The Show Up Fitness Podcast
Join Chris Hitchko, author of 'How to Become A Successful Personal Trainer' VOL 2 and CEO of Show Up Fitness as he guides personal trainers towards success.
90% of personal trainers quit within 12-months in the USA, 18-months in the UK, Show Up Fitness is helping change those statistics. The Show Up Fitness CPT is one of the fastest growing PT certifications in the world with partnerships with over 500-gyms including Life Time Fitness, Equinox, Genesis, EoS, and numerous other elite partnerships.
This podcast focuses on refining trade, business, and people skills to help trainers excel in the fitness industry. Discover effective client programming, revenue generation, medical professional networking, and elite assessment strategies.
Learn how to become a successful Show Up Fitness CPT at www.showupfitness.com. Send your questions to Chris on Instagram @showupfitness or via email at info@showupfitness.com."
The Show Up Fitness Podcast
The BEST way to sell coaching / training
Send us a text if you want to be on the Podcast & explain why!
Ever wonder why 90% of personal trainers quit within their first year? The answer lies not in their fitness knowledge but in their approach to sales. This eye-opening episode dismantles the myth that great trainers don't need to be salespeople and reveals why embracing your role in sales is essential for career longevity.
Through engaging stories and practical examples, we explore the Four C's framework that transforms awkward sales conversations into authentic value propositions: Competence in your craft, Confidence in your delivery, Control of the consultation, and consistent Contact with prospects. You'll witness firsthand how these principles apply through real-world scenarios, from signing new clients to handling common objections like "it's too expensive" or "I need to talk to my partner."
The most powerful revelation comes in understanding the core emotional motivations behind every fitness goal. Beyond surface-level desires to lose weight or gain strength, clients ultimately want to look better naked, perform better physically, or live without pain. By connecting your services directly to these fundamental needs, you'll create irresistible value that clients can't find elsewhere.
Whether you're struggling with sales conversations or simply want to elevate your client acquisition strategy, this episode provides actionable techniques to shift from transactional thinking to relationship building. You'll discover why the most successful trainers focus on long-term client retention rather than quick closes, and how adding value at every interaction builds a sustainable practice.
Ready to transform your approach to fitness sales and build a thriving career? Subscribe to the Show Up Fitness Podcast and visit showupfitness.com to learn more about our personal training certification programs, including upcoming seminars in Denver, Miami, Santa Monica, and Atlanta.
Want to ask us a question? Email email info@showupfitness.com with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show!
Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/showupfitnessinternship/?hl=en
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Website: https://www.showupfitness.com/
Become a Personal Trainer Book (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/How-Become-Personal-Trainer-Successful/dp/B08WS992F8
Show Up Fitness Internship & CPT: https://online.showupfitness.com/pages/online-show-up?utm_term=show%20up%20fitness
NASM study guide: ...
That's the value of you, and if you're struggling with the sales proposition, I guarantee you it's the value add. In the workout. You weren't confident addressing their goals. They want to look great naked. They want to perform better. They want to get out of pain. Those are the three things.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Show Up Fitness Podcast, where great personal trainers are made. We are changing the fitness industry. One qualified trainer at a time with our in-person and online personal training certification. If you want to become an elite personal trainer, head on over to showupfitnesscom. Also, make sure to check out my book, how to Become a Successful Personal Trainer. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review. Have a great day and keep showing up. Howdy y'all. Welcome back to the Show of Fitness podcast.
Speaker 1:Today we're gonna help you level up your sales. Let me sell you this pin. I'm joking. We're not gonna do that. We're not gonna be Andy Elliott and talk about your bicep vein as a personal trainer. We are salesmen and you have to understand that, and one of the biggest reasons why 90% of trainers quit within the first year is they don't have the fundamental skills that set you up for success the technical skills, the people skills and the business skills, of which sales fall under that umbrella. The four C's that I'm going to talk about today when it comes to the sales presentation and sales overall. One is the competence of our trade, which is understanding movement in the human body. Do we have confidence, competence, confidence, are we in control of the sales proposition? And then, last but not least, getting the contact. So the four C's are really important. I talk about it in my book, how to Become a Successful Personal Trainer. We've helped thousands of trainers turn their passion for fitness into a career, but the biggest problem comes from the sales presentation.
Speaker 1:I'm not a salesman. I'm not a saleswoman yes, we are. You have to believe that we can change people's lives. We help people move better, get out of pain, look better naked, play with their grandchildren, get promotions, have better sex all things that exercise, movement, wellness, nutrition helps individuals with. We live in a nation which is extremely overweight, a world that is overweight. We're on our phone, we're stressed out, we're not sleeping. The value of you is astronomical. You have to believe you can add value to the person in front of you.
