The PT Roadmap

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

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I’ve re-read John Berardi’s excellent book Change Maker over the past week. It always amazes me how much you take from a book you’ve already gone through. The same thing happens with movies and TV shows, so why wouldn’t it happen for books? It’s not one you’ll likely read cover-to-cover, but its great for jumping into the coaching, business or reputation section when you’re struggling with something specific.

In today’s issue:

✅ Business topic

✅ Recommended exercise

✅ Social post worth your time

Let's get into it!

Business

How to figure out your niche as a PT.

What is a niche?

A niche, also known as a target market, is a person or group of people you’re trying to target with your content, marketing and advertising.

Why do I need one?

You need a niche because the fitness industry is a competitive space.

This isn’t going to change either.

With the continued growth of AI, we will see more robots-come-PTs who will make the market more saturated.

I used to think PTs didn’t need a niche.

After all, most work in commercial gyms with wide client bases.

But 99.9% of trainers also use online means to try and get clients.

If you’re using online methods (e.g. social media, a website, Facebook ads) to get clients, you need a target client.

If you’re using offline methods (e.g. flyers, posters, local business relationships), you need a target client.

Without one, you’re throwing shit at the wall and hoping it sticks. This can work, but it works far more effectively when you know exactly who you’re targetting.

How do I figure mine out?

Your niche is an ever-evolving thing, but these three questions can help you get a rough starting point:

1. What type of client do you enjoy working with? Who is this person, and what do they want to achieve?

2. Are there more of these clients? Could you target them with an ad?

3. Do you have the knowledge and skills to help this client?

Let’s use an example from my PT service.

• What type of client do you enjoy working with?

  • A 30-40-year-old dad with young kids who want to get strong, feel better in a t-shirt and keep up with his kids.

• Are there more of these clients? Could you target them with an ad?

  • Yes. This a considerable market.

• Do you have the knowledge and skills to help this client?

  • Yes.

Here’s a different one.

• What type of client do you enjoy working with?

  • A 40-50-year-old women who has been stuck on the yo-yo dieting train and wants to lose weight, tone up and build lifting weights into her life.

• Are there more of these clients? Could you target them with an ad?

  • Yes.

• Do you have the knowledge and skills to help this client?

  • Yes. I have a menopause qualification and a deep understanding of weight loss.

How deep do I need to go?

What I’ve laid out above is the foundation.

Once you’ve done that, you’ve got to go a step further and try to understand your target client fully.

Or at least in more depth than gender, age and goal…

If you don’t, you’ll sound like every other PT who wants to help people lose a bit of weight.

You want to understand their:

• Goals in detail and the why behind these (so, not just “lost fat” but lose fat so that I feel confident enough to wear a tight-fitting t-shirt when I go out with my wife & kids at the weekend)

• Problems

• Where those problems show up in their life

• Beliefs (correct & incorrect ones)

• Previous experiences with exercise and nutrition

• Barriers (what gets in their way)

What to do with it when you’ve figured it out?

Build it into every part of your marketing. Your content, where you market (as different platforms are for different audiences), the language you use and the stories you share about your clients.

It should be clear on your Instagram bio.

Any offer you run should be named and designed with this person in mind.

Essentially, it should influence everything you put out into the world in the hope of bringing more people into your business.

Remember: your niche is not set in stone

This is important to note.

By committing to a niche, you are not saying this is the only person you’ll ever work with.

If you target women over 60s, but an enquiry comes in from a man in his 30s who wants your help, I’m not saying you need to turn him away, far from it.

This becomes who you are trying to target when you put things out into the world.

You can and will still help other people.

It will also change over time.

As you get more experience, your life unfolds, and you get a better understanding of who you love working with, it will change.

I started with women in their 40s who had never lifted weights and wanted to tone up (my Mum was my first target client). This then shifted to a younger female audience with more of a focus on getting strong and building muscle. And now it’s changed to Dads.

Yours will do the same.

Exercise

This Week’s Exercise: Band resisted opposite shoulder taps from plank

I love plank shoulder taps for clients who can do straight-arm planks for 60+ seconds.

Here’s a variation that takes it up a notch.

Attach a band to something side on (a bench or rack), set up in a plank position and pull the band from the opposite shoulder to the floor where the other hand would sit.

H/T to the always excellent Meghan Callaway for this variation

Social Post

Nice post from Lee Boyce on something I haven’t seen mentioned much before: checking in on clients’ trigger areas during sessions.

You have clients who have issues with their low backs, shoulders, hips, knees, elbows, necks etc

And I bet you’ve had clients tell you at the start of the next session their [insert bodypart] hurt during their session, and they didn’t want to say.

Make a point of asking about these spots and making it a safe space for them to tell you something doesn’t feel right.

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 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.