How to run a virtual training business and get weekly leads from Youtube (Interview with Kaylan Gilliam)

Highlights from the interview

[05:06] – How he sets up his training program where he doesn’t even need to do live training with them

[09:19] – How he converts his interested social media leads to clients

[21:09] – How he prices his program

[29:27] – How he runs his virtual training business and gets tons of weekly leads from YouTube and other social media channels

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About our Guest

From undergoing physical therapy due to a car accident, to using that motivation to train other people and finally taking that jump into an online fitness business

Today in the show we have Kaylan Gilliam.

He’s the owner of Alpha U, an online personal training business.

He transitioned from being a very booked in-person trainer to now being a very booked online trainer, something I think a lot of us want to do.

Through Alpha U, he creates custom fitness programs for his clients and his recently added nutrition coaching.

What’s really interesting is that he’s grown his online business, not through Instagram, but through YouTube where he has over a thousand subscribers.

He even does nutrition coaching and has found a lot of success, so I’m hoping he can give us some tips and advice on how to be successful also with our fitness business.

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Edited transcription of Fitness Business Secrets Podcast, Episode 13

Kristy: Hey, Kaylan, how are you doing? 

Kaylan: Hey, how are you guys?

Kristy: Great. So, maybe you could give us a little bit of background. How did you get started with personal training? Then, what made you get into online training? 

Kaylan: First off, what got me into personal training is that I was an athlete in high school.

I’m 28 now but I got into an accident when I was 22 years old. I got in a really bad car accident and got hit by a drunk driver. Then, I had to use physical therapy for about a year.

That’s when I started really working out very seriously. As I saw what it did for me mentally, I just wanted to give someone else that feeling. 

So, I started training people in person for about four years and then started training people online for the last two years now. It’s been really successful. I’m glad to have taken that jump, and here I am. 

Kristy: Okay. Alright. That often happens. There’s something that really pushes you into personal training and wanting to help people.

So,  what made you decide to go online? Do you have any, or did you have any offline clients before? Is it all online? 

Kaylan: Yes. Like I said, I was doing in-person for four years. It just became very taxing on me because people would come in at certain times.

So, I was working about 12 to 16 hours a day. When I had a lot more clients coming in, I just wanted to transition it online.

I was watching the guy named Brandon Carter. He was doing it online and he was teaching other people how to do it. So, I took a course of his and I just learned how to do it.

I’ve been doing it ever since. I’m doing what I love, of course. Then, I have more people I can work with. So, that’s what I want, just working with more people and giving them more results. 

Kristy: Okay. Nice. So, you get this course and you see what they do. Did you convert all of your clients offline to online?

How did that work? 

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How he sets up his training program where he doesn’t even need to do live training with them

[05:06] Kaylan: Yes. For the most part, I’ve gotten all my clients from my in-person clients. Then, I actually have a little YouTube channel that I do, and I’ve gotten a lot of people from there.

I don’t have a big following on YouTube right now, but a lot of people that watch my channel actually want to see me as a trainer or coach. 

So, I’ve gotten a lot of people doing that. Then, I got a lot of people on Instagram. I do a lot of home workout videos on my Instagram and got a lot of traction.

There have been a lot of different ways to bring people in. 

Kristy: Okay. So, I think the first thing people are going to say is, how do you train people online?

What do you do to make sure they are working out and staying engaged?

Kaylan: Again, it starts with just being upfront with them and letting them know what your expectations are. Then, they come in with an expectation of themselves. Then, just get to work with them and just show that you’re there. 

I know a lot of times when we’re working with people in person, they think of us as being militant and just saying, do this, do that, and just being very aggressive. 

But as an online coach, you’re there all the time. So, you can have access to them 24/7 if they want. Just showing that you’re there for them keeps people going and keeps them coming back.

Kristy: Okay. So, you’re saying that you could almost make online coaching an advantage because instead of making it feel like you’re just there at that session, you’re there for them all the time.

Kaylan: Absolutely. It’s the availability of having you there all the time. Then, as a trainer, I can work with anyone at any time. I have access to everyone at once.

So, I think that just gives them more security, just like “My trainer is there for me.” He understands because we’re all human too.

