A story of how the one-percenters (1%ers) make all the difference. 

Many people have said to me “You’re so young. How did you get to train a Pro Athlete?” and “Wow, you’re so lucky.”

Here’s the thing. I don’t believe in luck. Someone somewhere once said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”.

So let me tell you how my “luck” came about.

When I graduated from Uni, Bachelor’s Degree in hand, and not much else in the way of experience, I was offered 2 jobs as an Exercise Physiologist. Okay, that’s kind of a lie. I was offered one, but I wanted the other one instead. So, I gave my now boss an ultimatum.

“So look…” I started, “I’ve been offered another position (at this point in time I hadn’t and he didn’t need to know that)… but I’d prefer to work for you. Thing is, they want to know by tomorrow whether or not I’ll take it and start work on Monday (keep in mind I was calling on a Friday). So… what do you think?”

Yep. 21 year old me called the boss and insisted he hire me on the spot. Little did I know then, I was implementing the law of scarcity (but more on that in another blog to come).

To which my boss responded:

“Oh, we definitely want you. We just need to find the right location first. We can get you to sign a contract next week if you like?”

“That’s fine, sounds great!” I said and swiftly hung up before he could change his mind.

Cocky or confident? Maybe a little of both? Either way I had just secured my first ever ‘real’ job!

That was 4 years ago. Fast forward to 6 months ago. It was a Saturday morning and as per my ritual at the time I was sitting in a café emailing client update reports until 3pm like I did every weekend, wondering what the point of these stupid emails was. No one even reads these, I thought to myself. I could be doing anything else but this right now. You know, living my life as a 24 year old!?

Then, as if on cue, an email came through that reminded me why. Based on the title of this blog, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who it was from. Alicia Gowans. Current WBFF Fitness World Champion in the +35 category.

See the thing is, these client emails aren’t just addressed to the client. Upon initial assessment, I have every single one of my clients list out their health professional team to me, inclusive of their number and email.

With every single weekly email, I CC them in. Every single week. To the point that they get sick of me. Probably. But that’s the point.

If you are getting weekly emails from someone you share a client with you (as the health professional):

a) can’t get mad at them and tell them to stop giving you updates about the clients progress because they’re doing their job AND making yours easier

b) will constantly be in the forefront of their mind when it comes to referring their existing clients

c) will likely be pleasantly surprised by these updates – the amount of people who actually follow up with their clients health professionals weekly is slim to none and the impact you’re creating cannot be measured.

I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve created networks out of my existing client base from this one simple task. Yes, it sucks and yes, it takes time. Time you feel could be better spent doing I don’t know… literally anything else!?

The point is it works. So for that reason, I continue to do so week in week out, for the past 4 years and will do for 50 or so to come.

See, it’s not rocket science. It’s a process. Follow the process, achieve the result. Follow a periodised gym program, get stronger. Follow a follow up system, build a network. Simple. So why aren’t we, as fitness professionals, doing the same thing we do in our own training when it comes to building our business networks?

Maybe you’d prefer to sit on the couch and watch Netflix or scroll through Instagram for an hour. Wondering why week in, week out you’re not gaining traction with building your client list, or why it’s slowly but surely starting to shrink.

It truly is the little things that clients aren’t expecting that proves you care. That you go above and beyond for them to make them feel special. That is what creates relationships that last and clients that want to train with you forever. It goes far beyond your skillset.

So, I guess you could say I “got lucky”. But probably more accurately, I worked hard and it payed off. And that is why I send “stupid weekly emails”. If you’re serious about being the go to fitness professional in your area, you should too.

Oh, and one more thing. When you secure a Professional Athlete as a client and said athlete tells you they need your help only “in the short term”, you nod your head and smile. Then work your butt off to turn that into long term and you’ll never know where you’ll end up!

“Short term” is just another way of potential clients saying “No” to being coached by you. It never means no, it just means “not yet” and “try harder”.

No one, and I repeat NO ONE sits in front of you wasting their precious time for “shits and giggles”. I guarantee you everyone wants a result and are testing you out to see if you are that person. Make your time and theirs worth it.

#swiftmovementacademy