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Best Content of the Week

We're looking beyond the nuts and bolts of training this week to focus on some of the overlooked aspects of your personal training career.

In a time of infinite information, how do we figure out which sources are credible? When few of us have any formal training in sales, how do we get better at handling the dreaded objections from potential clients? How do we deal with the loneliness and lack of structure that come with the job?

This week's best content tackles all that and a lot more.

— Esther Avant

Best Article

How to Use Ethos to Decide Who to Trust -- David Rosales, Roman Fitness Systems

With all the information at our fingertips, we can't possibly learn everything about everything. So we need to outsource research and analysis to people who have expertise in areas we don't know much about. But how do we know whom to trust? David Rosales says we should look at the expert's ethos, or the strength of their character. Ethos determines how they know what they know. Is their process shaped by their personal interests and beliefs? Are their conclusions logical? Are they telling a story that sounds a little too good to be true? These questions help us steer our clients (and ourselves) away from the quacks and snake oil salesmen.

— Shane McLean

Best Video

How to Identify Sales Objections Properly -- Matt Ryder, Sales Sniper

When I started my personal training career, a recurring complaint among my coworkers was that we wanted to be trainers, not salespeople. But I quickly learned that selling is part of the job, whether we like it or not. We can't train people until we sell them on our program. And we can't sell them until we learn to overcome objections, or prevent those objections from coming up in the first place. This eight-minute video from Matt Ryder is a good refresher on how to identify and get past objections quickly and seamlessly.

— Esther Avant

GO DEEPER: How to Sell Personal Training in Five Steps

Best Social Media Post

Posted by Lift the Bar on Monday, September 28, 2020

If you're a new trainer, your focus is probably on how to get hired or find clients. You aren't likely to consider the potential downsides of your new career. More experienced trainers, on the other hand, are all too aware of parts of the job they don't love as much as they thought you would. This post from Lift the Bar highlights some of those downsides—loneliness, lack of structure, pressure to grind seven days a week—and how to keep the job from taking away your personal life and compromising your mental health.  

— Christina Abbey

Best Podcast

Weirdness Has Tiers -- Mark Zarate with guest Rog Law, Cool, Calm, and Chaotic 

Rog Law, an online trainer and coach at Mark Fisher Fitness, is uniquely relatable and down-to-earth. He's a fun guy to hang out with, as you'll discover in this podcast episode. He weaves his many interests and passions into the conversation and offers timely strategies for getting out of a fitness rut, managing time, and performing the simple yet powerful act of being kind to people.

— Mike Howard

More Great Fitness Content 

How to Train Online Without Any In-Person Experience -- Jonathan Goodman, the PTDC

The Social Dilemma and Your Nutrition Dilemma: How to Master Both -- Mike Howard, Lean Minded

How to Find Prospects Online -- Ryann Dowdy

The Obstacle Is the Way, Consistency Is the Workhorse -- Menachem Brodie with guest Shane McLean, The Strong, Savvy Cyclist and Triathlete