Get, Keep, & Grow Clients with Marty Jacobs

It is easy for everyday coaches to feel like success is out of reach in an industry that is overflowing with celebrity trainers and viral content creators with massive social media followings. That is exactly why Marty Jacobs’ story stands out. He is not building his business from a beachfront mansion or off the momentum of a hundred thousand Instagram followers. He is doing it in a town of 6,000 people, with a little over 300 followers on Instagram, working 13-hour days, and still finding ways to grow consistently, sustainably, and without excuses.

Marty joined the Business of Coaching Workshop to share the practical tools, mindset shifts, and hard-earned lessons behind the online course he created for trainers who want to get more clients, keep them longer, and build a thriving business, even without a big audience or glamorous location. His message is simple: the fundamentals matter more than followers.

Success Without Excuses

Marty did not step into personal training with a huge built-in audience or a history of athletic accolades. He started part-time, slowly built a book of business, and eventually took the leap into full-time coaching. Just months later, COVID shut everything down—and yet, he continued to grow. Year after year, he added more clients, expanded his services, and eventually built enough stability for his wife to leave her full-time job and pursue her own business.

He attributes this growth to something he learned early in his career while working in corporate retail: the difference between an obstacle and an excuse. The size of his town, the number of gyms in the area, or his lack of a flashy online presence could have easily become reasons not to pursue a career in personal training. Instead, he treated them as conditions to navigate.

Your Identity Starts the Conversation

One of the most important shifts Marty teaches in his course is simply choosing to identify as a coach everywhere you go. Not in an aggressive salesy way, but in a matter-of-fact, confident way that opens doors for natural conversation.

Most people need help improving their health. Many feel pain, frustration, or uncertainty about where to start. When you present yourself as a professional, you give those people permission to ask for help, and you create opportunities to listen.

Networking is not about elevator pitches or awkward name-tag events. It is about being a curious human who asks great questions. You learn about others, they learn about you, and one in ten conversations turns into a lead, referral, or client. Sometimes, the person you are talking to may never become a client, but they may send someone your way.

The Power of Inquisitiveness

Marty describes himself as “authentically inquisitive,” even in situations where he has no personal interest in the topic. He tells the story of a two-hour car ride with a friend who explained the mechanical differences between automatic and manual transmissions in obsessive detail. Marty did not care about cars, but his friend did. And that is the point.

As a coach, your job is to be deeply interested in what matters to the person in front of you. Your curiosity builds trust. Your listening earns investment. Your attention strengthens retention.

This applies both in prospecting and in client sessions. When clients feel known—not just trained—they stay longer, refer more often, and become “little mini marketing teams,” as Marty puts it.

How to Make the Offer Without Feeling ‘Icky’

Sales is uncomfortable for many trainers. They love coaching but dread the moment when they must ask for the appointment or present their prices. Marty teaches a simple mindset shift to eliminate the pressure: Change the definition of a successful conversation.

Success is not “booking the call” or “closing the sale.” Success is creating authentic dialogue, learning something about the person, and giving them a chance to learn something about you. When that is the goal, asking for next steps feels natural.

His approach is simple:

Identify a pain, frustration, or goal.

Share how you help people with similar issues.

Invite them into a low-pressure next step

“Hey, if you want, we can hop on a quick call and I can learn a little more about your goals and walk you through what it might look like to work together.”

No pressure. No pitch deck. Just two humans exploring an opportunity.

Marty also saves price for the end of the consultation because he wants prospects to understand the value before they see the number. Once someone recognizes what coaching can unlock—not just physically, but in their daily life—the price becomes an investment, not an obstacle.

Why Marty Built His Course

Marty’s course is not a certification, nor is it theory from someone who made all their money selling courses. It is ten years of practical business acumen from someone who built a career in small-town America by doing the basics exceptionally well.

It is for coaches who want to start but do not know where to begin, part-timers who want to go full-time, coaches who feel stuck and cannot build momentum, and anyone who wants clients without relying solely on social media.

For Marty, personal training is a people business. If you master the human side of interacting with people authentically, the business side will follow.

This material was recently covered in the Business of Coaching Workshop, a series designed to help coaches grow their businesses by mastering key principles like trust, pricing, and delivering value. Each session dives into actionable strategies to build better client relationships and drive success. Want to take your coaching practice to the next level? Join us for the next workshop—it’s free.