Here’s the thing – as Personal Trainers our greatest commodity is our time. Generally, we trade it for money and hope that we can build up a loyal client base that will keep coming back and paying us for our time.
Well, here lies two issues:
- You shouldn’t be trading your time for money as a Personal Trainer ( For more info on this topic, see my blog titled Why you’re over worked & not making over $100,000 per year in your solo PT business & how you can change that in 2 easy steps)
- You shouldn’t be hoping to build up a loyal client base, you should just be able to. All you need to do is just ask the following 3 questions to any new lead to firstly build the foundations of whether or not they are a right fit for your coaching.
That way, you will minimise that awkward moment when you present your prices and they say “Aw, let me think about it” or “Okay, let me talk to my partner and I’ll get back to you.
These kinds of objections and excuses are so typical and frequent in our industry…
They are typical because..
Wait for it… The Personal Trainer didn’t properly qualify the lead before spending over 1 – 3 hours trying to “win” them over to committing to PT.. were all you have to do is ask them these 3 questions then you decide if you want to offer them a complimentary session or not (Tip: You want to find the committed people, not the interested people)
So, you’re probably thinking “Cool Matt, but what are these 3 questions I should be asking new leads??”
Well, to your surprise, they are actually quite simple, but so necessary in our industry and very few PT’s are actually asking these questions to new leads. Here they are:
- What are your goals, specifically?
- What is your timeline to achieve these goals?
- What is your weekly investment for coaching to achieve these goals?
Let me explain the background of these questions.
- What are your goals, specifically? When a new lead comes my way, I either ask them these question in person OR send them an email/text (depending on what they have requested).
This question however, does what for me? It tells me what the client want’s, specifically. It tells me their end goal and potentially what the drive is behind it (“I want to lose 10kg by summer so I can feel better in my bikini”).
It also shows me if they are tyre kickers or are actually wanting help!
Without knowing this information, I am blind in seeing what is driving the lead to come into my coaching.
- What is your timeline to achieve these goals? What’s the reason for knowing when a lead wants to achieve their goal? Well, it will help you to know how long they will need your services for (make’s it easier to quote them an accurate rate), it will help you to know what kind of services they will need from you based on how quickly they want to achieve the goal (One session a week, Two sessions, nutrition guidance?), and it helps you to set a realistic expectation on achieving the goal (if they wanted to lose 10kg in 2 weeks, you’d have to realign their expectations and commitment to your coaching, so it’s best to always ask this questions!)
Again, without knowing this information, I am blind in seeing what is driving the lead to come into my coaching.
- What is your weekly investment for coaching to achieve these goals? I’m sure you have had that awkward moment (if you haven’t yet, you will 😉 ) when you go to present your coaching price to your lead and it’s WAY over what they want to pay.. but they don’t tell you that, they just say “Thanks, I’ll think about it” and walk out..
Ouch, right?
Avoid this moment by being upfront and asking in a general and professional way what they want to invest as a weekly amount.
Why ask this question? Well, despite it being so necessary for you to know, it’s also helpful for the lead to know what to expect and what they can get with their investment.
If they answer the question with “I can only afford $20 per week”, I’ll then reply with “Coaching starts at $50 per week to help you achieve these goals, are you committed enough to make some financial changes to meet this figure?” If they come back with “Yes!” then awesome, you’re already so close to converting a new lead at $50 per week.
If they come back with “No, $50 is too much” then awesome, you haven’t wasted a few hours going through the motions with a free session for them just to take up your greatest commodity – your time!
Once again, without knowing this information, I am blind in seeing what is driving the lead to come into my coaching.
So, what would I do going forward if I were you? I would start asking these questions as soon as you meet a new lead, every time! It doesn’t say “I’m all about the money” it say’s “I care enough to know what you want, need and expect and I’ll ask the right questions to learn about you”
Don’t go in blind – make sure you’re always meeting new leads with your eyes wide open, in every sense.
Well, here lies two issues:
- You shouldn’t be trading your time for money as a Personal Trainer ( For more info on this topic, see my blog titled Why you’re over worked & not making over $100,000 per year in your solo PT business & how you can change that in 2 easy steps)
- You shouldn’t be hoping to build up a loyal client base, you should just be able to. All you need to do is just ask the following 3 questions to any new lead to firstly build the foundations of whether or not they are a right fit for your coaching.
