Harnessing the Power of the Client Endorsement
In your fitness career, your name is one of your biggest assets. But another, sometimes overlooked, asset you can use to propel your fitness career forward is the client endorsement. This doesn’t just mean you have a client write about how great you are – there’s a method to getting a client’s endorsement and then using it to drive your fitness career forward. Here’s a sure-fire way I’ve found to harness the power of client endorsement effectively!
Find a Format
A client endorsement is part of your PR campaign. In my book, Your Fitness Career, I talk a lot about how to craft to your own PR campaign. This client endorsement is just one aspect of a successful PR campaign if you know how to present it the right way. After all, you want client endorsements to bring new clients in, so they must be attractive and exciting to read!
An effective testimonial should appeal to different types of people and cater the different ways people consume information. You can use videos, photos, and of course written testimonials on your website. Choose somewhere between two and five testimonials to present and make them short, sweet, and to the point no matter what the format. Most visitors to your website will only take a few seconds to look things over, so it has to grab their attention and be easy for them to consume.
Make Content Great
Successful client testimonials will evoke emotion. Fitness is a very personal thing, so make sure the testimonials aren’t generic or something people won’t be able to relate to. In order to create the most powerful content you can, you should:
Show solutions to specific goals and objectives
Utilize before and after photos (with permission, of course!)
Portray real people
Remember, not all your testimonials should come from picture-perfect clients. It’s the regular people you train each day that will speak to a person looking for a personal trainer.
Get Creative!
As tempting as it is to just slap a few testimonials on your website, if you do that, then you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. Success stories can be used creatively to work for your fitness career. Use the testimonials you gather from clients to give public presentations in group classes or boot camps – share the successes you’ve had with others. You can also share these testimonials on social media to get the stories out there. If you have a gym of your own, post pictures and host special events that highlight your client testimonials.
Testimonials can be a missed opportunity to drive your business forward if you don’t effectively harness their power. They are a part of your overall marketing campaign that will help you connect with people on an emotional level. These real-world narratives are a tool you can use to write the story of your own success in your fitness career. After all, when your clients win, you do too!
Looking to become a successful personal trainer? Make it possible with my book. Your Fitness Career