Kristy: So, let’s say “Julie” reaches out to you and she wants to work with you, or she’s interested in working with you. Tell me about the sales process, from that first DM chat and YouTube, what do you do next? 

Kaylan: First off, when it comes to YouTube, when they come in that way, they actually know a little bit more about me because I share a little bit more about myself.

But as far as someone coming on my website getting traction, I do a free consultation. I will just sit down with the client and understand where they’re at in their process now, and just see their goals and where they want to be in a couple of years. 

I always tell them what their short term goals are and that just distinguishes what they want to do with me. Then, that gives me a gauge of what I want to do with them.

So, that’s when I determine if they’re serious in that or if they’re in the pre-contemplation stage. That really helps out doing a free consultation.

Kristy: So, I’m wondering about some specifics. How long is your free consultation and what format? Do you do video, FaceTime, or just a call?

Kaylan: Well, the first free consultation is, I have a little email thing that they put their stuff in. Then, they’ll tell me a brief description of what they want to do.

Then, I make the phone call with them. That’s usually about 15 to 20 minutes and that just gives me a good personal feel for them. That way it’s not like an email or something like that. 

It’s more personal that’s why I usually give them 15 to 20 minutes. Then, usually for the most part, after they hear the free consultation and it’s not something that is very taxing for them or if it’s cost effective for them, then they’d want to join and get started. 

That’s when I usually get them started right away. Then, we set a time and date when we can get the plan going for them, or  if they want to do nutrition coaching, that’s when we talk about that as well.

Kristy: So, they fill out the initial survey. Then, they get a free consultation, 15 to 20 minutes phone call with you. During that 15 minutes, what does that look like? Do you give them some info or do you just go over the survey with them? 

Kaylan: Yeah, just go over the survey with them but every client is different because everyone’s looking for something different. So, I just really go based on the field that the client is looking for. 

So, it’s really like breaking down what the survey says and what they’re struggling with because on the survey, it does tell what’s up there that they want to get better at, and what’s their short term goal. 

A lot of times I use that time to go over their short term goals and things that they’re struggling with,  and what I can do to make them better.  

Kristy: How do you get them excited at this point? Because it sounds like this is usually the point where we either lose them or we get them to charge something on their card.

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How he converts his interested social media leads to clients

[09:19] Kristy: So what do you do to get them excited about the program?

Kaylan: Again, just going with the short term goals. Ask them, “What’s your short term goal with fitness and with life in general?” They’ll usually tell me that goal. Then, I’ll give them a goal that I have for them that they can accomplish.

So, you usually just give them that assurance that they can accomplish this goal in a short amount of time. Let’s say for instance, if they’re wanting to get training and they want to lose two inches off their belly for a wedding or something in the next six weeks.

I’ll tell them, “You can lose one. If you just work with me, I can work with you. You can lose one within the next three weeks. I really believe in you. You can really do this.” 

So, when I just give them that belief and that hope that they can do it, they usually believe in me. They trusted me just by watching from YouTube or Instagram. They trusted my judgment based on prior clients and everything like that, and just the content in general.  

Kristy: Do they send you a picture beforehand?

Kaylan: Yes. I do have an Instagram page separate from my main Instagram page where I do a client’s before and after picture, and just showing what other clients have done, things like that. 

Kristy: Then, when you get on the phone call with them for the initial consultation, do you try to get a photo of what they look like so you get an idea of what they’re trying to do?

Kaylan: Yes, I usually get a photo when they send the email in. That’s actually one of the questions. I just need a picture and their name; basic demographic information. Then, I’ll usually see a picture of them and then we’ll go from there.

But I usually don’t have them send a before and after picture when I first see them because a lot of people get really self-conscious just sending a random person the picture. 

I’m just getting them to send me a picture just to see what they look like, like a headshot picture or anything like that, and then we go into that conversation, the before and after just because I want to build that rapport with somebody.

Kristy: Right. That’s true. That makes sense. You’re definitely sensitive about that. So, when you get on the phone with them, it sounds like a big thing you do is you reassure them. 

Kaylan: Yes, definitely reassurance and just letting them know that someone is in this with them. I’m not the one who’s judging you.

I always tell clients, “You’re the one that’s going to be doing the work. I’m just giving you the blueprint and we’re all on this together.” So, it’s giving them the assurance

Kristy: Do you ever come across a client where you think that maybe it won’t work? Maybe because like you mentioned, they’re not the right client, or they’re not ready, or they don’t have the right things available. 

