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5 Skills Every Personal Trainer Must Develop to Enter and Succeed in Their Industry

 

Imagine you were speaking to a group of would-be fitness professionals about entering and succeeding in the fitness industry, what would you say? You’d probably sit back and think for a moment before you responded. There’s so much you could say but you don’t have much time and attention tends to wane when a message is prolonged.

 

[National Posture Institute] 5 Skills Every Personal Trainer Must Develop to Enter and Succeed in Their Industry

 

Have you come up with some responses yet? I’m in the hot seat right now as you’re reading this. You’re probably a seasoned veteran, but these skills are still necessary for you to continue to grow and develop. So, I’m going to keep it light and easy by diving into the 5 skills I believe every personal trainer entering or already in this industry should develop if they want to succeed. Here’s the list:

 

1. Interpersonal skills

 

Think of interpersonal skills as social skills. People like sociable people. Clients want pros to relate to them and understand that they’re human beings with feelings. For some pros, this industry is just about the muscle or the money; others are super smart but are almost cold and robotic in their behavior. This industry is about the people. If you want to learn about your client, and you absolutely should, you have to develop some social skills. Manners and respect are in more demand these days than ever, but few seem to even understand their value.

 

2. Marketing

 

I’ll keep bringing this point up because it matters; you have to learn how to market yourself and your own unique style. You also have to know and understand your target audience. Create a plan for yourself as you move through this industry; know who you are and what you offer, and to whom you wish to offer it too. Next, put yourself out there. Learn the ropes of marketing; learn how to make yourself marketable and how to actually do it. It’s extremely important you put your name out there in a way that respects your audience and your brand, because no one will know you unless they see you.

 

3. Communication

 

Your skill as a communicator will determine a whole lot in this industry. The way you speak and carry yourself and your ability to write a proper sentence can make or break you. Too many trainers neglect these things and they suffer as a result. If you want to go far in this industry, learn how to write, type, speak, and communicate your messages to your audience. It’s not enough to learn about your audience or just know how the body works, you have to become an effective communicator to put it all together or people won’t relate, understand, or even want you in their circle.

 

4. Educational expertise

 

You won’t make it very far in this industry if you have no education on the subject area. While some are experts in sales and marketing themselves, their knowledge about topics relating to fitness and exercise are shabby at best. You can’t call yourself a professional if you’ve never had any training in fitness, it’s that simple. If you can’t get a degree, then find another route; at the very least you should have college certificates and/or certifications from credible sources. If you’ve done all that don’t think it stops there. Take classes, do CEU/CEC courses, and work on keeping yourself prepared by reading often and staying abreast with what’s happening in and around this industry.

 

5. Networking

 

No one is an island aloof in the ocean. You’re not making it in this industry if you don’t develop some professional contacts. You need networking skills, so start developing them. You need to get out there, shake hands, and hand out business cards. Don’t push people away either, someone you know could become your next boss or teammate. Develop a network of colleagues who can trust you and equally who you can trust and watch your opportunities skyrocket. Who knows, you could be leaving one institution and slide right into the next because people in your professional network had you covered.

 

While there’s so much more I could add to this list I wanted to keep it brief. I also want to take this opportunity to invite you to take our 2018 trends survey. You automatically qualify for a chance to win access to our NPI-Certified Posture Specialist program. If you win and complete the program you’ll be on your way to a brand new certification, complete with the knowledge to help create real change for millions of ailing people.

 

Take the survey here: http://www.surveyshare.com/s/AYAYHSD

 

If you’ve taken the survey, thanks so much! Let me also bring you up to speed about our premier program for learning how to safely and accurately measure flexibility, the NPI-Certified Goniometry Specialist™ program.

 

Here’s the link >>

 
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