Now this time of year is a veritable Gold Mine for getting any newsworthy story printed, recorded and interviewed but…..you gotta do it right!

Your press release must be set out in a way that tells the reported that you know how to ‘play the game’ and that you have got a great story for them (see the attached example for ‘Immediate release’ etc).

Once you have got the format right then you need a killer headline that will grab them by the throat (metaphorically) and force them to take notice and action.

Then the story needs to be compelling. Do not be wishy washy. Say what you believe with conviction and power because controversy is what drives the news so really go for it. Whether you are for or against the thing, idea, concept, show…whatever, just be LOUD in your opinion (again see attached).

Lastly make a massive list of your media contacts, everyone from the local paper, to statewide publications, radio and TV. This is critical because the wider you cast your net the more chance of catching fish so cast away….repeatedly!

Don’t be afraid to send the same press release 2 or 3 times, over a 2-3 week period because they may not have run the story for a bunch of reasons but the next week could be just what they are looking for.

Be consistent. Make sure you send out at least 2 press releases a month. Awesome success stories are great, your opinion on latest fads, shows, gadgets are some other great topics.

Don’t blah blah about how good you or your business is, talk about something the readers/listeners/watchers are going to be interested in that’s the hook!

Check out this cracker that pulled me 3 newspaper stories and 2 interviews on radio. Feel free to grab this example, tweak it for you and use it however you like.

tony_ferguson_press_release

Happy New Year!

Ric

Chris Tuck has been working with us at FFP since he first bought the ‘Red Bible’, the Maximum Response Fitness Marketing Pack, back in April of 2008.

Since then he has been learning, reading and implementing the tools and training that we have provided to good effect as his business has grown steadily and consistently since then.

In July 08′ he recognised in himself the need to develop his skills in selling and to have a proven sales system so that it is never about what ‘he wants’, it is always about what the ‘client wants’ and he just matches the package to the goals they want to achieve.

Chris was an absolute pleasure to coach through the Auto Closer System as he was organised and keen to help as many people as he could. He was also a lot of fun too!

In November 08′ he invested in our Gold Rush System which gives you the tools and the training to run your own massive seminar with strategic Alliances as guest speakers and booth holders at the event. As usual Chris applied this knowledge systematically and developed some great Business to Business relationships AND caught the public speaking bug!

One thing you will see about Chris is that he takes his Fitness Business very seriously and spends a great deal of time thinking about how he can improve things and here is the difference folks….Chris takes action on these thoughts by investing in the tools and training he needs and grows a rock solid business whilst developing an arsenal of great skills and knowledge. That’s how it should be done!

Now folks, do you want to know the secret to all of the Member Of The Year (MOTY) Finalists success?

well here it is……..they all became involved in ongoing coaching programs so they stayed on track and didn’t chase ‘bright shiny objects’ (things that sound great and will add millions to your income but never do!) and, as importantly, they stayed connected to other trainers and fitness business owners who were facing the same challenges and shared and supported each other to overcome those hurdles. Powerful stuff!

As you will hear Chris’s business was booming and we all know what comes next…..staff! This can be the end for a lot of Fitness Business owners because you might be a great trainer, even one of the best, but you may not have the skills as a manager of a business and staff.

Enter the Duplicator Program in September 09′, how to find, hire, train and manage staff so that you stay in full control, never be held to ransom and develop loyalty and commitment from your staff every single time you bring on a new employee.

Things are now going very well for Chris but as happens so often, he faced a test to see just how committed he was to getting the success he wanted. Watch the video to really understand what he went through.

Now we are into 2010 and Chris is looking to add to his income streams and knows that Nutrition is at least 50% of the success in a health and fitness goal so again he invests wisely and gets our DietMaster Pro package so he can use this system, which has been approved by Australian Nutrionists, to provide an extra service to his clients so that he can Guarantee Success every time.

Chris was a little reluctant to even enter the MOTY competition but with a little encouragement and taking himself through his journey over the last 2 years he realised just how far he had come and what he had achieved. This all came about through focussed, consistent and dedicated application to do the things that enable growth and development.

