Personal trainer networking is the process of making new contacts and nurturing those relationships to attain new clients, partners, brand advocates, and industry colleagues. Networking is, always has been, and always will be an essential aspect of career growth, especially when you own your own training business.
By building a strong personal trainer network, you put yourself in a room, literally and figuratively, with like-minded individuals who can teach you and help your business flourish. In this article, we’ll take a look at the benefits of personal trainer networking and give you our best tips for making meaningful, long-lasting connections that pay off for your business.
Why networking matters for personal trainers
Putting yourself out there isn’t easy for everyone, but it is worth it. There are many benefits—for you and your business—to networking as a personal trainer. Here are some of the top advantages:
- Become well-known in the fitness community. Networking will help make you a familiar face in your fitness community and, as a result, a go-to PT for new clients and other trainers seeking advice. Plus, the better known you are, the more likely you are to get referrals from other fitness and wellness professionals (e.g., trainers in other specialties, nutritionists, physical therapists, and so on).
- Grow your personal training clientele. A larger personal training network brings with it a lot of potential for cost-friendly and organic word-of-mouth marketing. Word-of-mouth marketing has been shown to result in five times more sales than paid ads and 90% of people say they’re more likely to trust recommended brands. As clients and colleagues in your network get to know and trust you, they’re more likely to refer others to you.
- Establish yourself as an expert in your field. Networking among the personal trainer community gives you a chance to demonstrate your knowledge, attracting more clients and notoriety among peers. You can become a thought leader, which helps you build credibility and brand awareness, and has many other benefits as well.
- Learn from others. As you network with other personal trainers, you’ll have many opportunities to expand your fitness knowledge and training skillset. Learn about other specialties, exercise techniques, and training tips, and also learn from the mistakes and successes of trainers with more experience than you.
- Build a support network. Being a personal trainer, especially a freelance or self-employed one, can be a solitary experience. A network of fellow professionals gives you people to turn to when you need advice, a fresh perspective on a difficult client situation, or simply a confidence boost when business is tough.
5 Personal trainer networking tips to get your name out there
Networking may sound like a big, time-consuming job, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, you’re probably already using some of the best personal trainer networking strategies without even realizing it.
Let’s dive into five practical networking tips for personal trainers that will help you build valuable, long-lasting connections.
1. Have a professional personal training website
An established professional website shows you’re serious about your work and open to new clients. There are plenty of ways to use your website for networking.
Producing website content, for example, will help you build credibility and brand awareness in your community. This could be through helpful blogs, guides, workout videos, and similar content. Your website also gives you the opportunity to display testimonials and sell training plans and packages.
Think of your personal training website as your modern-day business card—a virtual first impression of your brand within a hyper-competitive marketplace.
Top Tip: When you use My PT Hub’s personal trainer software, your very own website landing page is included! It’s called MySite and it allows you to display everything you need about yourself and your business to connect with clients and other professionals.
2. Be present on social media
There are over 5 billion active social media users worldwide, which makes social media one of the most powerful tools for personal trainer networking. It’s a platform for you to create engaging content, share your personal trainer story, and reach a far wider audience than in-person networking alone.
Research which social media sites your target demographic uses and create professional profiles on each one. You can also join online fitness communities, such as My PT Hub’s Facebook group, or start your own to connect with potential clients and colleagues. Don’t overlook LinkedIn either. It’s the strongest platform for building professional relationships in the fitness industry: post thought-leadership content, join groups related to your niche, and engage with the trainers and health professionals you want to connect with. Being a part of these communities also ensures you have a seat at the table for important industry conversations.
3. Attend personal trainer networking events.
The growth of online networking doesn’t make in-person networking any less effective. Look for local and national personal trainer and fitness events, such as workshops, educational trainings, conferences, or seminars, where you can meet other industry professionals or potential new clients.
Spending time with like-minded people at events will give you opportunities to build authentic, long-lasting connections. Make sure you go to these events with a clear definition of your target audience though, so you don’t waste time talking to the wrong people.
Another important way to prepare for personal trainer networking events is to create a business card. Your card should include information like your business name, personal name, website, phone number, email, personal training logo, and social media handles. Be sure to ask other people you meet for their cards too—networking goes both ways.
4. Partner with healthcare and wellness professionals.
One of the most underutilised personal trainer networking strategies is building referral relationships with other health and wellness professionals. Physiotherapists, dietitians, sports massage therapists and chiropractors all serve clients who may also benefit from personal training.
Reach out to professionals in your local area and introduce yourself. Offer to refer your clients to them when appropriate, and ask if they’d be willing to do the same. These relationships work both ways: you become a more rounded resource for your clients while opening up a consistent, trusted source of new referrals for your business.
This kind of personal training network is especially valuable because referred clients tend to come in with higher trust and greater commitment, making them easier to retain.
5. Create an elevator pitch.
An elevator pitch is a quick summary of who you are, your background/story, what you do, and your values that’s short enough to present during an elevator ride. Having an elevator pitch prepared will help you make the most of the time you spend meeting new people in person and online.
Don’t think your elevator pitch can be a simple “who, what, where, when” though. Be specific so you stand out and speak to your niche. What makes you unique? Your pitch should answer that question concisely. Be ready to speak to your strengths and sell your personal training services.
Bonus tip: Always follow up
Putting in the work to make connections is only half of the networking job. The other half is maintaining and strengthening them.
If you don’t follow up with the people you meet networking, your time and energy are going to waste. Consistent communication and growing connections are how strangers turn into leads. So, after you first connect with someone, whether at an event or online, send them a follow-up message via email, text, social media message, or phone call.
In your message, reintroduce yourself, thank them for meeting with you, and ask how they are or how their business is doing. You may also want to suggest scheduling another meeting to build that relationship even further. A simple, personal follow-up message can be the difference between a forgotten conversation and a long-term professional relationship. You can use our personal training email templates to get started.
Join a network of personal training pros with My PT Hub
Personal trainer networking doesn’t have to be difficult if you have the right tools at your fingertips. At My PT Hub, we provide more than all the software features you need to run and grow your business—we also provide you with a community of personal training professionals.
Over 130,000 personal trainers and fitness coaches are using our software to build, maintain, and strengthen connections. We make it easy for trainers to connect with their clients and with each other to build their businesses faster and make their services stronger.
Sign up for your free trial of My PT Hub to join our exclusive fitness community today!