For the vast majority, that motivation should not be solely monetary gain… at least not directly.

If payment for fitness education presentation is not a likely benefit for you, then why do it?…

Because secondary benefits of product or service sales, exposure of your expertise to the masses, and authoritative positioning that comes with presenting, provide you plenty of lead opportunities that will pay off down the road.

“Duct Tape Marketing” provides us 5 tips for your free presentations pay off big time.
**These tips are appropriate whether you are presenting at the largest of conferences or at a local church.

1) Get referred

You can create your own workshop events, but one of my favorite strategies is to approach two potential groups and offer to present great information to their clients and networks. The key here is that you have a topic that is very hot and seen as very valuable. This is not a sales presentation, it’s an education and value add tool. Approach your two partners with the idea that you’ll present a great topic, they offer it to their customers, and they get to cross promote to each others attendees as part of the deal. You simply get referred in as the expert. (Every time you do this you will get asked to speak at an event one of the attendees is involved with as well.)

2) Make a deal with the sponsor

You are a highly sought after speaker willing to waive your fee only if they permit your to elegantly reveal that there is a way for attendees to acquire your products and services and that you will also be offering some free stuff in exchange for contact information of those interested in the free stuff. Make it known that you have no intention of selling, merely informing. This approach raises the value of your presentation and gets you what you need as a lead generation opportunity. This can be a deal breaker for you or the sponsor. If you over promote, don’t expect to get asked back, if they won’t allow you to acquire leads, don’t bother.

3) Educate like crazy

Don’t be afraid to give away all of your secrets. Some folks suggest you should just tell them what they need, but not how to get it done. I don’t agree. If you tell them how, some may think they can do it themselves, but those who really want what you have will realize through your specific details, how tos, and examples that you do indeed possess the knowledge and tools to help them get what they want. Educate and you won’t have to sell!

4) Collect those addresses

In some cases people will rush up to you after a thought provoking presentation and ask how they can buy, but, in case they don’t, make sure you give all attendees a valuable reason to share their contact information for the purpose of follow-up. You can offer them the slides to your presentation, a free resource guide related to your topic, or a more detailed report based on the topic, in exchange for business cards. If you don’t have this preplanned you’ll find you won’t get a second chance to wow these folks. Of course, I hope it goes without saying that you should also have a follow-up process. Write a hand-written note, add them into a pre-written drip email campaign on the topic, or call them up after the event to measure their engagement.

5) Simple call to action

When I first starting speaking in the manner I’ve described here, I would pour my heart out, mindful of not selling, and then come to the end and there would be this awkward moment when I knew people wanted to buy something, but I didn’t have an offer. Well, I quickly learned that didn’t serve either of us very well. If you provide great information and a clear road map to solve someone’s problems, you’ll often find them wanting you to reveal how they could take the next step. But here’s the key – in that environment, they want a deal for acting right now. Not every audience or speaking engagement will present this opportunity, but I’ve found that in a straight free speaking gig, where I’ve been given permission to introduce my products and services, this 3-step approach is well received.

a)tell your audience right up front you’re going to give them great information and tell them at the end about what you do

b) about half way through, after you’ve built some trust, take a quick minute to reveal, for instance, a paid workshop or program you have coming up, tell them the price and go on

c) at the end answer questions, make free offers, and, almost as an afterthought, agree to let them also bring a friend to the event you mentioned at the same price if they sign-up today. (You’ve just made the event half price in their mind, turned them into a recruiter, and given your potential attendee a valuable tool to offer to a friend or colleague) So, all of a sudden, anyone considering the offer is now highly motivated by this compelling change of events. Don’t hard sell this, simply put it out there and let people do the math. Don’t risk tainting your wonderful information with a sales pitch, but don’t leave those who want to buy without an option either.

As a Fitness Education Presenter you have many opportunities beyond being paid for each hour spent educating.  Presentation rewards should be far greater and last far longer than a single paycheck…. Be the authority.

