In this episode, Jonathan sits down with Melisa Shevchenko to talk about how she has built a successful and highly profitable online training business utilizing challenges.    The Episode: How Melissa Shevchenko Had Her First $9500 Month Online from Challenges   The way that you lay out your service as an online trainer has a clear relationship to who signs up with you. Today we get to hear from Melissa, an OTA 2 graduate, about how she has built her courses and upped her prices over time, and the lessons she has learned along the way. Melissa centers her work on six-week challenges that clients are able to sign up for, with a focus on fat loss and she explains how these challenges enable her to quickly get longer-term buy-in from her customers, and how this benefits everyone involved.    In This Episode The specifics and structures of Melissa's six-week challenge [0:03:02] Benefits of the early introduction of challenges [0:06:34] Comparing Melissa’s conversion methods before and after OTA 2 [0:09:18] How Melissa facilitates her challenges through a Facebook Group [0:16:00] The process of check-ins and the calls that Melissa holds with clients now [0:17:39] Some of the landmark learnings that Melissa remembers from her OTA course [0:24:26] Melissa's thoughts on joining OTA 2 for those considering it [0:29:28]   “If you don't use something to buy into what you are doing early on, you can have a really hard time getting them to commit longer term.” — Jonathan Goodman   The Six-Week Challenge that Melissa Offers Creating connection and accountability can go a long way with clients, and personal attention and check-ins are great ways to do this. Melissa aims to make the process of fat loss as simple as possible, breaking it down for her clients into manageable segments. She has adopted an approach based on habits and calories, which has a general format and then elements that are tailored to individuals.    The Development of the Program and its Conversion Methods The challenge format has allowed Melissa to build community early on in the course. This is enhanced by serving a specific type of client, which also means finding the right people, who are truly ready for the challenge. Melissa facilitates her challenges through a dedicated and private Facebook Group, as well as holding three-week checkpoint calls with participants, to keep them going.   Lessons Learned in the Process We hear from Melissa about the growth of her confidence over time and the boost that the OTA 2 course was able to give her. One of the big lessons taught in the OTA is how to call and communicate with prospective clients and there are established ways to develop the best script possible for these calls. Once these calls become comfortable and successful, they can even be outsourced, if you would rather focus solely on training, or vice-versa.   Already at $1,000/month online and want to scale? Apply for OTA 2 here: www.thePTDC.com/OTA2   SPONSORS  Get started TODAY with the world-leading certification and business development program for personal trainers, nutrition coaches, and gym owners – The Online Trainer Academy: http://onlinetrainer.com/ota Enjoy this special offer of 60 days FREE on PT Distinction from The Online Trainer Show! - http://onlinetrainer.com/ptd   Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/feed/id1468193055 Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/jon-goodman/its-possible-conversations-with-successful-online-trainers Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/20veRnzFOvUn6fTy9ud8jm?si=zMWTLmtISMm1XrU-4Q8oxA YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JonGoodmanPTDC