Few fitness professionals are doing it. Yes, everyone is marketing and everyone is advertising. Few are doing it well. We just have more noise. If you will take the time to study these secrets and make sure you have them all included in each and every marketing peice you prepare you will be far ahead of the competition in reaching your most qualified customers who are ready to buy. 

For the checklist, email debra@voiceforfitness.com and request the Checklist for Marketing and Advertising.

Are you counting on a successful January, just because its January? What  if it could be even better? Changing your mindset about selling is more than half the battle. Customers don't actually want to be sold, they want to buy. There are some who'd say you can "sell without selling." I'm not one of them. I think we all sell all the time. If you can identify the real reasons a client wants to buy, not the logical reasons, the real reasons, you can idenfity the words to say and the buttons to push.

That isn't manipulation. That is helping them get what they want buy helping them tell you in their words why it's important to them. A client isn't going to walk in and say "I want to lose weight so that I be more attractive to my spouse again." Yet, that  might in fact be the motivation. If you know what they want you can help them get it.

If you focus on what you think is logical, what they need, they will in fact most often nod their head at you and agree but tell you they have to think about it or "not right now." Same service, same professional, different outcome. Listen for how you can reframe your sales thoughts and sell more personal training in 2014. 

Marketing is about conversion, not just communication. At first glance and first date with social media you may not find that apparent. The best marketers are using social media wisely with a purpose with each post. There is a schedule for a percent of content based on their customers interests, wants and needs. The savvy fitness marketer is training his or her audience as they communicate ...so that they can convert. 

Are you optimizing the tools available to you? At this point in time you are going to pay more and more for advertising that reaches fewer custumers who have more choices. Can you afford to guess what you're doing with social media?  Being busy with it and tending to it when there's time may not be the strategy you want to take after listening.

You have something special. Determine how you'll show and tell it to  your customers. 

It's fair to say the largest good we stand to do with making the world a healthier place is inspiring the largest population of inactive and overweight to begin an exercise program for the last time. That is, to help them make a lifelong commitment to exercise.

Dr. Paddy Ekkekakis, Exercise Psychologist in the Department of Kinesiology at Iowa State University joins me on this show. 

Among the questions and challenges we address: 

How much do our appearance, dress code, mirrors and titles of our programs attract or repel those that need it most?

What is the difference we either ignore or overlook about the obese and overweight that prevent us from attracting or keeping them involved?

Are we doing it well anywhere? What kinds of programs have experienced success?

Join us for this extended show.

In this first introductory podcast we dive right into marketing! There are variables you need to market great group training. In the right order they produce results that bring customers in and keep them in. Out of order or missing a variable you'll reduce your chances of success. Make the most of your marketing time, energy and money with all three right now!