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Running Action Boot Camp I get to meet lots of amazing people and this week was no exception. Many of our cadets ran in the Nottingham Race4Life event and a lot of them had very personal reasons for running it. Deb Leivers shared her story with me.

So i’ve launched Speedy Bikini today after working on the content for the past week, I’ve had really positive feedback on the programme which is a 7 day download with super-intense 10 minute workouts, nutritional info, articles and inspirational quotes as well as a few fun extras to spice things up a bit! I’ve been talking it up on Facebook, twittter and on here and this morning I put it out there to sell, yeah sell, sell, sell.

So far? None. Ok so it’s half term week – we’re on the back end of a bank holiday – and the rain is still sticking around. So I am not disheartened as I’m convinced it will sell, I just think it’s one of those timely things that people will only buy once they need it. I am sure once people use it they will rave about it and word of mouth referrals will sell me even more. I am getting our web designer to pop it on the main product page so people can see it when they go to  buy a package and i’ll keep posting timely reminders on facebook and twitter.

Next though, I am still driving forward with Speedy Mankini, the male version and I’m pleased to say I got my logo today, it’s awesome, check it out!

I’m up nice and early today as I’m currently working on an online project Speedy Bikini. Now we have our offline business up and running we are turning our attention to online. Speedy Bikini is the first project so I am slightly nervous about it but i’m also loving the process.

It’s a 7 day package customers can take away with them on their holiday. For all of the online projects we have tried to give our clients what they have asked us for in the past. It’s really important to ask your customers what they want and more important to actually listen to them. Times they say to us “oh i’m going away and i know i won’t do anything while i’m there except lay on a sunbed for two weeks, i wish boot camp could come with me cus i’ll come back looking like a beached whale”.

Well now, we CAN go with them! We give them 7 ten-minute super intense workouts that doesn’t cut into their day too much. We have loads of tips on what to eat at the airport, how to avoid the pitfalls of the All-Inlusive temptation, even how to get over your hangover. It’s not a weight loss programme, it’s a healthy eating programme for holidays so expect a couple of treats to be in there.

There’s other stuff included in the package like daily health articles and it’s been really fun putting it all together. From working out who our avatar is to coming up with the logo idea, to producing the content and finally, hopefully today if the weather holds out, videoing the workouts.

Before you sell anything to your client base you’ve got to niche it down and figure out who you are selling it to – this product is aimed at females aged 20-30 who are going away with their mates or boyfreind. They probably go away 2 or 3 times a year and can re-use the product again and again. They are an ipad generation so the daily files can easily be downloaded and saved.

We also have men at Action Boot Camp and we are not forgetting them – Speedy Mankini is being launched next week. It’s the same concept but aimed specifically at them. I’ve just ordered my logo so i’ll post it as soon as it arrives, again I wanted to keep to the beach theme so have requested a similar scene using the oranges and yellows again but instead of pink writing I’ve asked for bright blue.

If you haven’t discovered Fiverr.com they are well worth checking out. Go to the social media section and you can find graphic designers from all over the world willing to make you anything from a Timeline Picture to a logo to a flyer to a businesscard, all for $5 which at the moment works out at about £3.19.

Online products are massive in the health industry and if you are not supplying your customers yet you are missing out and they will go elsewhere. So find out what they want and build it.

Enjoy the ride!

I’ve been kinda busy over the last few months. In fact, i’ve deleted my last post because it was written at Christmas which shows how long it is since I’ve blogged. But now i am back with a vegence and plan to share a lot of what i’ve been learning over the last few months with you guys.

We now have 8 sites in Nottinghamshire and I still can’t quite believe it. There are 12 of us working for the company now and our plans are just getting bigger and better all the time.

At the moment we are focussing on online projects so for example this week I am creating Speedy Bikini, an online programme our clients can take on holiday with them to keep them on track and they get 7 super-intense 10 minute workouts to do. It doesn’t cut into their day too much and they still get a workout that’s gonna burn for hours after while they’re sipping cocktails lazing by the pool. It’s a win win situation.

I’m also launching the Action Boot Camp Academy which aims to guide youngsters into careers in fitness, business or the media. The 3 main areas we are working in. We are also hoping we might be able to sponsor one kid through college.

Another exciting project is Titanium Project. I am marketing this one for my partner Paul Eaton but the programme is his baby. It’s this amazing style of strength and conditioning that only uses 5 exercises, that’s all you need to get you fit for life. Yep you heard it right just 5! But it’s gonna take you a few years, if ever to master them.

The fitness industry has absolutely exploded over the last six months and it’s a great time to be working in the industry so Enjoy The Ride!

1: We talk to our customers everyday using FB

When you think about it when was the last time you spoke to your clients? Admittedly our industry allows us to see our customers regularly but sometimes they have to take a break from training – maybe they’re having a baby, commitments at work, or they go abroad on holiday. Even when they are away for months at a time they tell us they still feel like they are still part of the gang and keep up to date with all that’s happening within the group. That is great loyalty right there and when they are ready to train again they are coming back to us.

2: We motivate our clients everday with our daily quotes

Things like this “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. -Wayne Gretzky” It’s a great way of persuading customers to get off the couch and come down and see us and obviously spend money with us by using their boot camp sessions up. But it’s more than that it also helps create the kudos that goes along with our ABC workouts, we are encouraging our cadets and actually care about their health.

