Four Men Down

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I feel a little weird writing this to you.

But for some reason I felt compelled to.

My name is Jim Labadie.

I’m 35 years old.

I played football when I was in high school.

Four guys I played with back in the day are already gone.

Mike and Kevin died of cancer.

Dane died from a heart attack thanks to drugs, alcohol and Marlboro Reds.

Paul was in the World Trade Center on one of the top floors on that day in September.

I think about these men every so-often just to remind myself how short life is. How precious life is.

It’s New Year’s Eve Day as I write this.

The perfect time, I think.

Do what you love.

Be great at it.

Be grateful for it. For all of it.

I love you all.

Your friend,

Jim Labadie

The Spelling Bee Champ

The Spelling Bee Champ

One of the first emails I read when I got back from my vacation was from a woman who isn’t too happy with my spelling.

And it’s not the only one I have received lately.

Apparently I don’t take the time to spell check.

That’s true.

I typically tear through these emails very quickly. They only take me, for the most part, a couple minutes to write.

And while I do apologize for my spelling, I do want to make something clear:

The most important thing you can do when you write emails like this is to get across the FEELING you want. You want to convey EMOTION.

I literally FEEL as I type. My faces twists and contorts. I MOVE around in my chair. My adrenaline gets pumping.

The RUSH is amazing and when I get to the PS, well, the last thing on my mind is spell check.

But alas, I will do my best. I will take the additional two seconds to make sure I’m putting my best foot forward.

And thank you to the readers who brought this to my attention. Your point is valid and duly noted.

I will do my best.

Hope you still love me.

Happy New Year!

Jim “The Liberator” Labadie
http://HowToProfitWithEmails.com

PS- Sometime in early January I’ll be raising the price of my http://HowToProfitWithEmails.com significantly. It’s way to cheap for what it teaches.

PPS- If you want to know the secrets to creating HEART-PUMPING emails that pull in loot for $99 paltry ducketts then go NOW to http://HowToProfitWithEmails.com

The Hard Way

The Hard Way

Carol and I just got back from a trip to Key West for Christmas.

And I gotta tell ya, I’m still so relaxed I’m having trouble just typing this.

Seriously, if you’ve never been to Key West to see a sunset, well, it’s one of those things you really need to put on your list.

One night we were hanging out at the infamous Sloppy Joe’s Bar for a beer and some live music.

And while the band was far from the greatest, I did hear something very interesting come from the lead singer.

More than likely, you’ve heard it before, too. It was one of those moments where the singer takes a moment to say, “Thanks so much for coming to see us tonight and spending your hard earned cash…”

And there it was.

“HARD earned cash”

While it can set you back a couple mill just for a condo in the Keys, a quick look around the room had me guessing that the audience was the Hard Earned type.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all.

My uncle is a retired sheet-metal worker. My cousin makes a very good living with great benefits at Home Depot.

You won’t find nicer or more generous people than them.

But personally, I don’t want to do things the Hard Way.

Not when the tools, systems and strategies to do things much easier are within easy reach.

How about you?

Stay tuned for more of what I learned in Key West.

Who loves ya?

Happy New Year!

Jim “The Liberator” Labadie
http://www.howtoprofitwithbootcamps.com/
http://www.sixfigurebootcamps.com/

PS- What to know how to start your own profitable boot camps?

http://www.howtoprofitwithbootcamps.com/

PPS- Already run boot camps and want to take them to the next level?

http://www.sixfigurebootcamps.com/

17 things you MUST think about

17 things you MUST think about

Jayson Hunter, the head of R & D for Prograde Nutrition sent me this.

He found it in a Real Estate investing magazine.

In a brilliant move by him, he keeps a copy of it laminated by his desk.

And since I follow very closely the behavior of both successful AND unsuccessful fitness pros, I HIGHLY recommend you pay close attention to numbers:

6
10
16
17

There are others like numbers 8 and 11 which are much more obvious.

But pointing out the obvious doesn’t help you.

You’ll see what I mean at:

http://www.trainandgrowrich.com/17.htm

- Jim

Create Raving Fans By Screwing Up?

My Operations Managaer Michelle called me the other day with a customer service issue.

It seems our fulfillment company had sent the wrong product to a customer.

And while I will take full responsiblity for what happens in my business, well, I didn’t put the product in the box.

But it doesn’t matter. If there is a screw up we have to make up for it. And we did in a big way.

The customer wrote back to us how thrilled they are with our customer service and our over-delivering.

Do I write this to tell you how great we are?

Not exactly.

Why would I write about one of our screw ups?

A) To subtly let you know we are human and we do make mistakes. But we do make up for them as best we can.

B) I believe we have been able to take a bad situation and turn it into an incredible positive. I hope it has created a raving fan for us because the customer knows we are listening and genuinely care about then.

