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1) Learn to connect with your customer. Yes, business is all about relationship building and making the customer feel good about their decision to buy and do business with you. This means listening 80% of the time and talking only 20%. A hard thing to do for most fitness professionals. When you listen, you demonstrate respect and interest in your client which serves to strengthen your relationship. People love to do business with people they know and like and being likeable improves your chance of receiving referrals.

2) Deliver value during each session. If you provide the same experience during each session and never change things then you are in danger of losing your client. They may start to think, “I’m not learning anything new or seeing any new results, maybe I’ll quit”. They may contemplate working with another trainer or just going it alone. However, if you deliver great value with each session they are more likely to stay with you. You should strive to come up with a new exercise every session even if you train the same person five times a week. Or offer a nutrition or fitness tip. The best compliment you can receive from a client is “I never know what’s coming during our session, I love the variety”.

3) Track everything your client does. Track your client’s progress then communicate any achievements the attain. If a client realizes they are making progress and achieving the results they desire they will continue to train with you. For example, if a client did two push-ups initially and are now up to ten, this is a chance to recognize and acknowledge their success. Never miss an opportunity for recognition and praise. The only way to do this is to keep track by recording it in their file.

4) Believe in your services enough to offer a significant guarantee. Early in my personal training career I decided I was willing to provide clients with a 100% money back guarantee. The guarantee was simple. If they did not see any results after three months of training I was willing to give them their money back. I knew that I had to work hard but so did the client. We were in it together. This allowed the client to feel how committed I was to their training and in eighteen years of training I never had anyone ask for their money back.

5) Take some risks. In order to grow your business you are going to have to take some risks. It’s great to do a lot of one-on-one training but perhaps you could think of otherways to maximize your revenue or broaden your market niche. Outdoor fitness classes are a great way to secure more income per hour and is all the rage. Why not jump on the band wagon and start offering this service to your clients. Or perhaps you have an idea for a completely new and innovative program. Are you letting fear get in the way of trying it? If yes, then bust out and take a risk. It could be the program you need to push your business growth to the next level.

6) Ask for referrals. If you’ve just cringed at the thought of asking for a referral you are missing a huge opportunity for business growth. I know most trainers don’t like to ask for anything but when it comes to referrals, it’s the easiest form of marketing and one just waiting to be explored. Your clients love you otherwise they wouldn’t continue to do business with you. They are eager to share their results with others and sing your praises. They are itching to refer other people to you, all you have to do is ask. You know this to be true because you refer people to businesses all the time. Think about the last restaurant you went to or the last movie you saw. If you liked the food and service or enjoyed the movie you readily told other people about it. If someone were to ask you, “where’s a good place to eat” you would tell them. When it comes to your clients you can simply let them know you have room for a few more people in your schedule and you would love an oppor

7)Offer a sample session and create a wow experience. I don’t know about you but when I go grocery shopping I love it when they have free food samples. It gives me an opportunity to try the item before I spend my money. If the item is nutritious, tasty and well-priced then I make the purchase. With so many items to chose from in the store I welcome the opportunity to try before I buy. Why not provide the same experience for prospects? Then wow them with an amazing experience and before you know it you will have a new client.

8)Let others say how wonderful you are. Part of growing your business requires the use of testimonials. People like to hear what others have to say about you. It’s far better for someone else to say you are the best thing since sliced bread then if you say it. As such, collect as many testimonials as you can. Use photos, video or both to send the message that other people who use your services are getting results, having fun and learning how to be healthy and fit.

9)Give away your expertise . I’m not kidding, don’t be afraid to give away your expertise. If someone asks for your help, advice or opinion don’t be afraid to tell them and share your knowledge. I’ve met a lot of people over the years who all seemed interested in getting involved in fitness. Many of them were “on the fence” not ready to fully commit to the process. Instead of trying to sell them, I took the approach of educating them and then staying in touch and sharing my expertise. Not all of these people became paying clients but some of them did and it’s because I wasn’t afraid to hold back. I can also feel good that I helped other people learn more about living a healthy lifestyle even though they never became clients.

10) Stay the course – be consistent I don’t know how many blogs, magazines, online articles or news papers you read on a daily or weekly basis. What I do know is there is no shortage of information available on how to grow your business. I believe the difference between a successful business and a not-so-successful business has more to do with what you are willing to action on a daily basis and how consistent you are. Stay the course and be consistent.

It’s not the large steps in life that usually make the biggest difference but the small steps we endeavour to take. I’m asking you to take small steps in applying some of these tips and see what kind of difference it makes in your personal training business. It’s easy to spin your wheels and get caught doing what you know over and over again. It’s quite something else to bust out of your zone of comfort and try something novel.