That way, you will minimise that awkward moment when you present your prices and they say “Aw, let me think about it” or “Okay, let me talk to my partner and I’ll get back to you.
These kinds of objections and excuses are so typical and frequent in our industry…
They are typical because..
Wait for it… The Personal Trainer didn’t properly qualify the lead before spending over 1 – 3 hours trying to “win” them over to committing to PT.. were all you have to do is ask them these 3 questions then you decide if you want to offer them a complimentary session or not (Tip: You want to find the committed people, not the interested people)
So, you’re probably thinking “Cool Matt, but what are these 3 questions I should be asking new leads??”
Well, to your surprise, they are actually quite simple, but so necessary in our industry and very few PT’s are actually asking these questions to new leads. Here they are:
- What are your goals, specifically?
- What is your timeline to achieve these goals?
- What is your weekly investment for coaching to achieve these goals?
Let me explain the background of these questions.
- What are your goals, specifically? When a new lead comes my way, I either ask them these question in person OR send them an email/text (depending on what they have requested).
This question however, does what for me? It tells me what the client want’s, specifically. It tells me their end goal and potentially what the drive is behind it (“I want to lose 10kg by summer so I can feel better in my bikini”).
It also shows me if they are tyre kickers or are actually wanting help!
Without knowing this information, I am blind in seeing what is driving the lead to come into my coaching.
- What is your timeline to achieve these goals? What’s the reason for knowing when a lead wants to achieve their goal? Well, it will help you to know how long they will need your services for (make’s it easier to quote them an accurate rate), it will help you to know what kind of services they will need from you based on how quickly they want to achieve the goal (One session a week, Two sessions, nutrition guidance?), and it helps you to set a realistic expectation on achieving the goal (if they wanted to lose 10kg in 2 weeks, you’d have to realign their expectations and commitment to your coaching, so it’s best to always ask this questions!)
Again, without knowing this information, I am blind in seeing what is driving the lead to come into my coaching.
- What is your weekly investment for coaching to achieve these goals? I’m sure you have had that awkward moment (if you haven’t yet, you will 😉 ) when you go to present your coaching price to your lead and it’s WAY over what they want to pay.. but they don’t tell you that, they just say “Thanks, I’ll think about it” and walk out..
Ouch, right?
Avoid this moment by being upfront and asking in a general and professional way what they want to invest as a weekly amount.
Why ask this question? Well, despite it being so necessary for you to know, it’s also helpful for the lead to know what to expect and what they can get with their investment.
If they answer the question with “I can only afford $20 per week”, I’ll then reply with “Coaching starts at $50 per week to help you achieve these goals, are you committed enough to make some financial changes to meet this figure?” If they come back with “Yes!” then awesome, you’re already so close to converting a new lead at $50 per week.
If they come back with “No, $50 is too much” then awesome, you haven’t wasted a few hours going through the motions with a free session for them just to take up your greatest commodity – your time!
Once again, without knowing this information, I am blind in seeing what is driving the lead to come into my coaching.
So, what would I do going forward if I were you? I would start asking these questions as soon as you meet a new lead, every time! It doesn’t say “I’m all about the money” it say’s “I care enough to know what you want, need and expect and I’ll ask the right questions to learn about you”
Don’t go in blind – make sure you’re always meeting new leads with your eyes wide open, in every sense.
To Your Success
Thank you for checking out Fitness Education Online Blog!
Fitness Education Online are one of the leading providers in the world when it comes to the professional development of Personal Trainers. We have over 30 registered CEC courses Click here to check them out.
Feel free to join our Free Facebook Group with over 14 000 other Fitness Professionals Click here to Join
Blog Distributed by: Matt Papallo
Matt Papallo
PT Startup To Success Founder & Mentor
About Matt Papallo:
Matt is a rent based PT living in Sydney and is one of the few (possibly the only one) to rent out an office within an Anytime Fitness to operate a dual business – PT & Remedial Massage Therapy – all whilst having other PT’s operate within his brand, MP Living. The founder of The PT Startup To Success System, which is designed to help fellow rent based PT’s to become booked out with 1:1 clients, earning over $2,000 + per week, only working 4 ½ days a week – all whilst saving PT’s over $100,000 & 5 years of “trial and error” in mistakes.
Matt still operates his PT business and PT Mentoring business – both full time – and still manages to train himself as a competitive Boxer 5 days per week and still has time to relax and recharge with his fiancé and two Toy Poodles (Groot & Rocket)
Connect with Matt
