How to Standout in the Fitness Space without Re-inventing Biomechanics or Copying

You are listening to the PT Profit podcast, episode number 169. Today, you and I are chatting about how to stand out in the fitness space without reinventing biomechanics or copying. Are you ready? Let's get started.

Hi, I'm Beverly Simpson, former fitness manager turned online personal training business owner. And this podcast is where smart fitness professionals, including trainers and clinicians, discover how to increase client performance in movement, package and position their products and services, and get out of their own way so that they can increase their revenue to live a life that they love without sleazy sales. Welcome to the PT Profit Podcast.

What's up, coach? Thank you so much for joining me in another episode of the PT Profit Podcast. I'm your host, Beverly Simpson. And today in this short episode, we are going to chat about all the ways that you can stay stand out in a crowd, especially in the online space, when it feels like you are creating postings, screaming into an echo chamber of noise, and feeling like a. You're always copying and you don't want to copy, or you feel like I can't say anything that hasn't already been said. And if you're feeling like I just don't want to or have to feel like I'm reinventing biomechanics and it's making you feel trapped, feeling like it takes hours to create content, and feeling like you're just never going to reach your potential clients. So what is even the point then? This episode is for you. So I created this reel essentially on Instagram, talking about the ways that you can stand out in the fitness space. And it, quote, unquote, went viral. And I'm saying that it went viral in terms of. In comparison to the other content I'd been creating on my new account. And so what that says to me is, okay, so this is a piece of content that clearly resonates. And it's also something that I was hearing a lot inside of my PC Profit formula accelerators and also in my jumpstart is that this, this ongoing feeling of what? Of feeling like it's just not possible for me to create something. What could I possibly say that hasn't already been said? And then also these feelings of, you know, I don't, I don't want to put on, I don't want to put up content because, you know, there's nothing for me. So I'm just going to go ahead and address it and I'm going to give you at least three ways that you can start to really set yourself apart inside of the market space and to just offer you some encouragement to get your stuff out there, no matter what your faith is. I'm just a firm believer that the desires of your heart are safe guidance. Meaning that there is a reason why you want to be a physical therapist, why you want to be a dietitian, why you want to help, who you want to help, why you want to be a strength and conditioning coach. Because the truth is, not everyone does. And I think about me. For example, one of my friends is an incredible author. I mean, she is so gifted. She is so gifted. For those of you who don't know, I am on this weird Star wars kick. I know this, I swear this is going to have a point. But I am on a Star wars kick and I had never watched it before. I had never seen any of the movies. And so she happens to love it. And I asked her a question and the answer that she gave me back was so in depth and it was so detailed and it was all about the importance of the story components, why things were happening in the way that they were happening and why the community is. Is in dispute about whether or not this was right or wrong or whatever. And the answer was so in depth that it just really got me thinking and reminded me because I listene to it and thought, wow, I didn't get any of that. And I've already watched this movie three times. And so it just reminded me that the things that I'm passionate about and the things that you are passionate about, you can trust are safe guidance. Because it does not matter to me how what type of persuasive language. It does not matter to me any type of messaging components at all. In terms of what she uses to get me excited about becoming an author and storyteller. I am never going to be an author. I am never going to be a storyteller in. In that way, a fiction storyteller. I'm never going to run that type of business. And that's a good thing because I was really entertained and I was really inspired by what she said to me. So I know that there is a place, a market for that. I am also reminded continuously just based on the interactions that I have with people outside of this industry, just how important this work is and this work being meaning or being what it is specifically that you do. It's so important. So number one, the most important thing is to really just take a look and address at the inner game and the stories that you tell yourself about what you can and can't do and what is meant for you and what is not meant for you. And also to look at the environment that you surround yourself with in. And what I mean by that is, are you surrounded by people who are supportive or are you surrounded by people who are critical? And as someone who comes from a critical background, I just want to offer to you, and by the way, I say that in love. This is not me being critical. This is me addressing and acknowledging that oftentimes being in a critical environment comes from a place of wanting