Kaylan: Definitely, yes. I’ve come across a couple of clients that are like that. They’ll just call and inquire what they want from me and what I do, and everything like that. Then, they’re not as serious.

They’ll tell me, “Can we set up a sales call this day?” and then I’ll call them and then they’ll block the number or they’ll say, “Oh, I forgot.” and then I’ll do that for the next three times to give them another chance.

Then I’ll call them and say, “This is not going to be a good fit. I think this won’t be a good fit for you and I don’t think you’re ready.” 

We call that the stage of pre-contemplation, one of the models I studied in school. So, when people inquire about what they want but they’re not ready to take it, that’s pre-contemplation.

Kristy: Okay. So, I’m curious how this looks. So, let’s say you’re talking to Julie and she’s like, “I’d really love to lose those two inches” and you’re like, “I can help you do that.” What do you say to her next? 

Let’s just imagine we are on that call and I’m like, “Oh, okay, well I would like to lose that inch. So, if you think you can do it, that would be great.” What would you say to me?

Kaylan: First off, I’ll be getting more information. It’s kind of hard to simulate it but I just need to get that information. Just know who she is, her age, what’s their prior fitness experience.

If she is just new coming in, that can look different too. If you’re just fresh and new into fitness, I would want to do something as far as plan-wise to set up something where you can accomplish it really easy, that you’re making your goals, and then just not setting up a hard thing.

Let’s give a situation here and an example. Let’s say Julie is 27 years old. She’s never been to the gym before. She comes in wanting to lose 50 pounds in the next three months. As a trainer, you want to just put her on this bootcamp plan or something but she might not be able to accomplish it and she’ll want to not finish the goal.

So, that’s why I say with short term goals, if she wants to lose 50 pounds, let’s try to shoot for two to three pounds a week.  One to two pounds is like the standard pounds lost in a week.

I would just say, “Let’s just shoot for two to three.” Let her get that feeling like, “Oh my gosh, I lost some pounds.” Just start from there and gradually go through her goal of 60 pounds in three months. 

That’s a lofty goal but just give her that assurance that she can lose weight. Then, just keep her on the plan. Be consistent on the plan and do not throw her in the air. Don’t own a crazy bootcamp plan.

Kristy: Yeah. If somebody sounded interested, what do you do next on that consultation call? Do you go over packages? That seems like the big stop. 

Kaylan: Definitely, yes. That’s what I do actually. I just go over packages, what they’re looking for long term and short term. I do have a short term plan, which is like a month to month plan. Each week, I have different plans that I set up for everyone and they’re all customized plans for everybody. 

So, it’s not like a cookie cutter type plan where I’m just giving everyone the same thing. That’s what I do. I do the month to month plan, and then I’ll usually do a three-month plan, and then a six-month plan and then I’ll do a 30-day transformation plan. 

It’s just telling everyone what they’re looking for in that situation. Maybe if there’s someone that is newer, I would want to get them on a three to six month plan. That is what I usually shoot for.

Then, if it’s someone that’s more athletic and they’re just looking for that summer body, I’ll usually put them on a 30-day transformation plan or month to month.

It just depends on who the person is and what they’re looking forward to. Actually in one place, I had a person who was a competitor. He was a bodybuilding competitor and I wanted to have him on a three to six month plan because he’s looking to cut before his show. So, it happened before.

Kristy: Nice. So, what would the packages look like? Give me an example. If I were to get the 30-day plan, what would you include in that? 

Kaylan: Yeah. So, with the 30-day transformation plan, that’s just a straight forward plan. Each week we have different exercises. They just gradually go up on how hard they get. Then, each week we weigh in.

Then of course with the month a month plan, it has the same scenario with that. With the three to six month-plan, each week we have a different workout, every week check in, and then every month we have a nutrition coaching session.

So, what that looks like is with nutrition coaching, we just go over what macros they have been eating and what macros  to get on. Should we lower your fats for this month? How have you been feeling with more carbs in your system during this month?

Then, the goal-setting up for the next month, and then we just go into the one week again with the exercises, just switching based on how they feel with them.

