Client-Personal Trainer Relationship: How To Make it Work And What Not To Do!
The Personal Trainer-Client relationship is a sacred bond in the fitness industry. It requires trust and transparency between both parties to succeed, but unfortunately, this only sometimes happens as intended. Personal trainers make frequent and avoidable mistakes that can disrupt the harmony of the trainer-client relationship and prevent it from being fruitful.
One of the most common mistakes personal trainers make is not communicating to the client about the rules and expectations, not setting clear goals, and providing simple and easy-to-follow instructions on how to reach those goals!
Be clear about your cancellation policy from day 1
To build a professional relationship, you need to be a professional first. You should ensure your client understands your cancellation policy from day one to avoid confusion, hard feelings, and stress. I have seen one too many fitness professionals who need a clear cancellation policy.
At Fortius Dubai, we have a 24-hour cancellation policy. If you feel that is too strict, you can have a 12-hour cancellation policy, and you can also provide one last-minute cancelation free of charge for every monthly package they take. You can also charge last-minute cancelations at 50% of your session rate if that is something you feel more comfortable with.
Important Note: Remember that your cancellation policy might turn down the client. Even if it does, a person needs to be committed more to reach their goals anyway. From my personal experience, every time I was soft in my communication, I struggled later on to bring it to a more professional level. Confusion was avoided when I knew the rules from day one and had happy clients and positive relationships.
Personal trainers must provide value and communicate to the client what is required for results to happen from day one!
People pay you to get results. It is vital that from day one, you perform an assessment and establish fitness goals. Then it would be best if you told your client what needs to be done for them to reach those goals in the set time frame. If you randomly train people without clear objectives, they will likely get bored and stop their training sessions. Also, if you are there to remove and put weights on the bar, then why would they ever, in their right mind, pay you 300-400aed per session?
Important Note: Sell a REALISTIC dream! What do I mean by that? Your clients often come to you with expectations higher than what is realistically expected in the given time frame. Make sure you explain the science to them about what is possible physiologically by the human body. Set high goals but do not lie to them. If they interviewed a couple of trainers, they are much more likely to go with the person that sets realistic goals than those that sell them a poster physique in 6 weeks, AKA lies!
Do not expect your training clients to know things you do not tell them!
As mentioned above, be clear about your cancellation policy and set clear goals and expectations from day one of your client's fitness journey. In addition, openly communicate about the emotional and mental aspects of the relationship. Suppose you have a client who always shows up with negative energy to your sessions. In that case, as a fitness professional, it is your job, to a certain extent, to help them feel better and leave the gym with an influx of positive energy ready to smash the day! However, if that client disregards your emotional state daily and consistently negatively overloads you, you should not be afraid to communicate that to them.
Important Note: Let me make myself clear here! Yes, absolutely if you want to be an excellent personal trainer, you must partly become your client's psychologist, friend, and sometimes even a relationship advisor, oh yeah, and sometimes an investment advisor, hahaha, but make sure you communicate with them openly if they take all your energy without giving anything back in return!
Don't expect your clients to treat your profession as a job if you treat it as a hobby!
If you, as a personal trainer, constantly change your schedule, wait to attend your sessions, keep canceling, and, even worse, do not show up, why would your clients take you seriously? We have a saying in my country that you can not sit on two chairs simultaneously, so decide your priority! Are you a full-time PT, or are you a promoter or model? There is a time when people will shift from job to job, and a transition takes time; however, at some point, you will need to make an important decision and set high expectations and strict rules for yourself before you decide to do it with your clients.
What about the other side of the coin?
What are some common things clients do that can negatively affect a healthy relationship?
You are not respecting the Personal Trainer's time.
PTs have obligations outside of their profession, just like everyone else. Ensure you respect their time and don't expect them to perform sessions past the allotted times. Work obligations and traffic can occasionally lead to you coming late for your session. A real fitness professional should extend the session when his schedule is not backed up, but this should only happen occasionally and is at the trainer's discretion.
Hiring a personal trainer but taking advice from his colleagues or other people around you
If you hire a trainer, it is because you genuinely believe in his skills and that he can help you reach your objectives. Be careful when listening to advice from other people or members at the gym. Personal Trainers specialize in their specific field of fitness and sports, so they should be taken seriously regarding your health and fitness plan. Someone else can help you better change your trainer.
Not paying your trainer on time.
It's essential to make sure Personal Trainers get paid on time. If you have a deadline for payment, stick to it and refrain from making excuses after completing your session. That can make Personal Trainers awkward and lead to a strained professional relationship.
Important Note: if you have been working with a trainer for a while, know that if you communicate to him about your financial hardship, they will understand and be more than happy to delay your payment or perhaps even provide you with a discount for his services.
Making Personal Trainers feel like your therapist or worst enemy
Many Personal Trainer-client relationships have been strained due to clients taking their frustrations out on Personal Trainers and expecting them to act like a therapist. Trainers should be seen as knowledgeable professionals, not therapists; they are there to help you reach your goals and can be great listeners and advisors but do not expect them to absorb negative energy and negative talk constantly.
Lastly, constantly improving yourself and your services is integral to building great relationships with your clients. That will lead to you building high self-esteem and having strong energy that will significantly impact how your clients view you and your profession.
If you are looking for a personal trainer but do not know where to start, read my blog: "How to find a great personal trainer in Dubai: Comprehensive Guide."
If you are a personal trainer looking to improve your services, read my blog: "The Top Skills a Personal Trainer in Dubai Must Have to Succeed: A Dive Into Coaching Skills, Biomechanics, Human Physiology, Psychology, Marketing, and More!"
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