C) This is what I really want to get across to you:

There are so many companies out there in all types of industries that are so friggin’ terrible at what they do it really shouldn’t be that hard to succeed.

Seriously. Business is really pretty cut and dry. There are steps to take. Systems to put into place. You do a lot of focused marketing. You take great care of your customers.

Is it really that hard?

No.

It’s just work.

It’s passion.

It’s desire.

It’s persistence.

It’s making mistakes and learning from them.

Most of the time your competition is so inept you can’t help but succeed!

Who loves ya?

Happy Holidays!

Jim Labadie
http://trainandgrowrich.com/products.htm

PS- I’ve got LOTS of products that will help you. But don’t take it from me. Take it from my customers:

“Just a little history here…6 months ago my husband was a personal trainer at a health club. We had talked on and off about having our own business. Someday. We came across Jim Labadie’s website, and the first product we ordered was Velvet Rope Marketing. That was enough to inspire us to get more active about starting our own business.

Next we ordered the Ultimate Sales Kit. There was a bit of a mess up with the order, and we had the pleasure of meeting Michelle, Jim Labadie’s assistant. He made a good choice when he added her to his team. The customer service she gave was exceptional, she always was quick to respond to emails, and she corrected all the problems we had.

Then Jim Labadie called us at home. He didn’t have to. Michelle had already fixed the problems we had, and taken care of the situation. But I guess he was putting into practice what he preaches in his products. Overdelivery. A quick phone call on his part made a huge impression on this end.

We have run into so many places that give such crappy customer service. It is always such a nice surprise to run into a someone who really takes care of his customers. That is how Jim Labadie is.

It was in May (so about 6 months ago) when we first found Jim Labadie’s website. In July, we moved to a new city to start our own fitness boot camp business. In September, my husband began with 2 boot camps. In October, we added 2 more bootcamps. In late November, we are adding a fifth camp. Next week, we are bringing on an intern, with the hopes of adding a new location in February.

And if it weren’t for Jim Labadie and his very inspiring and effective products, I know that we would not be where we are today.

I just wanted to publicly let everyone know that Jim Labadie really does over-deliver. We have experienced that first hand. And as for his products, well, everybody already knows that they are the best there is out there. Thanks, Jim.”

Christi Faagau
Mead, WA

9 Steps to Success from Scratch

9 Steps to Success from Scratch

I get a lot of emails from trainers who are very successful, but have recently moved and need to start all over again from scratch.

Case in point:

“Hi Jim,

Thank YOU for all of your informative emails and great products; Success with Bootcamps, and public speaking…

I wonder if I might be able to ask you a question.

I recently moved to Collingwood, Ontario a small town of 16,000 people to be with my boyfriend and left my successful personal training business in the city behind.

I know it’s going to take some time to start making some good muney again, because not nearly as many people know me here, yet.

I’m wondering what you, Jim, would do in this situation?

I would love to hear from you!”

Happy Holidays!

Sarah

****

My response:

Thanks for the kind words! And congratulations on the move!

It’s a great question, Sarah. Here are some things to do:

1- HUSTLE!

2- Get out to networking events and groups and clubs…everywhere and anywhere your target market is found.

3- Ask around to find out who the most influential people in this small town are and take them to lunch. Pick their brain. What do they think you should do to get the word out?

4- If it’s a small town there might not be too many companies to speak at, but try to find some places to present Lunch and Learns. Speak anywhere and everywhere you can.

5- Get in touch with the local publication(s) and find out how you can contribute articles, etc.

6- If you train women and there are only a couple of places in town where they get their hair done, well, train the most popular stylist in exchange for them promoting the heck out of you to everyone who walks in the door.

7- HUSTLE!

8- As you can see, there’s plenty to do, but something I think everyone needs to be focused on in 2008 is running their business the right way.

- Cutting costs

- Building systems

- Develop consistent marketing

My friend Pat Rigsby cracked me up one day on a Trainer’s Inner Cirlce call when he said most trainers run their business like it’s the lawn-cutting summer business of a teenager!

Hey, it’s freakin’ true.

More than anything else, 2008 is the year to get serious about running a BUSINESS and not just a paid hobby.

So that’s why I highly recommmend you follow step 9.

9- Get Pat Rigsby’s new http://PTWealthBuilder.com program that gives you a 28 Day, Step-by-Step Plan to create a true business.

It’s a comprhensive plan for just $67 if you get it before Friday. Then it goes up $30.

If you like throwing darts and hoping your “business” will one day be on auto-pilot then please don’t listen to a word I say.

But if you want to actually make your life easier and take the guesswork out of things then get Pat’s new program. It’s 100% guaranteed and it’s $67.

No brainer.

Who loves ya?

