Huge biceps are great! All personal trainers should have a set of guns. But that won’t make you successful in this field. Here’s what will.
Most that get into this personal training field are half my age. As a 44 year old personal trainer I have an advantage of life experience. And I’ve always thought to myself, if I’d tried to make this move into the fitness world in my mid 20’s I would’ve been totally shark food, even with the right guidance. So, I’d never be one to judge any of the 90% of aspiring trainers that give up within the first 6 months of getting their baseline certification.
I gave up my job of 17 years working in automobile financing for this. Looking back on things as far as the business model goes, honestly they mirror each other(yes fitness and used automobile financing):
- Both play a number of numbers game
- It’s all about letting as many people know who you are and what you do
- Building relationships
- Connecting with people
- Clear communication
- Displaying your product
Most of us trainers come from some kind of athletic background. And that’s great. But PEOPLE SKILLS are ultimately what will make you successful as a personal trainer, or any other field. So what does that mean:
- Be genuine (always be you)
- Keep a “listen first” mentality
- Always be willing to help out
- Treat everyone the same, but don’t treat everyone the same because we’re all different (if that makes sense)
And to that bullet point, just understanding that being yourself can be modified across the board pending the individual in front of you. I have various conversations with my clients as it pertains to them and their interests, while still being me. Could a little life experience need to be required? Maybe, but people skills is a must have.
People skills are all about understanding the individual in front of you, and tailoring things to their preferences without losing who you are for them. This will make you successful in any field.