I’ve had a lot of times where someone has actually got injured in the middle of their exercises and they had a back problem. So, we just tailor it, go back to the exercise that they did. The next time, we just ramped up  some other things that he can do that way he’s still making progress.

Kristy: Okay. So, you give them a weekly exercise program. Then, do you do a phone call with them?

Kaylan: Yes. So, every week we always check in with a weekly weigh in, and I’ll always talk to them on the phone, just letting them know how things are going. Sometimes if they don’t want to talk on the phone, I’ll do a Zoom or FaceTime.

I usually get their numbers at that point. So, we’ll do a FaceTime call, or a Skype, or just whatever’s convenient for them. They always have access to me.

During this week too, they actually have access to me via text. So, they’re talking to me during the week too but we always have a weekly weigh in for any program I do.

Kristy: Yeah. Do you do the weigh in during the call? It’s like you’re there?

Kaylan: Okay. Yes. And actually we do weigh-ins before the plan comes out. When I get them on the plan, I’ll start with their weight before but then we just do the weight on the phone as well.

Then during the week, some clients send me their weight too. I’m just seeing how they fluctuate throughout the week. 

Kristy: Do you ever do measurements? Is it hard for them since they’re remote to do their own measurements? 

Kaylan: It is. I did a lot of that when I was doing in person training. I did a lot of skinfold measurement and things like that.

I don’t do a lot of that online because some people don’t really have access to that kind of thing. I do know how to do it and I’ve done it before but that was more of in person.

Kristy: Okay. So for your online training, let’s say the “Julie” who wants to lose 60 pounds, do you not have her measure the circumference of her stomach? Is it just weight? 

Kaylan: No. I just have her send me the measurements with her pants. I have her do the measurements by herself. I think I had one person go to a doctor and actually got all their measurements that way, but that’s not something that I do for everybody else unless they need to.

I got a lady who had the stretchy rulers and she did her own measurements. 

Kristy: Okay. I guess if it works for just losing weight, then you’re just tracking weight, then that’s great. I was just curious.

Kaylan: Right. Yeah. Usually the goal is just as long as you’re losing body fat and weight, then you’re going to go down inside. So, that’s just really the thing I go by. 

Kristy: Yeah. Alright. So, you’re talking to Julie, you go over the packages, and you explain to her that there may be a weekly phone call. Then, do you email them or is there a portal where you send them their weekly workouts?

Kaylan: Yes. I usually email them. I have a PDF file that I emailed through. I was sending that on there and I’ll have it very well detailed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. 

Then, I usually have the workout set up. I have them set up with a warm up first, then they’ll have a cool workout, and then I have a cooldown workout; and that’s every day. Then I’ll usually let the client choose their off day because depending on what program there is, I’ll have them do one off day. 

Then, I’ll have an active rest day and I’ll have them choose which day it is. Then based on the day they get, I go around the plan that way.  

Kristy: Do you ever worry about people not having the Kroc form and how do you address that? 

Kaylan: Yes. Again, I have videos on my YouTube that do form checks on that. Then again, just with people who are in the gym, like sometimes they’ll send me videos of them being in the gym.

They have access to me 24/7 so if they’re in the gym working out, or I’ve had some people at home now because of the virus, they’ll send me videos of them, like, “Am I doing this right?” or “Here’s a shoot of my back. Do you like this?” or whatever.

I’ll correct them and show them the proper way to do it where they can engage the muscles. They can do anything.

I think it’s more convenient because they all have my number and it’s just like a big family, like it’s personal and professional. So, I think that’s the thing that they love.

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How he prices his program

Kristy: Yeah. So, for that 30-day program, about how much does that cost? 

[21:09] Kaylan: It all depends. It’s really based on just supply and demand and how many clients I have.

Sometimes I’ll take a certain amount of clients. So, let’s just say for instance, lately I’ve been taking about 8 to 10 of those clients on the 30-day transformation plan. I’ll usually keep it between $30 to $60. It’s never been over $60 for that month.

Kristy: Okay. Then how much is it for like a monthly program? Is that about the same price? 

Kaylan: Yeah. A monthly program is like a recurring program so I’ll charge up right for that program. I’ll say it’s around $300 to $400 not for a month but it’s for the whole program.