Yours in prosperity,

Jim Labadie
http://PTWealthBuilder.com

PS- I know Pat very well and I’ll tell you what: He’s a really, really smart guy.

http://PTWealthBuilder.com

Labadie’s Second Holiday Gift For You

Well, this is going to be a gift for the first 2 trainers who respond, that’s for sure.

I am not compensated for this in any way.

I’m simply sending this because I love to make my list aware when top-flight professionals have an amazing service to offer.

Please read the below from my friend Todd Scott. If you’ve got a serious need for a copywriter Todd will deliver serious results. As I’ve written to you before, Todd has done work for me in the past and it’s always top-notch.

- Jim Labadie

PS- Don’t think this is a gift? Believe me, the people who place their trust in Todd are going to have a very Happy New Year!

****

I’m taking 2 new copywriting projects for January… First come first served. For your project to be complete by January 31st, all details and payment arrangements must be finalized by Friday December 21st, because I’ll be taking off for the holidays Saturday 22nd until January 9th.

To ensure you have your project complete, go to http://FitnessCopyWriting.com and fill out the details at the bottom of the page. Be sure to include your number and the best time to reach you.

If you’re truly serious about having your copy complete and on the market by the end of January, to make sure YOUR project is in my books when I start back on January 9th, you can call 225.241.6967.

Simply leave a message and the best time to reach you, and I’ll return your call promptly.

Todd Scott
http://FitnessCopyWriting.com

What’s Coming In 2008

What’s Coming In 2008!

I wanted to write you this before the holidays in the hopes that I have your full attention.

First, I want to thank you from the bottom of the heart for reading my constant emails.

Second, I hope you had a great 2007 and I was able to play some small part in your success.

Third, I’ve got some pretty extraordinary things lined up for you in 2008.

Well, me and guys like Pat Rigsby, Nick Berry, Scott Colby, Ryan Lee and Jayson Hunter.

- A super easy plan to get more referrals and retain more clients and boot campers

- A brand new program to keep moolah flooding into your account month after month without lifting a finger

- A system for boot campers that is going to take all the guesswork out of expansion

- An info-product you can proudly promote that will work hand-in-hand with your fitness expertise

- An amazing tasting Meal Replacement drink from http://getprograde.com/ your clients are going to love

- An online six week weight-management program for your clients that will improve their results and make you lotsa loot with zero work

- And a whole lot more!

Again, thanks for putting your trust and faith in me day after day. It means the world to me.

Stick with me in 2008 and you’ll be amazed at the places we go together.

I promise.

Who loves ya?

Happy Holidays!

Jim Labadie
http://howtoprofitwithemails.com/

PS- I’m not kidding. 2008 is going to kick a**!

Get Unheard of Results

Happy Monday!

I just wanted to share this with you real quick.

Trainer’s Inner Circle member Jeff Nemeth posted this on the program’s forum last week.

****

My week so far:

*Sold five new 1 on 1 clients

*Launched a group training program with 25% of my space pre-sold

*Brought back one new customer that had been gone for one year–in ‘06 this customer was worth $6k and referred another 5k in business

*Extended my on-air radio promotion (Biggest Loser type program) through the end of February

*Secured my first corporate boot camp for January ‘08

*Secured two PCPs as referral partners

What did it take? Less thinking, more action.

****

As soon as you stop thinking so much and MOVING in the direction of your dreams they start to come true.

It’s all there for the taking, so take action this week!

Who loves ya?

Yours in prosperity,

Jim “The Liberator” Labadie
http://VelvetRopeReferrals.com

Switching to Semi-Private Training

I was recently asked this question:

“Jim, do you have anything on HOW to switch over from on-on-one to (semi-private) group training?

We are looking to make the switch here soon and I am not sure how to go about advertising and getting people to make the switch in their head and just wondered if you had written anything about it.

Thank you!

Susan
Columbia, SC

It’s a GREAT question, Susan. And to answer it I enlisted the help of the man who knows more about it than anyone.

That being written, here is the answer from the one-and-only Alwyn Cosgrove:

****

First understand that the clients are not responsible for finding the group anymore than they are responsible for finding other people for a group exercise class.

As for thinking that clients may be resistant to change - ask yourself : Why do clients think that one-on-one is superior?
Where did they learn this?

They learned it from you!

Step one: Stop offering one on one training - all new clients must do semi private training.

Step two: Either honor the deals you’ve made (and allow existing clients to do one on one)- or create big incentives for existing clients to change.

****
I know people have more questions about semi-private training. And Alwyn is coming out with all the answers for you. Stay tuned.

Who loves ya?

Yours in prosperity,

Jim Labadie
http://www.HowToProfitWithBootCamps.com
http://www.SixFigureBootCamps.com

PS- Training semi-private or boot camps is the way to go. It’s SUCH a no-brainer. Just listen to Scott Colby, he’ll tell you all about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pQjc_jcaig

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