3: We let clients know what’s on daily with our daily roll call.

We’ll let them know what classes are on – which trainers are at each site and sometimes tease them as to what the session is going to be. Sometimes we ask for requests and sometimes we let them know there’s a test coming up which often encourages a few more to turn up – they’re a very competitive bunch. It also lets us alert them to any timetable changes although thankfully this doesn’t happen very often.

4: Interaction with our customers

We all share pictures on FB and our cadets love coming onto FB to give us some stick about the punishing routines we get them performing. One guy is currently in a photo competition and he’s put a post on our site asking cadets to vote for him, it all goes to establishing us as a group and is great for camaraderie both on and off the field. You can’t buy that but you can create it using Facebook. Some of our cadets have never even met as they train at different sites but they all come together on our site.

5: We create events

As well as training with our guys we also like to organise nights out and so we use the events tab to invite everyone along. We also plug these at our training sites and encourage more people to sign up to FB to keep in touch with all that’s going on. When was the last time you went for a night out with your customers? And it’s so easy to organise.

6: Sell online

We use FB to let our customers know about special offers like our Christmas Special at the moment or products for sale such as our new hoodies and beanies for Winter. It’s much easier than making announcements before or after a training session when they are probably cold and wet and the last thing they wanna do is dig around for cash for a new sweatshirt.

7: Share our blog

Our leading trainer Paul Eaton takes care of our Action Boot Camp blog and this is posted onto our FB page. This is used to educate our clients as to why we get them doing certian exercises. It’s also used to kick them up the backside at slow times of the year like the cold Winter months. We can also give them nutrition advice and we run competitions and post fit test results on this too.

8: And finally, we use FB to promote new ventures

Currently we are promoting our new Bridal Boot Camp and Boot Camps in Portugal. We can put our landing page for our Bridal classes on our FB page to encourage any brides to be to sign up. When we went to Portugal recently to check out venues for our boot camp holidays we posted regularly so they feel they are already part of the experience. We used the check in feature a lot for the airport, the accommodation, even the supermarket where Drill Sergeant Eaton was spotted buying beer. We even put a picture of me on there when i got home with a massive swollen eye after being bitten by a mosquito.

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Yvonne Radley launched Action Boot Camp on January 4th 2011 with her partner and personal trainer Paul Eaton. We had 0 clients and two venues. Currently we have over 200 active clients and have just launched our 4th venue.

A lot of people ask us how we did so good and how we continue to grow at a steady rate. Well today I’m gonna share the 5 keys things we do in our business and if you do the same you’re gonna improve your own lifestyle and your own bootcamp business.

We are great believers in Karma – what goes around comes around – so we always try and be nice cus we don’t want no bad shit landing on our doorstep. You know the kinda stuff, you see a car waiting – let them out! Guarenteed you get a parking spot next time you need it. Think positive and it’s amazing that positive things start happening. Anyway I’m more the optimist that my partner Eaton but he helps to keep me grounded.

So that’s a little background guys now let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

What 5 simple things can you do to improve your fitness business.

1: Care about your customers. Sounds like a given, but do you really care about them? Do you speak to the same people every week or do you try and talk to the quiet guys at the back. Do you know where your guys work, how many kids they’ve got. We’re not saying give them the 3rd degree when they sign up but successful boot camps are like a family so you oughta know what’s happening with your family.

2: Get results with your workouts. Sounds easy right? All they gotta do is turn up to your sessions work out for an hour and the results will happen yeah? Wrong. Some people turn up and don’t feel like working out so you’ve gotta recognise that and push them a bit harder. Some are working out nearly everyday but not getting results, maybe you need to give them some nutrition advice and get them back on track. And you’ve gotta make your workouts interesting, it’s not good using the same equipment everytime your clients are gonna get as bored with you as they did with the gym and move on somewhere else. Keep changing things up and teaching them new stuff, it keeps them mentally challenged but also physically challenged and we all know when your body is challenged then changes happen.

3: Be happy. Give your cadets a warm welcome. Smile. Make your sessions fun so they don’t notice the pain or at least they don’t mind it so much if there’s a bit of banter and fun going on around them. So many trainers bark out orders then stand on their phone for 5 minutes while you work your ass off. No, no, no you’ve gotta give them your full attention and let them know you’re with them, we even do the workout with them sometimes so they can see we don’t mind getting down and dirty or breaking into a sweat, hell we even find it hard.

4: Don’t give cadets the hard sell. If they come to your boot camp and they have fun and they get results you don’t need to give them the sales pitch they’re gonna keep coming. Put the hard sell on and you’re just gonna turn them off. When they do buy a group of sessions thank them after all they are the reason you are putting food on the table. Let them know how glad you are that they’re staying with you.

5: Enjoy your job. If you enjoy your job your cadets will enjoy training with you. It’s a brilliant way to earn a living and you are making a massive difference to people’s lives, you are even helping them to live longer. You’re increasing their confidence and that has a knock on effect on the people around them, family, friends, work colleagues. It is a big deal what we do so be happy you are making a difference in the world and being paid for the pleasure.