Putting the PERSONAL into Personal Training Webinar

Friday 4th November @ 2:30pm (Sydney time) for just 45 minutes!

Have you ever wondered why some personal trainers have such a strong connection with their clients? Why a trainers bond and influence transcends beyond the hour they spend training their clients each week? What are the reasons that some trainers can be so successful, what's their secret and what exactly does it mean to put the Personal back into Personal Training? Trainer / client relationships have the potential to go in two directions: sky rocket or crash and burn.

The Putting the Personal back into Personal Training webinar session explores client / trainer relationships, rapport building, active listening and the importance of communication In our pursuit to influence and positively change people's health and wellbeing

Join Chantal by registering now: Click here

FitnessBiz Donates $945 to Fit For Good

This year with every registration at FitnessBiz or PTBiz, Active Management are donating $15 to the fitness industry charity 'Fit For Good!' So far this amounts to $945, which is just awesome!

We'd love you to help raise this donation by coming along to FitnessBiz or PTBiz. Here are six other reasons you should attend:

1. We want to reduce the health care costs for Australia, to do that we want more people exercising in gyms so this event is designed to get more people exercising!
2. It is in a city near you and if you live more than 100km it is even cheaper!
3. It is only half a day.
4. You get Fitness Australia CEC's – 2 for each Biz event
5. You can save $100 to attend IHRSA in 2012.
6. You could win a $50 Gift Voucher for 2XU products

To register use the code 'Active' to save $25! Go to www.FitnessBiz.com.au.

Contractor Vs Employee - the Latest

Just because a worker has an ABN or provides an invoice for payment doesn't necessarily mean that makes them an independent contractor in the eyes of the law. They maybe still viewed as an employee entitling them to super and other payments. The ATO has signalled that they are cracking on down on dodgy contracting arrangements. The Fair Work website has published case studies to help you understand when someone is a contractor and when they are an employee. Check out www.fairwork.gov.au and click on 'Employment.'

Social Media Presence More Important Than Social Media Ads

     

In July 2011, Microsoft Advertising and Advertiser Perceptions surveyed social media marketers in six countries around the world and found that 74% of them thought it was very important to have a presence on Facebook, but only 57% felt the same way about advertising there. On Twitter, presence also carried more weight, with 47% of respondents saying they thought it was very important. But in Twitter's case, there was not as much of a difference between presence and advertising, at 42%.

Of the marketers surveyed, 72% agreed that measuring return on investment from social media was too hard, an oft-cited challenge of social media overall. More specific to having a brand page or account, 56% of marketers said turnover was too high and 52% said their fan or follower base was not target-appropriate.

Social media marketers reported that 48% of their budgets are used to attract new members to their pages, with 28% focused on social sites such as Facebook or Twitter, and 20% from off of these sites. On the other hand, 19% of budgets are used to keep current Facebook or Twitter communities engaged, and an additional 20% of budgets are spent on paid media to maintain existing fan bases.

Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008634

Is Your Sales Process Modern?

You have seen stories about industrial or even military espionage where a competitor or enemy gets a hold of some cool piece of technology from you and then takes it apart to reverse engineer their own development of a competing product.

Now consider reverse engineering your sales process. WHY? Pre internet, customers answered about 20% of their questions before sitting with a sales person. Now the prospect has answers to 80% of their questions before meeting a sales person. Prospects use the internet, and social media and friends to learn before they see you.

The challenge is the prospect who is already busy, already has 80% of what they need to know to make a purchase is sitting with a sales person who has answers for the first 80% and does not know what the last 20% of the questions are. If the sales process burns up the customers patience and time with the 80% and fails to answer the last 20%, sales are impacted negatively.

The 80% is what we know about our Features and Benefits from the club side. The 20% resides in the prospects. We can even ask, "Do you have any questions?" But this has two problems. First it is asked after we have reviewed the 80% they already know and their attention span is short. Second, prospects may not themselves know the last 20% questions. This is the often false assumptions in market research: "The customer knows what they want." Frequently, they do not. If they did, they would have told Apple we want a tablet or a computer in a phone. Thirdly, even if the prospect is deep down in touch with their core emotional needs and drivers, they are often unwilling to articulate and expose these in the sales process.

Too often the member has two conversations with the club: when they buy and months later when they leave. Now add a third one right after they buy-ideally within 24 hours-an in depth post sale interview. Open ended questions from a skilled, unbiased interviewer who establishes deep rapport will begin to reveal the last 20%. A sales person or sales manager could be too biased and defensive to do these interviews well.

