How To Eliminate Personal Training Cancellations and No-Shows

By Eric Ruth

Cancellations and no-shows can really put a hurtin' on your business.

And if you allow these things to go uncorrected - you're increasing the likelihood they will not only continue, but probably get worse over time.

The more professionally you run your business, the less likely it is you'll get cancellations and no-shows.

Two steps you can take immediately to improve your client's perception of, and respect for your business and your time:

Step #1: Lay Down The Law

Make it clear from the outset that not showing up for a session is unacceptable. You know what they say about excuses, they're like something else everyone has. If you tolerate excuses, you'll get more of them. Make it clear you're in the business of accountability. Lay down the law. The less flexible you are on this issue, the more respect you'll get.

When one of my Members schedules a consultation with me, if they fail to call-in for the consult within ten minutes of the prescribed time, they forfeit the consult. No exceptions.

If they call our office 48-hours in advance to reschedule, they get put at the back of the line. We reschedule, but they get no favoritism. They're pushed back a couple weeks, at least.

I can't remember the last time anyone missed a consult or even rescheduled.

You've got to jealously protect and honor your time. If you don't, nobody else will. Don't accept excuses.

Step #2: Use Tools

Get serious about ensuring your clients not only show up for each scheduled session, but are excited and raring to go.

This can be easily accomplished with a few simple tools:

Once a month, a letter should go out to each client with his or her training schedule and a paragraph at the bottom of the page clearly indicating your "no-show, cancellation and rescheduling" policy. Remember, most clients come to you because they WANT accountability. Not only do they want it, they EXPECT it. The harder you are on them - the more rigid and unforgiving - the better they respond. Give them what they want. Don't accept excuses.

The day before each client's session, an email reminder should go out automatically. The email will simply state the date and time of the session.

Once a month you should mail each client an update on their progress. Just a brief letter talking about their specific performance during the past month, goals achieved, goals being worked towards - and a summary of your plan to get them the results they want. This keeps them engaged and excited, even during those tricky periods when results are less dramatic. It also shows your commitment, professionalism and caring. It makes the client feel very important and very well served by working with you.

Results You Can Expect

What do these tools do for you?

They position you as a real professional.

They ensure you're getting paid for your time.

They allow you to, as Phil Kaplan says, "command professional respect."

They eliminate no-shows and cancellations (or dramatically reduce them, while ensuring you get paid whether or not the client shows).

They show the client you value him or her and are committed to delivering on your promise, while also *programming* the client to understand and uphold their commitment to the process.

How To Do It

But there's a problem, right?

You don't have the time or the system in place to generate these letters and emails consistently.

And if you can't do it consistently, it won't work.

How the heck can you remember who gets what and when?

Well, it's actually pretty simple if you use the right system.

You need a contact management program that automatically tracks and programs these tasks so they occur consistently.

The Command Center

A simple program like ACT! Contact Management Software will do all this for you.

And so much more.

If you want to manage your client and prospect lists, double your productivity, ensure you're getting paid for every possible working hour and create real leverage in your business by tapping into the huge profits on the "back-end" (not just trading time for dollars) - if you want a real fitness *business* - then you'll want to join us for the next ACT tele-class series beginning in just a few weeks.

There is a complete description of the ACT! Tele-Class Series for Fitness Professionals and three very important articles for you to devour.

We'll show you how to mine the "acres of diamonds" in your own backyard. How to sell more to your clients and prospects, generate more referrals, reactivate past clients and seamlessly manage your entire business through one centralized command center on your computer.

This is only for serious fitness professionals. Fit-pros who want to build a serious business, who understand that in order to do so, they must MANAGE their business in a serious way.

We're only accepting the first 20 who enroll. The last time we offered this tele-class series it filled up in 48 hours.

Feedback

Here's what a few of the participants had to say:

"The classes were valuable for me for several reasons. The first is that I tend to avoid the computer if I can. This class has given me an easy way to computerize my client list so that it is easily accessible and actually usable. That is of great value to me. An equally (or more) valuable reason is that I have hated marketing and I have not wanted to "bug" or annoy my clients. I have equated marketing to current clients with seeming to be out to get their money (and not being concerned for them). Now I understand that marketing to them is a good thing and that it actually helps them as well as me.

Please keep preaching that marketing to current clients is doing them a favor. And you're right, I look forward to getting your emails, Eric. I trust you and know from past experience that you have good information and products. Thanks for a great, eye-opening series of classes!" Susan Black

"ACT! is a great tool in pulling all of the pieces of a training business together. I think it was an ingenious idea to bring this information to this fitness professional community." Eric D'Agati

"I feel I can double my income without adding more teaching hrs 8am-2pm by adding clients to fill in for traveling clients and creating passive income. THANK YOU SO MUCH!" Jann Prince

"Thanks alot for all the great information. I won't be opening my Fitness Together Studio until early March (aprox. 2 months away), but ACT and the information you have provided are already helping me track prospective clients and all of my interactions with them. I also greatly appreciated the info on internal marketing, which is already changing my vision of how I will market and the services I will provide down the line. Thanks!" Owen Evans

"Your ideas were really great and very doable. I feel like I have some very good information to move me along my goal of really reaching out and touching my present and future clients. Thanks so much!" Regina Cunningham

"The class was great can't wait to get start using in my bussness.I can see it being a huge time saver and helping my personal training bussness grow." David Dubail

"I would recommend the class to any trainer who wants to learn how to use their list the right way." John Piacentino

That's pretty compelling evidence of the power of our ACT tele-class series, don't you think?

When you join us, you get:

4.5 hours of interactive instruction from our ACT Certified Consultant and other experts (you'll have the software running on your computer as we go through the lessons and you can ask questions any time you like)
A brand new copy of ACT 6.0 (if you need it - if not, we adjust the cost)

The official ACT Quick Study Guide

The curriculum lesson plan designed specifically for fitness professionals

All three calls recorded and mailed to you on CD so you can review and sharpen your skills - or use to train your assistant

Three ready-to-use, tested and proven marketing campaigns you can begin using with ACT immediately to bring in new business, reactivate past clients and sell more to your existing clients

Just 20 spots are available. Grab your spot in the ACT! Tele-Class series for Fitness Professionals here.

Be a fitness marketing maniac,

Eric Ruth

P.S. Everything I discussed above regarding no-shows and cancellations can be performed automatically with ACT - and so much more. It's a brilliant system, baby...brilliant. But it's only for folks who are serious about building a fitness business. And only the first 20 who enroll!