If you're a personal trainer, you probably have a good handle on your client's goals.

But if most of your clients train in a group setting, you might not. Here's why:

  1. No goal-setting discussion at intake (just a "free trial" or group "OnRamp").
  2. Misunderstanding of why your clients visit (it's not to get better at exercising).
  3. Their goals CHANGE.

Sometimes a client gets bored. Sometimes they get busy. And sometimes they just want something new.

A renewed vision of their goal will help retention, profit...and, best of all, the client. Here's how it works:

  1. Schedule a 15-minute Goal Review session.
  2. Review wins (we call these "Bright Spots".)
  3. Preview future wins.
  4. Ask if the client is 100% satisfied with their progress.

If they are: get their story. See "Affinity Marketing" and follow that process.

If they're not 100% satisfied, offer them two choices:

  • Choice A: Continue with what they're doing.
  • Choice B: Change their path to include your nutrition program, or 1:1 training, or your six-week pullup specialty path.

Then book the next appointment before they leave.

TwoBrain gyms using Goal Review as part of our Prescriptive Model see a 34% upgrade rate in clients after their FIRST Goal Review session. But that's secondary to the client's experience of real coaching.

If you're their coach, you can recommend anything that will help: strength cycles, nutrition accountability, or even a break from training. You can refer them to yoga, or start them training for a 5k race...and they'll come back. But if you let them try to find new answers on their own, they probably won't.

Big-fitness exercise classes are commoditizing intensity. We can't get by on being "more hardcore" or "elite" anymore. It's time to be coaches again.

How (and When) To Fire A Client

Chris Cooper is the author of Two-Brain Business, Two-Brain 2.0 and Help First. A former powerlifter, Cooper opened Catalyst Fitness in 2005 after a decade in the fitness industry. The gym almost bankrupted him. When he realized that being a good coach didn’t make him a good business owner, he found a mentor and began his REAL education. He now owns two gyms (and three other companies, as well as a few buildings) in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Since 2010, Cooper has published over 1000 free blog posts. His new site is twobrainbusiness.com, and his podcast is TwoBrainRadio.
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