You might be the most talented personal trainer in the world – but without testimonials, your services would likely fall onto deaf ears. Testimonials are valuable and essential tools when it comes to marketing your business, and they should be plastered all over your website, your social media channels, and even over the walls of your gym or business. Ultimately, they should work as lures for potential clients – they need to be striking, inspiring and convincing. They should provide concrete social proof that you deliver an incredible service, and should place you in a position of authority. So how do you obtain quality testimonials and use them to help your business boom?
Ask clients for a testimonial after they reach a goal
It’s common for trainers to wait until clients ‘graduate’ or finish up to ask for a testimonial, but this can be detrimental because they might forget or drop off the radar. Your best bet is to ask for a testimonial after they’ve completed an important milestone. The goals they’ve reached will be at the forefront of their mind, and they’ll have had more than enough experience of your training style to recommend it to others.
Ask regularly and informally
Remember, testimonials don’t necessarily need to be written and tangible to be effective. Once you’ve created a strong relationship with a client, ask them every one to two months if they have any friends or family who are interested in beginning their fitness journey.
Be honest with how testimonials help your business
One of the best ways you can be transparent in this endeavour is to be upfront with clients when it comes to how their testimonials have helped your business. Not only does this keep communication clear and open, but it also strengthens rapport between client and trainer and creates more opportunities for them to invite their friends and family.
Ask questions as a starting point
A good testimonial should inspire and convince, so it’s important they are set up for success. One of the best ways to make sure your clients are creating quality testimonials is to give them a head start. By providing them with a set of questions that they can go off of, you are ultimately creating the narrative and context that will help you lure more clients to your service.