A Guest Blog Post from Forrest Folen
Hey, what’s happening ya’ll?! It’s Forrest from the Bay Area here, with a post for you to check out!
I thought it would be a fun and interesting post to create some terms for techniques you can use in your bootcamp using a “PUA” approach. Although this is mostly a fun blog post, you really can use these terms and techniques to add amazing value into your bootcamps…so here it goes!
If you didn’t already know, PUA stands for “Pick Up Artist” (also the name of a reality show) where a Master PUA named Mystery shows AFC’s (Average Frustrated Chumps) how to approach the ladies and attain the type of game most men only wish they had.
Previously most of these guys had been a bunch of D&D nerds, playing World of Warcraft at home on their laptops. But now these guys are out in “the field” picking up women using the “Mystery Method” in bars and clubs, on the street, and even at grocery stores and coffee shops!
I personally am not a PUA, but my girlfriend and I have watched the show and think it’s hilarious! We also happen to know a few people who’ve actually used the “Mystery Method” to improve their confidence on the dating scene. Apparently the stuff works…
Chris McCombs has been known to recommend that we as fitness marketers and entrepreneurs should all read the book on pickup artistry entitled “The Game” by Neil Strauss. However, Chris doesn’t recommend it so you can go out and pick up on chicks, but rather so you understand the psychology of the pickup artist – how they attract people, influence their actions, and “close the sale”, if ya’ know what I mean… ; )
But in all seriousness, there really is a lot we can learn by watching the subtle ways that pickup artists in action work. It all comes down to techniques, methods and strategies put together in a systematic way to create a desired outcome. Sound familiar? Yes, it’s the same story in the fitness biz…the parallels are many.
When a Pickup Artist speaks, he uses terminology that sounds something like this: Now that we’re “in the field” I want you to go “open a set” with a “neg” so you can get an “IOI” and then “DHV” so you can “GClose” the “HB”.
I know…crazy talk, right? But this is what these guys actually sound like!
I guess it’s good to speak in code if you’re right there showing someone how to pick up on the girl right in front of you. But don’t think of these woman being picked up on as poor, feeble and innocent prey because these guys are speaking using PUA vernacular.
Women have already been talking in ways males can’t understand for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years!! (I believe in PUA terminology it’s called “girl coding”!)
..So here is a list of applicable techniques you can use to add tremendous value into your bootcamp, as well as PUA inspired terminology you can use. Have fun with it!!
Rock-Starring – You are the rock star of your boot camps, are you not? Stand out in the crowd by letting your inner rock-star shine! This would be the PUA equivalent to “Peacocking”.
Tattoo’s, piercings, some gansta-ass fitness apparel, old-school sneakers, fo-hawks, shaved heads, whatever! But really…be YOURSELF! Just don’t wear spandex or be a Richard Simmons look alike, know what I mean?
Tweaking – This is when you change that 1 little thing in someone’s exercise technique that subtly makes someone’s exercise way more effective and challenging, and shows that you really care and know your stuff as a trainer.
It might just be to put their weight on their heels during a squat, or to drop their hips a little during their mountain climbers. Just by changing that 1 little thing you put yourself in a position of authority and you add value to your clients experience.
BFN – BFN stands for “Best Friends Now”, as when you have a brand new bootcamper and need to weed them into the physical and social structure of your camp on their first day.
What you do is you select someone you think that person would be a good match with (usually a more experienced and outgoing bootcamper), then you introduce them and say: “Hi, Sue, this is Mary…I’d like you two to pair up today so Mary can have someone to model after. Would you mind helping Mary out on her first day, Sue? Great! You two can be BEST FRIENDS NOW!”
Do you see how powerful this technique is? Make sure you use this one…it will ensure your new bootcampers stick around for the long haul!
Newbie – Newbie is something a lot of us already say when we have a new bootcamper. I just put it in the list to make it an official term now, lol!
TS – This stands for Target Suspect and is basically the same thing as a prospect…someone who has shown interest in your product or service. “Have you called the TS’s today?”
PTF - “Prospecting The Floor” of a gym or health club. This is when you’re on the hunt to find a new client while their actually working out. Talk about pickup artistry!
We’ve all had to develop our game over the years to be able to pull this one off!
I’m sure you’ve gone up to the lady on the Lat Pull-Down and showed her how to correct her form, haven’t you? Ah yes…admit it! We’ve all done it a thousand times!
HP – This is a Hot Prospect. You’re going to want to close this person fast while they’re very emotional and ready to buy!
