Personal Trainers: Why Clients Say “I’ll Think About It” (And What To Do About It)

When a potential client says "I'll think about it" and never comes back, most personal trainers assume they need to get better at closing. The real problem usually happens much earlier in the consultation.

In this episode, Chris Smith (CEO, Fitness World) and fitness journalist Krissy Vann break down what is actually happening in that moment, why "I'll think about it" is rarely the real objection, and what personal trainers can do differently to convert consultations without feeling like a salesperson.

This episode covers the most common mistakes trainers make in client consultations, what clients are actually feeling when they hesitate, and why leading with service instead of sales is what drives long term results.

If you are a personal trainer looking to improve your consultation process, increase client conversions, and grow your book of business, this episode is for you.

Smittyville. Real talk for real personal trainers.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You don't have to sell, sell, sell. You have to service, service, service. And the amount you service is directly proportional to what you want to do.

SPEAKER_03 0:06

You just roll into the new creative for personal trainers. Let's get to work.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

Here's a fun thing clients say. I'll think about it. What tends to be happening in those moments when a potential client gets pitched the entire sales presentation and comes back with, I'll think about it.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Well, I mean, a lot of things. I think early in my career, you know, I would view that, and it was even taught to me like those are objections to quote unquote sales process, if you will. And it was later explained to me, it's it's really a clarification of you didn't answer all their questions or they need more information to make a decision, right? So I think again, part of it is like, how are you thinking about this? And what is your mind frame around when someone says, I need to talk to my spouse, I need to think about it, uh, that's a lot of money, I'm not sure I'm gonna pay for it, and all the quote unquote what we would call objections, or again, in the language I'm trying to describe for you, which is a requirement for more information or better information, uh, didn't answer all the questions, didn't present the right stuff to that person, right? So again, I think all of it could be a lot of different things from a psychology perspective, and happy to dig in on this one because I certainly have opinions um that I think are relevant to kind of today's customer.

SPEAKER_02 1:46

Well, the goal, of course, is for the trainer to close the deal and close the sale. So where do they tend to typically lose the potential client in the sales process?

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Yeah, so I think we talk about service science and sales, right? And just let's use the science of meeting someone. And so again, you can go read all the psychology books that are out there and different sales books and whatever else to figure out how long does it take for someone to decide if they like somebody. Depending on what book you read, you're gonna read from one and a half seconds up to five seconds. Someone's gonna decide if they like somebody. And people buy from people they like. So those first five seconds when you meet somebody are critical. And so, again, in our business, in this industry, trainers that basically don't show up to work with their best version of the self. So I would tell young man, if like if you're like, well, normally I shave, but today I didn't. Normally I brush my hair, but today I didn't. Normally I wear makeup, but today I didn't. Normally I do my hair if I'm a young lady, but today I didn't. Well, I'd be like, Well, then you're not putting yourself in a good position to get new business if you're not putting the best version of yourself forward in the sense of giving what it is, like the best genuine version of yourself, right? Not saying play a role, not saying go get dolled up for nothing, like because you're trying to know, but like be the best version that you normally are because you want someone to like you immediately. Then you can go further to say, so where are you meeting them? Are you at the front desk waiting for them? Because you know that's appointment. So now you're showing respect and courtesy and excitement that you have for that appointment today without being overwhelming. Like you see them walk in the door, and it's like, hi Chrissy, how are you today? My name is Chris, I'm your personal train. Like, I'm not trying to freak you out, but I want to make to set the tone of like, I'm here to service you, I'm here to give you a world-class customer service experience. And so, like, the simple truths that I learned a long time ago early in my career is basically likability, rapport, and trust. And I don't think those three things have necessarily changed with today's client and or customer, but how we deliver that's a little bit different in the age of, you know, we've got cell phone and text messaging and WhatsApp and all these different communication tools versus, you know, back in the day, it's I'm talking about like phone hard phone calls. We would literally mail postcards to people like, thanks for coming in today, Chrissy. Um, like all kinds of animals.