Speaker 1:I'm going to give you a little scenario. When I recently was at Equinox and I was writing on my computer doing some work. I love going to Equinoxes and Lifetimes because we have partnerships with them. We help trainers get hired there. We help more trainers get hired at the best gyms in the world with our certification than any other company, and so when I'm there doing some work, it's very common Someone's going to come over and say, hey, I recognize the belt buckle, or are you that trainer who wrote the book? I'm not toot my own horn, but it's very common that that happens.
Speaker 1:So one of our trainers works at this gym. She brought someone over from the front desk. I want you to meet this guy. He wants to become a personal trainer. Do you have a few minutes?
Speaker 1:So the first thing I did is I stood up, I smiled, shook his hand and I mirrored his behavior. Is he in a rush? I don't know, but I can look at him confidently, in control, and mirror the situation. He sat down, so I sat down. I just asked him a question and this all runs in juxtaposition of how we present a plan for our clients. It's the same process. It's the same process if you're a waiter or a bartender or in real estate. The process is the same, but you need to be in control.
Speaker 1:If he was in a rush to get out of there, my sales proposition would change a little bit. So we sat down and I asked him tell me what's going through your mind. How can I help you? I want him to talk the majority of the time. Tell me a story so I can gather data. I put my computer down and I gave him full attention, great eye contact. I'm not moving all around and tapping and seeming nervous, because then it shows him that I'm not in control. So internally he's thinking hmm, I don't like this scenario. So I'm smiling, I'm listening. Told me about where he's from, jobs he has currently, what he's heard about the fitness industry. Talked about becoming a trainer. He works over here doing this amount of hours and he wants to transition out of that role into becoming a personal trainer. And I said when would you like to get hired by? And he said by the end of the year. That would be great. So tell me more what the research you've done becoming a personal trainer.
Speaker 1:I looked into the gold standard. I looked at NASM. I said tell me more about that. What do you know about NASM? And he told me about oh, it's the best certification. I said okay, well, let's talk about that, because I've been a trainer for 20 years. I taught NASM, I've taught ACE, I've taught ISSA. These certifications are big marketing companies. It's very common for someone to read a textbook and they don't know what they're doing.
Speaker 1:Is your goal to be a personal trainer? Yes, it is. Don't you think you're going to need hands-on learning? We have an internship program to become certified, which the individual who introduced us went through. She's already growing her business significantly faster than everyone else because of what we teach Programming, which are the technical side, and the assessment, the people skills, being able to be confident in the sales proposition. That's exactly what it takes to be able to sell training at this location.
Speaker 1:Do you want to work at an Equinox? That's my dream. So do you know how much training costs here? I actually have no idea. It ranges between $120 to $175 per session. Do you feel confident right now asking for that money from a client? No, not at all. If we don't have that confidence to be able to ask for money for our services, your confidence is going to be extremely low and you're not going to be able to ask for money for our services. Your confidence is going to be extremely low and you're not going to be able to get that person to work with you. You have to believe you are the best trainer in this gym.
Speaker 1:So I talked about our certification. So first I had him talk about himself, I listened and then I gave him my value add. I guarantee you we can get you hired here by the end of August. How does that sound? That's great. That's exactly what I want. So here's what I suggest Start with our 14-day free trial. Check out the online. I pulled out my phone and I showed him what our app looked like. He could see the classes were going over sales, soft tissue manipulations, helping your clients get out of pain. That value add he can now see and he's thinking wow, that's exactly what I need.
Speaker 1:You get to ask questions to people. Do you think you're going to get to ask questions to a textbook and I see that confidently, not demeaning You're going to do a textbook certification. Well, you're an idiot. 90% of trainers fail.
Speaker 1:No, I'm a personality on YouTube for fun, but in real life I mirror the individual and the most important thing we can do as trainers is mirror the individual in front of you. If his body language is really poor, he's moving around. He's facing this way like he wants to go. I'm going to respect that. I'm not going to pressure him. I'm going to get his contact information follow up. A great book that I talk about in my book is Go For no. 95% of sales happen after the fifth contact point. So I know that I'm not going to get him to sign up today. I'm going to get his contact information follow up. I went to my truck, got my book, brought it in, gave it to him, signed it for him. I gave that professionalism, I personalized it. Those are all really important things.