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1. Position your subject

Use the Rule of Thirds to make your photographs more interesting. Imagine the scene divided into three sections, like tic- tac- toe, horizontally and vertically. Positioning your subject at the intersection of those lines will break up symmetry and result in a compelling photo. If you don’t get the perfect shot, you can crop it with Photoshop. You should be able to get a free download for Photoshop at the Adobe website.

2. Choose the Right Backgrounds for your Subject

Simple backgrounds are best for subjects with busy patterns. You can also adjust the depth of field to focus on objects closer to you while blurring objects far away. Simple subjects look best against a more detailed background. Be sure the background doesn’t interfere and take attention away from your subject.

3. Create Distance and Dimension

A photo of a distant subject can seem static and one-dimensional. Including subjects nearer to you in your photos gives a sense of distance. Blurring the background focuses attention on your subject.

4. Choose an Orientation that Suits your Subject

Your camera produces a rectangular image which gives you two orientations to work with-vertical or horizontal. Your subject will lend itself to one or the other. One sure way to find out is simply to take your photo both ways and decide which is best.

5. Use a Unique Point of View/ Get in Close to your Subject

Break the habit of shooting everything from eye level. Experiment with kneeling down to capture subjects from near the ground, or photographing subjects above you. Get in close to your subject — close-up photography adds intimacy to your photos and helps capture all the hidden details and moments you might not ever see. Learn Photoshop so you can edit, crop and enhance your digital photos.

6. Use your surroundings to Frame Your Subject

Position your subject in front of an interesting doorway, window, scene, etc. to frame your subjects, keeping the Rule of Thirds in mind.

7. Avoid Underexposed Pictures

Indoors – move near a window or bring a lamp into the room. Move closer to your subject. Manually adjust the shutter speed on your camera. Change exposure settings. For lighter photos, adjust exposure up; for darker photos, adjust down. You are able to see what your image will look like as you adjust this setting

8. Avoid Overexposed pictures

On sunny days, find a shady spot to photograph your subjects and use the flash which will cast an even light over your subject. Take advantage of overcast days to avoid shadows. When indoors, provide as much natural light as possible to avoid using the flash which may wash out colors and cast harsh shadows. Avoid the midday sun, early morning and late evenings are better times for photography.

9. Avoid Red Eye

Turn off your camera’s flash or if it’s too dark to go without a flash, ask your subject to look toward the camera, but not directly at the lens. By taking daytime photos, you may eliminate the need for a flash. Bring in additional light sources if needed. Try stand further away from your subject. If you try all this and still have red eye, try using Photoshop to edit your photograph.

10. Avoid Blurry Photos

Avoid shutter lag by pressing the button halfway down before you shoot your photo. When you are ready to take the shot, press all the way down to instantly capture the desired photograph. Use a tripod or brace yourself against a stationary object to hold the camera still. If your subject is moving, use the Action mode on your camera. The Action setting automatically optimizes the shutter speed to capture the action.

The best way to learn to take good digital photos is to takes lots and lots of pictures. You can just delete those you don’t want. learn photoshop so you can to make corrections, enhance your pictures, and use special effects to make your digital photographs look like a pro’s.

For more photoshop tips and Tricks, visit: http://www.PhotoshopDemos.com

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CODANK Charlotte Web Design Company is here to provide small businesses and entrepreneurs with a few tips and suggestions that will help with the construction of a website. Please refer back to our first set of tips here.

CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company Tips for web design

Include a link back to the home page (on each page)
Just in case a visitor gets lost, he or she will more than likely want to start all the way over. Make it easy for them to do so by including a way to get back to the home page. It is best to include the text “home” because many people are not aware that clicking on a logo does the same thing.

Utilize white space
Do not clutter up your website by using too many images, backgrounds and colorful fonts. The best way to do this is by applying the ‘Keep It Simple’ principle. Minimize the use of graphics and actual use a lot more white space.

Place valuable information on each page
Style does not always matter when constructing a website. The purpose of all sites should be to provide visitors with something that is useful or interesting. A web designer should focus on this before moving on to anything else.

Place links in blue or underlined
A great way to help links stand out is to make them blue or underlined. Many websites choose to use both blue and underlined for their links.

Links in menus do not need to be blue nor underlined.

Include a ‘Last Modified’ date
If you frequently update your site, you should always include a last modified date at the top or bottom of the page. Doing so will let visitors know how current the information may be.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), graphic design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

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