Clear and consistent communication is one of the most essential elements of any relationship–Your relationships in your personal training business are no exception. But, to really excel in the fitness industry, you need to tailor your personal training communication skills to increase client acquisition and retention.
When, how, and how often you communicate with your clients is critical to the development of each client’s trust (and their success). In addition, when, how, and how often you communicate with a prospective client can play a crucial role in whether or not they choose to sign up for personal training sessions with you.
As a personal trainer, you’ve worked to sharpen your knowledge and skills regarding the human body, exercise programming, and personal training. But, it’s also important that you don’t neglect soft skills (e.g., communication).
Follow along as we discuss the foundations of mastering the art of communication with your personal training clients.
Verbal Communication Vs. Nonverbal Communication
Verbal and nonverbal communication are critical when people communicate with one another.
Verbal communication involves the words you use when conveying a message to someone. Nonverbal communication is a combination of your facial expressions, eye contact, posture, body language, tone of voice, gestures, etc.
Many experts suggest that nonverbal communication may carry more weight than verbal–meaning, how you say it may be more impactful than what you say. However, you must be mindful of both as they both play an intricate part in healthy, effective communication. Keep in mind, though, that while nonverbal communication involves body language, you can’t convey that digitally. So, any client communication you send through messaging like text or email needs to convey the right meaning.
You can craft the perfect messaging (in advance) to clients with Naamly’s proprietary software.
Essential Communication Skills For A Personal Trainer
In addition to refining your verbal and nonverbal communication, there are a few intricate skills that every personal trainer should be conscious of and work to master to truly become an effective communicator.
Rapport Building
Building rapport is one of the most critical elements of your relationship with your personal training clients. Simply put, rapport building is the process of establishing a harmonious connection with someone. It’s somewhat complex because there are several elements that play a role in building a solid connection with another person. Both you and your client will consciously and subconsciously pick up on verbal and nonverbal communication cues and make determinations as to whether the other person is trustworthy, likable, kind, genuine, etc.
Rapport isn’t built in one conversation. The connection takes time and consistency to build. But, it is one of the most important components when trying to gain your personal training clients’ trust and in their desire to (or lack of) stick with you when things get challenging. Additionally, in the case of online personal training, this might take time to develop if you have few synchronous interactions. Be intentional in your messages with new clients and work to establish the right rapport over time.
Active Listening
One of the keys to building rapport is active listening. Active listening means consciously and purposefully listening to the client. You will need to put your phone away, remove other distractions and really try to hear what your client says. Weight-loss trials often have deeply rooted scars, worries, and struggles heavily attached to them. So when a client opens up and asks for help, it’s important you are there to really listen.
You can improve this skill by making healthy eye contact, refraining from judging or interjecting, and repeating back some of the things they say by paraphrasing key points to ensure you understand what they are communicating. And in the case of digital communication, make sure you phrase assumptions with words like:
- My understanding is that this is tough because…
- If I’m learning what you’re really looking for, it’s to…
- In your intake, I noticed that you might…
Empathy
Having the ability to empathize with your personal training clients is another critical skill you must learn.
According to Meriam-Webster, empathy is “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner (1).” Simply put, this definition means you have the ability to understand another person’s situation.
Being able to empathize with your personal training clients supports the rapport-building process. When a client feels heard and understood, they are more likely to trust you as a fitness professional.
Communication with your clients
Your communication with current and potential clients is an ongoing process. From finding your first potential client to renewing a package with a long-term client, consistent communication is required.
Keep in mind authenticity is essential when you’re communicating with each client. However, as you grow, many of these types of communication can and should be automated to help you maintain consistency.
Potential Clients
The following list includes a few of the kinds of communication you will need to consider when prospecting for new personal training clients:
- Marketing emails and messaging
- Follow-up emails and messaging
- Phone consultations
- Live or video consultations
- Initial client paperwork
Current Clients
A current client requires just as much attention and communication as a potential client. The following list includes some of the tasks you will need to be prepared to effectively and efficiently communicate with your clients.
- Exercise programming or training session feedback
- Daily/weekly/monthly check-ins
- Client questions and concerns
- Payments and package renewals
- Educational resources
- General motivation and support
4 Communication Tips for Success
There are many things you can do to improve your communication skills with clients. The following list includes four of our top tips for success.
- Maintain your professionalism
As a personal trainer, it’s essential to maintain professional boundaries regarding how and when you communicate with clients.
- Be authentic
Your genuine and authentic personality is what will connect you with others. Even as a fitness professional, the things that make you human and vulnerable are the building blocks of empathizing and building rapport with others. A great way you can do this is by sharing your personal experiences or struggles so a client doesn’t feel alone in their fitness journey.
- Automate
As previously mentioned, a large portion of your role as a personal trainer is communication with clients. If you don’t find ways to automate some of it, the communication can distract you from taking the time to execute the things you’re really good at–personal training. Schedule intentional notes to your clients in advance so you can deliver the best message possible.
- Stay positive
Negativity can be a huge red flag in any profession. Personal training clients are looking to shift their lives in a positive direction, change unhealthy thought patterns, and grow. As a personal trainer, you should be setting the example with a positive attitude. While you shouldn’t be unrealistic in your positivity, keep a healthy dose of motivational and inspirational quotes to show you’re focusing on the things they are doing right.
Modes Of Communication
The way you communicate with your clients is heavily dependent on how you run your personal training business. For example, an online personal trainer will likely use different platforms than an in-person personal trainer.
Generally speaking, here are some of the most common methods you will use as a personal trainer:
- Text
- Video message
- Phone call
- Video call
- In-person
It’s important to determine which model is most effective for you and your clients. For example, you may want to schedule video calls for your check-ins. Text messaging may be ideal for your clients’ questions and concerns throughout the week. And email may be the ideal format to provide educational material, payment options, and package renewals.
However, you may even want to consider taking it a step further and finding a program that helps you organize and automate all of this communication in one place.
Naamly’s personal training software is the perfect solution for trainer and client communication. You can schedule messages in advance through all modes of communication. Further, Naamly’s proprietary Smart Technology helps to escalate messages that need attention. At the same time, it can filter out client messages that aren’t relevant or don’t need immediate attention. This fitness technology feature is revolutionary. So much, in fact, it’s one of the best ways you can see a bigger ROI on your fitness business.
Plus, Naamly’s personal training CRM allows you to make the mundane operations of running a fitness studio quick and easy.
Schedule a demo today to learn how Naamly can work for YOUR unique needs in personal training communication.
References
- “Empathy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empathy. Accessed 7 Mar. 2022.