Imagine waking up today after being in a year-long coma and heading out into the world:
What’s with hand sanitizer everywhere?
What do you mean only four people are allowed in the elevator?
What’s up with the stickers on the ground everywhere?
Why do I have to workout in a designated box?
What do you mean you’re working out at home because you’re scared to go to the gym?
Though we all hope things like mandatory temperature checks at the grocery store are temporary normals, it is starting to feel like the pandemic has changed some things for good, including the trend of people embracing both working and training from home.
When it comes to coaching, as the saying goes, It’s not the smartest people who are successful, it’s the most adaptable.
The most adaptable coaches have easily been able to pivot their businesses to the online sphere. Benny Evien is one of these coaches.
Prior to the pandemic, Evien’s 40 clients were personal training clients. The moment COVID-19 shook the world, he quickly pivoted and turned them into remote, individual program design clients. Two keys to his success have been offering lifestyle consults and using the TrueCoach App.
- “TrueCoach has made it so much easier to keep in touch with them all, even the ones who still aren’t back at the gym yet, and who I haven’t seen in person for a while. They’re still open with me about everything that’s going on in their lives and that wouldn’t have been as easy to do without TrueCoach,” he said.
- About the lifestyle consults, he credits the OPEX CCP: “We always talked about their goals and why they’re wanting to get fit, but now I also try to dig more into the root cause of why they came to me, instead of just the superficial ‘I want to lose weight’ answer,” he explained of what he learned during the CCP.
Before you start using TrueCoach for your client assessments, individual programs and lifestyle consults, you need to capture clients (aka you need to get good at sales).
7 Sales Tips to Capture Remote Clients
1. Show how you’re different
It’s a competitive market. You must show what you offer that other, generic programs, don’t.
OPEX coaches have found the best way to do this is through individualization: While most programs are generic, they’re offering a true personal coach in their corner, who assess their unique strengths and weaknesses before building an individualized training program, and then continue to meet the client once a month for a lifestyle consult.
- As OPEX Founder James FitzGerald says, it comes down to “offering a human relationship.” You have to do that continuously when it comes to marketing and sales, he explained.
- ”What I offer is a human relationship...and an algorithm is not going to be able to do that,” he said.
This concept has been working incredibly well for Renato Costa, an OPEX coach from Portugal. In 2019, he had just 15 remote, individual design clients. Now, he has 65.
- “I explain to people why individual program design works, and that it also includes consultations. This is something the other programs don’t do, and it’s something I have that’s unique,” Costa explained.
That being said, OPEX and BigDawgs, Henry Torano, warns coaches to focus on what you do, not on “what others don’t do,” he said.
- “Talking down the competition is so Busch league. Focus on what you’re selling and highlight that rather than talking smack about your competitor,” he added.
2. Be clear
Be clear at the outset, “what your relationship will look like,” FitzGerald said. This will help you set clear expectations for the prospective client.
- OPEX coach Brianna Lamb added: “Be very clear on the deliverable. What problems will you solve for (or) with them and what they will get from you.
- That being said, Lamb also warns not to make promises you can’t keep. “Undersell and over deliver. Always,” she said.
3. Be confident
“Be confident in your price point,” explained long-time OPEX coach Carl Hardwick. “Charge what you’re worth.”
- Torano offered similar advice: “Be confident in what you’re selling. Know your worth. Not all people are a good fit. Show conviction in what you do and how much you charge,” he said.
4. Have a sales process
Develop an actual process, as opposed to just winging in each time you think you have an interested prospect, said Hardwick.
“An example would be to meet and greet, ask questions, understand why they need you—what is their problem—build value, and offer a solution,” Hardwick said. “You will only get good at selling if you do it, a lot. Practice, practice, practice.”
5. Keep it simple
“Dumb down your message. The vast majority of people your prospects don’t know what hypertrophy cycles and non-linear nutrition profiles are,” Torano said.
- “Don’t try to impress with big words. Impress with your ability to communicate,” he added.
At the end of the day, what the person wants to know is that you can solve their problem. So focus on figuring out their true problem—i.e. find their true pain—and show how you can offer a solution to their pain.
6. Show compassion
“Be genuinely interested in your potential clients’ needs, obstacles, goals and life,” Lamb said.
- Asking questions, and waiting for their answers is the big key here. Then don’t settle for superficial answers. Dig deeper and be OK with silence if it takes them a while to open up.
Pro tip: Who is talking more? You or the prospect? If the answer is you, then there’s a problem.
7. Soft sell
OPEX coach Robin Stevyers explained he works out at various gyms to make himself seen, and is patient in waiting for his efforts to pay off.
- “Make yourself seen in as many places as possible and actually take time to talk to people,” Stevyers said.
- He added: “Help as many people as possible without trying to immediately sell your stuff. The right people will ask for more help and eventually want to pay for what you have to offer.”
With remote training being more viable, and practically a necessity now, honing your sales ability is more valuable than ever. These tips can help you confidently continue to grow your remote coaching business now, and into the future.
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