Salesmanship is a critical skill necessary for all fitness professionals to master. Whether you like it or not, much of your livelihood will depend on whether or not you can "close the deal." And just like any other skill, you can always improve on your ability to sell others on you and your services.

Here are 6 unique sales tips that will improve your salesmanship:

1) Know the difference between a prospect and a client. A prospect is someone who is interested in learning more about you and your services. A client is someone who has made the commitment and hired you by paying you money to train them.

2) It's NEVER a sale until you have the money in your hand. That is why it is imperative you obtain payment before the meeting has ended. Too many things could happen to make the prospect change their mind if they haven't committed any money to becoming physically fit. When money exchanges hands only then does the prospect become a client.

3) Be sure you set a distinct consultation time when you are trying to sell them your services. In other words, don't try to "sell on the fly." If you know it takes you a minimum of 45 minutes to close a sale then be 100% certain before the meeting starts your prospect has allotted that amount of time in their schedule. It's your job to make sure they know exactly how long the meeting is going to take. Never assume anything. People are extremely busy and the last thing you want is for your prospect to leave before you have had a chance to close your sale.

4) Create a list of questions to ask prospects to determine whether or not they would make a good client. You don't need to meet with every single prospect who in interested in hiring you. If you don't feel someone would make a good client, someone who would become a "walking billboard" for you, then feel free to turn them away. Your time is too valuable to spend talking to people who aren't serious about doing what it takes to get the results they claim they want.

5) Find out what your prospect wants to achieve and then explain to them how you can go about helping them achieve that. NEVER abdicate your expertise by allowing them to pick a training package based on price alone. When you present several options and ask your prospect to choose it is the same thing as saying "I'm really not an expert and I don't know what I'm doing."

6) If they become a paying client, before leaving your meeting you should give them one last chance to back out of the deal. Why? Because it allows you to alleviate and concerns they may have while you are still face to face. You want to be sure when you leave your meeting the new client is 100% committed to working with you. Otherwise, there is always a chance they will have buyer's remorse and seek to back out of your deal. This gives you your best chance of eliminating that possibility.

These tips are easy to follow and will improve your salesmanship considerably. They will save you enormous amounts of time and effort.

About the Author

Jim Labadie is a fitness entrepreneur, sales expert and speaker. You can download a FREE copy of his new e-book "63 Must-Have Sales Tips for Personal Trainers" at: http://www.ptsalestips.com