SPEAKER_02 3:54

Which now would probably go really well because people fancy that nostalgia.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Yeah, and there is something, there is some kind of truth to that, right? Um, and I have actually shared that with some people. Like, if you want to stand out or do something different, here's some things you can do. So I would just start there with like likability, then it's rapport, which is really commonality, right? And so that's what you're establishing through that whole um, you know, what I still believe to be true, which is some form of a consultative sales process. There's different versions out there, different folks have different belief systems, but you have to do some form of asking questions and then doing really good listening. And then for every answer you're getting, you're asking more questions at a deeper level to continue to kind of build that trust that takes place over time. But if it's again, if it's a really what I would call contrived process on like, I'm gonna tell you how smart I am as a trainer, I'm gonna prove to you that how good I am, and I'm just gonna blow your brain open and show you how awesome I am. And at the end, like you should want to buy, which unfortunately still happens sometimes, and most often than not, they don't buy um if that's the case, because they're not impressed. That's not what they're there for. And people are, you know, able to see through that, right? Is it authentic? Does this person actually seem like they're going to care about me? Because are they showing me that they care enough about this one hour with me, if you will, from an evaluation or an assessment or whatever you want to call that interaction? Like what is the value there, right? What is that value proposition and how does it stand out?

SPEAKER_02 5:18

Yeah, it's interesting. That just made me think I just went through this process as a consumer for Invisalign. And so the minute I started looking into it, all of a sudden the meta ads are going crazy, which showed me it's a highly competitive ecosystem. And given that it was a huge chunk of money, that already as a consumer, I'm like, I am going to spend for this service. Whoever wherever I go, they just need to close the deal. And there was one of the places that I went, and that's the exact reason why. It was polish, slick sales presentation, but it felt so disingenuous. I was like, they don't give a shit. And therefore, I ultimately actually ended up signing a deal for more money to go to the place that had a way better feel and care. So it just shows how important those steps are. But when it comes to your everything is systems and processes in the fitness world ecosystem, and it's that way because they work for a reason. What part of the conversation matters most when it comes to having the client make that commitment?

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Well, it all matters, right? So if like you don't do step one and you don't do step two, then by the time you get to step 10, if you want to call it 10 steps, like you're you're it doesn't matter if you didn't do the first five steps. Step 10 won't work. And I think that's where a lot of people go wrong. They think that, well, if I'm a really talented salesperson, I can fix all these other gaps, right? And so again, it's service, science, and sales, but that service that you're providing in the buildup of that conversation and that dialogue and those assessments and that demonstration of exercise and that demonstration of empathy, if necessary, when necessary, or whatever in the conversation, whether it be around, oh, it's okay if you can't do that, like we'll teach you how to do that. Or if it's around maybe they are being really vulnerable and they're gonna open up and tell you about some bad things they're dealing with, which truthfully is not that uncommon. Um, even in an assessment, it's like I just met this person and they're telling me about a divorce. Um, they're telling me about a death in their family, they're telling me about why they gained weight and all the stress associated with it, they lost their job, like whatever, right? People will be very vulnerable in those situations, which is great because now you know, okay, now I really know where the motivation and drive is coming from, and I can figure out how to best frame a program to kind of help them, you know, get where it is they want to go. So I think as you kind of think about that, so then to to where I think you're asking the question, like, can you present sales wrong? And can you maybe ask too much too fast? Or how do you know if you've asked all the right information? I think there's lots of ways, but it's as simple as like, hey, so Chrissy, I've had a great time working with you today. We've been together kind of the last 45-50 minutes. Um, that's just really a lot about me. I've got a chance to learn about you. Really, the next step for me would really be to show you kind of what it takes to work with a trainer here at Fitness World. Would it be okay if I took a few more minutes of your time to show you how that works? You're gonna say yes or no. And I hope you say yes, because that means I've earned the right to present and I asked permission to present. If I'm like, hey, Chris, it was really great. Uh, what I want to do now is sit down, I'm gonna show you the prices here at Fitness World and show you everything works. You're gonna be like, oh God, here we go. Here's a sales pitch.