The Fitness Industry Sucks At Facebook

As you know, I love social media in the marketing mix but seriously the fitness industry does suck at social media! That is unfair on the fitness industry as MOST small businesses suck at Facebook!

I believe there are 2 main things that annoy Facebook fans and friends:

• Status updates that are crap; and
• Selling stuff when we have no relationship or trust.

What do I mean?

Firstly, if you wake up and think "I need to update my Facebook status" there is a fair chance that you will put some rubbish up about what you are doing. People are friends of you, in any social media, or a fan of your brand because you add value to their life.

Generally telling me the sun is out or that you are having toast for breaky is not adding value. You are sending your fans and followers crap.

So please . . . pretty please . . . pretty please with sugar on top . . . only put posts up that are on brand. So if you are a fitness centre put posts up that relate to fitness, exercise, nutrition, sleep and so on. Stay on brand and people will stay fans.

But before you start posting, decide why are you are on Facebook (or on any social media platform). What are you trying to do – Drive sales? Drive leads? Drive relationships with current and or potential customers? Be the font of information? Be a connector?

The strategy behind why you are entering this medium will help determine your style of posts. Then combine your brand promise in your posts and not only will you keep your friends and fans but they will spread the word. You will then exponentially grow your social reach.

Your new Insights reporting will tell you what resonates with your fans, if you have a Facebook Page. These numbers will tell you categorically what people like seeing as your posts. So keep doing ones that people like. For example, you may post an exercise video one day and a healthy recipe another and there is 5 times more traffic for the recipe. This means people dig your recipe updates, so potentially do a couple more.

Finally, if you think just because I am your fan you have the right to start ramming your product and services down my throat, you are mistaken! Seriously, if you try to sell me something on every post I will not follow you and you will NEVER get me back!

Facebook is a not a direct marketing tool. It is a relationship building mechanism.

Direct me to your website. Combine education with an offer but try to stay clear of just offers as your post. I believe it is ratio of 10 education or value adding posts to one sales post. Get this mix right and your fans will then share your sales post.

Seriously, fitness/small businesses get your act together and consider what Michael Donnelly, Coca-Cola Group Director for Worldwide Interactive Marketing said, "Being a fan, friend follower does not mean they have opted in to have advertising blasted at them".

Happy Birthday to the Active Family

All the best to the following friends of Active Management who are celebrating their birthday in November:

• Simon from Squashbrook, South Aussie
• Will from REX Roundtables, USA
• Gilles Broustail from Form Plus, New Caledonia
• Broni from Catch Fitness, NZ
• Peter from South Pacific Health Clubs, Victoria
• Sammy from Think Tank Media, Victoria
• Jad from New Dimensions, NSW
• Ben from Blue Leisure Group, NZ
• Simon from Ezypay, Australia
• Michelle from South Pacific Health Club, Victoria
• Linda from Glowing Results, Victoria
• Greg from Cybex, Australia
• Suzi from Australian Businesswomen's Network, Austalia
• Celeste from Ezypay, Australia
• Connie from Contours, Victoria
• Dee from Les Mills, Australia
• Antoinette from Contours, Victoria
• Steve from Think Tank Media, Victoria
• Amelia from Amelia Burton, Australia
• And a special birthday wish to Zoe my little girl who turns 3 this month!

As always, if we missed your birthday have a great day! But make sure you tell us. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it !

FitnessBiz & PTBiz are on NOW!

We are travelling the country side this month sharing business tips to help you get more people active and healthy in your community! It is not too late to register, so just go to www.FitnessBiz.com.au and you register on-line!

As an email subscriber, you can receive a $25 discount on registration by using the code 'Active'. Look forward to seeing you soon!

Win a Polar Heart Rate Monitor

This is the second and final month you have a chance to win a Polar FT7 just for reading the Active Management e-news. As a supporter of PTBiz the great people at Polar Australia are giving you ANOTHER chance to win a Polar FT7 heart rate monitor! So enter your details CLICK HERE. The winner will be announced in the December e-news.

For more information on heart rate training, click here.

Fitness Australia Roll of Honour

On Friday 14 October, the Health & Fitness Industry recognised and applauded the achievements of individuals and businesses at the Australian Health & Fitness Industry Awards gala dinner in Brisbane. This year, we also celebrated a 'decade of fitness'.

In order to recognise these achievements, Fitness Australia has introduced the Awards of Honour Program which includes the Chairman's Award, the Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Industry and the Industry Roll of Honour.

