Getting out into your community to establish yourself as a fitness expert can be challenging.
When someone comes to your gym they are pre-qualifying that they want and need your services. But how do you get out into a new community and show them what they might be missing?
One way I have found to reach out to new markets is working with my local farms and summer camps. Partnering with another organization can help draw people to their location and establish you as an associated expert. Many farms that are open to the public are actually asking/advertising for fitness professionals to come to their farms to give 1 or 2 hour workshops during the spring/summer/fall.
How to Get Started:
Contact them over email or phone. Potential services to offer can be:
- Staff/team building
- Camp Staff training
- 1 or 2 hour public seminar on Movement (animal movements, running, climbing, FUN!)
If they decide on a staff training, you should be contracted like a guest speaker. This means you should provide them with a legal contract and expect to be paid either a retainer or in-full for your seminar prior to the event up. (Sample Contract Download) Please have your lawyer review for your specific purpose.
If it is a workshop that is open to the public, you will need to know who is handling the booking, advertising and money. What percentage of the tickets sold will you receive? Who is doing the bulk of the work? Will you get a flat fee up front for your time?
Movement and fun are the keys. If it is staff training remember that the staff on the farm or camp already knows about hard work and grit. You may need to help them reconnect with the fun part of moving heavy loads, long distances, quickly. You want the seminars or workshops to be about connecting with natural movement, full range of motion and proper locomotion. Use the local terrain of the farm or camp and objects found on the farm or camp to build a fun workout. Make the movements/tasks available to all ages. Progression and regression techniques are a must.
Go out and visit the site well ahead of time. What kind of curriculum do they envision? Find out where you can hold the workouts. Can you travel around the space to have multiple workouts in multiple locations? Can you advertise your services on site? The answer to that last question should be yes most of the time. The goal in the end is to either rebook more seminars or to introduce new people to your facility and services.
Finally, don’t forget to bring something with you to capture the attendee’s information. Have a signup sheet for your newsletter or free class. Enter them into a raffle for a prize and a free workout/PT session. Bring t-shirts to sell or information to give away with your info on it, not just business cards.
Richard Borgatti – Rich is the owner and head trainer at Mountain Strength CrossFit in Winchester, Ma.
Rich spends his day helping people get fit, get stronger and achieve their athletic goals. He loves helping people achieve the things they thought were impossible only minutes before. A heavy back squat, a faster mile, or more confidence in themselves.