SPEAKER_02 8:14

Yeah, the walls start to come up instantly.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

But again, if I really enjoyed our time together, I learned so much about you, it's been really amazing and I really enjoyed all that. But what I'd like to do now, if you have a few minutes, is show you how easy it is to work with a personal trainer here at Fitness World. Do you have a few more minutes of your time? Is that be okay?

SPEAKER_02 8:30

Yeah, it's that invitation and to make it a collaborative conversation.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

I'm asking permission to present, right? And so I think that's a big step that people skip, which now puts that whole process, that ending, because what it is, it's uh it's the orchestra. The music's going, and now we're building towards the crescendo, if you will, which is like, yes, in order to get a client, in order to serve as a client, at some point there's got to be some type of a sales pitch, unless it's just a peer referral and it's like, this is my friend Susie, this is Martha, Susie Martha, da-da-da, that she's gonna train with you. I told her how soon, and that happens too, and that's great, but certainly not as you're ramping up and building your business because you don't have referrals, you're just learning kind of how to get this thing rolling. And so I think making sure you don't skip that step is an important one. And then I think all these things, it's like there has to be a level of confidence. So even when I'm talking about rapport, so again, I would I trained a lot of even postpartum women in my career, and it'd be like, Well, what am I? You're six, five, 300 pounds. What the hell are you telling people about? Well, no, but my wife had children, and I have sisters and aunts, and I've been around all these different nieces and nephews, my own kids. So I'm talking from a place of like, I understand, right? And so, even acronyms that we would teach there, right, would be like feel, felt, found. I understand how you feel. Many, many others have felt that way before. What I found in my professional experience is, and so it's what I found in my professional experience. It's not to say that I went through the same things that you've been through in your life, but chances are if I've been doing this for a minute, I probably have had some clients that have gone through some similar things. And so, yeah, there is some relatability to like what we're talking about back to rapport. And so, as you do that, that all does build under the trust. That last piece that we're kind of talking about of earning the right to ask, permission to present, and then going into the presentation, which again, all that has to be done with again authenticity, but also confidence. So, where trainers are also where I see them missing the most is like they're not confident. Why the hell would I spend a thousand, two thousand, three thousand dollars with you if you're not making me feel like you know what the fuck you're doing? Like, there's no way. Why would I wouldn't? And so I always used to use the analogy. I'd say, look, if I worked with a trainer and I talked to a trainer, like my measure of it is like really like I it was kind of crazy. I said, Would I let you train my mom? Because I'm not gonna let some Joe Schmo train my mother. In fact, she was gonna hire a trainer once, and I said, I need to talk to this person first, and I did, and I talked to the person, I said, You can't train with them. She knows they're really sweet, they're really nice. I said, They're terrible. I would I refuse to let her train with that trainer, and I was living a thousand miles away at the time. I said, I'll find you somebody else. Just give me a minute. Went online, went into NASM, found trainers in the nearby area, found someone NASM certified, did a little bit of background on them, right? He's like, Here's a trainer, here's someone I'll let you train with.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

You're like a private investigator of personal trainers.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Well, that was a long time ago. But I'm not gonna let some just of course salesperson really right try without question discloser. Yeah. Versus like, what are your qualifications? What are your credentials? What kind of program, you know, how you're gonna modify it, what kind of progression, regression, like just let me see inside your head a minute and see how you think about physical fitness and helping people accomplish their goals in the safest, fastest, most effective way possible. And if I think it's not good for that particular client, which again, if it's my mother, then you got to do better. And I I use that filter even here in our business. Like that's the standard, right? Like we should be pushing as hard as we can to build the best possible group of personal trainers in terms of education, certification, delivery of the programs, the results, all of it.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

You build the rapport, you build the trust. But as you mentioned, where some trainers struggle is that confidence piece. And I could see that objections would be where that most likely could waver the most. So, what's your best advice for handling objections? Because naturally, they're probably gonna come up more often than not.

