How to Sell Personal Training Online | Free Fitness Trainer Guide

Last updated: January 23, 2024

Are you a personal trainer looking to expand your business beyond the walls of your gym? Or perhaps you’re a fitness enthusiast with a passion for helping others achieve their goals? Whatever your background, one thing’s for sure: the world of digital fitness and well-being is booming and is projected to reach US$146.80 billion by 2027. With a massive number of people looking to improve their health and fitness from the comfort of their own homes, there’s never been a better time to take your personal training business online. But how do you stand out in a crowded market and sell your services effectively?

In this blog post, we’ll show you how to sell personal training online, with a few clever tips and tricks to help you build your personal trainer brand, attract new clients, and grow your business like never before. So grab your water bottle and let’s get started!

How to Sell Personal Training Online (Step-by-step Guide)

1. Choose your platform for selling
2. Get to know your target audience
3. Create training services packages with competitive pricing
4. Offer free fitness consultations, follow up, and close the sale!
5. Take in payment

1. Choose your platform for selling

The first step in selling personal training online is choosing the right platform to host your business. Thankfully platforms like Payhip allow you to create a professional website for free (no technical skills required), and you’ll also be able to accept transactions and manage all of your personal training clients within a secure dashboard.

There are several advantages of having a professional website as a personal trainer, including:

• Increased Credibility: A professional website adds credibility to your business and showcases your expertise as a personal trainer. It shows potential clients that you take your business seriously and are committed to providing quality services.
• Greater Visibility: With a professional website, you can reach a wider audience and expand your client base beyond your local area. You can use search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to ensure that your website appears in search results when potential clients search for personal trainers online.
• Improved Communication: Your website can serve as a platform for communicating with potential and existing clients. You can provide information about your services, pricing, and availability, as well as communicate with clients through online booking and messaging features.
• Increased Revenue: A professional website can help you generate more sales by allowing clients to purchase your services online. You can also offer online courses and training programs, eBooks, memberships, and sell merchandise such as fitness equipment and supplements.
• Cost-Effective: Having a professional website is a cost-effective way to promote your personal training business. It’s much cheaper than traditional advertising methods such as print ads or billboards, and it can reach a wider audience. You’ll also be able to automate some activities such as an intake questionnaire.

One of the main advantages of using Payhip specifically is that it is an eCommerce platform specializing in digital products. Payhip has a feature specifically designed for online coaching, which allows you to take in clients, manage and communicate with your clients within a secure dashboard, schedule online video calls, and so much more! Sign up for a free Payhip account to get started.

2. Get to know your target audience

Before you start selling personal training, it’s important to know who your target audience is.

Here are some examples of target audiences for personal training:

• Older adults: Personal trainers who specialize in working with older adults can provide tailored exercise programs that help improve mobility, balance, and overall health.
• Athletes: Athletes of all levels may seek personal training to help them improve their performance in their respective sports. Personal trainers who specialize in working with athletes can develop sport-specific training programs that focus on strength, speed, agility, and endurance.
• Individuals with medical conditions: Trainers who specialize in working with individuals with medical conditions can provide safe and effective exercise programs that help improve overall health and manage symptoms.
• Busy professionals: Personal trainers who specialize in working with busy professionals can provide efficient and effective workouts that fit into their busy lives.
• Beginners: Individuals who are new to exercise may benefit from personal training to help them learn proper exercise form and technique, and to develop a solid foundation of fitness.
• Pre- and post-natal women: Women who are pregnant or have recently given birth may have specific fitness needs and limitations. Personal trainers who specialize in working with pre- and post-natal women can provide safe and effective exercise programs that help improve overall health and well-being.

You may notice that you have more knowledge and expertise for specific target audiences. Dig deeper and create a more comprehensive buyer persona to identify their common goals, concerns, and pain points. You might also notice that you’ll need to create different personal training packages for different audience groups.

By thoroughly knowing your audience profiles, you can tailor your marketing messages and services to meet their needs. This is important as you’ll only have a few seconds of their attention when they’re reading through your website and seeing what you have to offer.

3. Create training services packages with competitive pricing

Creating training packages with competitive pricing is a crucial aspect of selling personal training online. Here are some tips to help you create effective packages:

• Define Your Services: Start by defining what you offer in your personal training services. Determine what type of training you offer, whether it’s strength training, cardio, or a combination of both. Decide how many sessions you will include in your package, and whether you will offer any additional services like nutrition coaching.
• Research Competitors’ Prices: Conduct research on your competitors’ pricing to ensure your packages are competitive. This will help you understand what your target market is willing to pay for personal training services.
• Determine Your Cost: Calculate your costs, including your time, equipment, and any additional services you offer. Make sure to factor in any overhead costs as well, such as website fees and marketing expenses.
• Consider Value-Added Services: Think about what extra services you can offer to make your package more attractive to potential clients. This could include a comprehensive ebook, printable meal plans, nutrition coaching, personalized workout plans, or access to a private online community.
• Offer Discounts: Consider offering discounts for longer-term packages, such as a 12-week package. This will not only incentivize clients to commit to a longer-term relationship with you but also give them a better deal in the long run.
• Test and Refine: Once you have created your packages, test them out and gather feedback from your clients. Refine your packages based on their feedback and monitor how well they sell.
• Various pricing options for comparison effect: Consider creating different packages and pricing tiers that cater to different needs and budgets.

