Lots of people like to talk about marketing or making more money, and while both of these are important, they leave out one important factor:

To generate wealth, you need to learn how to keep it and grow your money in addition to making it.

Below is a quick list of unconventional ways that trainers can make more money and keep it.

1. Get a good accountant / bookkeeper

OK, maybe this is a conventional tip, but I couldn't leave it out.

Good accountants will pay for themselves multiple times over. It's rare for a trainer to be an employee, meaning that you work for yourself. (If you are an employee, then this section still applies to you--just a little less).

Knowing what you can claim as a business expense and keeping track of finances can save you thousands in taxes at the end of the year. It sounds nice to do your own taxes, or to use a cheap service like H&R Block, but the reality is that those methods often cost more money than it saves.

2. Save on recurring expenses

Everybody talks about making more money, but saving money is just as important. One thing you could do is a simple call once a year to all of the services that you do repeat business with and--boom--you can save a lot of money! For example, I called my credit card company and simply told them that I didn't want to pay my yearly fee next year because I've been a good customer.

They said yes.

That 10-minute phone call saved me close to $200. Some of these services may say no, and when that happens you haven't lost anything.

Call your phone, internet, and cable TV provider. If you accept credit card payments, call your credit card processor and ask for a reduction in rates for the upcoming year. You'll be amazed at how much you can save with a simple phone call.

3. Proactively reduce cancellations

Note: Some of the next two sections contain altered excerpts from my book, Ignite the Fire.

You don't ever want clients to cancel. A 24-hour cancellation policy does offer you some protection for your time, but consider the bigger picture. If a client is continually cancelling, it's because: Something is going on in his or her life; your client doesn't understand how your business works; or both. That, or you haven't done a good job at reminding your client about the session.

Like so many other things with personal training, it's important to be proactive and anticipate any problems that may arise before they do. When a client first signs up, explain that you do have a 24-hour cancellation policy because you only get paid if they show up. There is no salary. Educate your clients about how the business works, and they'll respect you.

If they still cancel repeatedly, then there's likely an underlying cause. Have a private conversation either in person or by phone. Ask if there's a reason that he keeps missing sessions. Either your client's life is busy, or he isn't enjoying training.

Another reason why a client cancels or doesn't show up to sessions may be as simple as they aren't good at keeping track of their schedule.

I worked with a trainer named Alex Nurse who got into the habit of texting every one of his clients a day before the session confirming the session the next day. He told them that if he didn't hear back then would assume that they could not make it and would give the spot away. It sounds so simple, but this habit resulted in fantastic retention and all of his clients always showed up, barring an emergency.

4. Book in two sessions in advance of every break

Over the course of a year, your clients will have scheduled breaks in their training.

They may take a week or two off for Christmas, vacation, work, or major family events, like weddings.

Obviously, I'm not going to tell you to tell your clients not to take a break over the holidays, but what's important is that they start right back up when they get back. This way, the interruption in their training is minimized and you don't lose any paid sessions that you should have worked.

Too often a trainer will do a poor job with his or her schedule, and the first week of January is spent chasing after clients trying to get people booked back in.

Whenever your client is going to leave for a week or more, ensure that you have their first two sessions booked back in for when they return. This is especially important when a lot of your clients are away at the same time, but it applies to individual clients as well.

When your client is about to leave for a scheduled break, simply say:

"January is the busiest time of the year for me and I want to ensure that I set aside spots for you. Can we book in your first two sessions for when you get back now?"

I say two sessions because it's common that your client will cancel his or her first session back. After a holiday, things can get busy with work and family, and stuff always comes up. In booking in two sessions, you can simply say:

"No problem, I'll see you Thursday."

...instead of...

"OK, well, uhh, umm, I can do Thursday at 2pm, Friday at 4pm, and, uhh, any other times work for you?"

This simple strategy will help you book in a few extra sessions a year by being proactive. You'll be the one training the first week back in January when the other trainers are struggling to get back going. Remember: busy begets busy. Whenever there's a new influx of members in the gym (like January), the gym floor is a showcase for your talents. If you're the busy trainer who communicates that you're the go-to, you'll be the one they request.

5. Master your 6-word intro

The amount of business that you've likely lost because you fumble when asked "what do you do?" is not acceptable. Personal training is a relationship business. Every random conversation you have is an opportunity to make one more person know what you do.

I'm not advising you to pitch; just be succinct and strategic in answering the one question that you're probably asked every day.

A friend of mine, Clay Hebert, developed a method called the 6-word intro. You'll laugh at how simple it is. Here's the basic formula:

-Hey, good to meet you. So, what do you do?

-I help "X" solve "Y"

Fill in the blanks. A few examples:

"I help young mothers regain strength."

"I help dudes look better in t-shirts."

"I help young athletes perform better."

As Clay explains, a phrase like this bounces the question back to the person who asked it, picquing his or her interest, and that's all that you're going for.

You don't necessarily have to use the word "help" either. You could replace it with a word like "inspire".

Here's what I do:

"I inspire trainers make more money, have more freedom, and increase their impact."

And I hope that I did that with this article.