How to Get Personal Trainer Clients

If you’ve just qualified as a personal trainer, it can be difficult to find your first clients.

But even if you’re an established personal trainer, you might sometimes have quiet spells where it feels like nobody needs your services. So in this post we’ll list a number of ways you can find new personal trainer clients.

How to Get Personal Trainer Clients

Getting personal training clients isn’t always easy but once you’ve build up a number of contacts and long-term relationships then you’ll be in a much better position. Finding and starting these relationships can be done in many different ways – including:

Friends and family
Head to the gym
Advertise
Talk to Clients to drive word of mouth

Now, we’ll go through each of these in more detail.

We look at the ways personal trainers can find new clients

Friends and Family

First, let all your friends and family know that you’re a qualified personal trainer. Some of them might want to work with you. But be sure to make it clear that this is your livelihood, and as such you can’t really offer “mates rates.”

But even if your friends and family don’t want to work with you directly, they might know people who are looking for a personal trainer. Or at least they can recommend you should they ever meet someone who needs your services.

It’s also worth reaching out to other personal trainers. Yes, you’re technically their competitor. But some successful personal trainers get so busy that they have to turn new clients down. If you get to know the personal trainers in your area, they might refer such clients to you.

Head to the Gym

Gyms are the perfect place for personal trainers to find clients. Place an advert on a noticeboard in a gym, and it’s likely to be seen by someone who’s just starting their fitness journey. But it will also be seen by people who have been working out for a while but who need some more motivation.

The problem is that the major gym chains tend to employ their own personal trainers. So if you want to ensure that you’ll always have work, apply for a job at one of the larger gyms in your local area.

But if you want to stay independent, start by advertising in the smaller independent gyms. Make an eye-catching poster that lists your services and that gives people a way to get in touch, and you should start getting some enquiries in no time.

Advertise Around Town

As well as advertising in the gym, look out for other places you could place your adverts.

A good idea is to print off a load of posters and business cards and take a walk around your local town. Shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants, and even local amenities such as launderettes, often allow people like you to place posters on their premises.

Advertise Online

Set up a Facebook page, an Instagram account, and a Twitter account. If you start posting engaging content, then over time you might start to see some organic traction on these social media platforms, and some of this might lead to enquiries. But you can also invest in a bit of online advertising, to make sure your services get seen by exactly the people you want to reach.

It’s also a good idea to set up your own website, so you have somewhere to direct people from your various social media platforms. And though it requires a massive investment of time, many personal trainers have found success through posting routines on YouTube – with Joe Wicks being the most famous example.

Unfortunately, online marketing can be a full-time job, and it could take ages before you find any success. So if you don’t have the time, or if you know your strengths don’t lie in online communication, consider hiring an agency to take care of things for you. This will cost you a lot upfront. But if you work with an agency who knows what they’re doing, you’re sure to get a good return.

Talk To Your Clients – Word of Mouth

Obviously this one’s not an option if you’re just starting out as a personal trainer. But over time, you might find that word of mouth is your strongest asset.

At the very least, ask your clients to leave a review on your social media accounts or website. Even a small number of positive reviews can act as a strong trust signal that just might convince some potential clients to start working with you.

But beyond this, don’t be ashamed of asking your clients to recommend you directly to their friends and family. You don’t have to be rude or explicit! Just ask them if they know of anyone who might need a personal trainer, and ask them if they might pass on your details if so.

Other Support for Personal Trainers

You’ll find lots of resources on our site to help you with various aspects of running your own personal trainer business.

Here’s a small selection of our resources for self-employed workers like you:

Personal Trainer Insurance By the Day

We also specialise in bespoke insurance for independent freelancers. We can give you all the specialist cover you need as a personal trainer, including professional indemnity insurance and treatment risk insurance. We know how much your business can change – so we have no minimum duration of cover and no cancellation fees.

Head here to read our full guide to specialist insurance for self-employed personal trainers.

If you have any questions, or you’d like to discuss your options, you can contact the Tapoly team at info@tapoly.com, call our info line on +44(0)207 846 0180, or use the chat box on our website.