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Many trainers are in brand-new territory right now.
They're used to group classes and whiteboard briefings; to cues and countdowns. But that's not the reality we're living in. Coaches need to add a few more tools to their toolkits to keep clients happy, improving and coming back for more.
Here, Two-Brain Coaching co-founder Josh Martin joins Chris Cooper to talk about what coaches need to do to meet their clients' needs during the coronavirus pandemic.
Links:
Two-Brain Coaching course: How to Coach Online
COVID-19 Resources
Join the Gym Owners United group on Facebook
Book a Free Call
"How to Win Friends and Influence People"
"Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us"
Contact:
chris@twobrainbusiness.com
josh@twobrainbusiness.com
Timeline:
1:41 – Coaching is about more than correcting movement faults.
4:00 – Principles-based coaching.
9:37 – The skill most trainers need to get better at.
14:55 – The importance of customization—not just to the client’s skills, but also to the situation.
17:36 – Developing the soft skills of coaching.
22:41 – How coaches can use quarantine time to improve their skills.
27:15 – The benefits of broadening your skill set.
32:41 – Things to read and do to get better at coaching.
38:55 – The new Two-Brain Coaching course: “How to Coach Online.”
Amanda Barnhart is a rising star in the Sport of Fitness.
She took 15th at the 2018 CrossFit Games, her rookie year, and followed that up with a 7th-place finish in 2019—despite a bum ankle.
She joined Sean Woodland to talk about her collegiate swimming career and how that led her to CrossFit, the ankle injury that nearly took her out of the Games last year and her memorable showdown with Tia-Clair Toomey in the one-rep-max clean event.
Links:
COVID-19 Resources
Join the Gym Owners United group on Facebook
Free Tools
Book a Free Call
Contact:
Instagram: @amandajbarnhart
Timeline:
1:31 – Training without a gym during the coronavirus pandemic.
3:55 – Amanda’s athletic background before CrossFit.
6:49 – Gymnastics to CrossFit: a natural progression.
9:44 – Becoming obsessed with the Games from her grandparents’ sewing room.
11:12 – Her first Regional experience.
15:17 – Going from 25th at the Central Regional to Games qualification in 2018.
19:04 – The 2018 marathon row: “I was prepared to take my gloves off and just be a bloody massacre.”
20:10 – Winning the clean-and-jerk speed ladder.
23:38 – On the new competition format in the 2019 season.
25:44 – How to handle pressure.
27:14 – What happened to her ankle?
30:26 – Managing expectations after the injury.
32:32 – Going head-to-head with Tia-Clair Toomey.
34:41 – Taking 7th on a bum ankle and dealing with the “what ifs.”
35:36 – Looking to the 2020 CrossFit Games—and being happy with best efforts.
You've moved your fitness business online. Your coaches are checking in with clients daily, helping them get fit from home.
It's strange, but maybe it also feels kinda good. Maybe you're enjoying working from 9 to noon, then spending the rest of the day with your kids. Maybe you're realizing you don't need to pay rent to get people healthier. Maybe you don't want to go back when all this is over.
Ashley Mak didn't.
When Ashley closed the doors of Hudson River Fitness on March 14, he closed them for good. But the business isn't folding; it's just going digital. Here's how he's doing it.
Links:
Hudson River Fitness
COVID-19 Resources
Join the Gym Owners United group on Facebook
Free Tools
Book a Free Call
Timeline:
1:46 – Getting to know Ashley Mak.
3:16 – Closing down for COVID-19.
7:02 – Deciding to stay digital forever.
12:31 – Considering clients’ needs.
15:23 – Breaking the news to the members.
17:51 – Retention—and redefining the ideal client.
22:33 – How Hudson River Fitness saved $10,000 per month in fixed costs.
24:20 – Paying coaches under the new business model.
29:49 – Adapting marketing strategies to the new situation.
33:31 – Reaching out to former clients who may be a good fit for the new model.
38:01 – What to do if you’re thinking about ditching the bricks and mortar for good.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced everyone to shift to a new way of life and work. It's difficult and stressful, and people are scared. Good leadership is more important now than ever.
