How to Stand Out AND Get New Personal Training Clients on Linkedin

As an online trainer, you’ve probably worked hard to maintain a great social media presence on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat. But you can never have enough tools in your arsenal when it comes to making sales and attracting new clients.

That’s right, I said LinkedIn. You may not have thought of using your LinkedIn like this before. After all, isn't it just for employers and job-seekers?

Using LinkedIn, you can target prospective clients who work within a particular job or career field. This is super important, because you can use this to seek out and engage with exactly the type of client you’re looking for.

Maybe you’ve come up with a fitness program that you know would attract company heads and CEOs. LinkedIn is the perfect tool to hunt for your target audience and directly engage them so you can tell them more about your program.

Or maybe you're a former accountant, architect, preschool teacher, nanny, or <insert any career here>... You can build a niche program for this audience that you understand so well. Then, using Linkedin, you can find loads of potential clients who face the same fitness struggles you might have faced in your former career.

But, before you jump on LinkedIn and start connecting with prospects, it’s very important that your profile is complete and looks professional. Not only that, but you need to craft your message so that the people you're reaching out to feel as if your services are actually related to them.

Here's how to build your killer LinkedIn profile in 12 easy steps:

Your summary is the first thing your potential clients will see when they visit your profile. Make your summary easy to read and include your biggest qualifications/achievements. This way, clients will trust your expertise right off the bat.

A great idea for writing a good LinkedIn summary is simply sharing your own story. This will draw your clients in and make them feel personally connected to you.

It’s important that your LinkedIn profile picture is a clean professional shot so that your customers know you mean business. No selfies. No beach photos. Those might fly on Facebook or Insta, but Linkedin has a different standard even if you're connecting with the same target audience.

If you haven't already, invest a little cash in getting professional photos taken. I found a photographer on Craigslist who did a photoshoot for $100. That provided all the photos I needed for my website and all social media platforms. Get it done.

Appearances matter. The more appealing your profile looks, the more likely a visitor will want to read more about who you are and what you have to offer.​

 Be sure you use the right image sizes so that they look good on all devices. Here are the recommended sizes for Linkedin images as well as all other social media platforms.

LinkedIn will automatically populate your headline field with your job title, but you can edit this to feature a catchy phrase that will attract clients immediately.

What  job/career title will set you apart?

I've seen many creative choices such as "Lifestyle Designer" or "Body Makeover Specialist" - You are more than just a personal trainer, so tell your prospects what makes you special.

It’s very important that you link to your blog or website from your Linkedin profile. This makes it super easy for your audience to find out more about your business (or make a purchase) with one click.

I know this sounds obvious, but so many personal trainers miss this opportunity to send traffic back to their own site.

LinkedIn is nothing without a powerful network. You can grow your Linkedin network very quickly by syncing your profile with your email address book.

Here are the simple steps you can follow to sync you email contacts with your Linkedin account. This can give you hundreds of connections in an instant. This adds "social proof" - If you have many connections, it's easier for people to assume that you have some authority in the industry and are therefore a high-quality coach.

Another great way to build your network is to follow up conversations and meetings with a LinkedIn request. When you meet someone in-person, make a note to connect with them on Linkedin, and then remember to do it!

When you follow up in this way, it makes you look professional. You are using a professional network, not just adding someone as a Facebook friend. Also, it's a great way for this new contact to learn all about you. You don't have to brag - they can see all of your accomplishments and skillsets right there on your Linkedin profile.

Once you’ve engaged profile visitors, it’s important to keep them engaged. A great way to do this is if you use your LinkedIn status updates to share content related to your brand, and specifically, to your target clients.

By focusing on content that would particularly interest them, you’re encouraging your audience to keep reading your updates and to visit your site to get even more information.

You're building your "know, like, trust" - Get in front of your prospects often enough and they will become your clients.

​Another great feature of LinkedIn is the ability of other members to endorse your skills. It’s a huge boost to your credibility when someone visits your profile and sees that other people can attest to your expertise.

You can politely request endorsements from users that you’ve worked with before who you think would be willing to endorse you. A simple way to do this is by endorsing one of their skills first – this will usually encourage them to give you an endorsement as well.

But be genuine! Only endorse users who you believe genuinely deserve it. Here are 5 ways to quickly increase your endorsements:

It’s important to manage your endorsements so that your core area of expertise is not overshadowed by other skills. You can edit the features in the "Skills" section of your profile to manage your endorsements.

It’s all well and good for users to visit your LinkedIn profile, but what happens when they want to talk to you? How do they ask a question? Sure, they could send you a message via Linkedin (if you two are connected), but what if they prefer another means of communicating?

Don’t forget to include your contact information: an email address, phone number, social media handle, and website url will all do the job.

You can use the projects section to highlight products or services that you have available. You can also include stories of successful clients here. Use this section to show off how great you are as a coach!

By adding projects, you give your visitors an idea of what you have to offer, and LinkedIn allows you to add a URL to get more information about a particular project. If using testimonials in your projects section, link back to even more on your website. 

Don’t just create your profile and wait for persons to visit. You can boost your reach by joining groups related to fitness or your target audience, and participating in these groups. You don’t need to overdo it, but being an active participant will enhance your impact.

Similarly, leaving comments on other users’ content and contributing to various conversations will show your potential clients that you are constantly engaging, and they’ll be more likely to engage you in return.  

As a personal trainer, you can use LinkedIn to attract new clients from within a particular career field. It's very important that your LinkedIn profile is professional, engaging and targeted towards your target audience. Following the 12 steps outlined above will help you make this happen.

Have questions about using LinkedIn to boost your business? Leave them in the comment box below.