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.

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Let's get into today's PT Roadmap.

One Coaching Cue

What's it for?

This is a helpful cue for single-leg RDL positioning.

You want your client to get their body long so they are in a straight line from head to heel.

It also works well for one-arm, one-leg dumbbell rows.

Better Business

How to build word-of-mouth marketing into your PT business.

Ok, let’s start with a definition.

What is word-of-mouth marketing?

It is the most effective way to build and grow a PT business simply because we trust other people’s opinions and look to others for help when making buying decisions.

There’s a good reason Amazon’s reviews are one of the first things I look at when considering what product to buy.

But how do you encourage people to talk positively about your PT services?

The first and most obvious way is to do great work and to get great results (whatever ‘results’ means to the people you train.) The better work you do, the more likely it is your clients will talk about you to their network.

Here are five more ways to bake WOM marketing into your business:

• T-shirt gifts at session milestones - I love seeing more PTs doing this. When a client hits a session milestone (100, 200, 400 etc), gift them a t-shirt. Here’s an example from Sean Armstrong Fitness. They wear it and people ask about it.

• Tag on your socials - Whenever you have a client in session with you, get a picture (as long as they are cool with it, of course) of them training and tag them in it. Selfies work well, too, if that’s more your jam.

• Coffee stamp idea - Most coffee shops have a stamp card. Buy 10 coffees, get your last one for free. You can do something like this, but they get a stamp each time they tag you on social media. Once they’ve done it 10 times, they get a free t-shirt, water bottle, hat, magnet or something similar. There can be issues with seeing who has done what with this, so a way to track it effectively is to get them to send a screenshot.

• Share client spotlights - It could be as simple as an image or video of your client training and some text about their story. Why they started, their results, their struggles and lessons. Or you could go all out and do it as a high-quality video series, like this from AKR Fitness.

• Fridge magnet PB idea - I heard this idea on this podcast from the guys at Gym World Worldwide. Gift your client a fridge magnet they can update for some key lifts. Every time they set a new PB, they edit the magnet and add new numbers. I love this one and plan to give it a shot sometime soon!

Better Coaching

When you actually care about your clients, it can be hard not to get offended when they don’t do things you know will help them.

That piece of homework you discussed.

Those extra steps you know will help them hit their goal.

That journalling idea they seemed so keen on when you last spoke.

I used to take it personally when this happened.

“I’m not a good enough coach” or “I must be doing this wrong” would run through my head.

Or I’d think, “they just don’t want it enough”, which I’ve tried to stay away from now because I know it’s not the case for most clients.

The reality of coaching humans is that they will experience ambivalence over behaviour change. They will say yone thing and do another. They will go between “yes! I want this” and “hmm, I’m not sure I do.”

Not because you’re not good enough at your job of because they don’t want it, but because they just haven’t fully weighed up making that change.

You have two choices:

• call them out and make them feel bad (sometimes, this is necessary. If a client is set on hitting a specific goal but keeps doing something that doesn’t support it, you are doing them a disservice by not bringing it up in a kind, non-judgemental way.)

• give them space, let them know you’re here whenever they are ready and keep the relationship intact

Sometimes, they come around and make the change. And other times, they don’t.

It’s not your responsibility to force, coerce or try to push your clients into changing behaviours they aren’t ready to change. But it is your responsibility to ask questions, use your listening skills and help them understand why they do and do not want to do something.

The more understood they feel, the more your relationship will flourish. The better the relationship, the better your chance of seeing positive behaviour change.

One Social Media Post Worth Your Time

Nice post from Natasha Barnes on why your muscle mass is so precious.

Just another example of why what we do is so important for people’s health.

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.

2) Listen to the LTB Podcast. Tune in to interviews with trainers who have been where you are and built what you’re trying to build. Latest episode: Conor Heffernan on The History of Weight Training