A big part of being a successful personal trainer is bringing your clients great results. Another major key is the ability to market yourself online.
These two components join forces in the shape of client testimonials. Client testimonials are a killer form of marketing that help you back up the claim that you can help your clients reach their fitness goals.
If you’re currently working with clients, gathering testimonials should be top of mind, as they will help you get even more clients. But how exactly should you go about getting fitness client testimonials and how do you use them?
We’re going to answer these questions and more so that you can start getting personal training client testimonials and use them to build a highly successful business.
Table of Contents:
- Chapter 1: Why Should You Get Testimonials?
- Chapter 2: What are the Characteristics of a Good Testimonial?
- Chapter 3: Testimonial Formats
- Chapter 4: How to Ask for a Testimonial
- Chapter 5: Where to Share a Testimonial
- Chapter 6: Use Fitness Testimonials to Grow Your Business
Why Should You Get Testimonials?
Think about the last time you shopped online. Once you find what you’re looking for your decision process probably looked something like this:
- Looked through the images of the product
- Skimmed the product description
- Scrolled down the screen and read reviews from other people that bought that item online.
And those reviews were important. If many people had something negative to say about a product, you would probably keep looking. On the other hand, if many people rated the product highly and said it worked perfectly for XYZ, then you’d probably feel pretty confident adding it to your cart.
Why get personal training client testimonial
This is because social proof is important. We trust other people’s opinions about a product more than we trust what the company has to say about it. 82% of Americans say they seek recommendations from friends and family before making a purchase and 92% of consumers are more likely to trust non-paid recommendations than any other type of advertising.
Your fitness client testimonials are the perfect form of social proof that can help you get prospective clients to trust you. They can push someone from the consideration to the decision stage, leading more people to say yes to your offer.
Simply put, testimonials can help you get more clients and grow your business.
What are the Characteristics of a Good Testimonial?
Stories are powerful and the best testimonials tell a story about a client’s experience working with you. Like all great stories, it should start with the client’s struggles before he found you and have a positive outcome – the victory for your clients.
Personal training testimonials need to share your clients journey from point A (overweight, fatigued, busy!) to Point Z (30lbs lighter, committed to a routine, feeling better than ever!). The testimonials need to show how you helped your client achieve their goals.
Good testimonials aren’t too long. You don’t want your readers to lose interest. They should also be authentic, relatable, and should induce emotion in your ideal clients. Bonus points for testimonials that address some of your ideal clients’ common objections! For example: “I thought I didn’t have enough time to exercise but the 30 min pre-recorded workouts fit perfectly into my schedule!”
Testimonial Formats
The easiest and most common way to share a testimonial is in a written format. This is simple for you and clients and can be shared in various places online. When sharing written testimonials, include a picture of clients if you can. This makes the testimonial seem more authentic.
But to make testimonials even stronger, consider formatting some as videos. This of course takes a little more coordination with clients but can be really powerful on places like your website and YouTube channel.
If working with clients in-person, you can simply ask to record a video of their testimonial on their phone or have them record one and send it to you. Sites like Vocal Video can help you get professional looking testimonial videos from clients. With these sites, you can send clients a link to easily record their testimonial on their own time.
Get Video Testimonials
How to Ask for a Testimonial
The best time to ask for a testimonial is after a client experiences a good outcome from your training. This might be in the middle of training after a client surpasses a big milestone or reaches a fitness goal. It may also be at the end of your training, once you’ve brought your client the result they were looking for.
Be honest when asking for testimonials. Tell clients how important they are for your business. Don’t be afraid to ask a client more than once. You may also encourage testimonials by offering an incentive, like a $5 gift card to a local smoothie place in exchange for a short video testimonial.
You can ask for a testimonial in person or through email. With email, you can have a written testimonial delivered to your inbox. You might also send clients prompts or questions to guide their testimonial so that it’s specific and includes the components we mentioned above. Consider creating a Google form where clients can easily “fill in the blanks” and answer your questions to provide their testimonial. This is the best way to make sure your testimonials are detailed, while still being a simple process for clients.
Let’s dig a little deeper into how to get the type of testimonial you are looking for and some questions you might ask willing clients.
What questions to ask to get a great testimonial
- Why was your goal?
- How were you trying to reach your goal before you hired me?
- What was the issue with your old approach?
- Why did you decide to hire me?
- How was your experience?
- What results did you get?
- Would you recommend me to others?
Don’t forget to ask for permission to share and whether the client is comfortable with their photo being listed next to the testimonial.
Below are some email templates that you can use to ask for written and video testimonials.
Email template for written testimonial
Hi [client’s name],
Congrats on [milestone or finishing program]! It’s been so fun watching you crush your fitness goals.
I’m reaching out for a favor. Testimonials from awesome clients just like you are incredibly powerful for my business and help me continue doing the work I love.
Would you be willing to write up a testimonial that I can share in my marketing materials? I’ve written up some questions to help guide you!
[Insert questions or link to form here]
Let me know if you have any questions, and thank you so much for your time.
Best,
[your name]
Email template for video testimonial
Hi [client’s name],
Congrats on [milestone or finishing program]! It’s been so fun watching you crush your fitness goals. I’d love to share your success story through a testimonial!
Testimonials from awesome clients just like you are incredibly powerful for my business and help me continue doing the work I love.
If you’re interested in being featured, follow this link to submit a video testimonial that I can share online.
Congratulations again on reaching your goal, and thanks for your partnership! Let me know if you have any questions about submitting a testimonial.
All the best,
[your name]
Where to Share a Testimonial
Great testimonials should be widely shared. Some places to include them:
- Your website
- Your social media channels
- On the wall of the gym
- Your Google My Business page
- Leaflets
- Review sites
- Business directories
Testimonials can also make a landing page extra persuasive. Pepper them into email campaigns as well to give you that extra umph to sell your programs and services.
Use Fitness Testimonials to Grow Your Business
Gathering testimonials from your personal training clients is an extra step that goes a long way in getting more clients. You probably rely on social proof when making purchasing decisions, and your ideal clients definitely do, too.
Ask existing clients for testimonials after they have hit a big milestone or completed your training successfully. Make it simple by using a video testimonial website or creating a Google form to gather the details you need. Remember that your testimonials should be engaging and tell a story that your ideal clients can relate to.
Send a personalized email to clients or ask them for a testimonial in person, and be sure to explain the significance of their contribution and show gratitude. Treat great testimonials like the gold they are and show them off in various places on and offline.
Social proof is something we kept in mind when developing TrainerFu. Our app tracks everything and alerts you when a client achieves a milestone, big or small. This helps you celebrate your clients and can be a great jumping off point for a good testimonial.