Adapt or Die

"It's not the strongest or most intelligent that survive, its the one most adaptable to change". Charles Darwin

The title and quote at the beginning of this article may seem a bit extreme to you, but in these times we need to consider how we can up our game, to be recognised as the Pilates teacher to call.

The world has changed, being the most qualified teacher in town is not enough, it never was. Here are a few ways you can ensure that you are on top of your game:

• Promote yourself effectively
• Keep yourself motivated
• Keep in touch with what's new
• Maintain your own practice
• Read

Promoting Yourself

I have spoken to many teachers both in the fitness and Pilates arena who say they are not sales people - they somehow think "selling" is not quite "it". Well I have news for everyone - we are all sales people, in that we are selling ourselves and our skills.

We are all in the people business - no matter what training we have, or who we trained with, or what equipment we have access to - the most important thing is our clients - we cannot become complacent.

However we need to be realistic about our market - if we are working in a less than affluent area - advertising in Vogue won't work. We need to know who our client is and speak to them directly.

Get Feedback

Get feedback from clients as often as you can - you may be surprised that what will make their workout with you more enjoyable is not always more exercises or variations, but that the room is warmer, lighter, cleaner or that the "chatty Kathies" are spoken too. Keep in touch with them. Find out about how they receive their news and information - Phone, Internet, Facebook, Twitter. You will be surprised how many people are using social media now.

Talk About Yourself

Yes. Just taking the time to tell your story is always interesting to clients. Letting them know that you are not only their teacher, but you are also a student of the technique will help create rapport.

It's Not About You

You can't build a business of what you want ( there's a surprise!) you need to give your client what he or she wants that's not always what they need. So in closing your take away from this article is, (I hope) that you will find out who your client is.

How do you you do that? I hear you ask, well a simple questionnaire handed out before your class and collected the following week is a non-technical approach. If you have a website you might have a version on the site, here's a link you might use: http://free-questionnaire-templates.esurveyspro.com

Finally

You need to make sure you are offering the very best product available to your clients. You product is your group class, or your personal training sessions. You want your clients to leave you feeling they could not feel better if they tried.

Your clients want results and value for money - this does not mean cheap - is mean value for money - nobody resents paying for a service that delivers.

Make sure that is you.

<< Back to Articles
<< Back to Home page