I will be the first to admit that I am a terrible salesman. I honestly have no desire to sell someone on a service they don’t need or a product they don’t want. When promoting my services as a Personal Trainer/Coach, I’ve always relied on my reputation, experience, knowledge in exercise science and dietary nutrition, teaching skillsets on and off the gym floor, and client retention rate to “sell” my services for me.

Don’t get me wrong; I completely understand that this is a terrible strategy to use to grow a business and market a brand. However, as someone who has always strived to provide the absolute best care and quality customer service to his clients, “making the sale” has always been the last thing on my mind. And fortunately for me, this strategy has proven to work quite well over the years.

That said, as someone who started his company at 17 years old with no business experience, I’ve made plenty of mistakes over the years. Many lessons were learned, then forgotten, then relearned again and again. Some errors were minor, while others proved to be quite costly. However, there are a few lessons that I learned over the years that I will never forget. Some of which I’m going to share with you today.

Unsolicited Advice

Why are you giving it to me if I’m not asking for it? Nothing annoys me more than someone who always offers their advice or opinion on a subject when they have not been invited. Now to be clear, I’m not referencing people who release content on issues and topics they are passionate about or are well-versed in on their social media platforms. As long as they are not forcing their content on you, the consumer, you can read/watch what they have to say. The people who I’m referring to are the ones that either corner you in a room and force you to listen to their advice or DM you privately online to ensure you know their views and opinions.+Receiving unsolicited advice is annoying as fuck.

Fake Friends

Real friends don’t try to sell their friends their services and products. Pushing and pressuring your friends to try a “free class” that you teach or buy a product you sell because it’s “on sale” is not cool. Again, there is nothing wrong with letting people in your inner and outer circles know what you do for a living. I think that as long as it’s done in a way in which your friends and followers know and feel comfortable that they can reach out to you if they are interested or do have any questions with regards to a product which you are selling or service you are offering, that you will there be to assist them.

Responding to friends’ tryings to sell you shit is uncomfortable as fuck.

BOGO, Limited Time Offer, “Use My Code”

I’ll be honest, whenever I see someone offering a sale or a discount on their services, I am immediately turned off. The service I offer reflects the time, energy and commitment I am providing to my clients. My clients are paying a premium rate to receive a premium service based on my education, experience and knowledge that I have accumulated over the past 20+ years of working as a Trainer/Coach. Suppose I were to offer these services at a discounted rate suddenly. In that case, I feel I would be diluting my brand and devaluing myself as a highly qualified and reputable instructor. Whenever I see another professional taking this route, I lose confidence in their abilities and expertise.

Devaluing oneself to make a few extra bucks is demeaning as fuck.

Anyways, that’s it. Most of the stuff I’ve learned over the years should be considered common sense to most people. However when trying to navigate through treacherous waters as a young business owner, it’s easy to lose focus on your final destination. And in my case, that destination is to help people become more healthy, active and fit. And at this point in my career, I can’t and won’t allow myself to lose that focus.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance