4 things clients look for in personal trainers that have nothing to do with fitness

Most of these points are a given but it is always important to remember that first impressions matter and clients look for more than just the fitness aspects when choosing a PT.

You have to put your best face forward and make sure you are approachable.

Patience

People make unrealistic goals all the time or they may not be as fit as they thought they were. This is when patience is essential. Being a personal trainer means understanding that you have to work with clients who may not know what they are doing. They may be unsure of their correct form, what each exercise does and how this will benefit them in the future. It is important that you show a level of patience so your client doesn’t feel isolated. Good patience will help you to build a strong relationship with your client which can lead to extended or repeat business. However, no one client is the same so it is important to assess how much patience one client may need since this may vary from one to the next.

Honesty

Clients want to be able to trust their personal trainer, after all, you are the one helping them with their fitness journey. Being honest and helping your clients understand their realistic goals is the first step in building a strong relationship. Help them to set manageable goals that are realistic to achieve. By starting your journey with your client in an honest way you help them to not have unrealistic expectations of what you can help them with. It can take some people a while to realise that to get where they want to be it will take time and dedication so by setting realistic goals it may not make them happy but it will be achievable.

Professionalism and the right attitude

Professionalism is a key part of being a personal trainer. Clients won’t want to invest their money into someone who they don’t think is professional or who doesn’t take their time seriously. It can sometimes be a challenge to strike the right tone since while being professional since you still need to be friendly. You can create this balance by having the right attitude. Having a positive attitude can help you go a long way in your client/trainer relationship, this makes it look like you care about your career as a professional which then can reflect in a trainer that cares about their clients because of this.

Quick responses

Clients’ time is important and so is yours. Being able to efficiently manage time is a key quality clients may look for when choosing a PT. Being able to respond to a lead quickly shows that you care and show your level of professionalism. So whether you get a message in the evening or during the weekend you should aim to follow up as soon as you can. You should obviously prioritise the situations you are in since you don’t want to have to leave your Sunday roast to go make a call but it means you should take five minutes to call the client and schedule an appointment when you have any spare time throughout the day.