In an industry that’s so heavily based on relationships and personal connections, the word “automation” often drums up thoughts of complex sales funnels, impersonal training programs, and cookie-cutter meal plans.
But in reality, automation is something every business owner will benefit from — especially in the fitness world. Relationships don’t have to be automated. Instead, we can automate the back end of the business. This way we can channel more of our time into cultivating deeper relationships with our clients, both current and potential.
First up, let’s look at 5 key benefits of automation for a fitness business.
The Benefits of Automation
#1: It saves time (and money)
When you’re running a personal training business, it often seems as if there are never enough hours in the day. But, when you start to automate your fitness business, it’s like having your very own personal assistant handling the regular business tasks.
Whether it’s scheduling social media posts, handling client intake forms, or managing your calendar, the magic of automation can save you hours every week. It’s also much more cost-efficient than hiring an assistant or support staff!
#2: It allows you to focus on business growth
With saved time, comes more time to focus on growth.
Automating simple tasks such as invoicing or delivering documents once a client hires you leaves more time in your calendar to deliver quality training programs, market your business, or strategize your next big move.
Essentially, you let the computers handle the day-to-day minutia. At the same time, you invest your efforts into tasks that will actually generate a return.
Check Out: A Guide to Getting Your Personal Training Business Off the Ground
#3: It helps to eliminate human error
By incorporating automation into your fitness business, you’re also likely to experience fewer administrative errors than if you were to try to do everything on your own.
Payment processor-generated invoices can accurately and efficiently produce the total cost of a training program for your clients’ invoices and ensure they’re delivered on time. This is highly beneficial if you’re offering monthly coaching programs. You’ll no longer need to rely on calendar reminders to send your clients’ next invoices each month!
#4: It makes it easier to keep clients engaged
With so many tasks on your to-do list, it’s only natural to forget one now and then. By using something like client scheduled auto-messages, you can ensure your client never misses your weekly check-in or important piece of information.
By using third-party social media scheduling tools, you can continue to share your great content and engage with your audience without constantly being glued to your phone.
Check Out: Why Community is Queen for Fitness Studios
Automation also allows you to set your clients up for success. This is done by capitalizing off patterns you see within the standard training cycle and during different times of the year. We all know the holidays are a tough time of a year for most people to stick to their regular fitness and nutrition habits. By creating simple, engaging, and informative automated email campaigns to deliver to your email list, you can keep your subscribers focused on their health and impressed by your easy-to-implement tips.
Similarly, you may notice that six weeks into a training program is when most clients begin to struggle with motivation. This is when you’ll want to add more check-ins via the auto-message function. Moreover, to have some motivational emails on standby that will be automatically sent to a client based on how long they’ve been working with you. Sometimes just a simple nudge is all a person needs to get re-committed to their goals.
#5: It enhances data management processes
Keeping track of client sing-ups, progress, preferences, and scheduling can be a daunting task for fitness professionals and personal trainers.
With automated systems, you can easily access client histories, track performance metrics, and analyze trends to tailor your services more effectively.
By harnessing the power of data-driven insights, you can make informed decisions that optimize client outcomes, drive business growth and boost your reputation.
How to Start Automating Your Fitness Business
Add automation to your fitness programs
There are some simple ways you can begin start automating your fitness business today. If you’re already using ABC Trainerize, you’ll know you can create and queue up multiple training programs for your clients. This is one of the simplest and most effective ways to ensure your clients get their programs delivered on time.
Automate client payments
You can also begin utilizing Trainerize Integrated Payments to automate monthly invoicing for your clients on a monthly contract.
You can create, sell, and deliver standalone fitness programs for clients who want the workouts without in-person coaching. All they have to do is select the program, enter their payment details. Then, they’ll receive the program immediately.
For clients who purchase personalized coaching from you, you can set up automation within ABC Trainerize too. That will lead clients through an onboarding process and assign them to a trainer. At this point, you or your trainer can begin creating and delivering customized programs.
Intergrate with handy web tools
There are thousands of useful tools out there. Here at ABC Trainerize, our platform integrates with Zapier, an online automation tool that connects common apps such as Gmail and MailChimp.
You can set up triggers between ABC Trainerize and these apps that will initiate certain tasks you traditionally would have done manually. For example, you can make sure new clients get your motivating email campaign 6 weeks into their training program.
Automation may seem like an intimidating element that requires lots of technical know-how. One that removes the “personal” from personal training. But it’s an incredibly simple and effective way to add more of the personal touches your clients are hiring you for.
Embrace the power of tech, and power your fitness with ABC Trainerize. With fitness, nutrition, and habit-coaching features, plus in-app messaging, progress tracking, and more — it’s everything you need to motivate and inspire!
