I don’t sleep well, I never have. There is always something pressing in my mind
at the time where I would like to be falling asleep. Lately, my thoughts have been somewhat cheesy
by my own standards. I started thinking
if it is possible to affect change in people’s attitude to the point where they
actually give a shit about what they are doing.
I am pretty lucky to work with a great group of people that I like to
think are pretty driven, but there is always room for improvement, including
from myself. My collections of thoughts
come from years in the industry and learning from both mine and others
mistakes. This is just a few to start…
Ask yourself the following questions:
·
Are you confident enough in your knowledge to
share it with not only co-workers but others in the industry?
o
If you think you are doing something “innovative”
or “new” in this industry, you are probably wrong. Just because some dipshit Guru hasn’t written
about it yet or sold his soul to YouTube, doesn’t mean it hasn’t been
done. Instead of trying to hide your “secret
method” try sharing it with others to get their feedback. Every person we work with is different, and
learning from others in your industry will help hone your skill set. Having said that, we need to learn from both
the good and the bad, and if you have an ego, it makes it hard to find out the
flaws in your system.
·
Are you thankful for your clients that make your
job a possibility?
o
One of my hairstylist clients told me you need
about 600-700 regular patrons to maintain a busy schedule. Our
physiotherapists estimated about 400 plus clients. Personal trainers, strength coaches need
about 40-60 regulars. Can you see where
I am going with this? Piss off one of
those 40 clients that may see you 2-3 times a week and it puts a big dent in
your schedule.
·
Are you driven by the fact that the results your
clients achieve can be life changing for them?
o
If you are driven by the results your clients
achieve for the sake of your own benefit, please become a stock broker. Don’t get me wrong, your client’s success
will build your referrals and in turn make you busier. Having said that, there are a lot of trainers
that are more driven by publishing the success of one client instead of all of
them.
·
Do you put your client’s needs ahead of your
own?
o
Clients are not paying to hear about your
weekend. It is their hour! We are not psychologists or whatever Dr. Phil
is, but we can be there to offer support and advice when it is asked. Save your weekend stories for your buddies.
·
Do you call, email, text or whatever instagram
is your clients to see how they are doing occasionally? Or receive and respond to their calls,
emails, texts or whatever instagram is in a timely manner?
o
There is something special about the little touches
you put forth to your clients. Do not
mistake that with touching your clients inappropriately. A simple message seeing how their rehab is
coming, how they felt after a tough workout, how their birthday was will go a
long way in separating you from your competition. Our time away from the office is just that,
our time. You need to find a way to show
some level of customer service so that phone calls, emails etc. are answered
and followed up on relatively quickly.
·
Do you put the same amount of effort into your
preparation for your clients as you do on social media?
o
Social Media is MEDIA now. If you are not using it in your industry, you
are behind the competition. BUT, it
consumes many people to a point where it is taking away from time that could be
used more beneficially. Look at the time
you are putting in creeping peoples Facebook pages and see if that time can’t
be used to actually make you better.
Then creep on the weekends….
·
Do you volunteer with anything?
o
This is one of the first questions we ask new
applicants to the company. “Do you
volunteer with anything”? Personally, I
like to know that fellow employees are willing to offer their time and skill
outside of the work environment. We are
only as good as our community will allow us to be! Aside from the personal reward, it is an
opportunity to build relationships and build up your actual REAL hours of
working with people. Which is kind of a
big deal in our industry.
·
Do you take every aspect of life from coaching
to business as a learning opportunity?
o
There are very few, if any scenarios that haven’t
been played out in our industry already.
The more you understand the concept that we are a people driven industry,
the more you will realize the importance of every conversation you have.
·
Do you take care of yourself physically,
mentally and emotionally?
o
When your day is spent helping others, it
becomes difficult to help yourself. I
still find it difficult to balance the physical, mental and emotional aspects
of this job and I am in my 13th year of doing this. No matter how busy your day may be, you need
to find time for self-preservation.
·
Do you have the willingness to refer your client
to someone else within the industry if you are unable to help them with their
goals?
o
We can’t answer all questions and we can’t help
all populations, specifically in rehab settings. There is a time and place where you may need
to be honest with yourself and your clients that you are unable to help them at
this point in their sessions. Building a
network of good doctors, coaches, trainers and therapists will help you give your
client the best opportunity for success.
I have referred clients in the past (sometimes outside of our company)
to others in the industry and at some point, they all return.
·
Do you show up late for your sessions?
o
If you show up late, you are dead to me. It shows you think that your time is more
valuable than your clients. Give
yourself plenty of time to get to your sessions, if you can’t achieve the times
you have set, give yourself more time!
As always, these are just some of my opinions. If it pisses you off, we can hug it out at a
later date. Please feel free to contact
me should you have any questions or comments at joe@level10fitness.com
Yours in Strength,
Joe McCullum
Director of High Performance and Staff Development
Level 10 Fitness