to help, wanting to support, wanting to prevent pain. So it's not always a critique or to say that your environment is negative in that regard. It's just to acknowledge that there are times in our lives where we can start to second guess ourselves. And this is our, this is based on our environment. And it's also brain based in the sense that our ego wants to keep you safe. And so it's okay if you're having those feelings of second guessing yourself. So I just want to acknowledge that, but also to remind you to take a look at that inner game and to just really, and to just really ask yourself, are you going all in on you? Because the faster you go all in on you without sacrificing the joy. So what I mean by that is this kind of brings me back when I, when I was chasing Broadway and when I was trying to be, wanting to be a performer and someone had given me the advice of that you need to enjoy the process more than the outcome because you're going to spend more time in the process. And I really took that advice to heart because it's just true, no matter what, no matter what the profession is, you are going to be spending more time in the process than you are inside of the outcome. And so for me, it was when I tried to take something I loved and turn it into a profession, I had lost the joy of the process and I couldn't get it back. It was much deeper than, than wanting to, you know, needing a break. Sometimes even in this business, I'll reach the point of burnout or, you know, I just need a break. I'll reach client fatigue and, or just needing a break from being needed. And this is true, you know, as a mom too, we all need breaks, but when we take those breaks and then we come back refreshed, I was just not reaching that point in my life with theater. And so it was easier for me to release it and to walk away from it and to move on to doing different things. So that's an example of me Choosing me and going all in on me. And I'm going to encourage you to do the same because when you do that, you cannot fail. And you know, I was having a conversation with one of my really good friends about this recently and she was saying, you know, sometimes that advice can be scary because you think, oh, not everyone wants to, you know, do whatever job it is that they're doing. And you know, I would argue, and what I did argue was that while maybe you, this is an example of releasing the how and while maybe you don't necessarily know what your business life is going to look like, you're still going in all in on what it is that you love to do, whether it is a service based job. And now maybe you're just working at Starbucks or you're working as a waitress or you're working as some type of service based job and it's maybe not what you thought it would be, but it's still in alignment and going all in on what it is that you're going to do. And if you're not operating from that place and you're just getting by, then I just think that there is a whole world of fulfillment that is open and available to you at this time. Okay, so again, I'll say that that's, that is just part of my perspective in turn or opinion. I guess I'll say in terms of going it all in on you, not at the expense of your safety and your family's safety, but to just there are ways when you do go all in on you. You can be resourceful and lean on your resources, your four main resources of time, money, effort and energy. That's number one, really address that inner game and go all in on you. And when you do that, you literally you, that is an energetic blueprint, fingerprint of you. And you can't get it wrong because you are you and only you. Okay, so this is going to lead me to number two. So now, you know, I just want to give that one caveat in terms of, you know, going all in on you. The second thing that you can do to stand apart in the industry. So, so number one being essentially you, you, you are only you. And there's going to be your context, your experience. You and I can go through the exact same thing in the exact same way. And we are both going to describe our experience and our takeaways differently than each other. And that's a good thing because there are 8 billion people in this world and you can't train every single one of them I often say in previous podcasts with guests and talk about how, you know, I often look at my college diploma which has Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature on it because I went to school in California. And I will look at it and think to myself, man, thank God. And he's a legend. It's not bad. But I look at that signature and think, I'm so glad I didn't train or have to train with him because I probably wouldn't have stayed in fitness. Not that I have anything against him, but I just, it's not my jam and that's fine. It's a good thing. Doesn't mean I don't respect him, doesn't mean I can't learn from him. It just means that he's not my trainer. And luckily for me, I have an abundance of options. So that's, that's number one. Number two is to remember to give credit and then give context. So when you're learning something that is principle based. So for example, you don't have to reinvent biomechanics. Okay, so give credit in where you learned it. It can sound like, oh, I went to this certification, I read this book, I learned this, I heard this in a different way where you're literally just explaining your experience and wow, I'm so happ for