A Career in Personal Training: How to attract new clients

ExerciseJobs interviews top business person, exercise physiologist and personal trainer, Nikki Layton, CEO of Volo Innovations and Co-Owner of Momentum Fitness
July 2009

ExerciseJobs: Ms Layton, you have built 2 very successful businesses from the ground up. Can you share your secrets for attracting new clients these days?
Nikki Layton: I have found that it's all about networking, creating relationships, word of mouth, and donating to charity events.

How do you network? And how does networking land more clients?
Nikki Layton: When we first created Momentum Fitness as a training studio, we didn't have any clients obviously. We also didn't have much of a marketing budget. But we knew we needed to get in front of people to tell them about our business. First we joined the local neighborhood Chamber of Commerce. That gave us the opportunity to meet other business owners and approach them about possible joint venture opportunities. We offered free passes to our training studio, free classes, and meetings with health professionals. We also contacted office buildings in our neighborhood and provided free noon seminars. Lunch and Learn about Fitness. We passed out our flyers to the attendees.

Tell us how donating to charity events builds your client base?
Nikki Layton: We offer gift certificates for our services at a charity event's silent auction. We provide gift certificates for health assessments and several (2 to 10) training sessions with a personal trainer. Most charities will not turn you down. They want more vendors at their silent auctions. In the beginning, we contacted hospitals, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, local private schools, and gold courses to see if we could participate in their silent auction. Now they contact us. We always say yes! You goal is to have the client sign up for more sessions. You also want to make sure the auction attendees are in line with your target demographics. We also include a date of expiration on the gift certificates. Usually an 8 week timeline.

Can you tell us more about your new company, Volo Innovations?
Nikki Layton: We started Volo Innovations about a year ago. Volo Innovations offers a fully integrated online scheduling and management software for fitness clubs, studios, and trainers. It's scalable for either a single independent trainer or a multi-facility club.

For more information about Volo Innovations, go to www.myvolo.com.