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Maintaining Client Engagement During the Holidays


5 out of 5 stars
(1 Comments & Ratings) Out of Sight Should Not Mean Out of Mind

by Gregory Florez

Busy Holidays The next 4-6 weeks constitute perhaps the most challenging time of the year to maintain consistency with your clients both in terms of adherence and scheduling training sessions. It is also a critical time to make sure that your valued clients maintain some level of regularity.  Keep in mind that in many cases this period should focus on maintenance rather than progress. Often there are simply too many personal distractions, commitments and schedule irregularities to expect more. The best trainers recognize these challenges and prepare accordingly.

As with any other endeavor, planning is just the beginning. Follow-through is the critical success factor. You know your practice better than any writer or expert, but this month, I want to share with you some key tips that have proven successful for trainers around the country. Read them and adjust your business accordingly.

  1. Plan for disruption! Assume that clients will travel, take time off and juggle many conflicting priorities. Meet with each client now and try to identify all priorities and events including specifics including dates and times. Have both your calendar and your client’s in front of you when you do this.
  2. Discuss a plan to identify any conflicts. This is extremely specific to each client and you need listen closely and take notes. Conflicts to training can include anything from stressful family gatherings, harried trips, year-end business stressors and deadlines. Know specifically what these are before proceeding with a holiday plan to address them.
  3. Discuss each situation with your clients and come up with solutions. This can include how to help them remain active, eat well and manage stress and energy as effectively as possible.  This can mean providing a portable workout that uses exercise tubing while they travel, or incorporating walking vs. formal aerobic training while spending time with family. The key here is to make sure that any plan you propose fits into their holiday lifestyle and other personal priorities which can often take precedence over formal training during this time.
  4. Put this plan into writing and gain agreement. We all know that adherence is key, so make sure the plan you agree to is “workable” and that your clients feel that it is realistic. Jointly commit to the solutions.
  5. Plan for setbacks. During the holidays, there is more than a good chance that schedules will change. Discuss a plan “B” if your initial one isn’t working for your client. This generally means being very creative, and almost always, less exercise and more flexibility around nutrition. Make it clear to your clients that this is normal and that they should not feel that they are digressing, but rather maintaining.
  6. Stay in touch! Even if you are not meeting as regularly as you do during the rest of the year, keep in touch with your clients. You must have a weekly plan to reach out to each client even if you are not training him or her as often. E-mail, phone calls, text messages with specific reminders and even very concise motivational notes will serve to keep their health as a priority. Don’t ever underestimate the power of hand-written notes as an alternative. These notes should be positive and express your continued support.  Perhaps the most important reminder here is that you too are managing your personal holiday season and facing many of the same challenges of your clients.
  7. Provide written tips. Information about healthy holiday eating, the importance of short bouts of exercise when your pressed for time and other useful tips can be extremely valuable for your clients. Don’t bury your clients with too much information, but rather pick one or two articles relevant to their needs. The ACE website has FitFacts and other free health and fitness resources you can share easily with your clients.
  8. Schedule an appointment now for the first part of the New Year. Use this time to meet with each client and re-assess goals to move forward on their plan for 2009. Be prepared to provide suggestions on new activities, creative goals and anything else that will help increase your value to them. This appointment should be separate from a training session. You need to be focused and taking notes, not trying to have this conversation during an exercise session.
  9. Tell them to enjoy the holidays! Make sure that you affirm the fact that it is okay for them to enjoy the holidays with its myriad of treats and break from routines. They need to hear this. Guilt does not burn calories!
  10. Take your own advice! Give yourself a break. If you are not eating or training at the level you’d like, the world will not end. Being gentle with yourself and sharing your vulnerabilities with clients can be very empowering for both of you.
The challenges that come with the holiday season also provide the greatest opportunity for you to be a complete trainer who supports your clients through an important, but arguably tumultuous time. Planning for this and providing the right kind of support will make a difference with your clients now and in the New Year.

Holiday Blessings!






Comments & Ratings

Average Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (1 Comments & Ratings)
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Rated by: Thomas (ACE-certified Professional)

Would Recommend this to others?: Definitely

Comments: Excellent statement. Some things I am alwready doing and some thing I will start doing. Thanks

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