Speaker 1:Now, when we compare that to the sales proposition during personal training you sit your client down. You need to mirror them, but you need to be in control and I see a lot of trainers lacking control. They finish the workout. They have poor body language. They're right next to one another. Maybe sometime. If you want to train I know it's kind of expensive, it's a hundred dollars. The vocabulary isn't confident. You just took them through an amazing workout. You need to find the emotion and for him it was wanting to become a trainer by the end of the year, but I said we can do it sooner. You're going to gain hands-on learning. You're going to work with professionals.
Speaker 1:The number one trainer at this gym, equinox in Santa Monica, is our teacher. You're going to be taught by someone who did what you want to do. Can you think of a scenario where that's not the best case for your success? I know that's an easy sell. I'm confident in the delivery. I know that hands-on learning for our field is superior than any textbook certification. So I'm confident in that delivery. But I can't be condescending or demeaning. Why are you going to do that? I'm very positive and now I got to give him a taste of what we offer. I gave him my book. This is all contact. Number one I scheduled the time so he can come to the gym, meet the instructor. That will be number two. Number three he can sit in the class and, as I continue to follow up, I will send him articles and each point of contact is going to increase the chance for him to sign up and come into the program.
Speaker 1:It's the same thing when you sit a client down. If I would have been in a rush, I got to write an article and rude, he's thinking that's not for me because he's buying me. The trainer, the instructor. It's the same with sales. Your client wants training, they need training. Your client wants training, they need training. They're in front of you. That is a warm lead. Not enough money, time, significant other All those excuses all come from the sales proposition, this presentation, my professional recommendation for you to get in the best shape of your life. I have to listen to the questions that I asked earlier and then I'm going to formulate a best response pending on your goals. So when I sit a client down as a trainer, I just gave them an amazing workout based on what they wanted.
Speaker 1:If your client wants giant arms, you need to do arm-specific work. I'm not doing an overhead squat assessment, telling him his lats are overactive. We need to foam roll your calves for 17 weeks. It's not specific to what he wants. If a client has pain, I need to get him out of pain. I work with a team of physical therapists, the prehab guys. We have a DPT at our facility. You are absolutely going to get out of pain. I can screen. If it's shoulder, hands above the head, across here behind the back, the break test to see if it's something I need to refer out to. If it's low back flexion extension, lateral flexion compression. If it's knee, I'm going to check the ankle and hip. That's all the technical stuff that I'm confident in.
Speaker 1:So my presentation I'm very confident, knowing that I am your solution, I am your Sherpa, I'm going to get you to the top of the mountain. You want to go to Mount Everest? We're going to go there, I'm going to lead the way, but you have to do the work. So when you have that conversation, you need to be in control, but you need to present it based on what they say. If your client says I want to train one time a week Awesome, four sessions cost this much. How would you like to pay for it? I'm going to let them know as well that one time is better than zero. But my clients get the best results. They train with me a minimum of three times per week and they also do my nutrition coaching, which is separate and additional. So, from what you said, your goals are A, b and C and you want to train one time per week. Let's get you started today.
Speaker 1:For this amount, how do you want to pay for it? I say it with control, confidence. I have the competence, I have his contact information. I'm not trying to get the sale necessarily right now. I know it's going to happen in the back of my head and if they have an objection I'm going to ask. One of those objections could be it's too much. Awesome, totally understand.
Speaker 1:What were you thinking when you came into Equinox today? What were you thinking when you came into a private facility in Santa Monica where the assessment was $125? I say it with a nice tone of voice, but I am challenging and for newer trainers, that sounds daunting. I can never do that. It sounds pushy. You're only pushy if you think you're pushy In your mind. If you're thinking I'm being pushy, you probably are being pushy. I know I can help you get in the best shape of your life. So your objection is it's too expensive. Now, is it the price per session or is it the total price? Talk to me more about that. I'm going to have a conversation. It's like playing tennis. Their objection they hit the ball to you. I'm going to hit it back. I'm not just going to drop my rates. I need to learn why.
Speaker 1:Because if you're telling me your goal is to lose weight, I don't go off of just weight loss. I get the emotion behind it. What if you were to be able to do five pull-ups, 10 push-ups, hip thrust 225, bench press 225, and you look in the mirror. Your clothes are fitting better and you look significantly better. How would you feel? That's exactly what I want. But how would you feel if you didn't lose the 20 pounds that you originally said? But you look amazing and you're getting compliments at work and you're getting calls from exes oh my gosh, you look amazing on social media. How would that make you feel? That's exactly what I want. So what you're telling me is you want to feel confident in your skin. It's not necessarily about the 20 pounds. Is that correct? So you see, you can do it in a convincing way.
