The PT Roadmap

A weekly newsletter for personal trainers to guide you to become a better coach and build a better business.

Hey!

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

I went to see Oppenheimer at the weekend and loved it. Cillian Murphy was incredible. Going to the movies is underrated.

In today’s issue:

✅ One business tip

✅ One coaching tip

✅ One exercise recommendation

✅ One social post worth your time

❌ One coaching cue

Let's get into it!

Better Business

How to handle client session cancellations.

Ah, the bane of many a PTs life.

The late or last-minute cancellation.

On average, you’ll get 10% a week. Book 20 sessions, and you’ll see at least 2 of them cancel.

But it’s not just a pain for you; it’s a big net negative for the client. They sign up to achieve their fitness goals. Not showing up gets in the way of that.

How to handle them is a question I’ve thought about a lot. Especially recently since restarting my PT business. I only have a small number of clients, but I’ve already been reminded how frustrating it is to get cancelled on last minute and know you’re not getting paid.

So, let’s discuss how to handle them.

Firstly, get a policy in place & set expectations.

You need one of these.

It needs to be concise and explain exactly how you handle session cancellations.

The questions to answer include:

• how much time do I need to give to cancel a session?

• will I be charged?

• how do I reschedule/ can I reschedule?

• what happens if I show up late?

• will extenuating circumstances (illness, family emergency) be taken into account?

• what happens if you (the trainer) cancel a session within or outside of 24 hours?

When a new client signs up, this should be part of their onboarding.

They are told in person how things work and then given a document they can sign to acknowledge it. This is important because it gives you a reference point should you need it in future.

If you haven’t got one in place yet, your task following this is to create one.

A quick Google search gave me these templates (1, 2, 3), which all look decent.

Second, decide on terms.

Most PTs handle cancellations by giving leniency over the first cancellation and any that fall into the serious and uncontrollable realm. I will never charge a client if they cancel on me for a family emergency or illness. I wouldn’t want a business to charge me for this, so I don’t do it in my own business.

With that said, if a client texts me 5 minutes before a session to say they are ill and can’t make it, there’s a conversation to be had there.

Side note: I’ve often found clients who last-minute cancel repeatedly are the ones I had a gut feeling about when they first started.

Third, use polite reminders.

If a client cancels on me within 24-hours and it’s their first time and not a serious thing, I remind them of my policy.

This is also a good place to mention a tip my dentist uses that helps me plan for and attend my appointments: automated texts.

They send a text 7 days, 2 days, 24 hours and 2 hours before my appointment. Each one makes it easy for me to reschedule and reminds me I will be charged if I don’t show up or cancel outwith their 12-hour policy. It’s overkill, but it works.

Fourth, consider a monthly payment model.

Charging clients a monthly recurring rate can be a way to manage cancellations better, as you still get paid.

And you can build in the occasional cancellation into your billing.

For example, let’s say your weekly rate is £100 for a client (2 sessions @ £50.)

To calculate your monthly rate, you do this:

• 52 (weeks in a year) - 6 (to account for 3 weeks of holiday for you and the client) = 46

• £100 × 46 = £4600

• 4600/12 = £383

• Monthly rate = £383

You charge your client £383 on direct debit each month. They can go on holiday, and you still get paid. And if they cancel the odd session last minute, it’s covered by the pricing model.

Remember - your business exists to put food on your table and a roof over your head. Not being paid regularly because (some of) your clients don’t take what you offer seriously is an issue that can be corrected by putting in place and, most importantly, enforcing your cancellation policy.

Do you do anything different to what I’ve written about here to handle cancellations? Reply if you do!

Better Coaching

5 simple tips for a better client experience.

I love thinking up and testing things to create a better client experience. You’ll see happier clients and better retention rates.

Here are 5 that have stood the test of time for me:

1. Handwritten Thank You Cards - Most post/ mail sucks. Handwritten thank you cards don’t. I send one when a new client joins and at yearly anniversaries. I’ve recently been using a company called Handwrytten which use robots (I think) to handwrite cards for you. I’m impressed so far.

2. Give Them More of What They Like - Most PT clients come to see us because they want to feel and look a bit better. They don’t need perfect periodization to achieve that. They need to show up regularly. If giving them more of what they love doing increases that by 1%, I’m all for it. There is a balance here. Within a 6-8 week program, 50-60% of my exercises stay the same, so we have some stability and can clearly track progress, but the other half is variable.

3. Acknowledge Session Milestones - if one of your clients attends their 100th, 200th or 400th session, celebrate that. Showing up is 90% of the battle. I love what Sean Armstrong Fitness in Newcastle does by giving their clients a milestone t-shirt.

4. Finish on a High - Give your clients a finisher that aligns with how they want to feel when they walk out. I’ve started asking my clients this question when we reach the last 10-15 minutes, so I can personalise the ending and have them walk out feeling how they want to feel. Example finishers in this newsletter.

5. Check-in The Next Day - I’ve written about this before, but it’s worth doing. Ping your clients a message the day after their workout to see how their body feels. This is a nice piece of customer service and it teaches you what your programming is doing to their body.

One Exercise Variation

Recommended Exercise: Barbell Climbing Plank

This was so much harder than I thought it would be.

I first saw it on Meghan Callaway’s Instagram, and she made it look easy.

Get into a plank position with your hands at the top of a bar. Then fist by fist, work yourself down.

This is not one for your beginner clients. Or for ones who have yet to master proper plank form or other plank variations, It’s advanced, and I’d advise starting with a small range of motion and low reps. I did 3 sets of 6 up & down yesterday and my triceps and abs are in pieces today.

One Social Media Post Worth Your Time

Nice post from the guys over at Coach Accounts on accounting myths you hear in the fitness industry.

I mistakenly thought number 1 was true in the past.

This company has also released some nice accountancy guides over the past few weeks. I downloaded this one recently on lowering your tax bill as an online PT, and it was useful!

Thanks so much for reading.

Until next Friday, Stuart.

Whenever you're ready, here is how I help in-person PTs like you build businesses they love:

• 1-1 Mentoring - I work closely with a small number of in-person PTs 1-1 to help them build, grow and mould their business into what they’d like it to be. I'm not your mentor if you want to go online or open a gym. But I work incredibly well with in-person PTs who want a better work-life balance, a more resilient business and increased income. I’m fully booked for the rest of August for this service. However, if you’re interested in chatting for a potential September start, ping me a reply, and we can see if my service is a good fit.