In this webinar recorded live on April 12, Chris Cooper explains the CALM model of leadership (clarity, assurance, leadership and movement) and how gym owners can use it to guide their communities and continue to build trust during this crisis.
He also answers the tough questions about how to deal with staff and clients who aren't adjusting well to the changes.
Links:
COVID-19 Resources
Join the Gym Owners United group on Facebook
Free Tools
Timeline:
2:24 – Upcoming resources for the Two-Brain family.
7:21 – It’s OK to feel out of sorts.
9:55 – The CALM model: Clarity. Your job is to be the filter amidst all the noise.
11:42 – Assurance: Hope for the best, but acknowledge and plan for the worst.
16:38 – Leadership: Model the behavior you want your audience to model.
17:52 – Movement: Get answers.
22:05 – How to handle staff members who’re struggling to pivot to online training.
27:49 – Ask your clients what they need most and partner with other experts.
33:24 – Responding to unhappy clients.
35:41 – Why you should be optimistic.
Pat Vellner made his individual debut at the CrossFit Games in 2016 and proceeded to take third overall. Since then, he has become one of the most popular athletes in the sport and a perennial favorite to finish on the podium in Madison.
He joined Sean Woodland to talk about how competing in gymnastics and lacrosse helped prepare him for competitive CrossFit, how he managed to finish third at a Regional competition despite tearing his biceps and what he thinks about the new structure of the CrossFit Games.
Links:
COVID-19 Resources
Join the Gym Owners United group on Facebook
Free Tools
Book a Free Call
Contact:
Instagram: @pvellner
Timeline:
1:12 – Training during coronavirus.
5:13 – Learning work ethic and athleticism from gymnastics and lacrosse.
10:02 – Discovering CrossFit in university.
11:42 – Becoming a competitive CrossFit athlete.
13:19 – Building confidence in his Regional debut.
16:26 – Going team in 2015.
19:05 – Taking third at the East Regional in 2016 with a torn biceps.
23:22 – Setting goals for the Games.
26:54 – Dealing with the extra pressure after taking third at the 2016 Games.
29:19 – Digging out of a hole in 2017.
32:11 – Mechanical failure and injury in 2018.
36:14 – On the new Games structure.
43:05 – Why Pat asked Michele Letendre to be his coach.
47:50 – Representing the common man in elite athletics.
Good advertising has always been about tracking data: Try something, track it, revise it, and track it some more. That hasn't changed just because we're in a pandemic. What might change, however, is your ad strategy.
Two-Brain Business is constantly collecting data on what's working and what's not in the microgym world. Here, digital-marketing expert Mateo Lopez shares what he's learned so far about advertising and lead conversion in the time of COVID-19.
Links:
COVID-19 Resources
Join the Gym Owners United group on Facebook
Free Tools
Book a Free Call
Contact:
mateo@twobrainbusiness.com
mike@twobrainmedia.com
Timeline:
2:06 – Clicks and conversions during coronavirus.
4:01 – What gyms are selling right now.
5:43 – Priority number one: retaining your current clients.
8:27 – Sell accountability, not programming.
10:27 – Sell to the situation—there’s nothing but time.
12:38 – Kids programs.
16:14 – Lead magnets vs. straight-up sales.
21:29 – Why Zoom classes might not be the answer.
25:26 – What your ad copy and media should look like now.
30:53 – Don’t panic; track your data.
If you're a gym owner, you've likely found yourself suddenly thrust into a whole new way of doing business with no time to prepare. Your clients need your help now more than ever, but you know next to nothing about how to effectively move your business online. Here's someone who does.
Brad Overstreet has been a trainer for decades. When his gym was unexpectedly forced to close due to permitting issues, he had to go digital. But what began as a short-term fix turned into a thriving business that allows him to live his Perfect Day even better than before.
Here, he shares how he made the switch, how he gets clients, what his sales process looks like and what you can do to adapt to the current situation.
Links:
COVID-19 Resources
Join the Gym Owners United group on Facebook
Free Tools
Timeline:
1:55 – How Brad lost his gym.
6:48 – Figuring out what clients want.
10:40 – Finding your freedom number.
15:18 – A profile of the ideal online client.
