What Can Personal Trainer Software Do For Your Business?

There are a handful of things to consider when selecting the right fitness software for your personal training business. Ultimately, you want to select a platform with the most important features to help you automate and simplify your processes and will grow with you as your business grows. Depending on what your business needs are, you may use more than one personal trainer app or software. Or, you may use a personal training software that integrates with other software to provide you the features you need.

We have created a list of some of the top features as well as a few things you may want to consider with each feature. But, keep in mind, not all features are essential for every fitness professional—a gym owner may want something different than an online personal trainer. It's important to understand what is most valuable for you when selecting the right personal training app or personal training software for your fitness business.

Save Time and Be More Efficient

The world continues to become more and more digital. Although it takes time, energy, and effort to learn a new technology, it is well worth it for you, as a fitness professional, to have an interest in scaling your personal training business. Automated processes can help you save time and be more efficient.

Automated Paperwork

Initial paperwork is an important component of the personal training process. It can provide some liability protection, but it also gives you baseline data that can help you customize a training plan for each individual client. If you lack organization with initial paperwork or it takes you a significant amount of time, you may want to consider a platform that supports this process.

Questions to consider:

• Can you upload contracts, waivers, and surveys and easily send them to new clients?

• Can the documents be stored securely in the platform to protect client data?

• Can the clients sign electronically?

• Is it user friendly?

Payment Options

Are you in need of a secure and convenient way for clients to purchase training sessions from you? Client payment is an incredibly important component of your business. It should be easy for a client to purchase your services or products. And, it is important for clients to feel comfortable with the payment process. If you don't currently have an easy and secure way to process payments, you may want to consider a software that has that capability or integrates with one.

Questions to consider:

• Is it user friendly?

• Is it secure?

• Can you easily create receipts or does is send auto receipts?

Calendar and Scheduling

How much time do you spend going back and forth with clients about their availability and your availability to help them schedule sessions? A platform that allows your clients to view your calendar so they can find a time that works for their schedule can save quite a bit of time.

Questions to consider:

• Is the calendar updated in real-time or do you have to update it manually?

• Can clients cancel or reschedule or if they need to?

• Can you set paraments that align with your policy for canceling and rescheduling?

• Can you easily block off times that you are unavailable?

• Does it have the option to do group scheduling, if you need it?

• Is it easy for clients to use?

Exercise Demonstrations

Online personal training requires an effective way to teach and analyze proper form. Having clear video demonstrations for each exercise is one of the best ways to support this.

Questions to consider:

• Does the platform already have a variety of video demonstrations?

• Do the demonstrations have proper form?

• Are exercise modifications provided?

• Can you upload your own video demonstrations?

• Is there a max number of exercise videos that can be uploaded?

• Are the videos easy for the clients to see, hear, and understand?

Improve Organization

Many personal training software platforms help you keep your client data in one spot. It can improve your organization and help you stay on top of your clients' progress.

Client Info

A software that allows you to house all your clients' contact information can help improve organization. In addition, if the software allows you to attach clients' baseline biometric data (heart rate, body fat, weight, etc.) and track future measurements, it can help you easily provide a quick overview of progress.

Questions to consider:

• Is there a limit to the number of clients you can add to the platform?

• Can you securely store contact information and biometric data within the platform?

• Is all information for each client stored together in the client profile?

• Are you able to add new fields if there is other data you want saved in the client profile?

• Can you highlight or prioritize important data on each client?

Client Workouts

As a busy online personal trainer, it's important to be able to track each of your clients' workouts so that you can make the appropriate adjustments and hold them accountable. If clients can upload nutrition and workout information for you to review, it allows you to stay organized, review past efforts, identify poor nutrition habits or changes, and analyze progression or regression.

Questions to consider:

• Can your clients attach progress pics?

• Can clients attach their nutrition log or meal plan?

• Can clients upload their workouts?

• Is there a limit to the pics, nutrition plans, and workouts for each client profile?

• Is this process user friendly?

• Does the platform allow the client to add comments or notes with each workout?

Personal Trainer Contact

Do you have a hard time keeping up with clients' questions and contacts with you? Are clients reaching out to you on multiple platforms (email, text message, social media, LinkedIn, etc.)? You may want to consider a software or app that allows your clients to contact you in one place so that you don't miss a message.

Questions to consider:

• How are you notified when a client tries to reach you?

• Can you mute notifications, if needed?

• Are there multiple ways to contact you within the platform (instant message, email message, etc.) or just one?

• Is it easy for the clients to use?

• Are messages time stamped?

• Can you create template responses for common questions?

Custom Workout Creation

One of the other essential components of your online personal training business is being able to individualize your client's workouts. A platform that gives you the support to do this can save you time and help you grow your business.

Questions to consider:

• Can you create the original workout templates in the platform?

• Are there workout templates for you to use already?

• Are templates customizable to align with an individual's workout plan?

• Is it easy for clients to read and understand?

Marketing Support

Marketing tools that help you nurture new leads and provide specials or updates for your current clients may be able to help you increase your new clients and support client retention.

Automated Emails (Current Clients)

Do you send out mass emails to your clients? Although it is important to remain authentic and personal in your communication, if you have certain email processes in place with your clients, this could be a valuable feature to help you save time.

Questions to consider:

• Can you create and save your own email templates?

• Are there pre-made email templates?

• Can the emails be automated (sent on a scheduled date and time)?

• Does the mass email cause the emails to go into your client's spam folders?

Automated Emails (New Leads)

Do you have a place to save the contact information for your new leads? Can you nurture them with emails, promotions, and interesting health topics to help support the transition from a lead to a new client? Automated and effective emails can support lead conversion and save you time.

Questions to consider:

• Can you create and save your own email templates?

• Are there pre-made email templates?

• Can the emails be automated (sent on a scheduled date and time)?

• Does the mass email cause the emails to go into your client's spam folders?

• Can you track metrics (open rate, click rate, etc.)?

Marketing Templates

Do you need templates for landing pages and other online marketing resources that help you capture and convert new leads? Some software platforms can help you with this.

Questions to consider:

• Can you create your own templates?

• Are there pre-made templates?

• What marketing resources are available?

• Can you track marketing metrics (click rate, conversion rate, etc.)?

Some features are simple and some are more complex. Some software has the ability to integrate with other apps (My Fitness Pal, payment platforms, etc.) and some contain the features within one platform. It's essential to determine what the most important features are for you and ensure it is easy for your fitness clients to use. Having a fitness platform that improves efficiency and automation will free up your time so that you can do what you do best—train clients.

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