To
establish professional income in the fitness industry (comparable
to the professional income in other industries), it's first essential
to develop a professional standard.
Many
trainers spend their days counting backward. If trainers limit
their focus to walking clients through routines, professionalism
will always be in question.
In
order to command professional fees, trainers must first recognize
the importance of perception and adjust marketing accordingly.
If, through strategic marketing, a fitness professional can place
him- or herself on a “value” platform with legal and
medical professionals, income limitations are obliterated.
The
Challenges
The
absence of professional recognition frustrates personal trainers,
particularly those with acceptable credentials. Our industry asks
trainers to conduct free assessments, free orientations or free
workouts, placing the perceived value of training services at
zero. Trainers must climb a steep hill to rise from “valueless”
to “valuable,” becoming a profesional worthy of handsome
fees.
Further
compounding the frustration, supplements, drugs and spot-reduction
devices are hawked in a media-driven frenzy. Given the choice
between “take a pill and melt fat” or “retain
a trainer and work hard,” people often pick the pill.
Go
Beyond Rep Counting
Trainers
must be viewed as resources, not only for exercise prescription,
but for basic understandable truths that relate to improving a
human body. People are failing to find desired results due to
ineffective technologies being promoted as reputed solutions.
Professional trainers should establish positions as recognized
experts who guide hopefuls through the maze of misinformation.
Initiating
Change
When
global change takes place, it's initiated by a rare few willing
to break an old paradigm. An elite core of bold trainers must
unite and take a stand. Professionals deserve to be paid for their
time.
In
the health club industry, there must be a middle ground where
owners, trainers and sales forces meet. The trainer can spark
dramatic revenue increases, but only if positioned to do so.
A
perceived “expert” can guide members to make purchases,
participate in for-fee programs, and ultimately to renew and refer.
To position the trainer to succeed in this manner, there should
be a clear value attached to all personal training services. Moving
toward this end will take collaboration of all components of the
health club “team.”
Trainers
will be respected as professionals if they are placed in a position
where information has value. They can author articles in local
publications, appear as guests on local television and radio programs,
and conduct seminars for varied groups.
I
teach trainers to arrange health fairs where they include themselves
alongside doctors as speakers; this boosts the perception of professionalism.
Developing a newsletter that integrates articles from physicians
with articles penned by trainers also creates the perception of
professional expertise.
Trainers
should not be presented as another “feature” in clubs,
but as the vehicles most likely to bring new and existing members
the results they seek. In order to perpetuate the recognition
of trainer professionalism and pave the way for professional fees,
three elements need to be in place:
-
A
collaboration between owners, sales forces and trainers to
establish a professional position linking the training staff
with value.
-
A
standard that allows trainers to act confidently and accurately
as resources for basic understandable truths.
-
A
commitment to combine strategic marketing and dedicated effort
to deliver more value than members expect.
With
the establishment of a professional standard and a focus on the
elements above, trainers can become the heroes of an industry
capable of benefiting the health and fitness of America and the
world.