Speaker 1:Because they don't your client person in front of you. They don't really know what their goals are and when we keep them superficial. I want to get stronger. We need to learn why you want to get stronger. Talk to me more about that. Does that mean going from one push-up to two, or does that mean being able to pick up your grandkid? How are you going to feel as we age if we don't get stronger and you can't pick up your grandkid?
Speaker 1:Bring out the emotion by asking great, appropriate questions, reading the individual. If they're very shut off. Maybe your presentation sucked and you weren't confident because you don't have the competency. You don't know the muscles around the shoulder. You don't understand pain. Pain is very complex. You're not going to get it reading a simple textbook. You need to work with physical therapists, have them on your team, knowing that worst case scenario you have numbness in your pinky and it just started happening. That's kind of abnormal. What I want to do is record you, if that's okay, and I can just take your face out of the video if that's uncomfortable for you. But I'm going to send it to my physical therapist so I can get a response back. So for our next session, I'm making sure it's appropriate and 100% safe for you. How does that sound? That's the value add. That's the professionalism. When you're transactional, all you care about is signing them up and they're not going to get results.
Speaker 1:The first thing that I do during the presentation, at the end, after I've gone over everything and I learned from them, is I present a solution. That's the sales presentation. What are your goals? How many times do you want to work with me? But I get them in a yes mindset.
Speaker 1:If you want bigger arms, it's hard for me to flex my legs in this position. Did I show them an exercise that was different and new and I had to get them a pump? I know I did, so I talk about that. You said your goals were to get bigger arms. How are we feeling? Oh my gosh, chris, those 28s that we did were insane. I've never experienced this before. And that's from one session. Imagine six months from now and I say it with a smile, knowing that they're now planting a seed six months from now, thinking this is exactly what I need. If it's pain, do a soft tissue manipulation. That's within our scope. And now the experience, that discomfort going away. Holy crap, I've had knee discomfort for 10 years and you did some voodoo on my abductor magnus, whatever the heck that is. That's what you said and it's gone. Here's my credit card. That's typically what you're going to experience from the confidence and your competence, which comes from experience.
Speaker 1:If you go to a business coach and they teach you how to sale, but you don't have the competence, you're essentially a drug dealer. Why would you want to teach a drug dealer to be better at selling? So that's what we're thinking of. We're thinking of Andy Elliott, some dipshit selling cars who's narcissistic and it's all a ploy, smoke and mirrors. Why did you get into this? Look at yourself in the mirror and ask that question. Why did you become a personal trainer? To help people. You have a person right in front of you who you can help. Help them Provide a solution. It's too expensive, chris. $250 per hour is just out of my budget.
Speaker 1:I totally understand what were you thinking when you came into the studio today. I was thinking $150. Awesome, if I were to come down and take a haircut for almost 50%, would you train with me three times per week? You have that ability as an independent contractor. Now, at an Equinox or a Lifetime, you may or may not, because the rates are fixed. You have to be able to maneuver based on the individual. If they were to say I was thinking $100 when I came in here, I totally understand. So if I can get you to commit to three times per week for the next month that's 12 sessions, $1,200, would you sign up today? Yes, I would Awesome. So let's think about two other people who we can have come in with these workouts to make it semi-private, who are also paying $100, because then that's going to be my hourly rate. You're getting the price that you wanted $100 per session and then I'm also getting the price per hour, which I am.
Speaker 1:So let's think about some coworkers, family members, maybe a significant other, and we can get them in for the next session. I'll comp that one and you see what it's like and we'll have that discussion then. That's going to be point of contact number two. But I'm going to text them the next day. How are we feeling? If they have pain, I'm going to send them an article from our website from a physical therapist or the prehab guys, specific to their concerns. That's going the extra mile. That's another point of contact.
Speaker 1:I need to speak to my significant other. I totally understand. What do you think they're going to say when you go home and say it's going to be $1,200? It's going to be seeming like it's kind of expensive. They didn't go through this scenario. They're going to say go to Orange Theory for 150 bucks.
Speaker 1:So what I want to do is help you better articulate your goals with that conversation. So what is your husband or girlfriend or wife like? Do they like alcohol? Do they like movies? Do they like clothes games? What Gather that information? Let them know you want to have a serious conversation. Go buy them a bottle of wine. Go buy them a jacket, lululemon shirt, whatever it is. Sit down and say honey, I met with a trainer today and I'm really excited to work with them three times per week. It's going to cost this amount. I'm going to do that. I want your blessing because when I achieve my goals, I'm going to be significantly happier and that's going to make our relationship that much better. And when I do hit my goals, I want to schedule a trip so we can go to Hawaii, mexico, wherever, and celebrate that. So it's really a win-win.
