Fitness Professionals Need To Expand
by Dr. Kareem Samhouri author of Double Edged Fat Loss

Pick a niche, YES! Successful fitness professionals do pick a niche in which to work, at least in the beginning. They learn to dominate this specialty, become recognized as an expert, and then leverage their expertise to re-initiate the process in another facet of fitness. However, you may be missing a very important concept. Follow these three guidelines below to learn how to dominate your niche while diversifying your business at the same time!

1) Pick a specific aspect of fitness that you consider your strength

If this is fat loss, for example, you're going to want to be a little bit more specific. Do you normally work with women or men? Children or adults? People with lots of experience exercising or little experience? Do you only work with people who are interested in nutrition and exercise?

These are the types of questions that you're going to want to ask yourself before truly defining your niche practice. Once you have identified your specific criteria, proceed to step two.

2) Find out where you are likely to find your prospects

Using the case of fat loss once again, you may find out that your potential clients regularly visit Weight Watchers, have joined the YMCA, shop at an organic grocery store, or suffer from joint pain.

If we use joint pain as an example, then you'll be likely to find those particular prospects at a physical therapy facility or doctor's office. Keep your list of all the potential places where you can find prospects, but pick one for now. Proceed to step three.

3) Design a marketing plan specific to your population of interest

Let's take another look at a physical therapy facility, in hopes of finding prospects with joint pain that are overweight. Don't you think that this physical therapy facility will be impressed if you show them that you work with clients like their patients all the time?

You bet they'll be impressed! So all you're going to have to do is design a marketing medium specific to the needs of this facility. Most fitness professionals design individualized programs for their clients in order to best meet their needs. The same is true with marketing. If you can allow your referral source to see your vision through your brochure, business card, flyer, DVD/CD, or publication, they will be much more likely to refer to you.

Repeat this process beginning with number 2. Find another location where you are likely to find your prospects and design a marketing medium specific to them. Diversify. The more referral sources you have in your niche, the more job security you'll have. Make sense?

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