It’s like one month to month but I’ll have them pay three to four months in advance. It’s usually $100 a month for that and I have them pay it in advance.

It’s a recurring payment for the first four months. Then the last two months, it goes from a hundred to a hundred. Then, I’ll give them that chance to choose if they want to do another six months or whatever number of months, they can do that.

But anytime I do a month to month, they have to pay a couple of months in advance. 

Kristy: Okay. That’s a good tip. Then, what about the nutrition? Do you charge additional for that now? How does that work? 

Kaylan: Sometimes. It just depends on the plan. I usually do more heavy nutritional coaching with the three to six-month plan. That one is a more premium plan. It’s very high in price. So, I do the ones for the transformation plan but I don’t do any for the month to month plan. 

So it’s a little bit different on how the structure is. But if you’re asking about if anyone wants to do the nutritional coaching, it is an extra price but it is included in the other plans.

Kristy: Yeah. How much would you charge for that? Oh, okay. So it’s included. I’m just curious. Let’s say a trainer is like, “Okay, I want to offer nutritional.” And of course it’s going to take up extra time from you so how would you recommend pricing that?

Would you say, if you sign up for a six-month program, I’ll include nutrition?

Kaylan: Yes. That’s how I structure it. With nutritional coaching, I stretch the goal by hours. I usually do $25 to $50 an hour for that. Let’s say for instance this one wanted to come in and just do nutritional coaching, that’s how I structured that per hour session where I’ll do $25 to $50 per hour. 

Usually with the plans, they come one hour. That’s like one session but some people would want to go longer. If they want to do multiple hour sessions like every week or something like that, it will be $25 to $50 as the price range I shoot for.

Kristy: Let’s say you tell Julie, “Okay, so you’re going to do the 30-day program. If you’d like to do nutrition coaching, it would be an additional $25 to $50.” And then she gets on her first call and she’s just like, “I don’t know what to eat,” wouldn’t people just ask you?

I found that tricky when I ran my gym. People would be like, “Hey, so what should I eat?” and they’re like, “You’re my friend.”

Kaylan: I’m really careful with my wording. I’ll just make sure I tell him that I’m not a nutritionist or anything like that. I cannot prescribe a meal plan, but I just give good advice and actually send them things through email, like, references to the read based on what they’re looking for.

I’ve had a person that actually was low on iron. He had iron deficiencies  so I told him some tips on how to manage that within the diet, and what you can do with your workout because that makes you tired.

So, things like that. I give him good tips and things to look for.

It’s just amazing because a lot of people aren’t very familiar with why they’re feeling a certain way. With their nutrition, how much it plays a role in their current lifestyle, what they’re doing with their workout. When I break it down to them, they’re just very shocked, like wow. 

Even sleep for instance, if you’re not sleeping well. They don’t really understand how much they’re not sleeping. Even if they’re getting four to five hours a night, they think that’s okay but it’s really not. 

Kristy: Yeah, definitely. So, you have all these clients. How many clients, on average, do you have every month?

Kaylan: I usually keep it between 15 to 20 because that’s pretty much my cap there because I’m doing everything myself. I have a guy that does my back end stuff, like my bookkeeping things, getting the emails, and things like that. But as far as writing the plans and everything, I’m doing that myself.

Right now I’m working with somebody, actually a female personal trainer who’s been one of the people I’ve been trying to get onboard on my company.

Once I get her on board, I want to take more and approach, like 30 to 40 clients because I get a lot of inquiries and I don’t want to get to a point where I’ll have to turn someone down or anything like that.

I’ve had to do that yet, thankfully; but I’ve had a lot of people inquiring. By myself, I’d like to keep it between 15 to 20 at max.

Kristy: Awesome. How many inquiries do you usually get a week? 

Kaylan: I want to say at least 50 to 60. People are calling just to ask you or they want to see where they’re at, and if it would be a good fit for them.

I don’t get that many people wanting to be clients, but they’re inquiring. They’re asking all sorts of questions if it would be a good fit. Some people aren’t a good fit. I’ve had that happen a lot too. 

Kristy: Yeah. Alright. So, I’m super curious because when I was running the gym, 50 to 60 is a lot, I mean like if they’re qualified to. So, what do your numbers look like?

