A Fitness Business Guest Post by Dan Go

Hey there…. Dan Go here… hope you are doing fantastic, making money, working less and being an overall badass in your fitness business. If you are reading this blog, doing Chris’ coaching or invested in one of his products… I’m pretty sure you are all of the above.

Honestly… when you’re ready to let go of the reins to your boot camp or group personal training business… it can be hard.

I mean…it’s like letting go of your baby and hoping it thrives in that cruel horrible world out there. You won’t be able to hold its hand and stand beside him… her… I mean it… anymore. It’s gotta grow up and fend for itself so you can have a life.

If you really want to own a business and not a job… it’s gotta be done.

But hey if you like trading hours for dollars and love training 30 hours a week… it’s all good. This blog post if probably not for you though.

Like Chris (and the E-Myth) says, “You want to get out of the technicians role and into the role of the entrepreneur”.

What this means to me is getting out of role of being a personal trainer and shift over to the role of the marketer/strategist of my business.

Once the business runs on its own you will focus on marketing and/or find new projects to work on to further cement that dream lifestyle you want.

Right now let’s focus on finding the right man/woman for the job…

Now once you are ready to get someone to take over the reins for the training aspect of your business there a couple things you may be worried about such as:

- What happens if they steal clients?
- What if they suck?
- What if my clients hate him/her?
- What if they can’t sell?
- What if they injure someone?
- Won’t I lose more money by doing this?

And then when you get a high quality trainer you’ll have questions like:

- What if they leave?
- What if they start their own business?
- What if they steal clients?

Let’s answer these questions quickly:

What happens if they steal clients/start a new business?

You gotta have them sign a non compete form and a training contract before even letting them train in your business. That’s a given. I like to have one where they can’t start another business near mine within 20 miles of mine. I also say that they can’t solicit my clients for two years after they have stopped training for me. Consult your lawyer for these… as they’re not allowed in all areas… if they AREN’T allowed where you’re at, consult your attorney on how you can protect yourself

To stop them from stealing, let it be known that you will be sending in secret shoppers every now and then to keep them on their toes.

You can’t stop them from starting another business and in my business… I don’t… I actually help them because that’s just my mindset.

I actually encourage them to spread their wings but always within the guidelines of the non compete and training contract.

What if they suck and clients hate him/her?

If they suck.. .that is your fault because you hired them. But I have a foolproof technique you will see at the end of this blog post to prevent that from happening.

What if your clients hate the new trainer?

Guess what? Some will. At first. Everyone is resistant to change…it’s human nature. I had a girl who I knew was a fantastic trainer take over my Thursday boot camp classes and guess what? Everyone hated her. At first. It wasn’t even her… they just hated the change.

But once they got used to me not being there and her training the camp…they ended up LOVING her. The same will happen for you.

One thing I’ll mention…that I don’t want to admit….there is a slight possibility that she may even be better than me at training…GASP! It happens to the best of us. I thought I was DA BEES KNEES when it came to training. Well I am…but there are always people better than me and I love it that way.

So don’t be afraid of hiring another trainer and clients hating them. They will warm up to them. They could quite possibly end up being better at it then you are….impossible I’m sure…but quite possible in my case.

And at the end of this blog post I will reveal how you can get over that hurdle with a simple technique called the “Asian Mind Control Technique”

What if they can’t sign up clients/sell?

This one is easy…don’t let them. Just follow Chris’s Automatic Sales Formula and you take the selling off of their hands. I use this system in my camp and it works like a charm.

What if they injure your clients?

I ONLY hire independent contractors and I advise you to do the same. They are easy to deal with, you are not obligated to them, less red tape and best of all…they come with their own insurance.

What if I lose money by hiring someone?

I’ll go right ahead and say that YOU WILL lose money… Initially.

It’s always nice knowing each check coming is going to be yours and yours alone. But trust me on this one… they are like the golden handcuffs.

The only way to expand your business and make more money is to duplicate yourself and have other trainers train your clients so you can focus on the big money making levers…like marketing and creating new income streams.

Take the time you save from not working in your business on marketing and you will increase your bottom line by double I promise you.

What if they are super awesome trainer but can possibly leave your training business?

There are a couple things you can do to prevent this from happening:

1) Pay them well. If they are fantastic trainers and are up to your standards if not past them.. .you must pay them above average for their services. Chris pays his personal trainers 50%. I own a boot camp so it’s a little harder to calculate so I pay them $80-$90 a session. Money talks, so speak loudly to those you want to keep.