that. I learned this technique. I just finished recording a podcast which is going to come out after this with Dr. Sarah Duvall and she was sharing this, this cue that I had never heard before. And I did it while we were recording it and I thought, oh my gosh, this is like mind bending to me. I learned something and I've had multiple certifications in. I've had three certifications. Specifically speaking to the pre postpartum world, I talk a lot about you don't need another certification in order to generate money. And I still stand by that. But it's not at the expense of not taking certifications. I want my people and you specifically listening to continue to generate more revenue because I know deep down that you will continue to educate yourself, whether you're reading books, listening to podcasts, going deeper on the science of training. And the more resources you have, both in time and money, the better because then you'll have more space to continue to learn. So that's why I say that it's, you're enough now and you get to live in the and and you get to continue to sharpen the saw. Continue to learn, continue to work hard. I don't have to teach you how to work hard. I already know that you do. So, so anyway, that the point is that thank goodness there's not only one certification on pre postnatal training and that there's multiple and that there will continue to be multiple because this means that I will get to continue to hear the same principles in this a different way, and it will resonate and land with me at a different time. I can't tell you how many times I've gone back to old certifications or old trainings and thought to myself, oh, I know he said this before, but I'm hearing it in a different way just based on my new context, just based on my new critical thinking skills. So definitely give credit to where you learn this principle. And then when you implement it, you're going to get a new layer of context, because now you've got this organized set of information, now you're implementing it, and something's going to happen. An outcome is going to happen, whether it is what you wanted, what you didn't want. And that is going to be the learning, the lesson that you get to share. And when you share from your context and give credit, then 1000% it will already be your way, even if it's as like, oh, well, I heard this cue and it didn't really work. But when I gave this cue, it helped my client do X and now we're doing Y. That automatically will be you. And I can't think of how many times I've had this experience, My clients have had this experience. And maybe you've had this experience where you learn something from a book, you go to try it, and then it didn't. Nothing happened. Nothing happened, meaning nothing that you thought was going to happen or it didn't work, or maybe it did work, but you don't even know. It's something an outcome actually happened that you couldn't foresee, you didn't know what to do, so then you went and took a different action. So that is context that you're now learning that you can share from. Share your context. That's an example of you creating the content from you. Okay, and then the third thing that I'm going to also offer to you to remind you is that your contact is going to change. So keep learning, keep experiencing, keep implementing, and then sharing from that place. That's going to help you stand apart. The fourth thing I want to remind you now, in the first tip, and I know that it sounds, in the first tip, I said go all in on you. And now in the fourth tip, this is where I want you to just critically, analytically look at yourself and your energetic imprint that you're putting into your work from an outsider point of view. So what I mean by that is that to remember you are building a brand whether or not you're building an in person brand and you know where, where it's Eric Cressy style and it's, you know, the Cressy performance, there are going to be components that whether it's you or your coaches that, that a code that you're essentially going to live by whether it's you and as you're building it, but it is going to be uniquely you. So think about what are some of the, you know, this could be soft skills. For example, what are some of the experiences of working with you and your company and your brand that is different. So for example, you know, some people I think and this is, this is going to take some mind bending type of thinking because a lot of this stuff and what I'm about to walk you through can feel really just unconsciously competent because I'm asking you to step outside of yourself and really just get present to the 90% of, of ways of being in how you show up and hang out and talk and be with your clients that you don't really think about. And it's not so that you can change it. I'm bringing it to your attention so that you know that this is an example of ways that you show up that are different. This is part of you streaming you throughout the brand, whether it's your coaches and you ways are on. This is part of why missions and value statements are so important. Because it's literally you weaving the energetics of you into the brand that is going to grow because people are responding to that. So for example, I think of me and I'll just, you know, here's me, here's me heeding my own advice, sharing my own context and experience is that I cannot help it when I am passionately speaking about