So, let’s just start with YouTube because I’m really curious. It sounds like that’s working well for you. So, how many do you get from YouTube a week?

Kaylan: At least 10 to 15 was YouTube. Actually, I have a big international presence. I don’t know why it’s like this, but a lot of people from Sweden actually follow me.

They say some things like, they love my personality, and they actually want to be on my program. That’s happening on Instagram too. 

Well, I’ve got a lot of people from that region, in Europe, so that’s been pretty cool. I was like 15.

Kristy: Oh wow. Okay. So, 10 to 15 leads. Of those people, how many of them do you actually get to do a consultation with? 

Kaylan: I say at least four or five of those people. I don’t know why it’s that way but it’s been about four to five because like I said, a lot of people have that curious factor.

They want to ask and then they’ll follow up. They’ll say, ” Let’s set up a consultation,” things like that. Then they’ll not want to do it, they’re not ready.

I don’t know if it’s a factor of them not being ready or they’re just  in that pre-contemplation stage, the one I was talking about earlier.

That’s one thing I’ve been working on as a trainer myself. How do I sell to these people even more. I feel like I’m doing a good job, but there are those people who are going through the cracks. I want to get better on that too. 

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How he runs his virtual training business and gets tons of weekly leads from YouTube and other social media channels

[29:27] Kristy: Okay. So, the four to five, I know you’re trying not to let anyone fall between the cracks, about how many of those people from YouTube would you say convert every week?

Kaylan: I’ll say, all. Actually, all of those. Are you talking about within the four to five?

Kristy: Yeah. The four to five clients you get from YouTube that converted from the 10 to 15 leads, and you talk to them, how many of them sign up for a package? 

Kaylan: Oh yeah. I say all of them. I’ve never had anyone from YouTube who had not signed up but did the free consultation.

They trust my judgment for my content and what I do on YouTube, and then they come in and see it. 

When we talk about it and we see our goals align, then they’re excited and they’re ready to go. That’s the thing I do with my clients. I make it like a team effort. You know this thing saying I’m in this together with them.

I’m really blunt with what I expect, and they’re really blunt with what they expect, and we just get to work and they’re just ready to go.

I haven’t had anyone not do it. I’ve always converted them. 

Kristy: Yeah. That’s a great conversion rate. How many videos do you have on YouTube?

Kaylan: I think 79. 

Kristy: Oh wow. Okay. 

Kaylan: The last time I checked for my subscribers, I had a thousand; like 1500, I think, or something like that. I can’t remember. 

Kristy: So, that’s really good. So, you have 1500 subscribers. When did you start your channel? 

Kaylan: I started about four or five years ago, but it was just like a YouTube channel that wasn’t fitness related. It was just something that was up and I would put some random videos.

Then, when I got serious about fitness, I started posting about me traveling. I actually went to, I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Los Angeles convention center, the LA classic or the fit expo they have, I’ve been going there the past two years. Then, I’ve been going to the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio.

I also like volunteering there at a booth called Complete Nutrition. It’s a supplement company. I used to do live videos doing that kind of stuff. That just got a lot of people’s attention. I met a lot of these bodybuilders and fitness personalities on YouTube, and that’s gotten people’s shock attention.

Another thing too, I was on a TV show last year. That actually got a lot of traction too. Are you smarter than a fifth grader? I don’t know if you heard of that show, but I was on that show.

Kristy: Oh, that’s awesome. So regarding fitness videos, you’ve only started putting fitness videos about two years ago is what you’re saying. 

Kaylan: Yes.

Kristy: Oh, wow. So, that’s pretty good. I mean, that’s an amazing lead generator for you. You started two years ago, you have 79 videos, I don’t know if they’re all fitness but maybe most of them. 

Kaylan: They are. It actually might be less videos to be honest, but what I did with the videos that are non-fitness related, I made them private and no one can see them. It’s just a fitness channel; fitness and lifestyle. It might be less than 70, I don’t know. I can’t remember. 

Kristy: Yeah, that is very inspiring. I’m going to keep that one because I think we’re all thinking about Facebook, Instagram, and it’s hard. We all don’t know if YouTube works because it seems like there’s so much stuff on YouTube.

Kaylan: Absolutely.

Kristy: Do you have any tips? 

