Matt Roberts: Personal Trainers Must “Find Their Why” To Be Successful

Introduction

Matt Roberts has been a personal trainer for almost 30 years. He has walked the path that you are about to walk and knows how to deliver life-changing results, launch a successful personal training business, and create a well-renowned brand.

Speaking from almost three decades of experience, Matt says new personal trainers have a defining decision to make at the start of their careers:

You must understand “your why” to be successful. In this video, he explains what that means and passes on his advice to trainers looking to start their own business and earn a living.

Or, if you’d prefer, you can read what Matt had to say in the article below…

Every decision starts with a ‘why’

Your why is important. You need to understand the reasons why you do what you do. Whether you’re getting out of bed in the morning, applying a product, or starting your own business, we ask ourselves why. Sometimes subconsciously.

The what in the personal training industry is important too. The industry has drastically changed over the past 10, 20, and 30 years. Twenty years ago, gyms were big-box, high-volume, low-membership-price units with a very static model. That has changed direction hugely over the past ten years or so.

When I started my personal training business 23 years ago, there was very little competition. Personal trainers went from house to house with a bag of weights over their shoulder. That is just how it was back then. My view was that the industry was actually in a very immature stage. So, the what was about how we redefined that landscape.

What we are now is very different from what we were then. The industry now has a multitude of different offerings available, whether that be small group training clubs, different styles of gym membership clubs, high-priced, low-priced, or mid-priced. Personal trainers can now train clients in a park. There is a mixture of opportunity. So, the what is different than ever before. Therefore, the question becomes why?

Why do you want to become a personal trainer?

Why do you want to start your personal training course? What excites you most about the job? These are really important questions. When a company starts to make a product, it always questions why.

When Porsche makes a car, it has a defined entity in mind. It is a sports car provider. The design team, the owners, the mechanics, and the engineers all know they are making something that has to perform. A winemaker makes wine and creates the same product every year. They often use the same château and the same vineyards. It is the same wine, but it is never the same wine. The passion as to why they do it changes year by year.

So, what is important in the two examples I have given you above? The why must come from a passionate place. Below are just a few four reasons why people choose a career in personal training:

1. Lifestyle

For some trainers, working in a way that ensures they are training for themselves is a key part of their routine. And that is fine. You can shape your hours around your lifestyle.
You might be a parent. You might training for another career. You might want a dual-career.

2. Altruism

You might have an altruistic view of training and the industry. You might want to provide a service to certain people with additional or more complex needs. Some personal trainers complete additional exercise specialist courses in order to allow them to work with specialist populations. Some examples include helping cancer patients, those who have long-term conditions like hypertension, obesity, or type 2 diabetes, or people with eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia*. Perhaps you want to give back to children in school environments and make sure kids keep themselves healthy. The altruistic approach is very important because it comes from a strong starting point of passion. You can make that work with your lifestyle too.

*Additional and clinical qualifications are likely to be needed for this. Eating disorders should only be managed by suitably trained medical professionals. 

3. Money

Maybe you’re driven by money. Let’s face it: going into business is all about making sure we can sustain ourselves and look after those around us. Money is a key driving factor. When I first started in the industry 25 years ago, it was still in its infancy and the glamour associated with personal training was very clear. It was something in the domain of the rich and famous only. Those with money could afford training. Those without, couldn’t.

The landscape has now changed. It is important to understand that training is not just for the rich and famous. It really is for the masses. Price points have come down from their peak and are now much more approachable for more people. And this is a good thing, but it does change the dynamic of why you are in it in the first place. Making money now is easier in some ways, but tougher in others. If your motivation is only money, is that at the expense of the altruistic or lifestyle side of your career?

4. Fame

Maybe you are chasing fame. Maybe you want to have a brand that becomes the widely-known entity in the personal training industry. That could be as a social media star, a TV personality, or just someone who is known for working with famous people. The truth is, the title “celebrity personal trainer” that I am often given is nonsense. You are a trainer. I am a trainer. We train people. The idea of chasing fame just to become famous without purpose is empty. Fame and brand are two different things.

Three traits every new personal trainer needs

Whatever your reason for becoming a personal trainer, you should never forget that it must come from a good place. This is a people service industry.

Without passion, there is no way you can actually convey the information your clients need to inspire them to achieve their own goals. You must be tenacious too. It is a highly competitive industry. Without tenacity, you will fall at the first hurdle through a lack of motivation. You must also have a strong vision. Where do you see yourself going? Ask yourself why you want this career? Where do you see yourself in 6 months? One year? Ten years?

Personal training is not a short-term career, although many trainers fall by the wayside early. Training should be a career for life, but you need the passion, vision, and tenacity to see it through. If you do, the lifestyle, money, recognition, and maybe even the fame will come with it too.

Remember, personal training is a people industry

You need to understand people. You need to like people as well. You need to be able to listen to people, have empathy, and engage with them so they trust you.

Spending time with your clients is going to be a key part of your week. They are paying you money. It is an important part of their week. They want some kind of guarantee that they will achieve results and get a return on their investment. You might be the person they talk to the most in a day. Seeing a client for one, two, three, or four hours per week is powerful. That’s a huge amount of engagement time.

In fact, ask yourself this right now: “How was your weekend?” If your answer in your mind is “Yeah, fine,” you are probably not a people person right now. If your first response is “I did this, and that, and that…” it shows a willingness to engage and likely means you are much more of a natural people person. You have to make sure you can engage, converse, and communicate at a level that might be beyond your previous experience. Don’t worry, you can learn these skills. It is within you. You have to like the idea of learning people.

You have to be a listener too. It is no good just telling everyone about your day, your week, your life. Most of your job as a trainer is to listen to what is happening in their life. Understand what makes them tick. What are their triggers? What worked before? What failed in the past? If you’re working in a gym with other trainers, and the first thing you do is talk about your clients’ personal lives with them, you have lost trust.

Information given to you by a client is confidential. No matter who they are, what they say, or who they know. It should stay between you and them. It is like a doctor’s oath.

If you want more tips, advice, and real-world lessons on growing your personal training company, our business skills CPD course builds on your personal training qualification to help you grow your brand.