2) Shower them with appreciation. This goes along with paying them well. I give thank you cards and sometimes gift cards if they are super good at training. It gives them that warm fuzzy feeling when they work for you. People are STARVED for appreciation. Not only your clients but your trainers too.

3) Find more trainers than you need and have subs. Honestly…this is something I gotta do too. Once you find a good one, don’t be afraid to find more. I was reading Paul Reddick’s blog post and he said to have 3 of everything… and  that pertains to hiring trainers too.

Okay, we got those out of the way. Here are my Super Chinese Ninja techniques for hiring the right trainer for your business. I say “Chinese” and “Ninja” because:

a) I am Chinese
b) My nickname is Ninjaman (for real…there’s a story behind this but I’ll leave that to another day)
c) The public perceives these to be of great importance…and a little sneaky….which they are.

Y’all better recognize!

Finding the right trainer

Before you do anything else write out in a half page to a page your ideal trainer you want working for you. Get clear on this as it will give you an idea of who you want to represent your business. It also gets your mind on the right frequency when interviewing the prospective trainers.

You also gotta have a system in place for your training. What you do from start to finih detailed exactly as you would do it.

1. Where to look…

- Look in Craigslist ( if you live in an area where it’s popular)

Don’t let them send in resumes. Have them fill out a registration form through Www.SurveyMonkey.com because trainers are a little wishy washy at times. Having them fill out a registration form weeds out the ones that are not important and singles out the ones who give a damn.

- Look around your local gyms and search out the trainers who know what they’re doing. Approach them and ask if they are open to more opportunities. They are most likely getting paid crap from the gym so what you’ll offer will be much better.

Ask other trainers for referrals…easy enough.

2. The Asian Mind Control technique

Once you have found 6-10 trainers you want to interview, ask them to come in so you can talk to them and get a feel for them. Then select 1-4 trainers you think will be right for the job.

Let it be known what is expected out of them if they get hired. I go through this process as it really weeds out the losers from the super stars. I call this process The Green Tea probation process because it’s healthy and cuts the excess fat:

1. They have to take my boot camp for a week, no pay.
2. They will get paid $40 per session for one week afterwards for shadowing me.
3. After that they will do the boot camp for another 1-2 weeks while I shadow them.
4. They get their regular wage and are on probation for another month.
5. After that they are on their own and you inspect from time to time.

It’s a long process but well worth the effort… for example almost every single one of Chris’s trainers have been with him for YEARS… he has like NO TURN-AROUND

If I want to find the right trainer, I would rather have them invested in my program with their time, have them jump through hoops to get to the golden grail that is training my camps. I will also let it be known how much I am willing to pay them. Well and above what others will pay them in my area.

Set up a free trial boot camp that is open to all of your members. You will let your boot camp members know that it is a free trial and you want to do this to test out these potential boot camp instructors that may end up training your camp.

Let them know each one has experience, is an amazing trainer blah blah blah.

Have those trainers teach the boot camp using your workout system. Jump in if you want but test their skills first. You want to see how they handle themselves training your camp and having someone watch over them.

Then after the boot camp is done, ask your clients how they liked them, which one they liked best and why. They will be like, “Brad was awesome”, “Christine kinda sucked.” etc…

This works on many different levels…

- You are automatically giving more value to your training clients by giving them a free class.

- They feel appreciated because you value their opinion…don’t be afraid to let them know that…in fact announce that before saying anything.

- You want to see how the trainers react to training your camp in a high pressure setting. There is nothing that says pressure than training an entirely new group whose aim is to evaluate you at the end…with the owner watching their backs the entire time.

- The trainers have now invested some of their time so now they are more than likely to be invested into training for your business.

And the best part….

Your clients have already selected who they like the best out of the whole group. They have pre-selected the trainer they want to train them and take over training for your boot camp. They have been officially hypnotized… Chinese Ninja style.

After that take them through the Green Tea probation process and you should be on your way to creating a loyal army of clones to take over your town and help them get into incredible shape!

I really hope you enjoyed this blog post. Leave a comment below and let me know if you have any techniques you use to find, hire and keep the right trainer for your boot camp.

Talk soon and all the best in your fitness business,

Dan Go aka. Ninjaman

Dan Go runs Markham and Thornhill Boot Camps and is a Markham personal trainer

And before you go, make sure to check out the brand new Suspension Training Domination, loaded with kick ass workouts you can give your boot camp and personal training clients, ANYTIME ANYWHERE…

Suspension Training Domination… loaded with kick ass workouts you can give your boot camp and personal training clients, ANYTIME ANYWHERE…

Click Here To See The Brand New Suspension Training Domination Fitness Professionals

Click Here To See The Brand New Suspension Training Domination Fitness Professionals