Kaylan’s 2 most important tips for YouTube Marketing

Kaylan: That’s actually how I felt the past couple years, but I don’t know. For me,  I’ll just be myself. I know a lot of people on YouTube. If you’re watching the biggest YouTuber, they’re doing it for the content, so they’re doing these extra things for the views.

#1: Be genuine

Kaylan: But if you’re just genuine and you love what you do, and you do it for yourself and for your clients, I think it shows. I think it just really shows  who loves your personality.

They can tell if you’re genuine or not. I know, a lot of people can spot the fake people online and things including sales.

So, I like it to be genuine and just really help people. I’ve been seeing a lot of people come from there. People come from different areas that you don’t think of, like Sweden.

Kristy: Yeah. Then how about Instagram? Oh, sorry, one more thing for you. Do you have any tricks that you felt have worked best? It sounds like, just be authentic, but did you have anything else like just tactical-wise.

Kaylan:  As far as getting clients? 

Kristy: As far as making your YouTube videos so popular for people interested in tennis. 

Kaylan: I see. A big tip is, like I was saying, just being yourself and just really enjoying what you’re doing. I think that’s one of the biggest tips.

Like I said a lot of times, people do the veil but they won’t really feel like doing them. They’ll do it for that shock factor, just trying to get it viral. I don’t know if you heard of the app TikTok. People do things on there just to get that one viral video.

#2: It’s all about consistency

It’s all about consistency on YouTube, and just really loving what you’re doing, and giving the best content you can, and putting work into it every day, and not getting discouraged because you just make a couple of views on a video.

The views will go up. I’ve been there. You just gotta keep going and it will come. I would say for anyone who loves to get to YouTube, just really keep consistency. 

Kristy: Yeah. Well that’s encouraging. I don’t have much on my YouTube channel, so I’m going to take this and get better. I’m gonna try to post more stuff, so thank you. 

Kaylan: You can do it.

Kristy: Thank you. So, now for Instagram, I mean that to me is another puzzle. Some people say they get so much and some people say they don’t get anything. How has it been for you getting leads?

Kaylan: That hasn’t been as successful as YouTube for me. I think YouTube has been the best thing for me. It’s just been the word of mouth because that’s the one thing with my clients that I got from YouTube and everywhere else. 

I add them on Instagram and all my social media. From there, I’ll post something like a workout video on my Instagram story. Then, I’ll post my actual video on the page. It just shows them like, “Wow, that’s something I can do in a house.”

Right now with the pandemic going on, I’ll post like a whole workout, just a little snippet of it. Then I’ll say, “Okay, a new video coming out in a week.” or whatever video I’m doing. They’ll get really excited for the fact that they’re seeing it.

That’s like really just a page for snippets. I’ll just give a snippet of information or a snippet of video content related to fitness, kind of engaging people. 

I’ll actually keep them engaged like a community.  I’ll do question and answer on my story too. I’ll give a little snippet, like a little quiz on my story because you can do a little quiz. I’ll give a nutrition quiz every week. That keeps people engaged. If they get the question right or wrong, then they get more curious. 

A lot of people don’t know too much about nutrition from a deeper level but when they get a question wrong, it’s like,”Oh, I didn’t know.”

Whatever the case is, they get curious and want to know more. Then, that’s when I reach out. 

Kristy: Yeah. So every week, how many leads do you get from Instagram? 

Kaylan: I want to say, to be honest about ten leads but as a conversion, that’s one to two.

Kristy: One to two who get to make a phone call?

Kaylan: Yes. All the people that reached out, the 10 people, I’ve always called them but I don’t know if it’s just a factor of them being curious. Some people just don’t want to follow up. I have to keep following up with them and I get the hint that they’re not serious or they’re not there at that moment. 

Then, of course one to two people are ready to go and they’re ready to start. Then, I’ll convert them. That’s about one to two out of the ten. 

Kristy: Yeah. So, one to two would do the phone call and usually 100% of the phone calls you convert?

Kaylan: When do I do it? As soon as they message me. I always leave my information and I have my credentials on the bio on my Instagram, like what I do, what I studied, things like that.

I’ll always have a number that I can leave for them. Then, I’ll get their number, and then I’ll call them and say, “What’s the best time I can call you?” type of thing, and we can talk about it.