4. Offer free fitness consultations, follow up, and close the sale!

Offering free fitness consultations will allow you to learn more about potential clients on an individual level. You’ll then be able to refine and personalize your sales strategy for every client.

This will also give your potential clients a taste of what it’s like to work with you, and could lead to a long-term client relationship.

Here are some tips to help you make the most of your free consultation sessions:

Tip#1 Ask the right questions

Your goal is to make sure that you thoroughly understand what your clients are looking to achieve and WHY. Your consultation session may allow you to uncover more than just your clients’ health and exercise history, but also their emotional reasons for why they wanted to start their personal training journey. Don’t underestimate the power of emotions when it comes to staying motivated during training!

The simplest way to start is to ask an open-ended question “What do you want to achieve?” as some clients may voluntarily divulge a lot of information (and some might need a bit more active digging). Remember to actively take note of your clients’ answers, or even paraphrase their answers back to them to reassure them that you have fully understood what their needs are.

The more information you collect, the better you can craft a package that offers the perfect solution and make the sale.

Tip#2 Set expectations

Setting clear expectations prior to your free consultations will provide you with a foundation for building trust with your clients. In addition, it will prevent situations where your clients may have unrealistic expectations for what they will get out of the free consultation. This can lead to disappointment and frustration, and may even result in them declining to purchase a paid personal training package.

Here’s an example of a script that you can provide to your potential clients before your free consultation sessions:

“Hi Emily, I’m excited to meet with you at 10AM tomorrow. We’ll start by diving into your health and exercise history, taking some measurements, and talking through your goals for your personal training sessions. After that, we can work through a sample workout together. I’ll also introduce you to my range of personal training packages so you’ll know what I have to offer. See you soon!

When the clients are doing their free consultations with you, it’s also important to set the right expectations for the actual personal training sessions that they might purchase from you. For clients who are new to personal training, you might need to explain why your sessions need to be at a certain frequency, or what commitments they need to make in order to achieve their goals (e.g. time commitment, dietary commitment, etc)

Tip#3 Overcome objections

Sales objections are inevitable as not all of your clients are fully ready to commit themselves to a set of personal training sessions. Hence, handling and addressing sales objections is an important skill for any personal trainer who wants to sell personal training sessions effectively.

Here are a few tips to handle objections from your potential clients:

• Be proactive and ask what they think about the fitness packages that you have presented. Some clients are more vocal than others, so you may need to do more probing to get their genuine answers
• Be prepared to address a range of objections including: the cost might be too expensive for the client, client might not feel like they have the time to train, client doubts that personal training sessions might not give them the results they’re looking for, client might be fearful of how challenging the training session might be, etc.

Tip#4 Follow up and close the sale

This might be the most nerve-wracking part for some personal trainers as you’ll need to get your clients to commit to purchasing your personal training packages. One useful tip is to ask your clients to schedule their next session with you, or at least schedule a time that you’ll call again for a follow up. You can also entice your clients with a limited time deal (e.g. discounts, free sessions, or free resources such as ebooks) for your personal training packages.

You may also want to send a personalized email to the potential client, thanking them for their time and summarizing the key points discussed during the free consultation. Include any relevant information or recommendations you discussed and let them know you are available to answer any additional questions they may have.

Even if the potential client decides not to sign up immediately, it’s important to stay in touch and continue to build a relationship. Send occasional emails with fitness tips or motivational messages to keep them engaged and remind them of your services. You never know when they may be ready to commit.

5. Take in payment

Now that your client is ready to commit themselves to your personal training sessions, you’ll need to make sure that you can accept their payments in the most convenient way possible.

If you’re using Payhip, you can easily accept payment via credit cards or Paypal. You’ll also be paid out instantaneously after Stripe or Paypal processes your transactions.

One nifty part about using Payhip is that you can offer various payment arrangements such as upfront payment, payment plans (payment will be split into smaller payments over a number of months), subscriptions, and more. This allows you to provide more payment flexibility for your clients.

Tips for Selling Personal Training Online and Getting More Clients

Here are some helpful tips to get more clients as a personal trainer online:

• Leverage referrals. Referrals are one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use. Encourage your current clients to refer their friends and family to your services. Consider offering a discount or incentive to clients who bring in new business.
• Build a strong online presence. In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial. Make sure you have a professional website that showcases your services and credentials. Consider creating social media accounts for your business, as well. Share helpful tips, success stories, and testimonials to build your credibility and attract potential clients.
• Offer free resources. Providing valuable content such as e-books, videos, and articles related to health and fitness can help build trust with potential clients and establish your credibility as an expert in your field.
• Create a fitness blog. Having a blog on your website will help your website rank on search engine results like Google search. Additionally, this also helps you establish yourself as an authority in the fitness industry, build trust with potential clients, and generate interest in your personal training services.

Final Thoughts – Sell Personal Training Online Today!

So there you have it, folks! With these tips and tricks, you’re well on your way to becoming a successful online personal trainer. Remember, it’s all about building your brand, connecting with clients, and delivering top-notch services. And with the help of platforms like Payhip, you can easily manage all of your clients and transactions within a secure and user-friendly dashboard. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start selling personal training online like a pro!

If you’re keen on learning more about how you can establish more income sources in the online fitness industry, you might like the following guides:

• How to Sell Fitness Programs Online
• How to Make Money as a Fitness Influencer
• How to Grow a Fitness Instagram