As you can see, when he needed to learn more or have more tools he invested in the right program to give what he needed. Smart Guy!

Lastly Chris has invested in our Push Ups For Charity program that is going to be a massive publicity campaign right across Australia and New Zealand.

The secrets to success are all here folks, if you want to create the same sort of business and results that all of our MOTY finalists have achieved then the first step is to join the team with Evolution Accelerator in the stream that suits you best, either Independent Trainer, Boot Camp and Group Trainer, or Studio/Facility owner we have what you need to get going and then to continue to build that wave of momentum so that you can help more people and be duly rewarded for doing so.

Don’t waste another minute struggling to do what you haven’t the skills or the training to do. Invest wisely folks and you will reap the rewards forever!

Congratulations to all of the finalists as they are the real epitome of being a ‘Winner’. Watch this space to see their journey over the next 12 months!

To Your Success

Ric

P.S. We have opened up Evolution Accelerator for the next 10 days so call us NOW on 08 6102 6880 or go to www.YourFitBizEvolution.com to find out exactly what you get as part of this unique program.

Is this going to be the day YOU look back on as the turning point of your business? Or are you going to keep doing what you have been, hoping that things get better? This is a Guaranteed course so you have nothing to lose….come on board, we would love to help YOU too.

Every now and then you have people who come into your life and show you how to really grab the bull by the horns and run, run, run!

I met Jess Peake and Sam Shepherd at a seminar I was presenting and they cornered me afterwards asking “Are these results really real?” and “Are you positive this is going to work?”

Now these guys didn’t look intimidating at all when I was presenting at the front of the room but now that we were all standing up and they were towering over me (well maybe not Jess but it certainly felt like it!) I realised that they were very focussed people who didn’t make rash or impulse decisions. We kept talking and then they went to think and talk it over.

A short time later this dynamic duo contacted us because they really wanted to get out of ‘working for the gym’, even though they had their own businesses they were still working under the constraints of ‘the man’. Even in these conditions they were doing very well but no where near their potential.

They talked about what they wanted to do, the direction they wanted to go and we started charging towards their goals.

They first purchased the Auto Closer sales system and even though they were working as sub-contactors they started giving potential clients what they want…..guaranteed results! This led to some serious session pack sales for those people, who needed that number of sessions, to achieve their goals and their income really took off.

This was great but they knew they could do, be and have more if they took the plunge and stepped out on their own, so they attended Mega Training in Melbourne in last year and you could see the fire in their bellies turn into a raging bonfire!

Jess and Sam are not only gorgeous people, they are smart and they do what it takes to make things work.

At the end of that weekend seminar (Mega Training 2009) I could see them over in the corner making their action plan and plotting the steps to move forward with speed.

They came on board with VIP Boot Camp and also got I-AM Rainmaker and thats when things got really interesting!

They launched their Boot Camps in Windsor, Brisbane and still did some clients at the other big gym.

I clearly remember the call with Jess when she explained that they had over 30 people in the boot camp paying $200 for 4 weeks, 3 sessions per week and that was their first camp !!

Jess was excited, not just because of the numbers ($6000 for 6 sessions of group training a week) more so because she could see how this really worked and now had the confidence to focus full time on their ‘own’ business and do what they knew they could.

They continued to use the proven and tested tools and go through numerous coaching calls with me, Sam left the big gym too and started working with more 1 on 1 clients and things really exploded.

They have since moved into their own studio, employed staff and continually build on that rock solid business foundation because they did things ‘right’, put in the work, invested in proven systems and tools and took the leap of faith.

Seeing them up on stage as one of the Member of the Year finalists in just over 12 months from Mega Training last year is a very special achievement.

Watch this video and see how these two go getters have helped hundreds of people achieve their health and fitness goals and by doing so have created the lifestyle and business of their dreams.

Well done Jess and Sam, you have been a pleasure to coach and you deserve all the success you have achieved and more. I am very excited to see where these guys will be in another 12 months!

