Moving on through the steps in setting up a successful personal training business, I am going to look at the importance of having and more importantly knowing your niche. I talk to many personal trainers and aspiring ones in my role as a presenter and educator, when you ask the question what is your niche the common reply I get is ‘personal training’! Now nothing against the generalists out there, but personal training is not a niche. In the modern crowded world of personal training, that unfortunately will not make you stand out. So lets look at niches and how to make them work for you in a little bit more detail.
Why is it important to have a niche?
As I said before there is nothing wrong with being a generalist and some may argue by being too specific you may miss out on clients that do not fall into you specific niche. My view of it is that generalists may have a wider pool of leads to draw from but there is something in the old phrase ‘jack of all trades, master of none’. Having a specific skill set that you can focus in on is very important!
What are the benefits to your clients?
A client likes to feel that they are in the best hands for their personal situation. For example if they want weight loss they like to know that the trainer they have come to is the best one for the job. In these circumstances being a generalist will generally not inspire confidence. The specific client benefits are higher level of goal specific experience, possible more relevant qualifications, a system/product range designed specifically for the clients goal, and relevant testimonials.
What are the benefits to you as a Personal Trainer?
As a personal trainer having a clearly defined niche allows you to grow and develop into an expert in your field. This can help with the convention of clients within your niche. But really comes into its own as a marketing tool! Within the printed and on-line media it is relatively easy to be classed as an expert once you have a clearly defined niche. This then normally leads to increased media exposure and therefore more leads! And we all know what more leads turn into….. More sales!
Besides this, having a niche allows you to focus your energy into one specific area. Developing great products and services that perfectly fit the needs and demands of your specific market.
What niche should you choose?
It is very difficult to decide what your niche should be, and it is a decision that should not be rushed. First question I am often asked is if you can have more than one niche, my answer is yes but…. you must have a focus. If you end up having 3 or more niches you are again becoming more and more generalist.
The next step
Now you have decided on your niche you should try to understand them. A key thing to keep in mind is that you should not work from a basis of what you think they want, but rather what they actually want. Next week we will look at market research and how to build a profile of your niche that will help you to maximise your marketing effort.
ACTION POINTS
- Make a list of possible niches that you could work with
- Narrow this down to two niches that you have contacts in, experience of and the one you feel would be most profitable in the shortest period of time.
As normally please do comment and let me know your thoughts or any questions!
TOM
[ssba]