As a personal trainer, you love watching your clients progress in their fitness journey. But sometimes, fitting your clients’ busy schedules into your busy schedule can be more excruciating than 25 Tabata sets.
Personal trainers’ scheduling difficulties often come from lacking one major function on their websites: a scheduling program. We understand why— many personal trainers would prefer to spend their downtime designing workouts instead of sorting out a booking program.
In this article, we’ll give you seven reasons why your personal training website should have an online scheduling function. By the end of the article, you’ll know the benefits that implementing an online booking system on your website could bring. Implementing this will help you secure more clients and de-clutter your schedule.
Reason 1: An Online Scheduling Option Will Give you a Tech-Savvy, Professional Appearance
Leveraging 21st-century software technology that works as your assistant is impressive because the technology allows you to free up time for more critical tasks. Outsourcing scheduling tasks to an app or program shows clients you’re seriously committed to your profession by using software more sophisticated than WhatsApp or text messages.
They’ll feel at ease because they won’t have to contact you via message or phone, confirm a time, and remember to write it in their calendar. Using a website-based scheduling system, clients can effortlessly click or tap their way to a timeslot, filling your schedule with clients. You’ll be able to take bookings whether you’re in your office or on the mats coaching your 2 pm.
Using such a system also eliminates the annoyance of back-and-forth communication, which is familiar to many people trying to make and confirm bookings. You can ensure clients remember their dates by creating an automatic reminder.
App builders like Adalo allow people with zero coding or tech knowledge to design custom-made scheduling apps using a no-code drag-and-drop interface. You can make your scheduling app available on your website and let users download it from the Apple iOS or Google Play Stores.
Adalo also integrates with Google Calendar and other personal calendar software for ease of use. When clients sign up for a training session on your Adalo-built app, you’ll both receive an automatic notice in your personal calendars. This function will illustrate your high level of professional competence and remove the kind of frustrations that cause missed classes and late appointments.
Reason 2: Ability to Adjust for Scheduling Changes with 24/7 Accessibility
Life is busy, and sometimes unforeseen events throw a wrench in the training plans your client made last week. Like when she must cancel tomorrow’s class at the very last minute because an emergency meeting came up.
Crazy things like this might happen at any time. So, a booking system that your clients can access 24/7 can minimize damage from life’s unforeseen events. With a 24/7 online booking system, all your client needs to do is cancel her session with a tap of her finger. You’ll get a notification, enabling you to open her spot to other clients if you wish.
Using an online booking system lessens the risk of wasted time when clients cancel at the last minute. Clients will appreciate this feature as it will make them feel at ease that their on-the-fly cancellation didn’t result in a significant loss of time - and that they didn’t have to pick up the phone for a mutually awkward conversation.
Reason 3: Track Client Progression, Increase Client Motivation, and Set Clients’ Goals in Stone
Having a personal trainer who clicks with their personality might be the most critical to clients, but results from training are probably a close second.
Clients will want to achieve their specific goals: weight loss, increased health, and more peace of mind. You can show clients the path to achieving their goals by leveraging your scheduling system, creating tailor-made plans, and recording progress.
After each session, you can record a client’s progress with the system. If you use a booking system you created with Adalo, you can integrate your client’s health metrics like heart rate, glucose levels, and more from their devices to their scheduled records during each session. Doing this will enable you to clearly show your clients the positive changes your training brings over time.
Is the workout you planned five weeks ago too easy for them now? Or a little too hard? Using a scheduling system will also let you tweak workout plans.
This option further allows you to mold training plans to each client’s specific needs, demonstrating your commitment to each client. When your clients see their progression and your enthusiasm when they achieve their goals, they’ll most likely want to set even loftier, long-term goals and become a long-term, loyal, and stable client you can depend on.
Reason 4: Streamline Your Payments and Manage Your Finances
Today, fewer people use cash. A growing number of people are opting for cashless apps or ongoing subscription payments. If you’re like most personal trainers, your customers pay periodically, monthly, for bundles of sessions, etc. Designing your scheduling system to also take payments could bring in more revenue while simplifying the process for clients.
An app builder like Adalo allows your schedule to integrate multiple payment types, such as Stripe, Square, PayPal, and more. Clients will also have the option to set up recurring payments. Conveniently, Adalo payment integrations can automatically send receipts to clients once they have paid for your services, saving you the hassle of creating receipts manually or dealing with receipt printers.
App builders like Adalo enable you to tailor-make how you want your system to record payments and the appearance of this data. You can even leverage data features to extract profitability insights to grow your income.
Integrating a payment system into your scheduling system is better than hiring a bookkeeper—your system will keep flawless financial records while providing your customers with easy payment options.
Reason 5: Accommodate and Complement Your Business’s Growth
While a booking system on your site can significantly increase your client’s satisfaction, it can also increase your number of clients. Make your schedule available to everyone by integrating it into your social media pages. When you have a large social media following, at least a few people might be interested in your services.
Take a look at your schedule. Do you see a few open time slots that need to be filled in? Create demand among your current clients by sending limited-time referral rewards through push notifications.
Some app builders and programs, like Adalo, integrate push notifications into their scheduling apps. For example, you could use push notifications to offer current clients discounts for referrals. Doing this will give clients incentives to help you grow your business.
Do you have a few clients interested in group classes? If your site uses a booking system, you can create opportunities for group class offerings. All you need to do is indicate on your calendar which days you’re offering that new group yoga, dance, or spinning class.
When your clients see open group classes, they just need to click or tap on the days they want to take a class. Your contact form will then pop up, and they’ll fill out whatever information is needed to join the class. A quick click or tap confirms them. This feature allows you to become more than a one-on-one personal trainer.
Use the group class feature to efficiently use your time on days when you have fewer clients. You’ll also be able to offer clients a cheaper rate for a group class, but with students paying at one time, you might be able to make more income.
Housekeeping for Your New Booking Function
When you properly use your new booking functions, you’ll free up loads of time, but always remember to keep on top of your bookings. Give your clients opportunities to take advantage of unique offers like:
- Holiday deals
- A discount on the newest nutritional supplement
- A free birthday session
- Loyalty programs
- Group class discounts
Offering loyal clients discounted lessons and products will make them feel that you appreciate their business and genuinely care about their health.
Create Your Own Booking System Using Adalo
Ready to build your own scheduling app?
Adalo comes packed with plenty of templates suitable for personal trainers. You’ll also find features beyond booking, like push notifications, payments, and in-app chat.
Does it sound too technical? Don’t worry - Adalo’s simple-to-use, drag-and-drop interface is used by hundreds of personal trainers just like you to create apps without experiencing a steep and technical learning curve.