If you want to have your own business that helps hundreds of people and create the lifestyle that you deserve then watch this video, get excited and give us a call to help you achieve what Jess and Sam have.

Special people, special results!

To Your Success
Ric

P.S. Are you tired of working all those hours and not getting rewarded for it? Well look,we are opening our Evolution Accelerator Program (all the steps, coaching and tools that Jess and Sam got) until the 50 spots go so call us now on 08 6102 6880 or go to www.FFPEvolutionAccelerator.com and register for this business and life changing program.

P.P.S. If you can’t tell, I am soooo passionate about helping people achieve business and lifestyle success and my belief in this brilliant Fitness Industry is 100 %.

I know YOU can make a difference to your whole community by helping those people to be leaner, stronger and fitter so let us help YOU….to get the systems and tools in place to have a business that can help hundreds of people and for doing that you receive your financial reward.

Its not rocket science but it does take consistent effort, the ability to be coached yourself and a burning desire to be the best trainer and fitness business owner you can. Is that YOU?

Hi Folks,

Wow….what am amazing weekend at Mega Training!

We are back in the drivers seat at the office (finally) and have caught up with all of the follow up (well nearly anyway) so I do apologise for not posting earlier.

The event was a raging success and to feel the energy and purpose in the room for the whole weekend and beyond was truly special.

I still get a tingle down my spine when I hear the stories of trainers and business owners really making a difference in their communities and being rewarded for the service they give.

This year was no different and although a little reluctant to tell their stories at first, once these fitness professionals started to share there was some serious excitement in the room.

Well, without keeping you in suspense for much longer the winner of the 2010 Fit For Profit Member of the Year is…………Dave Lambert from Oxygen Health & Fitness in Kiama, N.S.W!

It must be said that Dave is sharing the honour with his beautiful partner Cass who is a big part of the success that they have both shared. Dave’s is a very emotional story as you will see from the video

Dave and Cass put it all on the line in October last year and to see the results is truly spectacular! Well done to you both, you thoroughly deserve it.

Speaking of deserving people, we also had 4 other amazing finalists who have achieved some phenomenal success over the last 12 months and they are:

Julian Gaylor from PerFit in Ballarat, Victoria
Ben Fox from Fox Fitness and Performance in Alexandria, NSW
Chris Tuck from Supreme fitness personal training in Windsor, QLD
Jess Peake and Sam Shepperd from Inspire Wellness in Brisbane, QLD

All of these guys deserve huge accolades not only for the success they have achieved but for the benefits they have put back into their community by being such passionate health and fitness experts and serious fitness business owners.

I will be sharing more about their stories over the next 2 weeks.

If you were at the event you will agree that it was a life and business changing experience, if you couldn’t make it promise yourself that you will be there in 2011, maybe even on stage telling your incredible story!

Keep your eyes peeled for the next inspirational video from another of the finalists, till then keep chargin’ folks and remember that your bank balance is a mirror image to the service you give so give, give, give and you shall receive!

Have fun
Ric

I was lying awake at 3am this morning listening to a massive storm sweep over our suburb, stressing about the huge gum tree out the front and visualising branches snapping off and crushing the house!

What would I do if my wife and child got injured?

What would they do if I got injured or worse? I started to worry about life and income insurance and that was the end of my sleep for the night!

What would happen in your Fitness Business if you took a massive hit on your income?

We had a new member last year who went bankrupt after taking a hit like that. She unfortunately had one big source of income (a Corporate Contract) and no ‘poles in the water’ to get new clients. The contract ended and so did her business!

YOU need to have ‘income insurance’ for your business in the form of multiple marketing ‘poles’ and multiple streams of income. How do we do this and still keep all of the balls in the air? Thats where we need a crystal clear plan, organised growth and systems in place to ensure continued income and increased profit.

