If you’ve just become a qualified yoga instructor, congratulations! Now you can start running classes, taking on regular clients, and building your own little PT-adjacent business. Open up a website, make your first social media, and wait for the enquiries to come rolling in!
However, it might take a while for the first likes and comments to show up on your feed. Why? Because people like to know who they’re working with when it comes to their health and fitness. This is an incredibly private, and even intimate, area of life. If you’re a brand new yoga instructor with nothing to recommend you, very few people are going to sign up.
That’s why it’s so crucial to use trust building methods like those down below. Your yoga business has the chance to do really well, but only if you spend time getting to know your clients and understanding what they want out of a session. You never know, your efforts might lead to them coming back again and bringing a couple of friends!
Build Your Own Confidence First
You’re newly qualified as a yoga instructor, and you’ve got plans to build a business around this, but do you feel like you’re capable of doing so? If not, it’s time to work on your own confidence. It can be hard to follow along with someone who is unsure of themself, and may make it very hard for you to communicate with your clients on a personal, friendly level.
The more confident you feel, the easier it’s going to be to get in a room together. You’re going to have faith in your abilities, and your clear faith will make it easier for others to feel like they’re in safe hands. Self belief is always evident, even when you’re an introvert, and knowing how to handle yourself comes across in the way you act and speak. Even when you’re faking it, people are going to believe that you’re a confident person who feels like they’re in exactly the right place.
Identify Your USP
What makes you the best yoga instructor to visit? Why should your clients trust you? Knowing your USP will help you to create content that addresses your target market in an open, honest, and trustworthy manner.
Alongside this, you’ll need to think about what kind of clients you’re trying to attract. Marketing a yoga class isn’t a one size fits all approach; you have to be specific about who you want to come along.
This will help you identify and develop your USP even further. Do you want to help yoga beginners master their first moves? Maybe you’re here for new mothers, who want to get back into exercise after giving birth? Or perhaps you focused on the older generation and using yoga to promote their health?
Make sure these mission statements are clear in your social media posts, on your website, and any published materials you produce. Your USP isn’t just for you, to ensure you act in the most professional manner possible. It’s for everyone who’s interested in a yoga business like yours as well.
Use a Booking System That Makes Sense
Booking systems can be tenuous at best and downright impossible to use at worst. There are a ton of problems that crop up time and time again when trying to book something online.
For one, people can often be timed out before they’ve had a chance to answer all the questions on the form. Sometimes these forms ask for too many details as well, which makes people think they’re being tricked into giving away their data!
That’s why you need to use a booking system that actually makes sense. You can start with a resilient quoting software on the back end, and then design a hardy booking form on the front end. You want to get specific, select details off of people, such as their name, email address, and general availability, but try to keep it short and sweet otherwise.
You should also leave a comments box so people can add in any special requests, especially if you do one to one sessions. People with special access needs might only be able to attend a class like this, and you’re going to want them to feel understood and heard before they’ve even set foot in the room.
And Send Multiple Confirmation Emails!
You don’t want people to be confused about the time and place your class is held. You can outline this in the confirmation email you send after someone puts a booking in. However, this shouldn’t be the only email you ping out to your clients.
If someone books 2 to 3 months in advance (which is usually a sign things are going well for you!), how can you be sure they’re going to remember they’ve got a session? Don’t make the details hard to find by allowing them to disappear into the depths of the inbox.
Send out a reminder email or message a week to 2 days before. Let them know you’re excited to see them and that they need to give at least 24 hours notice if they want to rearrange.
Support Clients at Home Too
Do you want to go the extra mile and support clients where they are? Then you might want to consider the occasional home visit. For long term, loyal clients, you can run a separate service where you come to them rather than the other way around. You can also offer this service on special request if someone wants to be instructed by you but can’t leave their home for any reason.
If you don’t want to offer a service like this, it’s no worry. You can very easily support your clients within their own homes through video content as well. If you make follow along tutorials that allow someone to workout in the comfort of their living room or bedroom, you can supplement your in-class routine with further knowledge.
If someone wants to get more flexible or follow a stricter health regime, having access to this content will make you their favorite instructor of all time!
Post Some Reviews
If someone leaves a review, post it. Whether you get 4 or 5 stars, and the customer has been specific about what they enjoyed when attending your class, make sure it’s on the homepage of your website for all new visitors to see.
Of course, you can encourage Google reviews as well. These are going to be harder to control, as you need to manually report any reviews you feel are inaccurate or misleading, but this is the first place a person is going to see the thoughts of someone just like them. If another client enjoyed it, chances are they will too!
You’ve also got the chance to reply to Google reviews, thanking people for saying something so nice, or doing some conflict resolution if there’s something less positive been left behind. Good customer service is another trustworthy green flag, so go ahead and answer with your thoughts!
Take it Slow in Class
Unless you’re instructing clients who have years of experience in the yoga world, you’re probably going to need to adjust your teaching style. Mostly, you’ll want to slow down your movements and make them easy to follow. Don’t be afraid to repeat movements, or try an easier set, if things are too hard.
Pay Attention to Those Who are Struggling
Yoga may not seem like a difficult exercise, but it can be very difficult for someone to tackle. Stretching is good for the muscles, tendons, joints, and bones, but getting into certain positions can be extremely tricky. Some people just might not bend that way!
That’s why you should be moving in and out of your clients as they work through your class. Don’t stand in one place and instruct them from there. Check on them up close – if someone wants to admit something privately, this is the only chance they’re going to get to do so.
You should also keep an eye on the attitude of your class members. If they seem mentally checked out, it’s worth it to head over and ask if they’re doing OK. We can sometimes get deep into thought, or be too exhausted to continue, and heading over to take charge on their behalf is often the best way to reach out.
Realizing Your Yoga Instructor Dreams
If you’re ready to open a business as a yoga instructor, initiating with these trust building methods is going to bring in long term clients. After all, they prove you’re the kind of person who can be relied upon – you make yoga accessible, relaxing, and fun, and you’re never going to judge someone for the way they approach it.
You make the process of signing up smooth, you handle client details and money well, and you supplement your teachings with at-home check-ins and online content. That really will put you a step above the rest!
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