The Art of Delegating for a Fitness Business
http://www.articleorange.com/articles/2087/1/The-Art-of-Delegating-for-a-Fitness-Business/Page1.html
Mikel Bruce
none By Mikel Bruce
Published on 06/3/2008
Any PT business, regardless of how many years it has been in existence, should almost always be in a growth mode. In order for a training business to grow, there needs to be a continual and major emphasis on marketing functions and processes. Most businesses owners, especially Personal Trainers, are usually not trained in marketing and since it such a changing and evolving industry (especially with the Internet) there is too much to know and to do, especially since the success and implementation of a marketing plan makes all of the difference between thriving and surviving.
The art of delegation, especially when it comes to marketing, is very important. Here are a few ideas to consider using the delegating marketing functions:
* The Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) has a wide variety of services and seminars devoted to helping new and existing small business owners in every area of business. The retired executive consulting division SCORE (www.score.org) can help with everything from creating a marketing plan to devising marketing strategies specific to your business. Most of the services offered through the SBA are either free or very inexpensive.
* Copywriting is an area of marketing that most fitness professionals end up doing on their own whether they are writers or not. All of the text that goes on any printed material should be at least reviewed by a copywriter. This could apply to website text, email and printed newsletters, brochures, articles posted on a website, etc… Copywriting is usually an easy and affordable task to delegate.
* Hiring a marketing coach or consultant to help implement your marketing plan would be a wise investment for any business owner. A Good marketing coach will also help to create marketing goals and objectives and keep you accountable to reaching those goals. Many people are concerned about spending money in this area, which is unfortunate, since having outside help (pertaining to the bigger picture in regards to marketing) is one of the few things that can help us overcome both the internal and external resistance to keep us from growing our businesses.
* There are several technical functions specific to marketing that can be outsourced for those of us that are too busy and/or are not technically inclined. You can find resources that can help you to manage such marketing processes as: email newsletter marketing, article submission, search engine and adword marketing. Mikel Bruce with WebFlexor PT Websites (www.websitesforpt.com) highly recommends implementing a newsletter marketing process in order to build your client base by staying in contact with them and educating them on your business at least on a monthly basis.
* Your PT website itself is probably one of the most important marketing tools available to you. Since your website is one of the first things that many prospective clients will see first, it is one of the most important places to put your best foot forward. Be sure to have a website that is professionally created from the design prospective and updated regularly from the content perspective to keep it fresh and evolving with your business. Ideally you will have control over the content with a Content Management System (CMS) so you can update the content on your own.
For PT businesses that are operating on a tight budget, delegating and paying for tasks and resources can be difficult to justify. But, there are certain things that need to get done that either exceed your skill levels or are more than you have time for. A good place to start would be to create a list of what needs to be done and then consider delegating those items for a minimal investment or if they are way beyond what you can do. You may find that many functions don’t cost as much as you anticipate and the return on the investment could well exceed the costs. WebFlexor PT Websites specializes in affordable and quality websites for Personal Trainers and has many technical resources available for trainers to help them succeed in growing their businesses.
The art of delegation, especially when it comes to marketing, is very important. Here are a few ideas to consider using the delegating marketing functions:
* The Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) has a wide variety of services and seminars devoted to helping new and existing small business owners in every area of business. The retired executive consulting division SCORE (www.score.org) can help with everything from creating a marketing plan to devising marketing strategies specific to your business. Most of the services offered through the SBA are either free or very inexpensive.
* Copywriting is an area of marketing that most fitness professionals end up doing on their own whether they are writers or not. All of the text that goes on any printed material should be at least reviewed by a copywriter. This could apply to website text, email and printed newsletters, brochures, articles posted on a website, etc… Copywriting is usually an easy and affordable task to delegate.
* Hiring a marketing coach or consultant to help implement your marketing plan would be a wise investment for any business owner. A Good marketing coach will also help to create marketing goals and objectives and keep you accountable to reaching those goals. Many people are concerned about spending money in this area, which is unfortunate, since having outside help (pertaining to the bigger picture in regards to marketing) is one of the few things that can help us overcome both the internal and external resistance to keep us from growing our businesses.
* There are several technical functions specific to marketing that can be outsourced for those of us that are too busy and/or are not technically inclined. You can find resources that can help you to manage such marketing processes as: email newsletter marketing, article submission, search engine and adword marketing. Mikel Bruce with WebFlexor PT Websites (www.websitesforpt.com) highly recommends implementing a newsletter marketing process in order to build your client base by staying in contact with them and educating them on your business at least on a monthly basis.
* Your PT website itself is probably one of the most important marketing tools available to you. Since your website is one of the first things that many prospective clients will see first, it is one of the most important places to put your best foot forward. Be sure to have a website that is professionally created from the design prospective and updated regularly from the content perspective to keep it fresh and evolving with your business. Ideally you will have control over the content with a Content Management System (CMS) so you can update the content on your own.
For PT businesses that are operating on a tight budget, delegating and paying for tasks and resources can be difficult to justify. But, there are certain things that need to get done that either exceed your skill levels or are more than you have time for. A good place to start would be to create a list of what needs to be done and then consider delegating those items for a minimal investment or if they are way beyond what you can do. You may find that many functions don’t cost as much as you anticipate and the return on the investment could well exceed the costs. WebFlexor PT Websites specializes in affordable and quality websites for Personal Trainers and has many technical resources available for trainers to help them succeed in growing their businesses.