Here are 10 ways to expand your income:

1. 2 on 1, 3 on 1, 4 on 1 PT

2. Group Training (usually max of 10)

3. Boot Camp Training either mixed or women’s only (can be indoors or outdoors)

4. Corporate Training (Your premises or theirs, 3 seesion a week, company pays $10 per staff member per session, staff member pays $10 per session)

5. Paid Speaking Gigs (Community, Corpaorate, Sporting Clubs etc.)

6. Nutritional Supplements (even just a basic protein powder as aprt of their nutrition program

7. Nutritional Coaching and Eating Plan/Shopping List creation (Don’t freak out, I know you need to have quals, see our aussie DietMaster Pro software)

8. Information Products including Exercise DVD’s, Informational CD’s on specific training, Training Manuals, Recipe Books, Complete Home Study Programs etc.

9. Internal Seminars for specific ‘Niche’ Markets (People wanting to get preganant, Arthritis Sufferes, Anti-Ageing etc.)

10. Put your prices up! If you haven’t done this for 6 months then do it now, just a couple of dollars extra per session = much bigger profits

If you only do Personal Training then what happens if 5 of your 3-4 session a week clients stop training with you? Suddenly we hit the panic button and run around like headless chooks desperately trying to get new clients on board QUICK! There is a better way folks and we are going to reveal it all to you at our awesome Mega Training Event September 11 and 12 in Sydney.

Click here to get all the info

One of the most exciting things at this event is hearing from the other Fit Pro’s who have achieved some phenomenal success and them teaching you exactly how they did it. Our finalists from last years Member of the Year are each going to present on their area of massive success so that you can take that info and immediately apply it into your business to get the same results! This is networking on steroids folks!

I will be telling you more about the event as we go along but make sure you book now cos’ we only have 150 seats and nearly half are gone already!

To see more on the speakers click here

Make sure you have multiple streams of income and lead generation in your business so you can sleep well at night knowing that no matter what happens you are going to wake up and have a rock solid business that is growing everyday.

Go get em’

Ric

Before we get into today’s post I have a confession to make…

…for the longest time I’ve really resisted using social media.

In fact, I really didn’t like social media.

I mean nothing sounds like more of a time waster that sitting around ‘tweeting’ about what you ate for breakfast, the movie you saw last night, and what color shirt you’re wearing.

I don’t care to read about it, and I certainly don’t care to take the time to sit around and post about it.

Not only that, but I greatly value privacy in my personal life.

I don’t mind posting to the blog, getting out and speaking with customers and partners at events, getting on calls, etc. That’s part of what I do and I have fun with it.

But I don’t care to mix my family and friends all into my business communication.

For the most part I prefer to keep those as two separate worlds.

So, for the longest time I’ve ‘held off’ engaging with social media.

However, that being said… the world is changing… or better said the world HAS changed.

And not everyone feels the same way I do about this stuff.

I recognise the fact that I’m ‘old school’ here when it comes to this stuff.

Now we’ve got You Tube channels, Twitter, Facebook, Linked in, and all kinds of other online ‘social’ media… where your customers (and mine) are all actively engaged in conversation and looking for things.

So like it or not… you better be showing up there, because if you’re not someone else is.

There are herd ‘poachers’ everywhere.

But even still, I’ve been able to keep it mostly at an arms length…

But over the last several months we’ve started to do more testing (both for ourselves and clients) with Facebook.

And I’ll tell you that this media is really unlike all the others.

The Power of Facebook

EVERYONE is on Facebook. And I mean everyone.

If you don’t know a whole lot about it, the platform offers paid micro-targeted advertising opportunities, incredible networking opportunities, and really solid relationship building communication.

Latest stats put the user count as somewhere around 500 million users.

That’s a BIG pond to go fishing in.

Since we first put up a fanpage just a month or two ago, and set-up an events page for MEGA TRAINING this year… we’re been seeing activity and engagement from a number of folks..

Check us out on facebook

Some people Andre and I haven’t talked to in a looong time… are all of a sudden ‘popping out of the woodwork’.

And the clients we’ve been working with on testing some facebook marketing are seeing the same thing.

So it seems Facebook is a key media that many folks are now ‘tuned into’ in a way they are NOT to regular media like emails, offline newsletters, etc..

