Top 5 Easiest Clients to Attain...#4 Biggest Loser Aspirer

As I continue the roll with this series, I will pinpoint what have been the EASIEST clients to obtain for me. My rankings factor in the commonalities I see in "need" and "favor of commitment". What is favor of commitment? Answer: The ability to embrace commitment by understanding, acknowledging, and welcoming the expected sacrifices and discipline needed to achieve a chosen goal. Let's face it, some clients do not know what to expect when undergoing a training program with a professional. However, my next group has an EXACT idea of what to expect:

#4: The Biggest Loser Aspirer
Before I get into this one, let me tell you a little about my experience with the show. I think I stopped watching it after the second season. The first year it was aired, I was absolutely EXCITED that personal trainers were being featured on television. Up until that time, the profession did not have a main stage. No one really knew what a personal trainer does for a living. To say that the trainers represent the profession accurately is false. But as the show's initial season went on and I watched what some of these trainers were doing with the obese clients--I was appalled. I understand the need for TV ratings and creating the "WOW" effect, but many of these contestants were put through brutal, ill-willed workouts that had no progression, critique, and were plain 'ol unsafe. Since then, I have stopped watching the show. Now, without getting this into a "Biggest Loser" rant, let me explain how the show helps certain fitness professionals.

Each season, the show airs and the inspiration motivates most overweight viewers. The "Biggest Loser" TV show resembles a late night info-commercial that entices lazy, overweight individuals to get up and do something. Some commercial facilities even stage their version of the program in their facility. Believe it or not, this draws business. And business always picks up in the weeks leading up to the show's finale. Why?

People get jacked.
People get stoked.
People get excited and say to themselves, "I can do that".

I have had 11 clients come to me in the past 4 years weighing over 260 pounds. The heaviest was 387. In each initial consultation, each client told me they were "sick of being fat" and "were inspired by the "Biggest Loser" show. I am not advocating that each client undergoes the same--sometimes ridiculous--training program that is featured on the show, but these people come to you with momentum. The show CREATED the momentum and it is the trainer's job to solidify the "need" for a trained professional to guide them through.

In terms of the theoretical model of change, the precontemplation and contemplation stages are covered by viewing the TV show. When speaking to your potential client, if you (the trainer) can create the need to "lose weight now while we have momentum", then they will likely share in your enthusiasm and purchase sessions.