PT revenue due to motivational issues; days off; etc Contractors  Provide rental revenue consistency  Allow for “Healthy” competition

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 7 Developing A Successful Personal Training Programme  Hiring trainers & a quality PT Manager (how do you define this?)  Hiring QUALITY trainers & a quality PT Manager (how do you define this?)  Commitment towards providing members with an excellent product  Commitment towards providing YOUR members with an excellent product  Retainingof the product i.e. having great training, assessment and performance measurement systems in place i.e. trainer accountability  Retaining “OWNERSHIP” of the product i.e. having great training, assessment and performance measurement systems in place i.e. trainer accountability  Product  Product DIFFERENTIATION

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 8 Developing A Successful Personal Training Programme  Sales & Reception staff who UNDERSTAND the objectives of the PT product for the de-conditioned market  Strategic plan for growing the team  Strategic plan for growing the team  $  A strong “BELIEF” that the PT product, managed properly, will add value to your club & promote member retention  Ongoing promotional, marketing plan

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 9 Product Differentiation WWWWHY ? So that members know what they are paying for! WHATEVER YOUR VISION FOR PERSONAL TRAINING IN YOUR CLUB, THE ACTUAL PRODUCT PRODUCT DELIVERED BY YOUR TRAINERS MUST MUST REFLECT THIS

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 10 Your Hiring/Recruitment Programme for New Trainers  Decide on the “TYPE” of trainer who will best represent your member market  Check out what courses in exercise prescription your local education facilities offer - work with them!  Look WITHIN, before you look “outside” - turn great staff into greater trainers!  Maintain a professional approach to recruiting, interviewing & practically assessing new trainers…….. Start as you mean them to continue! Start as you mean them to continue!

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 11 Training New Trainers  Everything about the products/services of your club, (inc. the “history”)  Sales system, membership structures etc.  New member induction - programming, customer service, retention system  Product differentiation expectations  Goal setting & selling strategies for retaining new clients  Your performance expectations - contractual issues WWWWhat do they need to know

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 12 PROBLEMS Management of your new trainers PROBLEMS  May not understand the needs of your new member market  Might lack confidence in selling to & retaining clients  Most probably are over-programming, and not fully understanding the Adaptation Response for new members  May perform like gym instructors out on the floor!  Rely on the ongoing client leads generated through P.O.S. - WHY?

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 13 SOLUTIONS Ongoing Management SOLUTIONS  Induction & management programme set by the club – what?  Measurement of Performance  New trainers = weekly for 6-8 weeks  then quarterly  then 6 monthly  Contract renewal requirements  Member client surveys

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 14 Areas for New Trainer Management  Assessing their progress with programming for & retaining your new members  Assessing their goal-setting/selling skills  Identifying & trouble- shooting time- management issues  Assessing their “product” out on the floor, i.e. client interaction  Assessing their knowledge of your clubs other products

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 15 Heart Rate Response to Exercise Stress Adaptation Curve The Staircase Approach to Goal Setting Time Performance Time Heart Rate

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 16 Planning for Business Performance  Financial Planning / Business Plan  Setting out your fee schedule / packages available.  Determining your cancellation policy  Stationery requirements  ‘Welcome Letter’

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 17 Weekly PT Planning Sheet  Number of clients booked   Does this meet my targetYES / NO  How many more clients are needed   # of cancellations re-booked from last week?   # of sales lead calls made this week?   What does next week look like for bookings? 

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 18 Example of 6 Week Follow-Up Programme  WEEK ONE:  WEEK ONE: Programme review; track their retention/ sales from new client leads given to them WEEK TWO:  WEEK TWO: Programme review; problem- solving; tracking sheet

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 19 Example of 6 Week Follow-Up Programme  WEEK THREE:  WEEK THREE: Programme review; retention/ follow-up strategies; setting of self-marketing initiatives (in & outside gym) WEEK FOUR:  WEEK FOUR: Programme review; time-management issues; tracking of retention; observation of a practical session

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 20 Example of 6 Week Follow-Up Programme  WEEK FIVE:  WEEK FIVE: Problem solving; review of marketing initiatives; review of their business systems; tracking sheet WEEK SIX:  WEEK SIX: To review the trainer’s overall performance & give feedback (review #1)  to assess their product & facility knowledge  to set them goals to achieve for next month review

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 21 Reception / Sales System FOR MANAGING LEADS   What is the P.O.S?   What/ Who are sales team selling? (Product Differentiation)   What is your system for new members contacted within 24hrs of signing-up?   How do existing members sign-up with a Personal Trainer?

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 22 Ongoing Issues to Address   Performance Assessments – Quality Service Delivery   Trainers NOT meeting expectations   Renewal of contracts – how?   Moving trainers towards ‘Senior’ Trainers   Trainer Retention Strategy – minimum of 2 yrs…..

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 23 The Future of PT in NZ ….  Ensuring that PT continues to be a quality driven product… what are your members paying for really??  Effective PT Managers who are able to understand about leadership development issues for trainers  Focussing on keeping great, knowledgable, successful PT’s who you want as ‘benchmarks’ of excellence in your clubs  A commitment from Club Owners/ Managers to a vibrant, energetic, effective product that meets the unique needs of your members

PLANNING - PREPARATION - PERFORMANCE 24 The Final Word….  “The difference between a great PT manager and an average PT manager, is that the great PT Manager knows what the PT product is supposed to look like, and pursues this relentlessly!” (Wendy!)