Home Personal Training What to do When Training Clients Don’t Get Back to You

What to do When Training Clients Don’t Get Back to You

When clients don't get back to you

As a personal trainer, you work hard to land your clients and deliver excellent training. So naturally, it’s confusing and painful when they suddenly don’t get back to you. They may skip out on future sessions without an update or suddenly ghost you even though they seem eager to train.

In this post, we’ll discuss strategies to win back these clients or at least understand why they are no longer training with you.

If you’re looking for guidance on generating and closing training leads, we suggest you check out our post on personal training leads.

Why do Training Clients Suddenly Disappear?

1. They are No Longer Interested in Chasing their Fitness Goals

When clients don't get back to you

Since people only seek a PT when they want to achieve their fitness goals, it only makes sense to stop training if they are no longer interested. This may mean they’ve hit their goal weight and have yet to inform you, or they are no longer interested in getting the ripped six-pack.

2. Their Schedules Got Complicated

One of the simplest reasons clients ghost is that they cannot continue the training. They got busy and had to pick between training or getting work done.

Even if you’re not a HIIT instructor, you’ll agree that training is exhausting and a significant cooldown period is needed. If clients have to pick, they may often suspend their training.

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But you can get on a call with them or send a message/email to confirm.

3. They Moved Away

Physical unavailability is very common with training clients who cancel. They might have moved away and are unable to train anymore. Since many people are used to communicating online, they may not have the communication skills to tell you in person and prefer to disappear.

It’s like this Reddit user said.

4. They Don’t Want to Train With You

This option is rarely the case because if you’ve been able to build your practice to the point of getting new clients, you probably also know how to keep them. You know how to avoid common PT mistakes, and you know how to onboard training clients properly.

But if clients ghost you often, you may want to ask why. It could be as simple as calling up a few to ask; try not to convince them to come back during the call because that will derail the conversation, and you need answers.

Find out why your clients are canceling and make moves to correct the mistakes. You may also want to explore other ways to earn as a PT while sorting out your client generation process.

How Do You Follow Up On Training Clients Who Ghost You?

When clients don't get back to you

There are many tasteful ways to check in with clients who have stopped coming to training. The keyword here is tasteful because it has to be done in a way that isn’t imposing or trying to guilt trip them.

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Here are some strategies

Send a Personalized SMS/Email

“Hi [client name]. How are you doing? I’m checking to see if you’d like to start training again. It’s perfectly fine if you don’t want to, but I usually get a lot of inquiries this time of the year, and I don’t want to give up your regular slots. If you’re interested in training again, let me know.”

A message like this goes a long way in telling clients that you’re available and happy to keep helping them chase their goals. If you don’t hear back after a message like this, it’s safe to say they aren’t interested, and you can move on.

You can check out Glofox’s post on email templates for fitness businesses for more followup email ideas.

Send Them Friendly Updates

Reminding old clients of everything they love about training can motivate them to return. If they love a kind of exercise, you may send them a clip where you’re doing the same thing with new clients to jog their memory.

You could also send them before/after pics of your current clients to remind them that their goals are well within reach. 

If you have a personal trainer online brand, another great option is to send them links to your free online training and guides to get them moving while they’re away.

Make it Easier to Renew Training Packages

As we covered earlier, there are many reasons why clients may cancel, including circumstances out of their control. While you can’t control everything, you can make it easier for them to renew their package and train, even when unpredictable circumstances arise.

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For example, you could create an online training system where clients can train from the comforts of their homes during periods when they can’t physically show up. You could also sign up for personal training software that makes recurring payments easy. This way, your clients won’t need to go out of their way to pay every single month.

Pick Higher Quality Clients

The sad truth is that some clients are just more consistent than others. You could put your best foot forward and deliver the best possible training sessions, and still, they’ll flake after a month.

A smart strategy is to identify the clients that will stick around and focus your attention on them. Identifying these kinds of high-quality clients is easy, too. Here are some telltale signs:

  • They’ve made some fitness progress on their own
  • They are eager and enthusiastic to get started
  • They’ve carved out a comfortable time in their routine
  • They are ready to try new things

The Bottom Line

Getting ghosted by clients is honestly part of the job as a PT. You’ll have superstar clients who stay with you for years and provide a steady income even in lean months, but you’ll also have inconsistent ones.

The good news is that as you age in your practice, you’ll have more of the former clients and fewer of the latter. You’ll begin to attract serious people and will be able to fish out inconsistent ones.

In the meantime, use this article to identify why clients may be canceling and try to get them back. You can also check out our post on the top skills you need to be an effective PT

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