It would appear… that this is becoming a new ‘staple’ media for strong client relationship building AND a key media for low cost lead generation (both paid ads… and viral ‘friends’ you pick up through networking).

What does this all mean and why am I sharing it with you?

Because without going into specific numbers and details with you here, I’ll share that we’re seeing more and more results from Facebook… and I believe every business owner needs to come up with a strategy for leveraging this platform more.

Does it take some time to get more involved with another media?

Yes.

Can it still be a time waster?

Yes. But you can directly track lead generation cost per lead, conversion, and customer lifetime value now… which at least makes me feel better about the front end (external marketing).

The internal marketing is harder to track, but now becoming a key piece of comprehensive client relationship building that must be done… this is now just another media to ‘tack onto’ the list of how you already communicate with your herd.

Does it cross over my personal preferences for privacy and separation of work and home life?

Yes. I’m still committed to keeping my privacy, but you can work in ‘enough’ here and there… just as you do with other media… to round things out a bit.

And even that being said… the numbers don’t lie that Facebook is a winner.

So I’ve decided to get over my hangups about it and ease into things.

Bottom line is that in I think everyone needs to be taking advantage of the marketing opportunities on this platform… including me… even if you kinda hate social media.

I believe this is so important that we have secured Australia’s Top Social Networking Guru, Richard Marc, to do a special presentation on how to use this media effectively and add it to your arsenal of lead generation marketing at our Mega Training Event in Sydney.

Have a look at our best event ever

More to follow soon (check out this month’s CD with your newsletter, Richard reveals more), but in the meantime if you’re not on Facebook sign up for an account.

I’m gonna slowly warm up to getting more involved in this personally.

Unlike other media (you tube videos, twitter, etc.) this is a hard media to delegate at least some amount of personal involvement… because you’ll find you’re gonna start getting personal emails from key contacts through the Facebook platform.

Emails that you don’t really want to have staff handling for you, although I think having someone go through it and filter is probably a good idea (just like our staff does for the hundreds of emails our office gets every week) so you only have to deal with the most important ones… and let support folks handle more of the general stuff and ‘noise’.

Why don’t key contacts just send you a regular email or communicate through standard channels?

Dunno. Like I said, I guess I’m old school here and just naturally have an aversion to it myself.

But key folks are engaged here, so I’m gonna step up to be more engaged here too.

As I said.. the numbers don’t lie.

Go get em’
Ric

P.S. In September at MEGA TRAINING we’re gonna share some details on the tests we’ve been running here, and also feature some pretty incredible case studies on marketing with Facebook. Powerful stuff for sure… and it’s like anything else… the more you get involved in all the different ‘pieces’ of it… the more everything works together and starts to snowball in growing your business.

If you want to stay tuned into how we’re doing it, then friend us up here:

Become a FFP Facebook Fan Here

I have said it before and I will say it again…Gaining further skills and knowledge is the KEY role for any Fitness Business Entrepreneur.

So what do most of us do? We attend Cross Fit accreditation courses, we take a Thump Course, we do more study into Physiology and Anatomy, Diplomas/Degrees in Nutrition and so on. What we very rarely do is develop our skills as Business People.

I am always amazed at how little time, effort and money we all put into learning how to be better Marketers and Business Operators and I have finally figured out why…..

IT DOESN”T SOUND SEXY!

We all got told at the start to “develop a comprehensive business plan outlining profit and loss forecasts building in the development of financial management and reconciliation…blah blah blah”. We want to be the best trainers in the world and this just doesn’t sound like fun at all.

Well folks I have got the answer:
We have put together such a phenomenal line up of speakers at our up coming Mega Training Event who are not only experts in their areas of Fitness Business Development, they also know how to make the learning process and information SEXY! These Giants of the Industry are going to excite, motivate and educate you on how you can be a better business owner and teach you how to delegate those tasks that are not your best use of your time.

Sounds good doesn’t it?