Be sure to sign up for the mailing list on the right to keep up on many different niches, each of which may be great for serving as a fitness education presenter.

In the Spring when the first cases were reported out of Mexico, there was a lot of concern from our fitness professionals scheduled to travel to resorts in that part of the world.  With the swine flu now reaching most all areas of the world, the concern has changed to personal prevention and telling the difference between more common seasonal ailments and those produced through this new flu strain.

A quick Google search will provide you a great deal of information.  Following I have included a nice side by side chart found on the FitSugar site, that displays differing symptoms in the flu vs cold.

I’m not the Doctor nor producer of this chart, but it does appear very consistent with much of the related information I found in researching this topic.  Do further educate your self on this topic and consult your physician if you have specific question.

For the Fitness Professional enjoying a working vacation or providing services in your own community, utilizing recommended precautions and knowing the differences in these illnesses can at the least reduce a bit of stress, which we know is good for all of us.

I’m sorry this transformation couldn’t happen on the “big shave” day (Friday), but joining you from here was the next best option I could muster, and the kids really enjoyed participating.

My challenge with this cut is nowhere near yours, but your public display of courage  in this battle has been inspiring to myself and our entire family. Positive thoughts and many prayers to you….  Shelly says “Get A Mammogram!”

… A few more embarrassing pics to follow.

Getting Ready

Ali Starts with the Right Side

In Comes Rachael for the Left

Finally, Noah’s Job to Handle the MowHawk

They Wanted to Stop Here

Amy came back in and trimmed the strays, cleaned the mess, and took the final pictures.  Michelle your strength is inspiring in the face of extreme challenge. We, and hundreds of others are there to support you however possible. I hope these few hairs of mine and those you will take on Friday are an obvious small step in displaying a bit of that support.

Team Michelle - Snohomish

Besides seeking out competent mentors and/or appropriate trainings for marketing health & fitness, it is helpful to look at what larger organizations are doing in regards to this type of marketing.

One example is from the British Government.  The “Change for Life” campaign utilizes a well known group of animated t.v. stars to spread the word… The Simpsons.

Through sponsorship of Homer and the family the Change for Life campaign is using those who are well known as the opposite of health and through  creative graphic morphing, showing how dietary alternatives would make for a healthier Simpson family.

Corn Chip Anyone?

A second example of marketing health is exampled by the fast food and similar less-healthy industries.  Check out some of the creative junkfood marketing ads at this trendhunter article, that, even though we know better, still get us coming back.  Sexy and economical work for fast food as well as most any other industry.

As a fitness professional, whether you like the sound of selling or marketing, you ARE marketing health.  Without it, no one will ever hear your message.

Selling Burgers?

Whether you creatively find an “opposite” to display how your service can improve the wellbeing of your prospect. Or, you utilize tried and true (sex/discount) methods that are effectively used by the industries we are often struggling to encourage our clients away from… you have to establish some sort of plan for marketing your health & wellness offerings.

There are thousands of on-line and off-line options for marketing your programs.  But, what is often found among so many fitness professionals is the idea that by building their credentials the clients will automatically come. 

“Build it and they will come” is rarely the case and one way or another you will need to strategically approach the issue of marketing health in order to reach others with the good word of health & fitness.

Continue your fitness foundational learning, but don’t undervalue the need to learn principles of marketing and other related business skills.

Knowing that a client has the ability to unravel a perfectly designed exercise program with only a few poor consumption decisions on their own time has left many a fitness professional frustrated… and I’m sure a few just plain pissed.

Clients as well as the majority of the population love to search out and buy into the latest greatest diet fad creating an often uphill battle with the topic of nutrition.

Because of this, I have for years been on the lookout for a scientifically based, sensible dietary tool that could be used to assist the client without taking myself out of my scope of practice.

That solution has been found, used by us locally, and with a little negotiation I am very happy to be able to provide this same opportunity to other trainers…

You already know the truth:
Real success for your clients comes from just a few basic elements.

