THE
OF CLIENT
RETENTION:
EMPATHY 101
By understanding your client’s world, you can forge a strong connection and turn your training
sessions into their place of refuge.
WORDS: KATE SWANN & KRISTINA MAMROT
n this series on client retention,
psychologists Kate Swann and
Kristina Mamrot provide unique
insights into what makes your clients tick, and
how to keep them coming back week after
week, month after month, year after year.
Client retention is the name of the game.
Right? To retain clients, it’s essential to
establish a strong connection. Your new
client needs to feel welcome and valued.
And to do that, you need to get into their
heads, understand what’s going on for
them, and work out what makes them tick.
I
The 30-second article
• To forge a strong connection with
clients you need to understand
what’s going on for them
• In addition to their stated fitness
goals, clients are often seeking a
refuge from the chaos of their lives
• Empathy is very different to sympathy
• Empathy requires you to make eye
contact, listen carefully, ask
questions, not make assumptions,
and consider how you would feel if
you were living your client’s life.
• By being empathetic you can make your
client feel cared about and valued, which
in turn will increase the likelihood of you
retaining them as a client.
10 | NETWORK SUMMER 2014
Now be warned: this isn’t a one-sizefits-all approach. Every person who walks
through your door is unique. Sure, there will
be common denominators, but never make
the mistake of swinging into auto-pilot.
Let’s go back a step and take a look
inside your new client’s head as he’s on the
way to the gym for his first session with you.
Let me introduce you to Brett. Brett’s 35,
married and the father of a new baby. He’s
in sales and marketing and is working hard
to climb the corporate ladder. Brett’s been
fit and sporty most of his life until – yep,
you guessed it – he married the girl of his
dreams. Boy, can that girl cook! (research
tells us it’s common for men to put on weight
once they marry).
Now with the nipper in the picture, there’s
no time for that run after work. When Brett
walks through the door at the end of the
day, he walks into the middle of the witching
hour. Junior, the dream girl, and the dog all
desperate for his attention, the dripping tap
needs to be fixed, milk needs to be picked
up… you get the picture.
Despite the chaos of his life, Brett
doesn’t want to give in and buy larger
clothes. He wants to keep his waistline,
maintain his fitness, and perhaps even bulk
up a little. He figures if he joins a gym and
organises training sessions, he’ll have to
go, and his better half’s supportive. He’s
going to train in the morning so it doesn’t
disrupt his schedule – he just needs to get
up an hour earlier.
What your client really wants
So let’s take a look at Brett’s expectations
as he steps through the door for his first
session with you. Brett tells you he wants to:
• lose a bit of weight
• improve his fitness.
What Brett isn’t telling you, however, is that
he wants to:
• muscle up so he ‘looks hot’
• have a place he can escape from his
responsibilities without causing friction
at home or feeling (too) guilty
• take a break from sales figures, targets
and nappies
• get some order and routine back into
his life.
And you thought he was just there to train…
All of this is important for you to
understand, as Brett’s personal trainer.
Because when the going gets tou