How To Become More Confident As A Trainer or Instructor

Hello trainers. Welcome back to the group fitness experience. This is the show. That really designed to help group in his trainers stop thinking about what they do is being a supply of fitness to. The world and to start thinking about what they do is creating an experience for people and experience that helps them. On their journey to becoming healthier fitter. More confident. That's what we're talking about today.

So I'm still finding my rhythm and my groove with this podcast. And. One thing that I don't want to stop doing all during the podcast is writing because I find writing this really helpful. Process for getting things out of my head and into. Uh, more, um, Uh, a way that's easier for me to understand as well as you. But I also don't want to lose momentum on this podcast. So what I've decided to do. Let's keep up the weekly cadence with the podcast, but.

I'll be alternating between longer episodes and short episodes. So we have a long episode, which will be. Either me like last week, diving into a specific topic with a bunch of ideas. Or it'll be something like an interview. And then the other weeks we'll do. Short episode. Which will be either answering a question. That someone's emailed me or message me, um, or we'll be like today where I'm going to take. One of my previous pieces of writing and I'm going to read it to you.

Uh, because I have these. Aye. This didn't sound like I'm tooting my own horn. I think it's long enough since I wrote this to say, I've got these fantastic pieces of writing. On my. On boot camp buddy, is that I haven't. Um, haven't seen the light of day for years, but they're still very relevant. So I was like, What if you're someone who's pretty busy. And you don't really have time to like sit down and read things that are very long. So that's why I'm like, why not just rate it to you?

Uh, and then you can just listen to it. And a few minutes and absorb it. Uh, and that way you still get the benefit of it. Um, In a format that, that CTE say.

So here's an article I wrote. Nearly 10 years ago. Um, And it's called. No one tells you this. Confidence takes time.

My palms sweated. Causing the ballpoint pen in my hand to grow slippery. I put it down. Uh, I stammered. You see if. You buy a five or a 10 pack, you can save some money. I nervously pointed on the piece of paper on the round Ella minium cafe style table between us. I was in a gym in Preston Victoria. Stumbling my way through a sales script, I had read online and try to memorize. I just completed a free trials. Uh, personal training session.

With a member of the gym and was now very poorly attempting to sell them more sessions. It was three months since I'd qualified as a trainer. I had a total of zero clients and yet was attempting to charge more than any other trainer in the gym. I had been told. During my schooling that I should value what I do and not just charge less because everyone else's. It was great in theory. In practice. I was struggling. To execute it.

The woman on the other side of the table looked at the piece of paper in my hand. My sweaty hand. That I was now living in gray spot on. I tried to smile reassuringly. I probably looked like I was just baring my teeth at. Don't say anything now. I had read. Stay quiet for as long as it takes them to say something. The silence continued. Then. Uh, if you sign up for a 10 pack, I'll throw in an extra two sessions. I blurted out. Dammit. I had to say something.

I was going to lose the sale otherwise. The girl. The woman looked around the gym, searching for an escape. She looked nervous too. Clearly, I was not instilling confidence in my abilities as a personal trainer. Uh, I'm sorry. She began. I didn't hear the rest. I knew I blind it. Again, Now that. Was nearly 15 years ago. After that. Vivid failure. I distinctly remember the feeling of despair I had after several similar experiences.

I ended up leaving that gym and joining a small personal training studio instead. Here. I found some support and not really in the form of like sales training. But in the ability I had as a trainer. Uh, I still had to try and sell people coming in to sign up for personal training. Most of the time I still failed. I was terrible. Um, or they would just buy like the smallest pack of five-pack and then do their five sessions and never come back again.

But at the difference was now that I had a small community of trainers to help pick me back up afterwards when a, you know, a client in continue. Or someone didn't even start. My actual training sessions were interesting. Like the sessions are round with people, but I really struggled to teach people what seems like. Basic movements to me. And then at a fear that they would get bored, I would attempt to make the, the workouts more interesting by scaling them up to more complex drills.

Before they already. It was a huge mess of trial and error and fumbling about. Then about 12 months after finishing my PTA because something changed. I would sit down with a new client. And instead of them just buying a five-pack. Or nothing at all. They started buying like 20 packs paid up front. Of personal training from me. Often that was just after 20 minutes of having a chat. And maybe a free session.