• complete balanced nutrition
• at the correct level of calories
• from real healthful foods.

Our company FIT Launch has entered an excellent collaboration with Vitabot. I’ll get to details in a moment, but through that partnership you have an opportunity to utilize their technology (under your own brand) at a better price than through any other source.

The Vitabot system works with you like your own private nutritionist to help you create completely balanced diets using your favorite foods, evaluate (grade) client diet’s, print shopping lists, track assessment data, and/or offer access directly to the client.

As a Fitness Professional you can view all details on utilizing this program and the benefits of doing so on the FPT Vitabot page……..  If you are nervous about the relatively small investment to get your own program started you might also consider purchasing your own account and then when you receive a diet log from one of your clients, simply plug it into your account to gain valuable information you can pass on to you client.  The system evaluates the program for you and offers appropriate suggestions.

Check out one of the ways we are offering this program to our clients through our Diet Grader program.  There are many great reasons you should be offering something similar to your clients as well (you don’t have to build a specific website for it… don’t even need one at all)

This type of program will be a bonus to your client and make you look like a hero as their likelihood of goal obtainment will go through the roof.

It can also be a stand alone tool, similar to the primary option we have at Diet Grader. This makes it excellent for group fitness and mind/body instructors to offer for the benefit of their students…. Coaches & Athletes, its not only built to handle weight loss. It is a very versitle tool that is great for the fitness professional and client.

I’ll play with fixing the header to this site soon and see if I can get back on track for all you millions (3 including mom) of followers who like to see what’s happening with me and my role in the fitness industry.

The one thing this adventure should show any Fitness Professional is that creating a web presence isn’t rocket science… Heck, I did it and apparently broke it and now within a couple of hours have a new presence up and running again.

A web presence is essential for any fitness professional. I can work with you to create one, you have a choice of thousands of other independent web programmers you can go to, or like this little site…  do a bit of research and then build your own, WordPress site.

In working with several thousand fitness professionals from various specialty backgrounds I most often am asked two simple questions.  I want to share those answers with you here.

1. What is a Wellness Coach – Answer: A proactive advocate for the overall wellness of the client.
2. What is best training for becoming a Wellness Coach – Answer: Health & Lifestyle Coach Certificate from the National Institute of Whole Health (NIWH).

Want further details on the reasoning for these conclusions? READ ON.Wellness Coach definition, if you search for just a few minutes, has apparently many different means. All generally related to being a wellness advocate.  Ultimately for the fitness industry professional it might be easiest to note that there are Wellness Coaches who are nutritionists, trainers, instructors, chiropractors, etc., but not all who have those specialties are Wellness Coaches. Related yes, but generally a bit different in approach.

Wellness Coach, Doug Nau’s article speaks to the Wellness Coach roll

Wellness Coach Training… It’s fairly simple why I point to the NIWH program for Wellness Coaching training. We have a great deal of information on their program available on the website, so I’ll bullet some reasons below.

• NIWH has more than 30 years of institutional education experience
• New On-line programs for convenient accessibility
• Program instructors are comprised of a variety of industry leading doctors and therapists
• Successful completion not only gives a title… Also provides you the ability to bill insurance companies for services rendered to clients. (Insurance company buy in doesn’t come easy)
• Established referral network to assist in the new career elements
• They offer discounts to Fitness Pro Travel Network members not available from their own site

Wellness Coaching is a growing trend in the Health & Fitness Industry.  The Health & Lifestyle Coach Certificate is an excellent program should you want to move to this cutting edge of client wellness. You will be viewed a bit more as an Allied Health Professional and it may open up several new doors for your career or fitness business.

Life of an Entrepreneur – This a guest post / re-post, but points 3 & 4 are very true to the independent fitness professional making it worth showing here as well.  Simple and to the point.

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Ah, the life of an entrepreneur. Come up with a business idea, write your business plan, line up a bunch of venture funding, and retire to a private island a few short years later when you go public.

