Quiet Periods and How to Overcome Them

Quiet periods are a way of life for a relatively new CPT. Whether it is your first week or first year, there will be times when your week goes quiet due to a number of factors.

It could be school holidays and some of your clients who are parents have gone away or have to skip their sessions due to their family commitments.

Perhaps it’s the middle of winter and many of your clients haven’t fallen ill.

You may be just starting out and the gym is experiencing a quiet period.

As a CPT, you will face all these scenarios, but it’s how you overcome them and  how you develop longevity in this industry that will define your business.

Cross Promotion

This is a great way to get your business and the service you provide across to another industry. Cross promoting with another business increases your exposure to a new audience of potential clients without impacting someone else’s businesses.

The first step would be to approach Allied Health businesses such as Physiotherapists, Chiropractors, Masseuse, Exercise Physiologists, etc. This way an agreement can be reached through value added service whereby you provide them with leads and they do the same. They may allow you to advertise within their facility or even refer clients to you that require further training.

Another means of cross promotion is through local businesses within the area your business is based. Reach out to everyone within walking distance with a marketing plan to offer a discount, a  free session, or whatever it may be. Have some discount cards or brochures done up to hand out or even ask permission to have them on the front counter of their store. Coffee shops are a great option for this.

Again, this is further exposure and potential lead generation for your business.

A further step you can take is what’s commonly referred to as a ‘Drop Box’. A drop box is a competition box placed around several different busy businesses with their permission. The drop box requires every entrant who enter the competition to provide their name, number and email on an entry form, thus providing you with many leads. The prize needs to be something worthy of gaining their attention, so perhaps talk to the gym you work at about a free membership plus free PT sessions to entice more entries. This can be drawn monthly, but you can check it every week and perhaps offer every entrance a free consultation or free session to get them through the door.

Mailbox Drops

This is a very old school way of thinking but does still work.

The idea here is to walk the local neighbourhoods, preferably those within a short distance of your working location placing a small flyer into each mailbox. The flyer needs to be strategic in its advertising, offer and can catch the eye of the user before potentially being thrown out.

While the hit ratio for success on this is a lot less, it still provides good exposure and fills the gaps you currently have from the quiet periods.

Local Community Groups

In most areas, there are established community groups set up to aid the community in development issues and communication with local Government bodies.

These groups also often have newsletters they send out to their members/residents and also usually have a Facebook page.

By contacting these groups (and there may be more than one), you could request inclusion in their newsletter and market to their FB group with their permissions.

Local Magazine/Newspaper

A lot of local media looks for stories to help fill their product each week, and while the advertising component of these items may cost money, a story or article should not. Therefore, if you have a backstory worth telling, this could be a good option.

Perhaps you have completely changed careers and now making a fresh start.

Perhaps you’ve had a life changing experience, which is why you have chosen the field of health and fitness to seek a new profession.

Gym Database

If you currently work out at an established gym, they should have a membership database of all past and present members. Ask if you can get a list printed of all members that haven’t visited the gym in over 30 days and start contacting these people, offering them a couple of sessions to help regain their motivation and focus back on their goals. If the offer is enticing enough this can have some great success, as they are already members or familiar with the gym. It’s simply a case they have fallen out of routine.

Social Media

This is also a popular way to market your business, but strategy does play a role. You don’t want to flood your feed with constant marketing, so more attention needs to be taken to when and how you post.

Think of the busiest times of the day people check their feeds. It’s usually when they first wake up, school drop, lunch time, school pick up and late at night, so timing of your posts is important.

The content also needs to be relevant. Don’t think constant marketing of your business will get clients through the door. The best option is to provide free content based on what you know. Free recipes, training exercises, and myth busting topics are popular, and make the content real and genuine. The better free and quality content you can provide, the better exposure you will get.

Also think of other platforms besides the obvious Facebook and Instagram such as LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Tumblr.

Summary

Quiet periods can be tough to get through, especially for a new CPT; however, the more hard work you do now will pay off long term. This lead up work may create a very busy period for you and set you up on a trajectory to great success.