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’m a day early with this week’s newsletter because it’s Thanksgiving today, and I’m a Thanksgiving convert.

My wife is American, so we celebrate it. I used to think this was a pointless holiday,  but now I appreciate it.

It’s a time to be thankful for what you have, bring your family together, watch Football Throwball and eat great food. It's like Christmas day but with sweet potatoes and marshmallows (believe me, that stuff is GOOD). 

So, in honour of Thanksgiving, a big thanks to everyone who regularly reads and replies to this newsletter. It is so appreciated and has been the driving force behind me continuing to publish it for nearly a year now!

Black Friday Offers

I’ve got two BF offers you might be interested in:

1. A competition to win a one-month free trial of my 1-1 business coaching. You might have seen this on Ig. Just add your name & email address into this link to be in with a chance to win a 1-month trial of my 1-1 business coaching. If you’ve been thinking about hiring a business coach to help you grow and improve things, or you’re at a crossroads and want someone to give you direction and accountability, get yourself entered! The winner will be picked through a random number generator on Saturday.

2. 60% off your first month of social media templates (£12 £5). Each month, you’ll get sent five tried-and-tested social media templates you can use to post more consistently and build more trust with your audience. Usually £12, get your first month for just £5. 

In today’s issue:

✅ Business topic

✅ Recommended exercise

✅ Social post worth your time

Let's get into it!

Business

4 Marketing Strategies Used by The Most Successful PTs

What marketing strategies do the most successful PTs, coaches and gym owners use?

It’s rarely anything special. 

Or out of the ordinary.

And it’s usually a combination of some tried-and-tested methods that have worked and will continue to work for years.

They work because they are based on marketing principles.

Like building a relationship, creating content that helps people solve problems and getting people to know, like and trust you.

Rather than gimmicks.

I wanted to write about this because many PTs think they need something special to get more clients.

But they don’t.

They need to do the basics well and for a prolonged period.

I learned this over and over again when I was doing the LTB Podcast. 100s of interviews discussing marketing, and the same things came up time and time again.

I will start by splitting them into two umbrella terms:

• offline marketing

• online marketing

Offline: any marketing activity that is done away from the internet.

Word of Mouth/ Referrals

Word of mouth and referral marketing are grouped because they are pretty much the same thing.

The minute someone starts telling another person about you,

And it influences them to get in touch or start following you; this is word-of-mouth marketing in action.

It’s effective because we trust other people’s opinions.

Especially when it’s for service-based businesses.

You can increase it by:

• consistently delivering an excellent service and experience to your clients

• asking your clients regularly for referrals

• gifting your clients free VIP gift cards (I’ve heard of gyms using metal business cards recently to great effect)

• gifting your clients t-shirts or hoodies to wear

• posting about your clients on social media

• tagging your clients on social media

• bringing your clients together for events

Relationships

This one is broad.

But every PT who has been doing this for any length of time knows the more relationships you build, the more clients you’ll have.

If you’re in a big commercial gym, your number one strategy should be to get to know more people and build strong relationships.

If you’re an in-person PT in a town, one of your goals should be to become the go-to PT for something specific in your area.

Any person you meet could be a great client.

But they have to, first, like you.

And secondly, know you’re a PT.

Online: any marketing activity that is done online.

Social Media (organic & paid ads)

SM is a very effective way to get clients. Everybody uses it nowadays.

And it’s an excellent way to show your personality and become known as an authority.

You should have an organic strategy (e.g. posting 3-5 times per week and posting 3-5 daily stories) to build relationships and trust with people.

Whether you should use ads is a topic for another day.

But when you find the right formula, ads can be incredible for getting clients.

I’ve got coaching clients who hate posting on socials but are using ads to sign clients up for £20 CPA (cost per acquisition) just now.

Imagine you could press a button, spend £100, and sign up five clients.

You would probably press that button straight away.

This is the most significant benefit of using them. They produce reliable and predictable results.

It’s just a shame the learning curve is high and it usually takes some experimenting to start seeing good results.

Google My Business

The simplest of all the strategies.

If someone is looking for a PT, they’ll take to:

• Google

• Their friends

• Or a Facebook group (this is another strategy I haven’t mentioned here but is well worth exploring)

Make sure you have a Google My Business profile.

It should have client reviews, good-quality pictures and up-to-date information about you and your services.

Bonus 5th Strategy: Email Marketing

This one might not be the most well-used strategy within our world of PT

But it works.

You’ve probably bought something on email today because it is Black Friday.

Email has been around for 20+ years, and it still works today.

Many stats say it works more effectively than social media: better reach, more clicks, higher conversion.

It’s a great method to start using because you own the audience you build.

You can take it anywhere you want and export it whenever.

Vs an audience on social media, which you have no control over.

As previously mentioned, social media can be taken away from you anytime.

Usually, PTs offer a lead magnet (a free training plan, PDF or video series) for free in return for an email address.

And then they send anywhere from 1-5 emails per week. Each email combines education, social proof (client case studies, spotlights, testimonials) and a small call-to-action at the end.

Exercise

This Week’s Exercise: Heel Elevated Skater Squat

I’m a fan of a skater squat variation.

I like this one because the heel elevation makes it more comfortable.

Most clients struggle with the ankle dorsiflexion and balance needed - the heel elevation helps here.

I’m using some cheap yoga blocks.

But you could use a plate or anything else steady enough to give you 1/2 an inch or an inch of elevation.

Social Post

Excellent from Paul Standell on better interpreting why a client may have ghosted you.

I’ve seen this so many times with my clients.

They go quiet.

I presume they are ignoring my messages.

I keep checking in.

Then, eventually, I hear back (or sometimes I don’t), and it turns out something has happened.

You’re always best coming at this from a place of unconditional positive regard rather than thinking they are a dick because they aren’t replying.

People’s lives are complicated things.

The only other thing I’ll comment on is when Paul mentioned how he varies his check-in replies.

This has always served me well, too.

I start with a gentle “hey, everything ok?” and change it to things like “oi, let me know you’re still alive, ok?” and “I’m here for you whenever you’re ready to chat”

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 £5 (60% off until Sunday the 26th of November)

1-1 Business Coaching

Fed up of spinning your wheels trying to grow your business?

Wish you had a clear plan to help you hit your client and income goals?

Not sure whether you should take on more clients, launch a new service or try something different to get your business where you want it?

January is right around the corner.

And now is as good a time as any to put the things in place that’ll help you take advantage of the increased interest in fitness that occurs every New Year.

Let's talk if you’re interested in having a business coach who has been where you are and will help you create a plan to move you and your business forward.

Hit reply, and we’ll set up a free 30-minute consultation.