Lets start with the scary statistics about our audience (taken from the NHS Information Centre):
In 2009, almost a quarter of adults (22% of men and 24% of women aged 16 or over) in England were classified as obese (BMI 30kg/m2 or over)
Being overweight and obesity levels are increasing. The percentage of adults who are obese has roughly doubled since the mid-1980′s….and less than 2 in 10 people exercise enough
With so many more people needing help, education, services and support from health and fitness professionals why do so many newly qualified fitness professionals not make it past 2 years within the industry?
And what more can be done to keep these talented people in the industry so they can continue to make positive changes to people’s lives?
We asked the very professional and profound Denise Page YMCAfit Director the same thing and this is her view…
“I am often surprised by how many personal trainer students have their sights purely focused on working with wealthy clients, professional athletes and even celebrities.
I am a firm believer in having ambition and a positive outlook but individuals need to plan for their lucky breaks.
It is important they place themselves in the right environment and they need an angle that makes them stand out and be noticed.”
We all at the Fit Biz Builders endorse the view that the first thing you need to do is nail down your target audience and really get to understand their needs, their pains, their desires and their aspirations.
The amount of fit pros that come to our events and say “I thought I knew my target audience, but now I realise I don’t” is scary…
Simply knowing the type of person you want to work with is not good enough…please take this one poignant message from this post. The first step to lasting past the 2 year lifespan is to properly define your audience and properly define how you work with them and how you service their needs.
If you don’t know how to define your target market properly then find someone who can help you (Yvette is the best at this and has helped me so much over the years)
This one step will make a massive difference to you and your business.
Denise then goes on to say…
“Marketing and Business Skills is an optional module for the personal trainer qualification. I would always advise anyone entering the fitness industry to complete some type of marketing training.
The benefits are more obvious for the self-employed; however, anyone who has to attract clients’ must know how to sell themselves. Employers will often feedback this is a weakness amongst fitness professionals.”
I find it unbelievable that the most critical thing to your success is left as an “optional module”. It’s great to see that you learn the science and techniques of how to get results for people but if no-one knows about you and what you can do for them… you will be back working your “normal job” within 2 years.
Now I don’t blame the training providers for this, as to a certain extent they are driven by what you want and by what the sector skills council and accrediting bodies decide on what constitutes a qualified professional. The interesting thing is that when the National Occupational Standards were recently revised, employers fed back that Business Skills should be an optional module….CRAZY!
I would also argue that the guys and gals who are looking to go into employment need sales and marketing skills more than the freelancers. If you are planning to go into an environment that only gets you in front of let’s say 2,000 members (most of which don’t ever invest in personal services) and pitch your services up against 10 other fit pros saying the same ineffective marketing messages you are quite literally swimming upstream and helping no one achieve their goals (especially your own)
I certainly like the better odds outside of the gym myself as you have better numbers to play with and the freedom to commercialise your skills.
Denise then goes on to say a very good point:
“When first entering the industry instructors sometimes attend course after course trying to gain as much technical knowledge as they can handle.
It is obviously important the professional instructor has a full and rounded education; my experience has demonstrated to me that the professional who concentrates on their communication skills and specialises in behaviour change tends to be more successful.
85% of the nation is inactive; there are a huge number of people who need our services but the approach must be different if we are to succeed in getting more people active.”
AMEN SISTER! The approach does have to be different and in today’s society information is at the fingertips of everyone who is on the internet and who has a phone. 85% of people are inactive and it should be your job and passion to make a dent in that statistic.
Don’t get me wrong I am not saying all 85% of people are interested in health and fitness but a large (and growing group) are! They are sitting on the fence (or sofa) waiting to be “educated” about what they need to be doing.
Not everyone will want your personal services but they certainly want to know what you know….so be creative in your marketing and get educating people about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle don’t just sell them health and fitness…this can be achieved on and offline and in ways that can supplement your business so get out from the gym floor and start educating more people about the benefits of being active
Before I asked Denise about what more can be done to help fit pros she gives her view on your success…
“Fitness industry professionals who are successful tend to be the ones who are open to ideas, not afraid to challenge the norm, are genuinely interested in the industry as a whole and not just their area of expertise. Ambition and focus also play their part. “
This blog really is a call to action for fitness professionals to get their sales and marketing in order and start a different approach to help more people. It’s all fair and well to ask you guys to take the challenge but what is being done at Government level to support us?
“The obesity crisis and inactivity levels across all age ranges are constantly being discussed in focus groups, forums and in the industry press.
The FIA are involved in several community projects with an aim to help improve local health. Projects include Change 4 Life, More Active Health Kids, Let’s Get Moving, Shift into Sport and many more.” Visit here for details
The FIA Chairman, Fred Turok made the following statement when referring to the work they are doing in relation to the Governments Responsibility Deal:
“England has stopped moving and we have to do something about it. It’s deal or no deal when it comes to public health.
The Responsibility Deal provides a fantastic opportunity to unite the nation in a positive movement where physical activity lies at the very heart of this.
It’s a simple equation – energy in equal’s energy out and we must work together with industry to educate the consumer around this.
This is an all-encompassing deal which requires an all-encompassing approach – there’s never been a better and more appropriate time to get people moving.”
Denise then gives her own rallying call…
“Instructors working in the fitness industry can make a difference by being aware and supporting what is happening at strategic level.
With only 15% of the nation taking regular activity it has been accepted that a joined up approach between the Health and Fitness sectors is needed to reach the remaining 85%.
Success will be a slow and difficult battle but we have reached a point where health professionals are beginning to accept the expertise of fitness professionals and can see how working together could make a difference.
Exercise Referral is an area that is poorly represented on REPS; I would advise anyone entering the fitness industry to research this area of professional development. The goal of the industry is to provide opportunities and environments for getting our nation moving.”
At a strategic level this sounds great and a big step forward for the nation….but I am constantly hearing from you guys that routes into aligning with GPs and PCTs are hard, long winded and inhibited with red tape…which is not good for business and our sanity
I welcome more support for fitness professionals to take this challenge directly to the people. More needs to be done by the Government to support and develop these fitness professionals into delivery partners and more needs to be done in the media to have a true representation of the industry and what we are trying to achieve rather than allowing the nation to be hooked on sugar, alcohol, drugs and low cost processed food and thinking 30mins of fast walking a day is good enough….or that you have to be beasted to get fit!
What do you think?
One of our delegates at our 
