How to avoid making the same mistakes your clients make

We work with a lot of fitness instructors who want to move online. And so many of them will warn their clients against making certain mistakes…

before making the same mistakes themselves.

We’ve all been there. You can end up falling prey to mindset problems that are the very things you warn your clients about. But when the context is different, it’s sometimes harder to realise that you're falling into the same traps.

Here are a few of the things we’ve learnt to avoid as online coaches.

Mistake #1: Programme hopping

What would you say to client who constantly switched diets and exercise programmes and wasn’t consistent with their training and nutrition?

We all know this isn’t the right way to get results, but how many times have you seen coaches going from launching a new programme, to a setting up new website, to suddenly bringing out a new product and changing their niche?

Remember: success doesn't happen overnight, but you're more likely to reach your goals sooner if you take a consistent approach – both as a client and in as a coach.

Mistake #2: Always looking for the next new thing

You’ll see so many online coaches doing stuff that’s new, rather than better. Yet this is exactly the sort of behaviour we tell our clients to avoid. And it goes hand-in-hand with the advice you give to clients about not expecting results too quickly.

Whether you’re a client or an online coach, you can’t accelerate progress.

Rather than worrying about doing everything in the first six months, think about where your business could be in the next five years by consistently growing it each year for the next few years.

Mistake #3: Believing that there’s a ‘magic pill’

If something seems too good to be true, ask yourself whether there are any other factors that could have explained their success.

As an online coach, you’ll see influencers all the time who make it look like followers can get in the same shape by doing a few lunges and squats. You know that in reality, they clearly spent a lot of time consistently building muscle at the gym. So, don’t fall into the same trap when it comes to your business.

As a coach, you know that anything that claims ridiculous results in a short space of time is either fake or dangerous.

And yet so many online coaches are taken in by high ticket coaching gurus that promise you £30k within a month.

We’re not saying that this can’t be done.

But we’ve spoken a lot in the past about how these coaches have often made £30k up-front from an existing, warm audience.

High-ticket coaching will rarely guarantee repeat customers.

And if you can’t consistently bring in enough income each month, it isn’t sustainable.

Find out more about some of the issues of high-ticket coaching in this article.

Mistake #4: Looking for complexity when it’s not needed

There are plenty of people who have all sorts of spreadsheets to calculate the best way to train when they’re working towards something.

But sometimes, simplicity is best. And it’s the same in business as well as in the fitness industry.

If you speak to professional athletes, they usually don't have any sort of advanced secret strategy. Instead, they make sure they can execute the basics properly, and under pressure.

Both clients and online coaches can be guilty of trying to make things more complex or difficult than they have to be.

Sometimes, the online coaches we work with are surprised to find how much time we spend covering ‘the basics’ on our business programme.

But if you can’t answer simple business questions about how many leads you’ve generated, or how many of them you’ve converted into customers, then you need to get these things sorted before you can move onto anything more advanced.

The core functions of your fitness business should be:

• getting leads
   
• closing sales
   
• coaching clients

Starting with the basics and getting these right is the best way to ensure reliable, consistent income as an online coach.

Mistake #5: Creating a Frankenstein

What do we mean by this?

If you’re trying out lots of different systems at the same time, none of them will end up working well. Because they’ll be at odds with one another.

Pick one system with a strong track record of success, and stick to it.

But don’t just pick a system and follow it blindly. Question what you’re doing, and whether it’s the best way of doing things.

If you understand the principles, it will be easier to see how that system will lead to success. And this will help you stay within the system. This makes it easier to resist the temptation to bring in other ideas just for the sake of it.

This all comes back to being consistent in your business.

If you set things up correctly, and keep delivering more value than you charge for, clients will want to keep working with you.

How we can help

If you’d like to learn more about how to build and deliver a profitable online programme to your clients, and gain financial freedom, you can download our free training video here

Or if you’d like to have a chat with us about how we can help grow your online coaching business, you can book in some time for a call here.