1. You’re more likely to make a living than make the Forbes 500. Most entrepreneurs end up making a living, and some make a really nice living doing what they love.

2. There is no money line to get in. There are a lot of you’s out there competing over very scarce resources. But don’t think you’ll just get in line and pick up your check.

3. It’s more about you than your plan. Business success has more to do with you than anything else. The best plans mean nothing in the hands of the wrong person.

4. You’re in sales, whether you think so or not. Every business on the planet is selling something.

5. You’re going to fail. Yep, you will fail. You will probably fail multiple times. If that concerns you, pick another path for your life. If it doesn’t concern you that you will be an utter failure at some point, good – with every failure you get one step closer to success, cliché but true.

From Business Opportunities Weblog.

I learn a great deal. I play a great deal. And, walk away a bit sad knowing it will be another year before we run the conference again.

When Fit Bodies added Fit Beach to their working vacation offerings this provided an added fitness education benefit for the traveling fitness professionals involved in their programs. Working with us, FIT Launch, continued that movement and also encouraged programs that would help the career and business side of being a fitness professional….

The development of the Fitness Pro Travel site took a large step in that direction and introduced the concept of “AFFILIATE MARKETING“ to many of you, and several are taking advantage of it now.

With this years Fit Beach we want to expand the Affiliate Program to encourage not only your participation, but also your referral of others to join the fun.

With your Fitness Pro Travel account you have a unique numeric identifier for your account. Simply provide this number to anyone you believe might enjoy Fit Beach and with their entry of your number on their registration form you make a commission from their attendance…. It’s that easy.

OK, I’m making it even easier… If you have an account, they can enter your number OR your name to get you credit.

You can print and pre-fill the forms with your number or simply tell them of your number through any means you like and send them to the site for conference details and registration.  You decide what works best for you.

BONUS: Receive your commissions for the referral, but also know that should 5 sign up with your code and you’ll be getting 100% of your conference registration fee covered.

Check out Fit Beach.  Check out how using affiliate programs can earn you added income (also click the graphic question mark in the affiliate section of your FPT account).  And, join us while we train in the tropics this November 2-6.

This Fitness Pro Travel – Fit Beach link will break down your commission rates based on your membership level. (10%-30%)

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Keep in mind that nearly all professional workshops include master class portions.  These are ideal and available to registered, non professional, participants as well… what does this mean to you???

That means that when encouraging others to join the fun at Fit Beach, your clients, students, and family should be near the top of your list along with your co-workers.  There’s enough fun, entertainment and learning for all.

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Send your referrals to Fitness Pro Travel first to register using your affiliate code as well.  Not only will they then receive a reduced conference rate (with the purchase of a paid membership), but you’ll then carry the potential for other affiliate earnings at FPT.

One of 5 Fit Pro Designs

The first time you use it, the bank will donate $50 to Fitness Pro Travel Network and we’ll continue to receive a percentage of all future purchases. Through this fundraising effort we will continue to enhance and develop features that are specifically beneficial to the Fitness Community at http://fitnessprotravel.com –all at no cost to you.

Plus, you’ll be earning accelerated points (up to 15 points per dollar) at hundreds of national merchants, which can be redeemed for merchandise, account credits and Free tickets on over 175 airlines, with no blackout dates!

These cards were designed to do more than simply provide you travel and merchandise rewards, more than deliver an excellent introductory and continuing interest rate. They also were designed to help you highlight your profession and generate interest in your services.

Take a look at all 5 card designs and select the one that best exemplifies your fitness industry specialty.

Instead of pushing your business cards to prospects, you will find potential clients or students asking about the card, about you, and ultimately asking you for your business card.

Please join me today in choosing and using the only card that supports the Fitness Pro Travel Network and earns you valuable rewards, an enhanced network, and instant passive promotion at the same time. Go to http://www.cardpartner.com/app/fpt to request your card today.