A Robin - This one may sound pretty, but this sneaky little code-word refers to someone who is going to try to suck the life-blood out of your bootcamp, as in a Robin Leech. If you’ve got a robin in your camp, refund their money and get them the hell outa’ there! They just aren’t worth it.
Funder - This is the person who’s habitually asking for some type of refund, or partial refund, or is always taking vacations and wants to put shit on hold and screwing up your billing. The “Funder” is someone who’s not easy to spot at first, but once you figure this person out, you don’t want to keep them around for long.
T-Time – This stands for “Toilet Time”, and it means the time you waste on stupid, staying-busy tasks that actually get you nowhere. Excess facebook, putzing around the office, doing stuff you should be outsourcing all fall into T-Time and it’s time you flush it. You want to keep your T-Time to a minimum
Multi-Coup – This is someone who’s purchased multiple coupons from daily deal sites and wants to redeem them all, despite the fact that the coupons clearly state 1 per person and that other purchases have to be given away as gifts.
This person is trying to get over on you. There are a couple ways to deal with a MultiCoup. What I like to do is just discount their coupons towards a bootcamp membership, or if they don’t want to do that, just murder them during bootcamp class. If they leave…oh well. If they stick around, hopefully they get good results and you can use them as a “Before and After” testimonial, which has also happened to me more than once.
A-Lister - This term refers to your clients who are just freakin’ awesome. They are an “A”!! They pay regular price for bootcamp, they bring the energy and are always nice, they refer people, they talk you up on Facebook and participate in your blog, they get great results, they give you a 5-star review on Yelp. The more A-Listers you have, the better your business, for sure!!
Heavy Hitter – This person closes 8 or 9 out of every 10 people he/she meets with.
6-Fig – As in a 6-figure business. “He used to be strugglin’ but now he’s 6-Fig!”
(On a side note, I’ve taken my bootcamps over the 100 clients on EFT mark recently, and I couldn’t have done it without Chris’ help. I’m 6-Fig these days for sure! The first product I ever bought from Chris was Fitness Passion for Profits. Once I applied the strategies from that product my business really started to take off!)
MUR – This stands for “Murder”, as in: “Make sure you MUR that guy tonight. Last time he was in I heard him saying the workout was too easy.” FYI – He probably won’t be saying that again…
Blitzing - This is a training style where you throw multiple exercises at clients loud and fast – you Blitz them!! Instead of changing things up every 30 seconds or a minute…yawn…you change it up every 5 seconds!
“High knees…5, 4, 3, 2, gimme football runs!!!! 5, 4, 3, 2, down on the floor!!! 5 push-ups, LET’S GO!! 5, 4, 3, 2, get up and run to the back wall, GO!, GO!, GO! last one back does 10 extra push-ups!!”
See what I mean? You’ve got to throw in a little Blitzing every now and then to crank up the energy and keep people on their toes. ; )
So that’s my little “Fitness Game” terminology list I’ve put together so far for you guys (and gals). This is actually a really small list. Hopefully we can all add to it together, create new verbage for our bootcamp culture, and come up with cool techniques that we can all apply in the trenches to help our businesses grow!
Got any terms you want to add? Throw them in the comments section below!
Peace!
-Forrest Folen
Co – Owner of Fit For Life Solutions (and Fit Body Boot Camp) in the Bay Area
Before you go, be sure to check out the following AIGFYTB … “Additional income generator for your training business”
It’s called Personal Trainer Food, it’s free to join and can make you an additional $60-$80 each month per client
The food is good, delicious and natural and gives you control over what your clients eat
AWESOME post!
Hey Forerst I have another term for you that I came up with a few years back. Sometimes you meet people I call the "fitness tourists" which might sounds like a fun client at first but in reality they suck up your energy and take a spot in your camp that you don't really need filled.
The Fitness Tourist is the type of client who comes to your camp and tells you they have done XYZ Camp, and been to ABC Camp and 123 Camp and maybe even so and so gym and big box gym boot camp and then they want to tell you and all the other campers all about how they don't commit to any program. They just do a free week at this one, 2 weeks free at that one, a groupon at that one, a daily deal at this one….and basically they are a workout tourist who isn't there to stay and you both know it right away.
If you identify this client you have two choices. Deal with them for a week knowing they won't stay. Or ignore them while in your camp so that they leave quicker!
Creative post Forrest… It's all about weeding out the weak, and surrounding yourself with A listers!