How to get personal training clients: Proven strategies for beginners & experts

Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned personal trainer, getting more personal training clients is always a top priority. Regardless of whether you’re looking to scale and expand or just maintain a stable roster of regular paying clients, it’s essential that you’re getting a steady influx of fresh new faces through the door and onto your books.

New clients are the lifeblood of a sustainable fitness business, and knowing how to attract the consistently separates coaches who succeed from those who stagnate.

In this article, we’ll cover not only how to get personal training clients but how to create a scalable and sustainable business model with a long-term payoff. First, we’ll first talk about creating a unique niche and building an ideal client profile. Once you’ve got your marketing foundation, we’ll next delve into some of the top strategies you can use today to build your personal training roster and keep it growing.

If you’re already winning new clients but struggling to hold onto them, make sure to check out our guide on retaining the clients you’ve worked hard to win.

Let’s dive in.

Find your personal training niche

Like many small business owners, personal trainers need to deliver a service that stands out from their competitors. In the UK, this is especially true given the fact that the coaching market is saturated with qualified professionals who are all competing for the same clients.

To put things into perspective, between 2011 and 2022, the number of personal trainers increased from 15,000 to just over 25,000. Despite the fact that the demand for personal training services has also increased significantly, it’s now more crucial than ever that your PT business can differentiate from your rivals and appeal to prospective clients.

If you can find your own niche, you have something that sets you apart and lets you promote your business in a unique way. Do you have a specialty already, or could you develop one? Some niches in the fitness industry include:

Weight loss
Rehabilitation
Senior wellness
Bodybuilding
Aquatic fitness
Yoga and Pilates
New mom/postpartum health
Corporate wellness
Endurance training
Triathlon training
Sports performance

Trainers who specialize can often charge 30-50% more than generalists, plus they spend less time hunting for new clients because their reputation does the work. For more on this, read the full guide on how to create a niche for your personal training business.

Understand your target market

Once you find a niche, you want to take a deeper dive into your target demographic. Create an avatar or profile of your ideal client. Ask yourself questions like:

How often do they work out?
Where do they exercise or prefer to exercise?
What are their wellness or sports goals?
What are their unmet training needs?
Do they have fitness challenges (time, kids, disabilities, etc.)?
How old are they?
What is their typical fitness budget?

You should know where your hypothetical clients spend their time—online and in real life. Which social media platforms do they prefer? Do they watch television or listen to the radio? Perhaps they belong to sports clubs or have memberships with other health-related businesses in your local area?

Understanding this will help you know how and where to reach them. We discuss strategies for getting their attention in more detail in the next section.

How to get more personal training clients: 9 proven strategies

Now you’ve identified your perfect personal training clients and built an ideal customer profile for them. Here’s how to turn them into paying customers.

Strategies 1Get referrals from existing clients

All small businesses, including personal trainers, have two key elements that make up the foundation of their revenue. One is current clients. The other is new clients. So why not use the first to get more of the second?

Did you know it’s much easier to convince someone to buy from you when a friend or family member recommends them? In one survey, between 66% and 71% of adults bought products or services based on suggestions from people close to them.

So, how do you get established clients to refer you to others? One way is to offer a discount or incentive in return for referrals that sign on with you.

For example, you could offer a free extra session or a discount off a yearly membership or branded merchandise. You could also feature clients who refer others in your newsletter, socials, or on your website (see more below).

Strategies 2Connect on social media

People interested in fitness today often turn to social media for tips and inspiration. It’s, therefore, a fantastic place to meet people who need help with training or who can’t seem to get started on their fitness journey.

You know where your ideal clients hang out online because you took the time to create your ideal customer profile. For instance, older adults are more likely to favour Facebook, while people in their 20s might prefer TikTok or Instagram.

You don’t have to master every social media platform. Instead, pick the one (or ones) that are most popular amongst your prospective clients and focus your efforts on attracting new clients there. Every piece of content you post should have a clear call to action or next step, whether that’s a free trial session, a newsletter signup or a booking link.

Related article: The top 5 personal trainer networking tips

Strategies 3Build a website that works for you

What do you post on social media? In addition to fitness videos or class schedules, you can share announcements and blog posts from your website.

You should maintain a website to improve your credibility and present a professional presence to the public, plus it will work wonders for anyone searching for the services you offer on Google. After all, prospects are more likely to search for “personal training near me” than they are on social media. The basics include:

Home page
About page
Services page
Contact page

Your website is also a reflection of your brand. It should convey the unique vibe you want to give clients about your business. Think of it as a virtual first impression about who you are and what you do. You’ll want to keep things clear, concise and attractive to anyone first encountering your brand.

Once your business is up and running, you want to add client testimonials. This will help to boost your credibility and show that the services you offer actually work.

While you know they do, your clients will need reassurance that they’re making a good investment before they hand over their credit card details. Feature testimonials on their own page or add them to the bottom of the home page. You’ll also want to consider adding a blog or news page for more authority.

