The Personal Trainer Mentor Academy Podcast

THE PTMA COACHES CONFERENCE | FRIDAY 27TH AND SATURDAY 28TH NOVEMBER Two days. One in the gym, fully practical, with coaching skills you can use with a client the week after. One with the speakers, including Luke's full session on launches. Book your ticket and we'll send you Luke's brand bank calculator before the day, so his talk is built around where you're actually at. 🎫 Get your ticket here First guest on the podcast in about three years. Ahead of the coaches conference we're getting the speakers on to give you a taste of what they're bringing, and first up is Luke Johnson, the OG launch guy. We've known Luke since he invited me and Nik down to a Shredded by Science event back in 2017. Luke has launched everything from Alan Aragon's conference to challenges with 2,900 sign ups, and he treats it like periodisation. Pick the date, reverse engineer it, and get more specific the closer you get. Promote further out and more than you think, because nobody sees every post or reads every email. Give yourself 90 days if it's new, and accept your first one will be your best worst launch. He breaks down his brand bank, your audience, content and proof, and why one coach sells 200 spaces in nine minutes while another with a similar following struggles for 40. Then the stuff most coaches get wrong. Launching away from payday, why early January and early September are worse than you'd think, and why no one wants "group coaching". One of his clients got 10 people on a challenge and nine carried on to one to one. Sky asks what happens between launches and whether you should go back to back. Luke explains the peaks and troughs that leave in your revenue, why he likes three or four launches a year, and how to keep giving value in between so you're not ghosting everyone until the next one. 00:01 Intro: our first guest in three years 00:33 Welcome Luke Johnson 01:41 Luke's history with our conference 02:21 How Luke became the OG launch guy 02:50 How we met: Shredded by Science, 2017 03:33 Treating a launch like periodisation 06:00 2,900 sign ups at £49 vs 10 at £250: why both work 06:54 The biggest lessons from Luke's own launches 07:33 Promote earlier and more, and why you need 90 days 09:57 The brand bank: 200 spots in nine minutes vs 40 12:24 Matching your sign up mechanism to where you're at 12:52 Front end offers and first launch expectations 14:31 Launching around payday: build, pre-launch, launch, deliver 16:55 10 on a challenge, 9 into one to one, and why no one wants group coaching 18:14 Sky: what happens between launches? 19:12 Seasonal peaks and troughs, and why January isn't always the answer 21:24 The downside of back to back launches 22:51 Holiday angles, and why end of September beats the start 24:57 Building a stable business over 12 to 24 months 25:42 Learning from every launch 27:20 Sky: how to be ready before you launch 28:09 Grow your audience and play the hand you've got 30:33 Luke's brand bank calculator 31:44 Wrap up and what to expect at the conference Coaches Conference, 27th and 28th November tickets here ... only 9 left.

Sky’s awarded herself employee of the month and nobody asked me or Ant. She thanks her parents for raising her in Grimsby, makes her case for a coffee and croissant voucher, and then actually pays us a compliment when Ant asks how hard we are to work with. I’m still recovering. Then into your questions. A coach has a fat loss client who can’t stick to any structure with food, and Sky reckons more structure is the last thing she needs. Give her one easy win that builds her confidence, even if it’s got nothing to do with nutrition. Ant gives his answer for enquiries that just ask for the price: give a range, explain what decides where they sit in it, and get them on a call. I take the big one on what holds commercial gym floor PTs back. The environment hands you clients through shifts, classes and website enquiries, so you never learn to market yourself in a way you can repeat. It breeds a bit of laziness, and the fix is doing the uncomfortable stuff that gets you in front of people. Last question is how to get a quiet client WhatsApp group going again. Sky says manage your own feelings about it first, ask the group what they actually want from it, and swap the weekly wins for conversations about what people are struggling with. I add that not everyone engages the same way, and that’s fine. We finish with Ant reminding you the Accelerator closes this weekend and it’s the last time at this price. Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 00:31 – Sky awards herself employee of the month 01:14 – Her case for the title, and the socks 02:41 – How difficult are we to work with, on a scale of one to ten? 03:40 – Q&A begins: fat loss client who can’t stick to any structure with food 06:42 – How to respond when an enquiry just asks for the price 08:02 – The most common challenge commercial gym floor PTs face 10:33 – Why it really comes down to proactiveness and doing the uncomfortable stuff 11:47 – How to get a client WhatsApp group active again 16:07 – My take: different people engage with community in different ways 18:19 – Updates: the Accelerator closes this weekend 19:16 – Why it’s the last time at this price, and Millie’s 17 new clients 20:30 – Outro