Speaker 1:Are you on board? That's how you have that conversation with the significant other. Would you feel comfortable getting them on the call right now? I don't just leave it as, whatever that objection is, it's too expensive. Okay, have a nice day. I don't have time right now, why not? I need to speak with my significant other. Okay, have a nice day. You need to have the conversation with them in front of you. Worst case scenario they can't afford it. They don't want to work with you, that's okay. Can you help them? Yes, send them an article. Go above and beyond, because now you're building your book of business. That contact could sign up six months from now. When you take the transactional approach, sure, you sell them for 12 sessions, but they don't get results. Your retention sucks. So your life's going to suck as a trainer because you're constantly seeking new business. Great trainers will get that client to sign on for the rest of their life.
Speaker 1:I have a client here in Santa Monica. I've been training for seven years. I got her from Equinox. I met her at a bar. That's my approach. I go to high-end bars. I train the bartenders. She was talking next to me how frustrated she was with her trainer. I had a conversation. Come in for a workout, went through a workout. I said how was that? Oh my God, that was significantly better than anyone I've ever worked with. That's one session. Imagine working with me six months from now. I always use that because then they're thinking huh, I haven't experienced this before. It's exactly what I want. Fast forward. Seven, eight years later, she's still here. That's the value of you, and if you're struggling with the sales proposition, I guarantee you it's the value add.
Speaker 1:In the workout you weren't confident addressing their goals. They want to look great naked. They want to perform better. They want to get out of pain. Those are the three things. They're under umbrellas. It could be something a little one-off, but they're always those three things. So when you listen, then you go out there and you do that.
Speaker 1:Let's go back to the beginning conversation I was having with that student who wants to become a trainer with the best certification in fitness. If he was uneasy in standing up, I would stand up and mirror him, I would get his contact information. I would call him on the spot to make sure it goes through. Then I would start the process of following up. So you see how I'm not always, but you got to get the sale now Always be closing no, I would almost change that to always be compassionate.
Speaker 1:Think about the other person and what they told you. This is a scary industry. You have people online doing weird shit, a lot of drugs, and they're saying this is the best program ever. Look at my morning routine as I slam my face into water Just bullshit. So people are confused. They're looking for guidance. That's you and you need to be confident in your sales presentation.
Speaker 1:And if you want to get better at your sales presentation, get to a weekend seminar. We're going to be in Denver early June. We're going to be in Miami late June we have our two-month in-person CPT program in Santa Monica and now in Atlanta. You're going to role play and role play and role play. Be very competent in the assessment process, programming anatomy. So then, when you do deliver your sales presentation, you're going to be confident and you're going to smile and guess what? People are going to say no, but you don't let that bring you down. You help them. You go above and beyond. By sending them a program for free, you're building your business pipeline.
Speaker 1:Six months from now they come in and they start working with you. If they're on the fence, you can say you know what? One time a week is great. You start training them one time a week, but then we get them to two days by offering a free session. But you don't say free. You're training your client on Monday. You train them four times. They're liking it, but two is going to be so much better than one. Three is better than two. Three is sure as hell better than one. Jackie, how have you liked the session so far? They're great.
Speaker 1:Chris, how does your Wednesday schedule look? It's open. Can you come in at nine o'clock? Yeah, but I only want to do one time per week. No, I totally understand. I had a client who canceled. I want to offer it to you for free because you've been doing so well, and I want to give back to you. They come in, you give them a great workout and then what you say is how would you like to start training twice per week? The next time we can do Wednesday again, but you just have to bring in a friend, a coworker. Spread the word, because I'm trying to train 30 sessions per week. I'm not there yet.
Speaker 1:Let them know about your goals. People are excited to help you. You have to realize that our first hundred thousand dollar investment came from a client, because I reviewed our business plan, our investment deck, what we wanted to do. This person said I want to invest. It never would have happened if I wouldn't have asked. So when you tell your clients your goals within your business, they want to help and ask them during the sessions. How would you get three clients to train three times per week? What would you do? And you have a conversation. That's the fun in our job. How would you get three clients to train three times per week? What would you do? And you have a conversation. That's the fun in our job. You can absolutely turn your passion for fitness into a career. No-transcript.