PT Roadmap #16 🏋️

A simple way to get more referrals from your clients, microplates & improving your client training plans.

April 21, 2023

The PT Roadmap

A weekly newsletter for personal trainers that'll guide you in your career to become a better coach and build a better business.

Hey!

Thanks for opening up today's newsletter. I really appreciate you being here.

Thank you to everyone who responded to my question last week! It was cool to hear how many of you are trying to go online and move into semi-private (expect newsletters focussed on each in future!) Here's another for this week:

What is your primary service offering (1-1, semi-private, group, online)? Click reply and let me know 👍

Let's get into today's PT Roadmap.

One Coaching Cue

"When the kettlebell hits the two buttons on your hips, push them back."

What's it for?

Hinge timing on the Kettlebell swing.

Tell your client to imagine there are two buttons near their hips. When their forearms hit those buttons, they turn on and tell the client when they should hinge their hips back.

One Business Tip

I've never been a big fan of using incentives or extensively planned out campaigns to get more 1-1 PT referrals.

A better way is to simply ask for them.

"Hey Jane, great session today! I love working with you and have some spots open for new clients just now. Do you have any friends, family or work colleagues you think would be a good fit?"

If you've never done this and you want clients, do it.

The end of your session is when I'd recommend it.

The worst thing that happens is your clients say no.

If they say yes, make a point of following up.

I used to offer my clients two free sessions to 'gift' to the person they were referring, and then as long as the person showed up, I'd buy the client a personal gift to say thanks. Nothing crazy - a pair of deadlifting socks for a client who loved to deadlift or a voucher to a local coffee shop for a client who loved coffee.

It always worked better than offering some big incentive for referring someone.

Your current clients are your best form of marketing, and there are always a few willing to help you. But they won't help if you don't ask for it.

Mike Doehla inspired this section with his post on asking his clients for help, even when his company was making millions.

One Coaching Tip

Do you have a client struggling to go from 10kg to 12.5kg on a dumbbell shoulder or chest press?

2.5kg is a big jump.

Enter micro-plates (also called fraction-plates.)

Stick 'em on your dumbbells, and rather than jumping up 2.5kg, you can jump up in .5 or 1kg increments.

I'm in the US, so my Google search was a bit of a mess for UK shipping, but it does look like you can get them from Amazon and The Gym Revolution.

H/T to LTB member Emma Nash for the reminder about this excellent piece of kit.

One Social Media Post Worth Your Time

Social media sometimes does my head in, and I waste too much time on it.

But!

I genuinely love how much I learn from it.

Follow the right people, and you'll pick up things that help you run your business better, improve your client experience and become a better PT.

The tip in this post from Paul Standell is one I've recently integrated into my end training block reviews - get your clients to rate how much they connected with each exercise.

Anything that gives me a way to create a better, more individualised experience for the client is something I'm all for 👍

New Section: Personal Instagram Growth

I'm adding this section for one reason: public accountability.

In the past, I've mentioned how I lost my Facebook & Instagram 6 months ago due to a security issue (TL;DR - they locked me out of my account for something that happened when I was sleeping, and I could not for the life of me get it back.) Frustrating, but a big reminder that your audience on social media can be taken away in an instant. You need other ways to talk to people who like what you do.

Anyway, I'm trying to build it back up.

My goal just now:

  • post three good quality Twitter-style posts per week,

  • and hit 500 followers by June.

The follower number doesn't really matter; I just want something objective to work towards.

Posts goal = 3 (Posts this week = 6 ✅)

Follower count = 324 (up by 15 from last week. Goal = 500 by June)

Thanks so much for reading.

Until next Friday, Stuart.

Whenever you're ready, here are two ways I can help you:

1) If you’re looking for a place to help you gain knowledge & develop your skills as a personal trainer, I’d recommend joining Lift the Bar on our trial for free for 14-days. You'll get access to courses, actionable webinars and time-saving downloads, and a community of PTs who have achieved what you're struggling to achieve.