something that I love. Coming from a place of wanting to help, I go really fast. I go really fast. I show up very bright and I'm very from the moment I wake up, I jump out of bed and I'm energetically bright where I'm like, hey, and I'm excited and I'm enthusiastic. And people who have a much more mellow or low key experience, like my 6am clients and my 7am clients, they had to be bright people otherwise I would have been or not had to be bright people rather. But they had to be okay being with an energetic, bright person because that's just who I was. It didn't matter if it was 5am I was bright and shiny and ready to conquer the day. And so my 5am client needed to be okay with that type of energy. Otherwise they, I wasn't the coach for them and they needed to maybe someone who had a much more mellow approach, much more Zen approach where I just happened to be a ball of energy from them. Like even when I'm, even when probably when I'm sleeping, I'm still a ball of energy. And that's just who I am. And I lean into that because I'm happy and I'm happy being that type of bright, funny, silly person. Some people love it and some people don't. And it's okay if you don't love it. This is not about being right. I'm not here to be right. I'm here to share who I am and call in the people who are meant for me. Some people really love the like, no BS screening boot camp in your face. That's not me. And I'm okay with that. And, and I, I not criticizing or putting those people down. If it helps someone, then I'm all about helping people and I'm all about doing the, helping the collective get better. Some people love goofy and I'm goofy and silly and high energy and some people don't. I think about, I think about the people that are like, no, I want facts, science, and I don't want anything else. And great, cool. The bookworms. Like I'm, I'm a mixture of that. I'm not all, I'm not. I'm. I'm all about learning it, contextualizing it, and then sharing my perspective. I want a combination. Some people love story and love, you know, learning lessons through story and parables and a lot of people have learned that way and I do sometimes. But I'm not a huge sometimes I want a combination of like, okay, can you just break down the facts? Like, what should I learn from this Anyway, Right. So some people are, you know, love being entertained and taken away on in story in that way. And I sometimes, you know, that's part of the reason why it took so long for me to get into Star wars. And it's why I don't really watch TV is why I just not really. That's not something I always enjoy sometimes. But not. That's just an example of me being me. And then that comes through inside of my content. Sometimes in my content I look at some People who all they do is tell stories. And I love that. Good for them, right? So it's, I'm just bringing it into your mind so that you know that in the way that you show up, it's not just what you say, it's how you say it that is going to be uniquely you and that's how you get to show up. When you give credit and you give context and then you share your story, that's going to be how you set yourself apart in the fitness space without reinventing the wheel. The thing to consider when we are coming up with, when we're layering in uniqueness in addition to the you, right? So we've gone all in on you, we have learned things, we've given credits. Now we're sharing our story. Now we can start talking about the ways that we can layer uniqueness into the message and adding value into our offerings and into the way that we work. So this is a concept that came from the book Breakthrough Advertising. And it's all about market saturation and market sophistication. So instead of thinking of your content, or rather instead of thinking of your market in which you are wanting to break into, instead of thinking of it being saturated, it's not that it's necessarily saturated and more so it's just requiring a new layer of sophistication in order for you to really reach your people. So I layered. I already talked about how you can, you can trust that yourself is that, that there is space for you if there is a desire. So if you, you can trust that and go all in on you. So then the question becomes, well, if there are already layer already a ton of people in this space, then you really need to be able to take a look at what the market viability is. So what does that mean? So this means that if you know that you want to do this right, then take like how many people first of all go out in the space and see how many people are also doing it. Are there solutions that are to this problem? And hopefully the answer is yes. And I know that sounds weird because you might be thinking that I was going to say no, but of course I'm going to say yes. I'm saying yes because that is confirmation that there is a market. So that's number one, there is a market for this. If there are already products out there that are going to solve that problem. The second thing to remember, and this is something that, you know, we talk about a lot inside of PC profit formula and accelerator, is that your clients are already in pain, and they're searching for symptoms and they're all. And they're describing problems as really the struggles, essentially. And for you, as a business owner, you have to be really clear on what the real problem is that you solve. Because if your clients already knew or already had the