When it comes to building personal training businesses, there are so many unique and different fitness entrepreneurs who run them. Some are super high energy, others are pure trainers, but it?s usually the quiet guys you gotta watch out for. And one of those quiet guys is Forrest Walden.
When I heard what this dude was doing I had to get him on here. I am serious when I tell you that he knows how to build a fitness business. In fact, he?s built dozens, and dozens of them. And he shares how he did it in this interview.
Audio/MP3 Download
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Download MP3 ? Right click to save as or control click for Mac.
I?ve gotta say Forrest has done some amazing things. He?s literally running an amazing business right now, and is crushing it!
When he sets a goal, he gets it?and then some.
For example, he wanted to build the fastest growing Crossfit franchise. So what did he do?
He found what the fastest growing one was, how many members they had after six months, and decided that he wanted fifty more members than that in six months.
And you know what? He friggin did it! Now he?s doing it again with another facility.
And he?s doing it in Birmingham Alabama currently. Not really the place you think of when it comes to health and fitness.
But that is only part of his story. Part of the reason he has been able to do that is because he figured out a system that works to bring in clients and build a personal training business fast.
He did that through operating, oh, I?d say just a few fitness franchises. 
And what?s crazy is that that he opened up and shared exactly how he did it in this interview.
He talks about how he?s tested, tweaked, and tried just about everything to find out what works. Everything from different referral programs to direct mail.
Speaking of direct mail, here?s some advice that he shares on how to get people to open the mail you send them?
? ?If you?ve got time in the beginning, and I?ve certainly done it on multiple locations, and it?s not fun, but if you?ll hand address them, or recruit your kids or your wife, or even an eight dollar an hour high school kid to hand address them, that dramatically increases the opening rate.
If you use a live stamp, instead of metered mail that people will immediately know that is junk mail, makes a huge difference. Even using a special kind of stamp.
Don?t just use the regular American flag. Use a commemorative stamp, hand address it, people will immediately think they received a personal letter from someone.
You don?t want to put your business name on the return address because it will ruin the whole effect, just your return address.?
Forrest Walden Interview Highlights
- How Forrest got started.
- Why he always knew what he wanted to do.
- What type of business knowledge Forrest had.
- How he got into having his own personal training business.
- Why he chose the fitness franchise model.
- How he brought people into his business.
- What the demographic is like.
- How he overcame the perception of what a personal trainer is back when training wasn?t popular.
- How he ended up getting into direct response marketing.
- How he found a consultant when there were very few in the fitness industry.
- How he ended up opening multiple locations.
- When he signed the lease and why that date was significant.
- How many franchises he planned on opening early on.
- How many clients he needed before he opened up another location.
- What other marketing Forrest was doing to expand.
- What is the first thing someone shouldn?t do when getting into direct mail.
- How to pick the right mailing company.
- How much you should invest in direct mail if your just starting.
- What ABC mail is.
- What a 3D campaign is, and samples of what his latest mailing looks like.
- What will actually get your mail opened.
- What to watch out for when choosing a mailing company.
- How successful his direct mail campaigns have been.
- What is sequential mailing and why it works.
- How many franchises he had after 3 years.
- How he ended up as a master franchisor and what he did with that.
- What it?s like to sell a business.
- How he made selling his business easier for him.
- How many franchises he wanted to own as a master franchisor.
- How many locations he actually opened.
- How he managed all of the franchises.
- How he found trainers when he was located in a different state.
- What type of trainers he hired.
- What steps Forrest took to open a new location and find staff.
- How many franchises he owned.
- Why he decided to look for what was next and start over.
- How Forrest got into Crossfit.
- What happened to all the franchises he owned.
- Why he wanted to create a different type of Crossfit business.
- How many members he wanted to have in his first 6 months.
- What Forrest did to get those members in his first 6 months.
- Who his Crossfit business is for.
- What he is doing with his clients to build a community.
- How many members he limits each gym to.
- Where the majority of his personal training business growth comes from.
- What programs he offers and how much the customer pays.
- How big his classes are.
- What workshops are free and what ones are paid.
- What type of referral incentives are offered.
- How he ended up with his own food line for the business.
- How many clients he has in his second location.
- How many facilities Forrest wants to open.
- How long it takes for him to open a facility.
- What is the typical size facility he looks for.
- What are some difficulties that he has had to overcome.
- What his future goal is.
To see what the latest thing is that Forrest is doing in his personal training business go to www.irontribefitness.com
I want to know what you think about this interview. So leave a comment below.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.