So congratulations:

I was honoured to also be on the list! In fact very humbled. Here is my blog on the experience: Humbled By Fitness Australia Roll of Honour.

How to Harness What You Know to Sign Long Term Clients

 Next month Victoria Judge makes her debut as a speaker for PT Biz. Here is an awesome article she put together to get you ready for her presentation.

Positioning yourself as an expert, and educating your prospects to see you as the solution to their fitness and weight loss problems, is one of the most powerful marketing strategies you can employ to grow your business.

Never underestimate just how much knowledge you have - and don't tell yourself that you can't write - you can! The more information you share with your marketplace, the faster you will build the trust and relationships necessary for people to sign up with you. Regular creation of quality content is also essential for SEO.

Get into the habit of writing at least one piece of content every week and publishing it.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• blogs
• articles
• videos
• media releases
• social media posts
• webinars/teleconferences/podcasts

Not only will this give a massive boost to your marketing results, but you'll very quickly build an impressive bank of content which you can reuse over and over: in ebooks, ecourses, membership sites, seminar content...

I recommend my clients create a Communications Schedule to help them stay on track. For example:

• Monday: create and send media release
• Tuesday: publish blog
• Wednesday: record video
• Thursday: run educational webinar
• Friday: write and syndicate article

As you can see there are numerous ways to share your message and position yourself as a trusted authority.

Think outside the box and be brave with your content marketing strategy! You'll be amazed how quickly it pays off with clients on your books and money in the bank. So get writing and have fun creating your new communications schedule!

To register for PT Biz, click here.

NEW Health & Safety Laws in Australia from January!

New safety laws will deploy 1 Jan 2012 with the view to harmonising State laws across Australia. The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 has some fundamental differences.

Officers have an imposed duty to exercise due diligence which creates a demonstrably positive obligation. The traditional employer/employee/contractor relationship has been replaced by a broadly encapsulating term Person Conducting Business or Undertaking (PCBU). This will impose the duty of care across a wider variety of working arrangements at your Club.

Consultation arrangements will alter with committees and reps gaining new powers PCBU duty of care will enhance the obligations of contractor controls your business will need to have in place. This is an area we see Clubs greatly lacking in.

Possible fines and jail terms have greatly increased

But what does this mean for your business operationally?

1. Ensuring compliance with legislation, awards and standards
2. Endorsing the formulation of appropriate rules, procedures and methods for the workplace
3. Ongoing effective dissemination of OHS information and promotion of health and safety

awareness in the workplace Many businesses do not have the resources, personnel or money to make complex and expensive OHS systems work effectively. They must have simple safety processes that employees will use and can slot into everyday business functions.

SAFETYBOX is specifically designed to cater for these needs and assist greatly in your compliance with legal obligations.

SAFETYBOX INCLUSIONS

• A fully compliant Occupational Health & Safety Management System
• A CD with electronic versions of all policies and forms to easily customise
• A sign in register for visitors with lanyards to wear
• A sign in register for contractors with lanyards to wear
• A First Aid Kit with signage
• An outline of the New OHS laws for 2012

You can see the product now on www.safetybox.com.au. And to order your SAFETYBOX it is only $1900 (ex GST) from Recovery Partners. Contact Rowan Brown on 02 9532 0988

Lift-For-Life Start Up Grant

Fitness Australia now has Start-Up Grants of up to $5,000 each available for fitness providers in Australian Government Healthy Communities Initiative (HCI) funded areas to deliver the Lift for Life® program, a strength training program designed specifically to tackle type 2 Diabetes and other chronic disease.

The first round of Fitness Australia's Lift for Life® Start-up Grant applications are open from 1st to 30th November 2011 and are available to fitness businesses located in COAG HCI funded areas. To check if you're business is eligible and to download the application visit www.liftforlife.com.au/StartupGrant

Connect with your community and make a difference!

Lift for Life® is supported by funding by the Australian Government

Product of the Month:  Reach Cast

ReachCast is a powerful combination of proprietary technology and expert service that manages your entire Web Presence – so you can focus on running your business. Armed with experience in SEO, social media marketing, and reputation management, your dedicated Web Presence Professional (WPP) consults with you to create and execute the perfect Web Presence strategy for your business.

For more information click here or contact Greg Gillies: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

If you have any questions about your business or if you want more information about any of the topics discussed in this issue of Active Report, email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call me direct at 02 8007 0347.

Until next month, be well and stay active!

Justin Tamsett

[Just click the business card to add Justin to your Outlook Contacts]