SPEAKER_01 12:12

Yeah, they're almost every time, right? And it's not that no doesn't mean no, and I don't want to be disrespectful to anyone that's listening, but a no is I need more information. So again, so Chrissy, I can appreciate that you said you need to think about it. What I want to understand specifically, what is it that you need to think about? And then I'm gonna ask you that question. You're gonna say, Well, I need to this and that, and you're gonna answer it in whatever way you're gonna answer it. And then again, if I'm doing active listening, which should be authentic and genuine, which I'm gonna be looking at you, I'm gonna be making eye contact. I may be nodding my head and acknowledging what it is that you're saying as you're saying it. And then I'm gonna say, So, Chrissy, if it's okay, I'd like to ask you a couple follow-up questions to that, which you'll be like, okay, so let me understand. So, in terms of thinking about it, this is what you want to think about. And so let me ask you, have you considered or what about? And I what I would do or what I would think about in terms of your program and your goals and what it is you share with me so far, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so, with all that considered again, Chrissy, I still think the best thing we could do is to get you started on a program today because I know that I can help you get to your goals, and I know that. And just based on what you share with me today, like there's no better place for you to be than to be here at say a fitness world where we can help you do that again in the safest, fastest, most effective way possible. And so, as we're having that dialogue, I'm then going to represent. And again, it's like, well, when do you stop doing that?

SPEAKER_02 13:29

That's what I was gonna ask.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Yeah, that's the big conversation. And so, what we teach is like when it's no longer consultative, when it's no longer comfortable, and it's pretty obvious, truthfully, if you're once you get a feel for what's going on, meaning if a client shifts body language, right? And they're like, Oh, like if they they turn their head, there's a deep sigh. If all of a sudden they cross their arms, they were sitting back on the chair, and then they sit forward and they're like, I don't want like then you know, like, oh god, that was actually probably too far. So we teach sometimes it's twice, three times, four. It might be five times. Now you say, Well, so you teach to go beyond five. No, not usually, because then we're like, you're not reading the room, right? They're if they've respectfully been polite five times. Well, you found yourself as a person from a personality perspective that's just super amiable and won't just be like enough, yeah. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 14:16

But it's about the ultimate people pleaser that's like, oh god, but in their brain.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

Yeah, but I think again, like as you learn and as you get experience, you you get it, but it uh it's like getting at bats, right? We'll use baseball this time. We talked about golf recently, so we'll talk about baseball. Like, you're just getting at bats, you're just getting cuts, you're getting swings, you're learning, you're growing. And as time goes on, you'll read the room and understand like where the right kind of spot to stop is. But again, where you stop and how you leave, it's also important. So, again, hey Chrissy, it was great having you in here today. I totally respect and appreciate that you've got a lot of financial things going on in your life, and you're just not sure that you can make this commitment right now. But just understand this my commitment is like at this point, you're part of my life. And so, for me as a personal trainer, anyone that I touch in the sense of like consult, even do consultation like we did today, it's now my job to get you to your goal, whether you train with me or not. So, what I'd like to do, if it's okay with you, and again, complimentary, no cost to you, is I like to follow up with you 30 days from now. And so, again, we're meeting today. It's Thursday, it's two o'clock, and so I'm a third assuming Thursdays at two o'clock are good. Okay, great. So, Thursday, 30 days from now, next month, we're gonna see each other again in April. We're gonna book it right now, and I'm gonna see you then and we'll have a chat and we'll go through your program again, and I'll maybe give you a couple extra tips. Is that cool? Does that work? You say, Yeah, cool. That I appreciate that. Awesome. I book your 30-day follow-up now because again, it's kind of like planting seeds, right? And so, if I'm a farmer, for those of you that and I grew up in California, so if you drive up and down the San Joaquin Valley from Northern California to Southern California, depending on the seasonality time of year, you're gonna see all sorts of different crops, and you know, there's all the different trees and fruit trees and nut trees and big massive agriculture. A lot of people don't realize California is an agricultural state, all this stuff, but they get water at different times, different types of fertilizer at different times, like they they harvest the crops at different times, corn, wheat, hay, alfalfa, like all the strawberries, like go on and on and on for what's going on. The point is, I I tend to even teach and tell people that that's what people are. So it's not as if like I'm just gonna have the same type of conversation, or even if I am following a process and I'm creating a similar experience for all these different people, they're not all gonna cultivate at the same time, and so I have to kind of nurture that relationship along. Again, I'm just gonna service them, I'm providing customer service, hopefully to get to the stage where I'm gonna earn the right to then have you as a customer where it's no longer gonna be complimentary and you'll make that investment because again, back to trust or more information or whatever it is, I'll build that over time. And again, back to postcards, follow-up emails, text, whatever. So I say, Hey Chrissy, so again, great seeing you today. Are you gonna just go do that cardio that we talked about? Awesome, great. Is your cell phone on you or do you leave in the locker room? You live in the locker room? Okay, great. If I know you left in the locker room, I'll actually text you right now while you get on cardio. Hey, Chrissy, great again having your today at Fitness World. Uh, again, my name's Chris. If you ever need anything in the future, please do not hesitate to ask. Have a great night. So now when you go back to the locker room, you just did your session, you just did that. You told me no. I said, That's okay. I still want to help you. I'll see you in 30 days. And now you got a text from me saying, Have a great night. You're like, man, maybe I should have bought from that guy. Because and and then and there's more that you can keep doing there. So service equals sales. So the idea of like world-class customer service, concierge-level fitness. What could that look like? And then financially, what could that do? But a lot of people don't want to make the effort, right? Because it's effort.

