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’ve been struggling a bit mentally this past week. I lost a couple of PT clients and haven’t made much space to process what’s happening in my life. Oh, and I’ve been on social media a lot…

Even after nine years, I still get thrown off when a client tells me they are stopping. I doubt myself, I wonder whether I’ll be able to find new clients, and I worry about the future.

It’s only gotten a tad easier over time.

If I don’t make the space to process how I’m feeling (usually for me, this involves saying the tough things out loud, pen & paper, and long walks), I’ll stay in this space much longer than I need to.

It's time to do the things I know help.

In today’s issue:

✅ Business

✅ Recommended exercise

✅ Social post worth your time

Let's get into it!

Business

How to launch and run a Hybrid Personal Training service.

What is Hybrid PT?

A hybrid PT service is a mix of in-person and online.

It usually includes one in-person PT session a month (could also be a zoom session), and the rest of the coaching is done online.

It’s a helpful service model because it reduces a PT's face-to-face contact with a client - thus opening up more hours.

And because it includes a session, you still get hands-on coaching time.

Many PTs jump online and dislike having no actual contact with their clients.

This can help to solve that.

And lastly, it’s easier to scale.

Twenty hybrid clients are 20 hours of sessions a month. Much easier to manage from a schedule perspective than 20 1-1 clients.

How to Launch a Hybrid PT Service

Like any other service, you’ll want to plan how to launch it so it gets off the ground successfully.

This stage considers what this service will include (the service deliverables), who it is for (the target market) and how you’ll get it in front of them (marketing).

Let’s break each of those down.

How to Run a Hybrid PT Service

If a client has been with me doing 1-1 or group for a while, and they are well suited for hybrid or looking to decrease their spend without necessarily stopping, I’ll shift them straight over to my hybrid service.

(I also use hybrid as a way to keep clients who are thinking about stopping.)

If it’s someone new, it looks more like this:

Start with a block of four PT sessions.

This helps establish a good relationship, understand how the client moves, and introduce them to movements they’ll use in their programme.

Then, they move on to a fully Hybrid plan.

I check in with them weekly through WhatsApp, and they send me their programme numbers from the past week.

And we see each other once per month for an in-person session.

This also means I update their programmes every month, giving us a focus in our session.

But I do not reinvent the wheel here. I make some simple changes based on what they’ve told me about how their body has felt, their general enjoyment levels, their goals etc, but a lot of it stays the same.

How to Price it

The simplest way is to consider how much time you’ll take each month and use your hourly rate.

For example, if your hourly rate was £30:

• PT session = 1 hour

• Programming = 1 hour

• Check-ins = 1.5 hours

You could price it at £105 per month.

But you may decide you’ll need less/more time to programme and less/more time to check-in. This is why I always recommend trialling new services with some test clients at a reduced price - you get to see how long things actually take and price it appropriately.

One of the keys with price is to ensure it’s not too similar to your 1-1 PT service; otherwise, you’ll have clients questioning why they aren’t getting more of your time!

How to Get Clients for it

Use the lowest-hanging fruit to begin with.

• Current clients.

• Previous clients.

• Leads who have gone cold.

• Your network.

• Social media audiences.

Most trainers start by offering this to some of their current clients. You’ve undoubtedly got a few who’d suit this service well.

They move well. They don’t really need you anymore, and they could (or already do) train solo away from your sessions.

I’d suggest pitching it as a trial initially.

Give them a chance to try it at a slightly discounted rate for 30 days. They can return to your other service if they don't prefer it.

The other step is to offer this to any previous clients.

Once you’ve done the first two steps, you can contact leads who have gone cold, post about it on social media (say you’re looking for some test clients to help you see whether a service works), sell it on your email list and run adverts.

Just make a point of highlighting the benefits of the service.

• Affordability

• Accountability

• Still get face-to-face hours, so they know they are doing things right

• A personalised results-drive programme that changes every four weeks

Summary Steps for Launching & Running a Hybrid Service

1. Decide who your hybrid service is for.

2. Decide how you’ll deliver it.

3. Price it.

4. Market and sell it to the right people.

5. Take on some trial clients.

Offering hybrid PT can be a helpful way to start using another service model that scales easily, and gives you time back. You still need to work to provide something great, but at least you can do it on a more flexible schedule and from anywhere in the world.

Exercise

This Weeks Exercise: Plank Band Pulldown

I’ve no doubt I’ve stolen this from somewhere, but I’ve no idea where!

I had a client ask to do core instead of arms as our finisher on Monday, and after choosing a deadbug and pallof press, I wanted a challenging plank variation.

This is what we decided on.

It’s way harder than you expect it to be.

Attach a band to a bench, rack, heavy-ish kettlebell or, in my case, garage door and position yourself in a plank that’ll allow you to pull the band down as if you were doing a pulldown. Then, grab the band in one hand and pull it down until your elbow reaches your sides.

We did 3 sets of 6 reps.

Social Post

I resonated with this post from Ren Jones

I used to do all the things he mentioned. Especially point one and three.

Although nothing is wrong if you use them (plenty of coaches do, and it’s perfectly ok if that’s you!), I think it’s important to consider how our marketing might make people feel.

Maybe before & afters are important for your brand.

You might sell fat loss, and before & afters do sell well.

But there are other ways to show a client’s progress without them…

And maybe you’re using them because you think you need to rather than actually needing to…

Just some thoughts to ponder to wrap up today’s newsletter.

Thanks so much for reading.

Until next Friday, Stuart.

Here is how I help in-person PTs like you build businesses they love:

Monthly Social Media Templates

Get sent five done-for-you social media templates each month. These are tried and tested templates, allowing you to post better content consistently.

You’ll build stronger relationships, showcase your expertise better and get more people enquiring about your services.

Try a month for £12

1-1 Mentoring

I work closely with in-person PTs to help them fix & grow their business so it’s profitable and on a schedule they don’t hate.

This is 1-1 mentoring where I work with you just like you do your 1-1 clients.

I’ll get to know you and your business before I offer any advice, and we’ll work together to make a plan that gets your business looking and feeling how you want it.

Then, we’ll talk on the phone every single week. And I’ll support you on WhatsApp, so you’ve got a place to ask questions and receive feedback.

Many PTs need someone to listen to their problems and goals, help them make sense of where they want to go, tell them what to do, and help them stay accountable.

This is why it’s 1-1 and not group coaching.

Talking 1-1 is essential to staying accountable and receiving individual advice.

Plus, I love 1-1 coaching.

If you’re interested in chatting about how mentoring could help you bring in more clients, increase your income and get your business running how you want it, hit reply, and we’ll set up a free 30-minute consultation.