When it comes to training, nothing is more important than your clients leaving the gym with a sense of accomplishment and pride. This means that you’ve done a good job providing them with an effective workout plan that helps them achieve their goals in fitness. However, it doesn’t stop there. If they leave feeling accomplished, you need to keep them coming back for more in order to maintain what they have achieved. In this article, I’m going to give 5 tips on how to retain training clients for life!

1. Be Proactive

If you wait for your clients to come back to you, they might not follow up at all — let alone return within the specified timeframe that they mentioned when making their appointment. Instead of worrying about how often your clients are coming in or what progress is being made, why not call him or her every so often to check in? I personally love weekly online check-ins. This makes it so you can get feedback on what’s happening outside of the gym on a routine basis.

This will not only show you care, but it also gives your client the opportunity to mention any concerns they might have. This way, you can work together to come up with a plan that best suits them. For example, if their goal was to lose weight then maybe they are struggling because their diet isn’t up to standard. By being proactive, you can not only save them from feeling frustrated but also provide your client with information and guidance on how they can reach their goals.

2. Invite Your Clients to Special Events

While it’s important for you as a trainer to focus on the personal training aspect by ensuring that your clients are seeing results through your customized training plans, it’s also important to be a friend outside of the gym. Invite them out for lunch or dinner or even an event or function. This will not only strengthen your relationship with each other but will also allow your clients to see you in a different light – they might even find out that you are REALLY FUNNY.

Show them that you are more than just some trainer they see 3 times per week. Let them know that you care about their progress and help them feel comfortable about it. Plus who knows? Maybe if they have an upcoming vacation planned and are worried about maintaining their fitness level whilst away, then this is another opportunity to help them with their plan.

3. This one IS a bit controversial, but hear me out – Have Clients Sign Contracts

Yes, I know that no one likes to commit long term because it means they can’t just quit when they want to and you’re the one who ends up losing money. However, if you look at this from another perspective then contracts can be very valuable for trainers who are just starting off in the business because it gives your potential clients peace of mind knowing that they won’t be wasting their money on something that isn’t right for them.

Furthermore, having a contract also makes it harder (although not impossible) for clients to cancel in between sessions and therefore reduces your risk of losing money or clients. It’s difficult to make clients sign contracts, but if you can manage it then you might see your retention percentage rise because by the time they are ready to cancel their membership, they are quick to remind themselves that they signed a contract and are therefore obliged to pay until the end of their term.

4. Make Clients Feel Part of a “Family”

You’re all part of this fitness family which means that you should keep each other accountable for achieving goals— not just yourself! You can do this by encouraging them through social media or perhaps providing monthly reports on how things are going so far. For instance send out an email with visual proof of weight loss (or weight gain), changes in body composition, measurements, and of course before and after photos. By sharing their progress with your other clients it will not only motivate them to do the same but show that your client, although part of a bigger picture, is also important in his or her own right.

5. And Finally, If All Else Fails… Just Ask Them!

You might be assuming that your clients want to quit but you never know unless you ask. That’s why I’m urging you to get on the phone and find out what’s going on. By asking about their reasons for wanting to quit you can discover ways to help them stay committed (and reduce your client turnover!). For example, you could discuss whether they are struggling with motivation or if goals have changed; this way you can give them more personalized attention and help ensure that their goals are in line with what they actually want.

And if the reason is simply due to some life event (such as moving overseas for work) then perhaps you could suggest a reduced package or fee until they are back on their feet again. Your clients will appreciate your willingness to be flexible, especially when times are tough, which is definitely something that’s not easy for most trainers to do!

So there it is – my 5 suggestions that I hope can help out anyone who might be struggling with client retention right now. If you have any questions, comments, feedback or advice of your own please be sure to leave them below so we can keep this blog discussion going! Thanks!

Coach Kyle Glickman