SPEAKER_02 17:41

Let's head to the trainer circuit. Real questions, real situations. Chris shows up, listens, and mentors from experience.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

This is the best way to make connections, like when you meet a new person.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

Well, I mean, I think the idea of like trying to be interesting versus being interesting are two different things, right? So, what we always want to do is just be genuine and authentic, right? And so I think for a lot of folks nowadays, and nowadays is even harder than the days when I was doing this because cell phones weren't even necessarily a thing when I was really getting started in the business. Like they were just becoming a thing necessarily. But today, many of you have been trained not to talk to people. You're trained not to talk to people. You date through apps, right? First we go on apps, and then maybe we get to Instagram, and then even after you get to Instagram, you get kicked out. There's never a conversation. It's like it goes from an app, then it goes to Instagram, then it maybe goes to some other platform, and then eventually maybe we'll talk at a coffee shop, and then people stare at each other blankly because they don't actually know how to have a conversation anymore. So that's part of it. So I think part of this is like learning how the art of a conversation, which again is being curious. The other piece of that is to understand, again, if I go in a facility, and let's just say I go in a club and it's busy at five o'clock at night, how busy is the club? And then you just think about well, what can I do? Well, my answer would be go meet as many people as possible. So if you go on a workout floor and you say, I'm gonna go find a new client today, I'm gonna prospect, you'll usually have bad results. If it's like, I'm gonna go meet as many people as I can, I'm just gonna have genuine relationships, contacts, if you will. And hello, how are you? My name is, what's your name? How long you've been a member, what are your goals, so on and so forth, and you do that as much as you can, as many times as possible, then you have good outcomes. Every rep you do, every conversation you have, you're gonna get better and better and better. But again, the key is always in those conversations. Again, I said it, I'll say it again because it's a really important one. We're not actors, right? But be authentic and genuine.

SPEAKER_02 19:39

Before we wrap, we'll leave you with a smithism. A lesson Chris has picked up along the way. What is the nugget of wisdom you shall impart on us today?

SPEAKER_01 19:48

Yeah, so I think I I mean I said it a few times there, and in the in the sense of this episode, I believe, but it is service and sales, and those two are directly proportional to one another, right? So I think again, we get sometimes in the psyche, like I have to sell, sell, sell. You don't have to sell, sell, sell. You have to service, service, service. And the amount you service is directly proportional to what you will sell. And so just understanding that, right? So service and sales, 100% the same.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

That's today's Smithism. Chris Smith is the mayor of Smithyville, and I'm Chrissy Van, your town correspondent. This is the smartest small town in fitness. We'll see you back here every other week.