I'm Not A Sales Person By Nature

by Jim Labadie (Fitness Professional & Author)

"I'm not a sales person by nature." - by Jim Labadie for GymLink Australia

Something I used to tell myself all the time. I know as a fitness professional, that high-pressure sales tactics do not come naturally to us.

That is a good thing.

However, a lot of us hold the belief that a sales person is supposed to be someone who is pushy. I have come to learn that selling has absolutely nothing to do with pressuring people. Nor should you place any pressure on yourself.

Selling your services requires nothing more than having a conversation with a fitness prospect. If you cannot hold a conversation with a person then you are probably in the wrong industry in the first place. During the time you are talking, you will find out whether or not you and that person are a good fit for one another. If you are, great! If you are not, it is no big deal.

There will be more prospects, right?

In case you have not noticed, the majority of people need your help! Thanks to the fast-food business, even China is becoming obese.

In a selling situation, you always get back what you put out. Meaning, however you act, is how the prospect you are communicating with will respond. If you are acting a little nervous, the prospect will sense it and may begin to get nervous about hiring you or joining your facility. If you are acting a little pushy, your prospect will sense it and begin to push back. Just relax and talk to the person.

Your prospective client should be doing the vast majority of the talking. Sales is about them, not about you. It is natural for any person to want to rant and rave about the terrific services they provide and all the wonderful things they can do for that person, but it is even harder for us as fitness professionals because we have the ability to help people like few other professions can. However, you have to do it. If you want to get a new client, learn to listen better for what it will take to get them as a client.

It really is incredible what happens when you listen to your fitness prospects. They will tell you exactly what it is they want from you. By simply repeating back to them that you will provide them (assuming you can) with the exact results they are looking for, you will probably have a new client.