One of the problems many new Bootcamp Instructors face is understanding how to keep their clients coming back for more.
In the early days of fitness bootcamps, they were designed as a one-off 4-week or 8-week course for getting into shape. You signed up for the 4 weeks, got obliterated and left 5 kilograms lighter and a little battered.
But then you would go back to not exercising, only to repeat the bootcamp after Christmas next year.
For us trainers, it makes for a terrible business model because for each 4 week block you would need to ramp up advertising to fill your spots with fresh clients. It’s much easier to set up an ongoing bootcamp that clients can continue attending week after week. In fact, from bootcamp to bootcamp you should be getting 70-80% of your clients returning. If you’re not, you’re doing something wrong.
Each bootcamp, you should be getting 70-80% of your clients returning.
There can be a whole laundry list of reasons why your clients aren’t returning, some of which you have limited control over. However, here are 3 common one’s that you can start changing today.
1. You Don’t Love Them
You have to care about your clients and you have to show that you care. Yes, you even need to care about the one’s that drive you insane.
Any client visiting any business wants to feel special. Now take that want and put it into an intimidating, high intensity situation like bootcamp. You need to make sure that you are giving some attention to each and every one of them.
Here are some ways to show you care:
- Call them if they miss a session – don’t wait until they miss two, as soon as the miss just one, be on the phone making sure that they are OK
- Ask them about their injuries – check that they feel comfortable with speaking up if it flares up
- Ask them for feedback
- Email your group health advice and motivational emails
- Remember their spouses/pets/kids names
Also check out this comprehensive guide: 14 Simple Retention Tricks That Take Less Than 10 Minutes
2. Your Bootcamp Workouts Are Lacking Pizazz
Your clients won’t come back if they aren’t looking forward to your workouts. It’s hard enough to get up at 5.30am or drag yourself to exercise after work if you are dreading what you are in for.
Create effective, fun and safe workouts each and every day. If you have trouble coming up with workout ideas have a look through the bootcamp workouts on this site or consider signing up for our workout wizard, BootCraft.
You also need to follow through with great instruction and expert knowledge, practice the way you demonstrate an exercise in front of the mirror at home if you need. This all ties back into loving your clients enough to care.
3. You Aren’t Awesome Enough
You need to bring ‘it’ to every single workout. It’s simply not good enough to just rock up to meet your clients and just point where they need to go.
You need to be motivating, inspiring and fit. If your clients are struggling, you should be right there beside them, pushing them past their comfort zone.
This also means you can’t be neglecting your own training but expecting clients to turn up week after week. Lead by example, challenge yourself, and you’ll find that people will want to be around you.
Wrap-Up
Like I wrote above, you may not always know why your clients aren’t coming back. That’s why you need to set up a good feedback system. You can use an online service like Survey Monkey or Typeform, paper surveys or you can have one of you staff call your clients and ask. Just make sure you are capturing those reasons why so that you can work on fixing them.
All in all, if you are a good trainer, you care and you’re smart about the way you do business there is no reason that your clients won’t keep coming back for more.
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Kyle Wood created Bootcamp Ideas in 2010 when he was hunting around on the internet for workout ideas. He ran a successful bootcamp in Victoria, Australia and spends his spare time managing this site, adventuring (or lazying) with his wife and find new ways to make bootcamps even better.
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