That’s when more people get kind of shaky when I get their number. I’ll ask them the best time that I can call, and then they’ll say, “Oh, I work this whole week,” “I can’t talk this week,” or something like that. 

Then I say, “Well, what’s a good day I can talk to you or call you?” and they’ll say, “I’ll let you know.” So, that’s one of the worst things I hate to hear is when they say, “I’ll let you know.”

That’s when I know they’re not serious. But, I’ll reach out again about three to four days later, that way I’m just not bothering them. They’ll be there at that stage, then I answer the phone, and that’s when you know they’re not really serious. 

But then when I have people who are serious, when I do say stuff like, “Okay, what’s your number? Let’s exchange contact information” and they’ll say, “Okay, I want to start tomorrow” or “Call me at this time tomorrow,” that’s when I know they’re serious and ready to go. 

Kristy: Yeah. When they’re serious and they give you their number, pretty much they sign up, it sounds like.

Kaylan: Definitely, yes. It’s like an automatic. There’s not even a thing you had to do to sell them, but you’re just telling them what’s your expectation and objective for them and then for yourself training them.

So, when I hear that, they’re already sold. They’re sold on what they’ve heard and get them to watch anyway.

Kristy: Yeah. I’m curious. Do you see an uptick in interest overall because of what’s happening and everyone’s at home now? 

Kaylan: Definitely. I say so. I know a lot of times with everything that’s happening with the world right now, everyone’s kind of uncertain, and of course gyms are closed.

Before I even started fitness, like I said, I was in that car accident so I wasn’t even in the gym. So, I was doing things in my hospital room. I was doing things in the house. I couldn’t use my ankle, I couldn’t even do any leg workouts and things.

I was using anything I could just to get some sort of resistance in my muscles. I have a lot of secret tips on things you can train. You have to have weights and dumbbells, things like that.

You can always stay moving. I think even if you’re walking outside and you do pushups on a bench or a bleacher or anything like that, that’s an exercise. I’m just stressing that you don’t actually need a gym to actually lose and burn fat.

Kristy: Let’s say you’re getting 10 to 15 leads. So, about 17 leads from Instagram and YouTube. Do you see more leads because of the Coronavirus during this time or do you see the same amount? 

Kaylan: Yeah, I get what you’re saying. Yes, it’s actually been that consistent for the past two years ever since I’ve done online coaching. Of course like any other business, you have down lows, like you’ll have eight or ten in one month or something like that, or you’ll have a high month that would exceed that 17.

Then, that’s when I say that I can’t really keep up by myself. 

Kristy: Yeah. So, what about website inquiries? Do you get a lot there? 

Kaylan: Yes, I do. A lot of times I’ll get that through the internet, as far as social media-wise, like YouTube, because my website is in that stuff. It’s like they’re all in that social media.

That’s when they’ll do it from there because that’s where the computation is on my website. 

Kristy: I see. 

Kaylan: Go straight there. That’s on the front of the website too so they’ll see it right there. 

Kristy: Okay. Awesome. Well, I think that answers most of my questions. I’m so excited to hear YouTube is working really well for you because I’m going  to give that a try. 

But I think this is a really clear plan that a lot of trainers can try to use as  a lot of them are rebuilding their business. So, thanks for sharing your experience with that. I wanted to ask you what the name of your company stands for?

Kaylan: Alpha U stands for being the best athlete you can be. Obviously it’s tailored to fitness. I know everyone’s going to work nine to five or they’re in college or whatever they’re doing, I just want people to be the best versions of themselves.

A lot of times we’re looking at who we want to be and what we want to look like in fitness, and just being the best athlete we can be.

So, just being the best you can be and striving for the best. That’s what Alpha U stands for; being the best version of yourself.

Kristy: Being the best versions of yourself. Okay, awesome. Well, it’s been super awesome hanging out with you today, Kaylan, and I learned a lot so thanks for sharing your expertise with me.

Kaylan: Thank you so much. I appreciate you reaching out and letting me be on the podcast. I really appreciate that. 

If anybody wants to reach out to you, how can they reach you?

Kristy: Awesome. Well, thanks so much and I appreciate having you on the show. 

Kaylan: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. You have a good one. 

Kristy: Thanks, you too. Bye.

Kaylan: Okay. Bye.