answer, they wouldn't be struggling and they wouldn't be in a problem. So what's the real problem? What's causing the struggle? So that's another way to really ask yourself what is causing the struggle? Because you as the business owner need to be very clear on what is the problem that you solve. And this is how you niche instead of surface level. Instead of thinking, you know, demographics like gender, age, location, go deeper. What is the problem that you solve? Because when you speak to the problem, then you will be able to connect and find your niche, because that's how people will be. They will relate. It's the psycho demographics. So what you want to do when you are layering in your uniqueness is that you are specifically calling out the behaviors and the effects and what. And the problem that they think that they're solving. And the real problem now when you do that, most people aren't doing that. Most people aren't doing that. And when you do that, you start to separate yourself from the crowd. Because now you are speaking to specifics. And the only way for you to specifically speak to that type of specific are the context. And maybe not just your context, because you don't have to be your avatar, but the context of the people you're working with. That's going to come uniquely from you. Right? And so then when that starts to happen. Okay, now, now. And it's also important to remember. So back to breakthrough advertising and to remember that if you're in the health space, most people are living in the market saturation level 4, which means not only do they have a ton of options, they already think they know what to do. This is why that component, and really getting clear on what problem you solve is so important. Because most people living in this fourth layer of market saturation, they don't know what they don't know, and they don't know that they're in this problem they think they're in. They're trying to solve a different problem. So let me give you a tangible example of that, because it can feel really hard, it can feel really overwhelming to hear that. So let me give you a tangible example. Number one is people are going to come in and say, I've got a headache. I have pain in my head and I have this problem, right? And they're walking around thinking, oh, I just need Advil. Or maybe they're walking around thinking, I'm just dehydrated, right? So now if you solve dehydration, great, it'll be easier for you to meet that person because they already think that they're trying to solve dehydration. So now you get to. But, but they're, maybe they're like just going for the Advil or they don't know that they're dehydrated, right? So they're going for the Advil and you solve dehydration. And of course you're going to scoop up the people who, they know that they're dehydrated, right? But think of it like this, okay? Is that, is that if they already know that they're dehydrated and they're walking around, they're not going to buy your course on how to get undehydrated because they fix the problem. But, but you're going after the people who are reaching for Advil and then wondering why it's not working and why they're still, they're still having headache pain and it comes back. And if you are someone who solves concussions, your people who are walking around thinking, oh, I'm just dehydrated. And you're, but it's not working again, they're still in the problem because if your people knew how to solve the problem, they would. So what's the real problem? And so this is how you get to stand apart in the industry. And then the other component to that is a lot of people, you know, they'll create content that's solution based content and that's great. But if your people, people don't know that that's the solution they need because they don't know that's the problem, then they're going to scroll on by. So if you're talking about how to increase your habits, but your people are like, no, no, no, I don't need habits, I just need another diet, then you're potentially leaving your clients, clients on the table. So something to consider and to remember when you are crafting content, when you're trying to set yourself apart in the space, is to remember that your people are in a problem. Okay? So then the last thing I'm going to give you now that you've kind of, now that you've started to really contextualize this for yourself and add the layer of you is now I want you to remember we're increasing in ways that you can add value to your offers and to your content is to remember that there are three levels of value. Essentially it's do it yourself, do it with you and done for you. And to remember that every layer is going to, every layer is going to provide a level of leverage and speed to get to the desired outcome. So think about how much time it's going to take someone to go do all the research to go and look on Pinterest and pull together their plan. Like that is a whole bunch of time that not everyone wants to do do and not everyone has. So then they maybe they buy a do it, do it yourself organized program that's more than just information. It's about organized information that is going to increase implementation. And that's not with coaching by the way, but now they're going to increase the speed again by doing it with you. And you're creating the components of done with you. So think about your process, think about how if you were to the next layer, do it for