Don’t Sabotage Your Online Personal Training Services: Learn from These 5 Common Mistakes!

Personal training used to be limited to face-to-face interactions in a gym or fitness centre. However, with the rise of technology, more and more personal trainers are moving their services online. While this can be a smart move, it’s essential to avoid common pitfalls. Here are five mistakes personal trainers make when trying to move online:

1. Neglecting branding, marketing, and social media

Many trainers think that posting workout routines on their Instagram or other social media accounts is enough. However, without proper branding and marketing, you won’t attract the right clients. Once you reach profitability, be sure to invest in a professional logo and website and create valuable and consistent content to attract and retain the right followers.

2. Providing a generic approach instead of personalization

One of the most significant advantages of a personal trainer is their ability to customize training plans for their clients. However, many trainers provide their clients with pre-recorded workout routines without personalization, which is the opposite of personalized training. Even with online training, ensure that each client receives personal attention and customized workout programs according to their goals and abilities. If you’re trying to scale, then the ‘one size fits most’ approach works well, just don’t do it in the beginning. 

3. Underestimating the role of accountability

The primary reason someone seeks out a personal trainer is accountability. When working with clients online, it’s essential to make sure they have someone to answer to. Discuss their goals and monitor their progress and provide constant feedback and encouragement. Consider incorporating frequent video calls to keep them on track. Think of your current clients like walking billboards. If you get them great results, they are likely to directly or indirectly get you two or three new clients. That’s the formula for growth and scale. 

4. Setting unrealistic expectations

Many trainers focus on the physical transformations they achieve with their clients, but these transformations won’t happen overnight. While clients can achieve results with hard work and discipline, trainers must set realistic expectations. It’s critical to explain that goals require time, consistent effort, and patience. Social media in particular has a huge survivorship bias, the ‘best’ transformations are the outliers in most cases. The majority of trainers won’t post mediocre before and after photos, which in turn can set unrealistic expectations for potential clients. You can minimise a lot this heartache by setting those realistic expectations before they sign up. 

5. Not embracing technology

Moving online means embracing technology. Personal trainers need to be proficient in various virtual training tools and software to create customized training programs and monitor client progress. Keep up with the latest technology to provide the best possible experience for clients. This goes for apps that support your service as well as social media and your marketing channels. 

In conclusion, moving online as a personal trainer might seem simple, but it comes with its challenges that might be detrimental to your business if you don’t take the right steps. Avoiding these common mistakes will help you create a successful and thriving online personal training business.