And over with my bootcamp leads nine out of I'd actually did the maths on this nine out of 10 people that asked about bootcamp would sign up. And pay on my phone call or through an email to them. The strange part was that I had long ago. Stopped trying to memorize and use sales scripts. On new leads, they came in. I felt like I was just being myself. And chatting with them. What had changed in those. Nine months. Confidence. I had gained confidence in my ability as a trainer.

In what I was doing. Selling and in the price I was charging. I'd say my clients get results. I'd seen their lives improve. And I knew fully and deeply that what I did was valuable. I didn't have to convince myself. That I knew. I just knew. And I hadn't given up months ago. When I wasn't feeling confident. Because I had the support from other trainers in the PT studio I worked at to get me by. The tactics and scripts. Metta less than you think. Marketing experts are often showing you tactics.

Sales scripts and more. I have a folder on my computer. That's still full of digital products, books, courses that I've bought over the years to help me sell fitness. But in the end, all of that stuff accounted for only about 10% of my sales success. The other 90% came from being confident in what I do. How to become more confident as a personal trainer. The best way. To become more confident about doing something is to put in the work. Show up each day.

And over time, your abilities will increase. Decisions will become easier as you will look bane through those situations before. And that confidence will be noticed by all of those around you. Selling will become easier because people will be able to see that you're genuine. They will sense that you actually know what you're talking about and believe in what you do. He can't fake that. You can't fake the feeling of. This is what I do. If it's not for you, you can go somewhere else.

However, if you would like to train with me, this is how much it is. Would you like to pay by cash or credit card? You can only get that kind of posture in one way. And that is to do the work. You have to go through the sucky part. Where your palms, sweat. Every time you try to sell something to a new client. Where yet another person rejects you and walks away. Where you give another client the wrong exercise modification. And it scares them off.

Where you can't teach this crazy client who won't listen, how to squat properly. You just have to go through all of that. But you don't have to go through it alone. Like I said, I owe. A lot of not giving up back then to the four or five of the trainers I work with on a daily or sorry, not daily, weekly basis. Their confidence started rubbing off on me and my skills increased faster. Then just bashing it out alone. And that's the end of the article.

I want to add to this and say that. If this resonated with you, if you feel like your confidence is liking when trying to get your business out into the world. Then I've put together something for you. So that you to feel supported as you build your skills up, it's cold. The BCI short for bootcamp ideas, all access pass, and it's a community for fitness trainers to get help. Running. Scaling and growing their business. You can't avoid the scary or tough days in your business.

It comes with the territory. The difference between those who. Air quotes make it. And those who quit often has less to do with them. And more to do with the support network they've created around themselves. So if you'd like to get. The community. The peer support. The business support, the workout creation support. That we all need as trainers. Then head to the link in. The show notes of this episode. And sign up to the BCI or access pass. I've got a great deal going on the annual membership.

Uh, let's only available for a limited time. Uh, also linked to in this original article, I mentioned Brandon Stanton, who, for some of you remember, he is the creator of humans of New York. And he's got a great video about how, when he would walk up to people on the street, strangers. And ask them. Hey. Can I take your photograph? And he used to get a lot of nos and he talks about how confidence played such a big part in long-term in, in.

People saying yes to that question instead of no. So, um, yeah, I'll link to that. Uh, and I'll also link to this article. If, uh, you want to refer back to it at some point. Okay. That's it for this week for the group fitness experience. Thank you for listening. I hope you enjoyed this format of me reading one of my articles to you, and I'm looking forward to sharing more in this format in the future. Don't forget to check out the BCI, all access pass.

I think it could just be the tool you're looking for. If you're like, uh, I just need some help. With like people and to ask questions and. Like, what do I do next? How do I scale things? How do I get more clients? How do I. Get more freedom, like, ah, I don't know what to do. Um, and all these people online are telling me what to do, and I'm not sure if like, If that's you, then you'll absolutely love, uh, the community and the workshops and courses and things we've got on there.

Looking forward to also hanging out with you in there too. All right until next week. I have a great week.