Click here to check out all the details

These passionate experts are going to cut to the chase and reveal the secrets to becoming the Fitness Industry Entrepreneur that you have always wanted to be. Over the next few weeks I will be revealing more about each of the speakers but let me say this folks, all of them are the leaders in their field and all of them are focussed on the Fitness Industry. In fact each speaker has been a Trainer in the past so they know what you are going through.

Check this out for more info

For those of you who attended last years event you know how good it was. If you really want to learn the secrets behind being a successful Fitness Business Owner then this is a Must Attend Event. The food alone will blow you away! That’s right, we have the event fully catered from every break to Lunch both days and Dinner on Saturday night.

Not only will you hear from speakers around the world but our 5 Member of the Year Finalists from last year will be presenting on their particular area of expertise, revealing every step in their process to go from struggling PT Business Owners, working 70 hours plus a week to now having the Businesses they always dreamed of.

If you know you are a great trainer with the skills and talent to help people achieve their weight loss and fitness goals then come and learn how to help more people by developing the knowledge and skills you need to be a great business owner, and remember this is going to be fun!

If you do 1 thing this year to grow your business this event is it, we Guarantee it.

Looking forward to seeing YOU in Sydney in September.

Cheers

Ric

P.S. We only have the capacity for 150 committed and passionate Fitness Business Owners so don’t miss out, click on the link below and register now.

click here to get more info and secure your spot

P.P.S. As some of you know I spent the first 5 years of my PT business going through the financial roller coaster of good months and bad months until I finally realised that I needed to gain more knowledge and skills as a Fitness Business Owner not just a great trainer. That was the day that my business changed forever and the client and financial success went through the roof! Come along folks and I guarantee you will leave feeling more pumped and armed with more tools and skills to really explode your business

I am back from a weeks holiday and am fighting fit and ready to launch one of our best coaching programs ever!

We have just sent out a letter entitled “The Six Million Dollar Man”, do you remember that show? It was my absolute favourite cos’ the hero, Steve Austin, could do things no one else could do. He was Strong, Fast, Powerful and he always got the right result. He was changed from an ordinary man into the first Bionic Man and he was everything I wanted to be!

We have used this analogy because we want to do the same for your Fitness Business. Take an ok fitness business and turn it into a Bionic Business that can and will make millions and help thousands of people with their weight loss and fitness journeys. Are you ready to become better then the rest?

We have a created this program to pin point the areas of help you need in YOUR fitness business which provides the tools, training and accountability that YOU need to become a Bionic Business and its called Evolution Accelerator.

Evolution Accelerator (EA) has been specifically created to solve the problems that YOU have in YOUR particular business model. Now this is not a “1 size fits all” program as you will discover, we have broken the Fitness Businesses into 3 main Models:

1. Studio/Gym owners

2. Outdoor/Boot camp operators

3. Independant/Sub-Contracting Trainers

Each of these three streams have specific needs and wants which vary from the others. But hey folks all of these are recognised and successful business models, if we get the tools and training right. So, what we have done is to take the cream of the crop from our stand alone coaching programs and taken out the appropriate pieces for each business model and included the ongoing coaching and, as importantly, the Accountability to make sure it gets done and done right.

The feedback we hear from some of our members is that the tools, training and systems are brilliant but the ‘overwhelm’ factor is high and not everything gets finished properly. Like you we listen to our clients which is why we have broken each area down into ‘Bite Sized’ pieces which will take between 1-3 hours per week for you to complete. They are done in a very planned and strategic way to make sure you get quick results and that you build a rock solid business with strong foundations in the areas of Sales, Hiring, Financial Management, Business/Time management and Online/Offline Marketing.

I am not going to give you all the info here because I want you to look at the stream that best suits you and find out exactly what you will get when you join the EA revolution! Click on this link right NOW to check out this phenomenal program and why it will work for you:

YourFitBizEvolution.com

We are only opening this up to the first 50 people who register so make sure you don’t miss out! This will be the day you look back on as being the day your business changed forever!

I am so excited about this and I can’t wait to coach you in your business and make sure you get it right fro the start and really grow the business you have always wanted.

To YOUR Fitness Business Success

Ric