19:08 – What Brad actually sells.
27:51 – Daily deliverables for online clients.
32:07 – The value is in the relationship.
35:47 – An example of daily workflow.
39:37 – How to build a client base and stand out from the competition.
43:51 – Making connections: Stay top of mind with the paperclip method.
52:33 – What to charge for online training.
55:16 – Determining value.
01:02:07 – Choose your clients.
Noah Ohlsen has been one of the most consistent CrossFit athletes in the field since he made his Games debut in 2014. Across six Games appearances, he has finished inside the top eight five times, taking second last year.
Here, he and Sean Woodland talk about the bold prediction he once made to Dave Castro, his memorable first career Games event win in Mary last year, and how he has changed as an athlete and a person since his rookie season six years ago.
Links:
Join the Gym Owners United group on Facebook
COVID-19 Resources
Free Tools
Book a Free Call
Contact:
Instagram: @nohlsen
Noah's dog, Maximus: @maximusohlsen
Timeline:
1:22 – Training for the Games in the middle of a pandemic.
4:11 – Before CrossFit: searching for his sport.
6:12 – Finding CrossFit and becoming a competitor.
8:15 – CrossFit by day, fraternity pledges by night.
10:23 – The promise Noah made to Dave Castro.
11:46 – Lessons learned from his first Regional to his first Games.
17:38 – Managing expectations after taking 8th in his rookie Games.
20:53 – Playing it smart in 2019.
24:41 – Noah's first Games event win.
29:19 – Managing expectations moving forward.
31:57 – Developing as a person over six years of Games competition.
Whether you like it or not, the landscape of the fitness industry has changed—and if you want your business to survive, it needs to change, too.
But how do you do it? Will people really pay for online training? What should that look like? How do you get new clients during this time?
Sales expert and certified Two-Brain mentor Jeff Burlingame is here with the answers to all that and more. You'll get a step-by-step, actionable plan for how to save your revenue stream—and even increase it—while your doors are closed.
Links:
COVID-19 Resources
Join the Gym Owners United group on Facebook
Free Tools
Contact:
mike@twobrainmedia.com
Timeline:
3:08 – Be Netflix, not Blockbuster.
4:25 – Don’t just post your programming; provide coaching and accountability.
8:57 – To preserve the novelty, don’t give away everything at once.
12:24 – If you don’t believe online coaching is valuable, neither will your clients.
16:24 – Why online coaching is actually more valuable than group-class training.
21:56 – How to handle the workload.
25:31 – Sell what people are buying.
28:06 – Offer digital No-Sweat Intros—and make it clear that they’re virtual.
29:39 – Why you shouldn’t market with dumbbells or kettlebells.
33:36 – What to do if you haven’t made a single sale since the start of the crisis.
35:33 – What your ads should look like now.
39:40 – How to run a virtual No-Sweat Intro.
48:08 – Practice your on-camera persona.
49:27 – Reach out to old leads and former clients.
Eddie Lester is a personal trainer of more than a decade and the founder of Fitness Mentors, a certification and business education program for online personal trainers.
Eddie's been refining the online training process and teaching trainers how to deliver digital training since well before the coronavirus pandemic. Today, he joins Chris Cooper on Two-Brain Radio to share some tricks of the trade.
Eddie and Chris discuss the mindset shift that trainers need to make when moving to online training, how to communicate effectively with clients and how to build a digital audience.
Links:
Fitness Mentors
Off Day Trainer
COVID-19 Resources
Join the Gym Owners United group on Facebook
Book a Free Call
To access the Fitness Mentors free guide for starting an online training program, text "online trainer" to 31996.
Timeline:
1:07 – The history of fitnessmentors.com.
5:03 – Making the mindset shift to online training.
7:21 – Simplify, simplify, simplify.
10:14 – Where do online trainers go wrong?
12:24 – The skills every online trainer needs to have.
16:03 – The importance of personalized communication.
18:52 – Online training and retention.
20:50 – What online trainers should be offering in addition to programming and coaching.
24:07 – How to cultivate a digital audience.
29:51 – Be the same person online that you are in the gym.
32:32 – How to access Fitness Mentors’ guide to online training for free.
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