How to Sell More Training

By Pat Rigsby

Effectively selling is one of the most common things that separate a successful business from an unsuccessful one.

The good news is that selling is more in line with everything else that you do as a coach than you probably think.

The best way to sell more is to make the sales process more about the prospective client and less about ‘closing the sale.’

The way that selling was taught for a long time and is still taught by some is that closing a sale is an adversarial interaction where either you win or the prospect wins.

What a horrible way to look at it.

Selling starts with having a truly valuable solution that the prospective client will benefit from and it’s really just the process of finding the right mutually beneficial relationship where you can help them achieve their goals and in exchange you get compensated for your help.

So let’s look at the best way to sell more personal training through the prospective client’s eyes:

Step 1: I Need To Know Who You And Your Business Are.

Purchasing obviously starts with awareness.

Someone can’t become your client if they don’t know who you are.

Step 2: I Need To Connect With What You Offer.

What you have to offer needs to speak directly to that person.

If they’re looking for fat loss and you’re talking about corrective exercise, they don’t connect.

That doesn’t mean they don’t need it, but they don’t connect with it.

Step 3: I Need To Trust You Can Deliver What I Specifically Want.

No one makes a purchase unless they believe that what they’re buying will deliver the outcome they’re looking for.

These first three steps are where so many fitness pros miss the boat.

They think they’re selling what they want to sell rather than what a specific person wants.

Or they don’t recognize that they need to have the prospect personally connect with them and what they offer.

That’s the beauty of referral marketing. It takes care of all three of these steps at once.

Your happy client makes people aware of who you are and really facilitates the connection and trust in a way that you can’t because they’re talking to someone who already knows, likes and trusts them.

Step 4: I Need To Experience What You Have To Offer.

Most people want to try before they buy.

This can mean something as simple as a Success Session with you to make sure you’re able to provide what they need, or it could be a couple of free sessions or a paid 21 day or month long program.

Step 5: I’m Ready To Become A Client.

This is where most people think everything happens.

They’re wrong.

This is just a natural step in the progression if you’ve done what you’re supposed to do up to this point.

It’s actually easier to lose people in the first couple of steps than it is this one.

You just don’t know you’ve lost them because they’re not sitting in front of you.

Step 6: I WANT To Become A Fan.

No one goes into a business hoping for an ordinary experience.

They want to be WOWed.

They want to fall in love with the business.

The fact that most businesses don’t inspire that type of feeling is a shame for them, but it’s an opportunity for you.

If you can create fans at this stage it makes everything else you do SO much easier.

Step 7: I’m Eager To Share my Experience With Others.

This is the pinnacle.

If someone has made it through all 6 previous steps, then they’re primed to go out and be an advocate for what you do.

That may mean referring in the traditional sense.

It may mean talking about their experience on Facebook every day.

It could mean becoming a connector for you with people they know.

This process is a little different than what most people think of as sales, but it’s hands down the best way to sell more.

How to dial in your sales process:

Making Sure The Right People Know About You.

• Is your business and your unique message getting in front of the type of prospects you want on a consistent basis?
• Do you have multiple strategies in place that are making sure this happens?

Do Your Ideal Prospects Connect With What You’re Saying?

• Is your message or your differentiator clear enough that it stands out from the competition?
• Does it speak to the people you want to have as clients so specifically that they feel like you’re speaking directly to them?

Are You Creating Enough Trust?

• Do you have testimonials and success stories that speak to how effectively you deliver what you say you do?
• Is everything that someone can see about you congruent?

Do You Have A Great Try Before You Buy Experience?

• Do you have a strong Front End Offer in place?
• Does it WOW the prospect or is it just like everyone else’s?

How Do You Transition People To Become Clients?

• Do you have a Win / Win Closing Process?
• Are you focusing on selling what’s best for the client or what’s the most expensive?

Do You Have A WOW Experience?

• Is it clear to your clients that what they get from you is very different from what the competition offers?
• Do you actively educate your clients?
• Do you have WOW touchpoints with every client?

Do You Make It Easy For Your Clients To Connect You With Others?

• Do you have a variety of ways for clients to introduce you to their network?
• Do you connect with your clients through social media?
• Do you get testimonials from your clients?
• Do you provide sharable education?

So hopefully you see why the best way to sell isn’t the traditional way to sell.

Your sales process is really the cultivation of a relationship with your ideal prospect to the point that they become a fan that eagerly spreads the word about your business.

So use the questions that I shared toward the end to optimize your approach to selling and before long you can be reaping the rewards of the best way to grow your business.