Here is an example of classic irony: I’m at the world’s premier fitness conference and going crazy because I haven’t had any proper exercise since Wednesday. It’s like being thirsty in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean. Alas, I am surrounded by what would be paradise for me to participate in and I can only observe. This, my friends, is the life of an IDEA editor.

My girlfriends Brandy and Kim are here taking classes left and right. I bump into them every so often and they’re usually all sweaty and glowing with endorphin high and talking a mile a minute about what Jay said; how awesome Chalene is; the moves they learned in Strip Bar by Crunch® (I think their significant others will be reaping benefits from that one). Point is, I’m at the vortex of the excitement and haven’t cracked a sweat yet—except for dancing at the "Celebrate in Silver" party last night. Someday I’m coming to this conference as an attendee! I will sneak out early tomorrow morning for a run along the Embarcadero and get a full dose of Pacific Ocean.

Looking Forward: What’s Next in Personal Training?

Great session! If you’re a trainer and can’t see the tremendous opportunities out there just waiting for you to reach out and grab, then you’re really not trying very hard. Talk about low-hanging fruit. You’re in the right place at the right time in history. Your path to success will take a lot of work and creativity, but the demand for the services of well-educated, exceptional personal trainers has never been greater. All I can say is get out there and get after it.

This panel-style format boiled down to a 2-hour semi-private consultation with three of IDEA’s recent past Personal Trainer of the Year Award winners: Todd Durkin, Sherri McMillan and Greg Mack. Moderated by 2007 award finalist Ingrid Knight-Cohee, discussion topics included opportunities in corporate fitness (Can you say rising health care costs? This fruit is spoiling on the ground, people!); developing and implementing systems for your business; motivating your staff trainers; whether to hire staff as contractors or employees; philosophies on how to pay trainers; national education standards and accreditation; mentoring programs; and recruitment and retention, among others. These are all topics that I consistently hear from IDEA members to be their pain. What areas of your business need salve? Feel free to post a comment on this blog and start a discussion.

Panelists very generously shared their tricks of the trade. Some of the gems revealed today could easily save an entrepreneur a year of work and a lot of money and frustration. Quick piece of advice: Find yourself a mentor, LISTEN and LEARN! The information was worth its weight in gold and generated some serious article potential for future issues of all of IDEA’s publications. Can’t go into detail here, but you’ll reap the benefits in the content we’ll roll out in coming issues.

Sales Strategies for the Non-Salesperson

Educator Casey Conrad, JD, is a firecracker. Not only is she smart; she’s funny and knows how to take charge of an audience. She warned us all at the beginning of class to put our cell phones on vibrate or face the consequences (25 push-ups); and we almost made it through. But with a scant 10 minutes to go, there was a ring tone. Mortified, the woman dove for her bag, but it was too late. Casey had her in laser sights and called her out. The attendee begged for mercy, as she had been to Ryan Halvorson’s boot camp on the Midway earlier today and her arms were toasted, but her pleading fell on deaf ears. Casey was rubbing her hands together gleefully as she deadpanned, "You knew the rule ahead of time. Drop and give me 25." It was all in fun as we counted out the set and then applauded. It punctuated a point Casey had just made: "This industry does not pay enough to not have fun doing what you’re doing."

That’s partly why polishing your sales skills is so darned important. Best takeaway line from Casey’s curriculum while I was in the room related to tracking sales metrics. If you do this and only this, it can take you and your company to the next level: "You must inspect what you expect," she said. "This is where the rubber meets the road for your business. You need to track the numbers every day and make every single person on your team accountable. This will help you create and maintain consistent focus."

I won’t even tell you about the ration she gave the guy in the front row who was dozing off…now that was really funny!

Alas, no dozing for this kid. Quick shower, change of clothes and off to Stingaree for the reunion party.