Authority is a highly effective way to boost your search rankings among clients seeking personal trainers online. Another way to improve visibility is to use search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques, like:

Including keywords on your website or blog that people use when looking for trainers via Google and other search engines
Adding local SEO by mentioning your city, area of the UK, and local landmarks
Providing useful educational content about your niche that demonstrates that you know what you’re talking about, even if people aren’t ready yet to make a purchasing decision

Don’t overlook your Google Business Profile either. Claiming and optimizing your listing is one of the fastest ways to appear when someone seaches “personal trainer near me” on Google Maps, and encouraging satisfied clients to leave Google reviews adds powerful social proof that helps drive new enquiries.

Strategies 4Offer a free trial session

People love a freebie! Giving them a complimentary session lets them experience your training style firsthand. They can see if you’re a good fit for their needs and goals and if your personalities mesh well, without having to worry about exchanging payment right off the bat.

This is also a great opportunity to address any fear or concerns they may have about the gym environment and help them feel more comfortable.

Having an “easy way in” taster session might seem counterintuitive, but when it’s structured correctly, can often lead to easy sales and long-term clients. At the end of each free appointment, give the potential client a plan for what you would do if they hired you.

This is similar to what home remodelers do after visiting someone’s house for an estimate. This gives them a clear understanding of how they can get from point A to point B. (Hint: You’re the one who can take them there!)

Strategies 5Speak to clubs

If you specialise in elite performance, finding athletes who train in those sports is essential. You can do this by contacting sports clubs and asking to speak or do a group training session.

Since you’re not in competition with them, most clubs will welcome a trainer to give a different perspective and help members improve. Individual sports like running, fencing, and golf were made for this approach.

Strategies 6Reach out to local businesses

You don’t have to specialise in corporate fitness to get new clients from area companies. Offering to teach a group lunch class or give a discount for after-work sessions might land you some new customers.

You could also target businesses where fitness plays a role in work performance and efficiency. These include the medical field (on their feet all day) and delivery services (lifting).

Strategies 7Build a fitness community

One of the most underrated strategies for getting more personal training clients is building a fitness community around your business. When clients feel part of something bigger than themselves, they become your most powerful marketing asset. Research shows that 92% of people trust personal recommendations from people they know, and an engaged community generates this kind of organic referral on a continuous basis.

Small group training sessions, a private Facebook or WhatsApp group, or community challenges are all low-cost ways to foster connection. Read our full guide on building a fitness community as a personal trainer to get started.

Strategies 8Use paid advertising

Paid ads let you get in front of potential clients who are actively looking for personal training services, without waiting for them to find you organically. The two most popular options are Google Ads (ideal for capturing high-intent searches like “personal trainer in [your city]”) and Meta ads on Facebook and Instagram (ideal for awareness and retargeting).

You don’t need a huge budget to start. Even a modest spend on a well-targeted campaign, combined with a compelling offer like a free trial session, can generate a consistent stream of enquiries. For inspiration on what to run, check out our guide to personal training ads examples that actually get clients.

Strategies 9Offer online coaching services

Online coaching is a no-brainer if you’re looking to grow from tens to hundreds—or even thousands!—of clients.

The obvious advantage of online coaching is that you don’t have to be physically present with clients to train them. That means that you can coach clients from all over the world. You save time and costs associated with travel as well as serving up on-demand coaching packages which deliver results, without time-intensive admin.

You might think that not being with your clients in-person might lead to poor results, less accountability and a lower price-bracket for training packages. However, most personal trainers find the complete opposite.

Online coaching enables you to provide your clients with tailored plans in a matter of seconds, allowing for greater convenience and keeping them accountable via online check-ins. This method often leads to better performance and retention levels. It also means that you can charge a premium for your services.

This is particularly true for personal trainers who use personal training software and custom coaching apps. Not only does using personal training software make it easier to streamline your business, coach thousands of clients simultaneously and remove the time-draining admin from your day-to-day grind, offering clients the ability to experience-tailored fitness coaching from the palm of their hand offers a game-changing level of service that they unlikely to find anywhere else.

Want to see what this looks like in practice? Read how Jack Wilson used My PT Hub to scale his online fitness coaching business.

For a full step-by-step guide, take a look at our article on how to become an online personal trainer.

How to start getting personal training clients right now

Ready to put this into action? Here are some quick wins you can implement today:

Carry business cards. Have cards with your logo and contact information on you at all times. You never know when you’ll run into a prospective client.
Chase testimonials after great sessions. Send clients a direct link to leave a review or write a testimonial for your website. Social proof builds trust faster than any ad.
Start writing content. Contributing articles to fitness magazines and websites, or publishing a blog on your own site, positions you as an authority and improves your SEO. Over time, it makes it easier for clients to find you without you having to chase them.
Build a YouTube or TikTok channel. If you’re based in a more rural area of the UK, a video channel can extend your reach significantly. You could even develop a members-only section for exclusive workouts, creating an additional revenue stream alongside your coaching.

Grow your email list. Add email capture forms to your website and build a list you can contact with announcements, offers, or a monthly newsletter. An engaged email list is one of the most reliable client acquisition assets a personal trainer can own. Manage it alongside your training business using software built for PTs.

For further inspiration and guidance, consider exploring top tips from some of the UK’s most successful personal trainers who have built thriving businesses.