I get a ton of questions asking what software and specific tools I use to run my fitness biz.
There are so many options out there….and I’ve pretty much tried them all.
If you run into issues with your current platform….it’s natural to think the grass is greener on the other side and move into to something new…only to find the new system has its own set of issues.
Not only that, but it’s usually a pain to get set up and move all of your data over.
I want to save you a little time, and give you my perspective on software that has worked (and hasn’t worked) and which I personally use to run my businesses.
And we’re off…
Member Management / Collecting Client Payments:
What I’ve TRIED in the past: 1ShoppingCart.com, Paypal, MindBody, ZenPlanner
What I currently use: Zen Planner (for fitness biz), 1ShoppingCart (for my online business)
Zen Planner Pros: We LOVE using Zen Planner. It’s easy for our clients to use and relatively easy to set up. They have fantastic customer support. It’s FAR easier to use and set up than MindBody. It tracks attendance and class schedules, processes recurring monthly payments, pulls great reports (including payroll), and keeps track of pretty much every important metric you need.
ZP Cons: The only limitation we have run into with ZP is on Personal Training tracking. ZP (as of right now) can only track Personal Training sessions on a “use it or lose it basis.” In our company, we roll-over unused PT sessions, and Zen does not allow you to do this. We have to manually keep track of our PT sessions because of it.
Email Management:
What I’ve TRIED in the past: FitProNewsletter, Constant Contact, Mad Mimi, iContact, Aweber, MailChimp, Infusionsoft, Ontraport
What I currently Use: Aweber
Aweber Pros: Aweber is one of the leaders in online email marketing. The deliverability is up there with the highest you can get, and it has been a reliable platform for me for over 7 years. They are continually making improvements and updating their back-end. Their customer service is some of the best I have ever seen. You can create opt-in forms that sync directly with auto-responders. Their templates are pretty great also.
Aweber Cons: I don’t have any complaints for aweber- which is why I keep it! Infusionsoft and Ontraport have more responsive-based email sequences that you can build out. However I’ve always gotten great results with Aweber (that’s actually how you’re getting this email right now) so I continue to use it!
Creating Landing Pages & Funnels:
What I’ve TRIED in the past: Lead Pages, ClickFunnels, OptimizePress, Unbounce
What I currently Use: Optimize Press AND ClickFunnels
Click Funnels Pros: Optimize Press was great, and I will likely keep my existing sales pages and squeeze pages on it, however EVERYTHING new I create is now done in Click Funnels. It’s INCREDIBLE what this platform can do!
You can create custom funnels for opt-ins and transformation challenges and use designs that are proven to convert and easy to set up. Plus- you can easily duplicate funnels to make quick changes for your promotions once you have something that is converting well. Their support is amazing. You can try out Click Funnels for 14-days for Free here <—-
CF Cons: Haven’t found any cons with this product yet!
Bookkeeping / Accounting:
What I’ve TRIED in the past: QuickBooks, Xero
What I currently Use: Xero
I use Xero now because it’s built for regular people like you and I… and not accountants or bookkeepers. It’s simple and easy to use, and automatically connects with all my bank accounts, Paypal, and credit cards.
I wrote a blog post about Xero and why I like it better than Quickbooks here (Click here to read it)
Member Measurements:
What I’ve TRIED in the past: Excel Docs, Paper & Binders, FitClients
What I currently Use: FitClients
FitClient Pros: works AMAZING!! Each client gets their own profile in the system. I store measurements and before and after pics in the system. It creates graphs and tracks progress for the clients. Clients can set their own goals… and you can even automate emails that remind them when their measurement or weigh-in days are. You can also track measurements for transformation challenges in there. It really is an all-in-one software.
FitPro Cons: I have zero complaints for this software and highly recommend it.
Tracking Leads & Sharing Resources with my Team
What I’ve TRIED in the past: Google Drive / Google Docs, Dropbox
What I currently Use: Google Drive / Google Docs, Dropbox – no reason to change- easy to use, free, and LOVE it!
Other Random Software & Tools I use:
Post Planner: Easily schedules posts content for your Facebook, Twitter and other social media profiles.
What I love about PP is that you can add your favorite blogs, websites, or other Facebook pages and you can easily grab content that is going viral and that people will love. It makes it super-easy to find content to share with your audience. (costs about $7/month)
Post Planner is what I’m using to post right now on my new FitPro Essentials Fan Page! I create the content for it, and then schedule it to post at certain times of the day.
Make sure to “like” my page! Right now, I’m posting 30 days of content on there that you can swipe for your OWN fan page. Don’t miss it- all you have to do is “like” my page to get it.
Zapier: I AM IN LOVE. It’s a free platform that connects hundreds of different kinds of software together… it’s one of my secret weapons!
Want a new Aweber lead to be automatically added to your Client Follow-up Google Doc? No problem! Just set up a “Zap” on Zapier and their magical elves do it all for you.
Fiverr.com and Upwork: are the two sites I use primarily for outsourcing
That’s pretty much it! Using the above platforms saves me countless hours every month as well as helps me to scale my business while continuing to deliver incredible customer service.
Hope that you found it helpful 🙂
Make it a productive day!
Alicia
PS. Some of the links above are my affiliate links. Just wanted to keep it transparent for ya as always!
PSS. If you have any questions on anything I mentioned, just leave me a comment below and I’ll be happy to help you out.