Ant’s hosting this week, Sky’s Wi-Fi is just about holding on, and I’m on mute for the start thanks to a neighbour’s hedge trimmer. Then it’s straight into your questions. We cover what coaches should learn first, what goes on a flyer, and how to handle an all-or-nothing client who’s lost motivation. Sky shares her brilliant week vs good enough week tool for that one. We also get into small group numbers, shifting your marketing when your niche turns out different, what to offer people who don’t win your giveaway, kitting out your first studio, how many leads you need for three or four clients a month, and your October marketing angle. We finish on whether you should post progress photos when you don’t fully believe in them. Timestamps 00:03 - Intro 04:38 - What should coaches work on first: copywriting, Meta ads or psychology? 06:50 - How much information should go on a local flyer? 10:04 - My client is all or nothing and has lost motivation. What do I do? 13:39 - My client says this is her “last push”. Anything change? 15:51 - How many small group sessions a week is a good amount? 21:09 - My niche turned out different to what I thought. How do I shift my marketing? 23:52 - What should I offer the people who don’t win my giveaway? 25:34 - What’s the one underrated thing that builds a successful PT business? 30:56 - Kitting out your first studio: bare essentials or go for it? 33:13 - How many leads do I need to sign 3 to 4 clients a month, and how long do they take to warm up? 41:56 - What should my marketing look like for October? 45:35 - Should I post progress photos if I don’t fully believe in them? 50:25 - Outro

We kick off with Sky's "morning meditation" and a proper academy debate over which event each of us could beat everyone at. Sky reckons arm wrestling, Ant wants a power slapping comp at the coaches conference, and I get talked down to CrossFit because Connor would probably beat me anyway. Then into your questions. First up, should leads from the gym floor go to Instagram or email? I'd do both, every time. Instagram gives you the quick feedback and the conversations, but if your account gets shut down tomorrow you've got zero way of talking to anyone. Your email list is data you own, and it compounds. Next, what separates the PTs who are still here years later from the ones who drop out. Ant talks about realising this is the thing you actually want to do, staying open to learning, and keeping your expectations real about how long a business takes to build. Sky brings it back to the freedom you forget you have on the hard days, and how nothing beats helping a client change their life. Last one, how do you switch off when you're self-employed? Ant fills his diary with volunteering and football coaching, which he says saved his napper a few years back. Sky had to learn to sit with the panic of not working and realise the business doesn't fall apart if you step away. For me it's having events booked in, something every three months, because if I don't I'll just keep working and skip training. We wrap up with a heads up that the giveaway closes at 8pm tonight, and there aren't many entries so your odds are good. Plus you'll be hearing plenty about coaches conference tickets this week. 00:00 – Intro and Sky's PTMA morning meditation 00:38 – Monday hangovers and Sky's dodgy connection 01:26 – Icebreaker: one event you'd beat everyone in the academy at 02:21 – Olympic lifting vs CrossFit, and why Connor might beat me 02:58 – Sky's secret weapon: arm wrestling technique 03:46 – Ant's power slapping idea for the coaches conference 04:34 – Q: Should gym floor leads go to Instagram or email? 05:18 – Why I'd do both, and the risk of relying on Instagram alone 07:44 – Q: What separates PTs who last from those who don't make it? 08:03 – Ant: knowing it's what you want to do and staying open to learning 11:11 – Sky: the freedom you forget about on the hard days 12:48 – Ant: warped expectations and how long a business really takes 14:23 – Q: How do you switch off when you're self-employed? 14:53 – Ant: filling the diary with volunteering and hobbies 16:08 – Sky: sitting with the discomfort and life admin as downtime 18:04 – Me: booking events every three months to stay on track 20:10 – Ant: how football coaching saved his napper 21:59 – Final thoughts: giveaway closes 8pm tonight, conference tickets 23:09 – Outro Timestamps

Me, Ant and Sky Hill are back with a full listener Q&A, after a jingle debate and Ant's theory that he's peaking for alcohol and tapering off the running. He also drops a Liam Gallagher quote that splits the room: you have to care a lot to not give a f***. We talk about the fifth annual PTMA Coaches Conference, why this one has practical sessions in it, and why CPD courses have gone so quiet in your feed. Then it's the questions. What should a brand new PT prioritise first (me and Sky don't fully agree), what to do when your online offer keeps pulling in-person enquiries, what to write in your emails, how to handle another coach disagreeing with you in public, how to manage clients when you take time off, and how anyone finds time to run a business. We finish with a big one from a coach going through an ADHD assessment, and Ant shares the one thing he sees holding back nearly every coach he's worked with. There's also an action hero debate that goes absolutely nowhere. Timestamps 00:01 – Intro: the jingle debate and meeting the hosts 00:54 – Ant's training plan: peaking for alcohol, tapering off the running 01:29 – Liam Gallagher's quote: "you have to care a lot to not give a f***" 03:22 – Coming up: the fifth annual PTMA Coaches Conference 03:57 – Every venue we've done so far, from the Double Tree to the Malmaison to Ashton 05:56 – Why this year is different: practical sessions and a split two days 06:29 – Last week's CPD post, and why nobody sees CPD courses advertised anymore 09:10 – The perfect pathway for a new PT: business, behaviour change or programming first? 15:00 – Q&A begins: selling online coaching but getting in-person enquiries 21:31 – What to write in your mailing list: does it always have to be educational? 23:12 – Getting hate from another coach: take the bait or rise above it? 29:35 – Top tips for managing clients when you take time off 33:13 – What do we use to record the podcast? 33:59 – How do people have time for everything when they run a business? 37:08 – Action hero debate: time travel, John McClane and Scarface 40:36 – Coaching with ADHD: staying on track, workflows and why weekly reflection matters 47:31 – Final thoughts and outro