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 appreciate you being here.

Let's get into today's PT Roadmap.

One Coaching Cue

What's it for?

I’ve used this a couple of times this week.

Once for explaining heel position as it touches the floor during a deadbug, and once for getting a client to improve their trailing leg control as it touches the floor during a reverse lunge.

In both exercises, clients often dump their heel or knee on the floor. This cue helps to tidy that up!

Better Business

I heard this great marketing metaphor on a Gym World Worldwide podcast the other day: glove marketing.

The way the guest, Vince Gabrielle, described it was you want at least five different lead generation methods.

I don’t love the term glove marketing, so I will rename it Five-Finger Marketing (feel free to reply and tell me mine is stupid 🤣.)

I often speak to PTs who are struggling to get clients.

My first question is usually, “What are you doing to generate leads?”

And the response often is, “I post on Instagram a few times a week.”

One lead gen method is probably insufficient if you want to get clients.

You need to cover at least 5-fingers.

So, what else could you do?

Here are 11 ideas:

• Run a referral campaign for your current clients

• Offer a reactivation offer to previous clients

• Regularly email a list of interested people

• Get your business on Google My Business

• Run a bring a friend for free month

• Test a Facebook advert

• Partner up with a local business

• Do a leaflet drop in your local area

• Run a lunch & learn at a local employer

• Run an advert in a local publication, newspaper or radio

• Build a basic website and have a call-to-action for a free session or reduced-price trial

Better Coaching

I’ve recently taken on a bunch of new clients.

I’ve asked them whether terms like ‘calorie deficit’, ‘hypertrophy’, ‘DOMS’ and ‘NEAT' mean anything to them.

Only one of the four knew what any of them meant.

It’s easy to become comfortable being a personal trainer and forget that you didn’t used to understand terms that become second nature to you.

Most people do not know that a calorie deficit is necessary for weight loss.

Most people do not know that DOMS is short for muscle soreness or that soreness following a workout is normal.

Especially in a place like social media, we want our messages to land and be understood by people.

If they don’t understand your content, they’ll never pay you money.

Maybe you’re not doing this, but I follow a lot of PTs on Instagram and see many posts centered around these phrases.

So, the key point here is to ensure that when you’re making content, it doesn’t suffer from the ‘curse of competence.’

The curse of competence happens to us all. We get good and/or knowledgeable about something and forget what it was like not to be good at that thing.

One Social Media Post Worth Your Time

Great post from Hannah Moves on the myths of correct posture.

This is worth storing away and sending to clients who think their pain is wrapped in their ‘bad’ posture.

Posture is sometimes important.

But not nearly as often as many physios or PTs will have you believe.

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: Dr. Barbara Oakley on Learning How to Learn