them, you've done it, what would you do and what is the process? Now this is going to require you to kind of get present to what you're unconsciously doing and then really peel back. What are the processes, what are the step by step process that you would do to, you know, to do it for them that you can put into a done with you component because you can't eat or do the push ups for your clients. But if you were, what would you do? Because those are the components that can get baked into your unique process. And it's not about reinventing the biomechanics. You can even again go give credit, but you're layering in your process. So for example, I have been doing and learning marketing since2020. I mean I have been doing this for over 10 years, building lots of different businesses, reading and learning lots of different books and going back and learning the same principles over and over and over again, but just hearing it in a different way. Because each time I hear it I'm, you know, repetition is the mother of all learning. I'm going to learn and hear something differently than the first time I heard it, just based on my context and how my context is changing. And so what happens is I learn something, I implement it and then I get a different outcome. So as an example, everyone tells you to start with messaging, your messaging matters. Messaging, messaging. And it does matter. I'm a messaging coach, I teach messaging. And yet what I've come to discover over and over and over again is that it starts and ends with the offer, especially for health professionals. Because most health professionals don't get stuck in, you know, what do I want to create, what do I want to do? And they don't create products and services for people that stuff that they don't want. However, if you don't start with the offer and you don't know what transformation you want to provide, and you don't know where it is that you are going to carry people to, then how are you going to craft powerful messaging? The messaging has to make a case for the offer. And then the other reason why I teach offer first is because I'm just. I hate thinking about niche in the way that most people teach it. It because it didn't work for me and it didn't work for my clients. I sat down and think, okay, I want to help moms, and this is their age and this is what they do. This is what they eat on Tuesday. And I could get this real, you know, real crystal clear picture of a Julie in my mind. And I'm like, that's not really helping me fully understand the psychology of my client. And so it wasn't until I needed, until I figured out where they needed to be and I took one step back. Well, who has this problem? And I started to identify the. The problems and then what was or the, you know, the symptoms and then what was causing the problem. And then that is when I started to get really clear on the struggling avatar, the person on, you know, what they're struggling with, why they're struggling and where they want to be. And then the messaging came from that, and that's what caused my business to grow. That came from my context. Am I the only person in the world that learns that teaches about offer? No, but I have a very specific context as to why I teach offer first, which is different than any one of my mentors. And I love my mentors. I've recently changed the way that I teach inside of my business, inside of formula and accelerator. Meaning I'm just a huge firm believer that we, that we can, in order to scale, we have to fix our upfront cash, and that we can't rely on launches in the way that we are taught to rely on launches. And this comes from my experience and I share that in the way. And which is why I now teach what I do teach, which is I teach, you know, getting validity of the offer, the rapid lean launch. And then we set it up to scale. And we set it up to scale with our upfront cash handled on the upfront so that nobody's left holding the bag for deferred payments to come through. Otherwise we're just going to be on this, you know, on the, on the vicious cycle of launching, which is exactly exhausting. Again, comes from my context, from what I've experienced, what I've helped my clients do. Not because I've learned, you know, I've learned these principles, I've taken these principles, I've implemented it. This is what I learned and this is therefore why I teach it in this way now. Now you get to do the same thing and that is going to have your energetic imprint and you simply naming it, whether it's Strength Academy. I just had a client inside a formula. Call it like you know, I had accessible strength, like it doesn't matter. It doesn't have to be creative, it just needs to be uniquely yours. And then you'll get to fill in all that context with the messaging. So hopefully this helps if you want to learn more. I teach really deeply about it inside of this brand new program called the PT Profit Formula Jumpstart. It's literally designed to help you get to those 10k months consistent 10k months in 30 days. Mostly because you're probably is so much closer than you even realize. And it really walks you through specifically how to implement exactly what we were talking about inside of this episode. So we'll link that up inside of the show notes. Otherwise I'll catch you on another episode of the PT Profit Podcast. Thank you, thank you for listening to.

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