Q
ualifications are an interesting subject when it comes to sales. If you asked potential clients what’s most important to them when looking for a trainer, they’ll tell you it’s the education and qualifications of their trainer. In reality we know this isn’t entirely the case. Through a lot of research it’s been discovered that cus- tomers make their buying decisions on emotional criteria, not logical information.What does that mean exactly?
It means that your education is important, but only if it’s presented in an impres- sive and forceful way. If you do have an advanced college degree in a health re- lated field, one that could be a potential selling point, you’ve got to drive this piece of information into your prospect’s. You’ve got to milk every advantage
this degree gives you and make it clear to your prospect. Let them know how much of a better trainer this makes you and that they would have to be crazy to train with any other trainer.
As we know it isn’t necessarily true that a degreed trainer is better than a trainer without one. While higher education is a plus, in reality most clients have only one critical criteria: whether or not you’re certified. Clients want protection from all the horrible stories in the media about what can happen at the hands of an uncertified Personal Trainer.
What most clients don’t realize however is how easy most Personal Train- ing Certifications are to get. It’s natural at some point that all of my clients ask me how much schooling I had to go through to become a Personal Trainer. They usually ask out of a sense of admiration once they’ve seen me in action and are impressed by how much value I bring to the table. I’m almost embarrassed and they’re usually surprised to find that my certifications were each achieved over just a long weekend. It doesn’t sound to exciting, but that’s the reality.
Although most certification are relatively easy to get, when describing it on your site you want to make it seem as prominent as possible. On a separate page of your site, the side column, or bottom right side of your home page you need to list your qualifications and experience as a trainer. Here, also mention a few points of why your certification stands out and the benefits it gives you.
The best place to find good information about your training certification is on the website of your certifying body. You can just copy some of their best sales text (I’m sure they won’t mind) and put that in to the section where you describe your certification. Another way to enforce the authority of your certification is to do a search of it and find out what other famous or prominent trainers also have it. If you aren’t certified yet, you may even want to choose your certification based on this criteria to make your marketing job easier in the future. For example, the simple but popular ACE certifications can count Gunnar Peterson and many other prominent and notable trainers as certification holders. You’ll find this with al- most every other certification as well; even some of the worst and easiest certifi- cations have well known names as members. Mentioning that your certification is the choice of top trainers naturally makes you look good by association.
As we already mentioned, if you have a college degree in a health-related field, your job in establishing your credibility is even easier. List this prominently
you have and the role it’s played in the work you do with your clients. If you achieved any honor status or special recognition during your schooling, briefly mention that as well.
Qualifications
A
s I’ve talked about many times, certifications and even a college degree in a health field alone don’t make a great trainer. Personal Training as a profession is largely experiential; it takes an understanding that can’t be learned in any class room. This experiential knowledge can be referred to as your qualifications: the reasons you deserve to be a high earning Personal Trainer.All aspects of your personal history can fit into this category. No matter who you are, I’m sure you have a body of knowledge and experience that makes you stand out; if not, get started right away in building it. Anything that makes you more qualified than another Personal Trainer needs to be played up as much as possible. These personal accomplishment more than anything else are the pri- mary determinant in the clients mind on who to train with.
This is what’s known as PR: painting yourself in the most positive light. It’s then your job to take your list of qualifications and relate them to what you can offer the client: your specialty. The two should work together in creating a strong case of why you’re one of the most qualified people in the world at what you do.
For example, I’m only a locally known independent trainer in Queens, New York; but when I sat down and actually thought back on all the things I’ve done in this industry, I was blown away. From the deals I’ve made, things I’ve accom- plished, and the businesses I’ve been affiliated with, I realized that I actually had a tremendous resume. Even situations which may have ended negatively all had their positive aspects. When you take the time to think back on all the positives in your own past accomplishments, you’ll be surprised at what you find. In fact I don’t list my full curriculum vitae anywhere because it would seem like I’m brag-
ging. Even if you’re just starting out, after you get started and are in business for just a few months, you’ll begin forming relationships and see your own image grow as well.