The ability to coach online has changed the health coaching landscape; it has provided many of us the opportunity to pursue our passion of helping others lead healthier lives, an opportunity that we would not have otherwise had.
Email, social media and Skype have enabled health coaches to coach anyone, anywhere, anytime, all from the comfort of home.
Yet, despite the benefits of online coaching, there’s something about coaching in person that online coaching can’t provide.
As a coach, face-to-face coaching enables you to pick up non-verbal cues more easily. You’re able to feel the energy from your client and vice versa.
From your client’s perspective, being in the same room as you can help them feel more comfortable and at ease with you, and they may feel more inclined to open up; an essential aspect of a successful coach:client relationship.
Many coaches simply feel that they perform best when their client is in the same room.
If you feel that your coaching style is best suited to a more personal approach, then this post is for you. Here, we’re going to discuss 3 types of offline health coaching jobs they you may like to consider.
1. Clinical Health Coaching Jobs
Health coaching has been proven as a successful strategy for the management of chronic disease, and is well on its way to becoming an integral part of healthcare in the near future.
Whilst clinical-based health coaching is still in its infancy, its proven track record, coupled with its cost effectiveness in the war against metabolic disease has seen growth in the number of job opportunities available to health coaches in the clinical setting.
A clinical-based health coach is likely to work as part of an allied health team consisting of physicians, dietitians, nurses, occupational therapists and other allied health professionals within a clinical practice or hospital.
Who’s Most Suited for a Clinical Health Coaching Job?
In addition to holding a health coaching certification, many, but not all clinical health coaching jobs require someone who holds bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a medical/clinical field.
If you’re a registered nurse, registered dietitian or hold another bachelor-level qualification in the medial or clinical field and you’re passionate about helping people achieve sustainable lifestyle change, then a clinical health coaching job might be a great fit for you.
2. Health Coaching in a Gym
As Primal Health Coaches, we know that our body composition is largely determined by what we eat; you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet.
The health and fitness industries have always been closely aligned, and now more than ever before have become inextricable in the fight against chronic metabolic disease.
An increasing number of gyms are now offering nutrition advice as part of their gym services. The integration of health and nutrition programs within the gym setting is only going to rise, as gym owners and managers look for an edge over their competition.
Whether you’re a gym owner, a fitness coach or a health coach who is wanting to expand your services into the fitness world, we have some tips on how you can include face-to-face health coaching in a fitness setting.
Tips for Gym Owners
In a previous post, we’ve explored the benefits of adding health coaching to your gym.
Not only will health coaching improve the health and wellbeing of your members, it will also be likely to improve your business growth by providing:
- A new source of revenue.
- Improved client retention.
- Another reason for new clients to join.
- More money from existing clients.
The Primal Health Coach program offers special group pricing for gym owners that is jammed packed with bonuses, including access to extensive Primal Health Coach programming material that includes a ready-made 12 week health coaching program that you can use in your gym.
Having a certified health coach affiliated with your gym will give your members confidence in your health coaching program and your members will know that your health coaching services are top quality.
There a several different strategies you can use to incorporate health coaching alongside your existing gym services, including:
- Offer a free health coaching trial to existing members. This will give them a taste of health coaching before signing up for future health coaching services in the future.
- Create a health and fitness bundle. The great thing about a health and fitness bundle is that you know that your members have the best chance of reaching their health and fitness goals under this program.
- Upsell health coaching on top of your fitness services. To entice your members to sign up to your health coaching, you can offer discounts and bonuses.
Tips for a Fitness Coach with a Health Coach Certification
If you’re a fitness coach that holds a health coach credential and you’re already employed at a gym or CrossFit box, you’re in a perfect position to offer your health coaching services.
Arrange a meeting with the manager and/or owner for your gym and let them know about your health coaching certification.
We’ll discuss how to prepare for your meeting a little later on in this post.
Tips for a Health Coach without a Fitness Qualification
If you’re a health coach looking to expand your business into the fitness world, now is the best time to put yourself out there and offer your services to the local gyms and fitness centers in your area.
Choose a gym that you feel best suits your health coaching brand and ethos. If you’re already a member at your fitness center, then that’s even better.
Arrange a meeting with the owner and/or manager of your gym. The key is to be professional and organized.
How to Sell Your Health Coaching Services to a Gym Owner
If you’re a certified health coach or a fitness coach with a health coach certification, here are 4 tips that will help you sell your health coaching services to a gym owner.
- Reach out to the gyms and CrossFit boxes in your local area.
- Devise a health coaching plan/package option that you can provide to their members.
- Decide on what coaching model(s) you would feel most comfortable in offering; individual coaching, group coaching, 21-day total body transformation.
- Negotiate your payment. Will you be hiring space from the gym and taking 100% of the health coaching profits? Will the gym take a percentage of your profits? Will your health coaching services be paid as part of a contract?
3. Start Your Own Health Coaching Business
There are many perks to running your own business, including:
- Deciding your own hours.
- Working with your ideal clients.
- Developing your business brand around your interests and passions.
Whilst a large aspect of running your own health coaching business will involve online coaching in some way, getting back to basics and fine-tuning your face-to-face coaching skills can be hugely rewarding and beneficial for your business.
If you’re someone who enjoys the personal interaction of meeting face-to-face with clients, then maybe you should consider expanding the offline aspects of your health coaching business.
Here are 3 benefits to face-to-face coaching that we’ve come up with:
- It’s a great way to fine-tune your coaching skills. Face-to-face coaching can help build your confidence as a coach, especially if you’re new to the profession. Meeting clients in person will help you read their non-verbal cues, and it can make it easier to build rapport and strengthen your connection with clients.
- You have more control over your coaching environment. Whether you meet clients in your home office, a rented space or within their own home, being able to physically be in the same room as your client will enable you to create an environment that is most conducive to health coaching. It may be as simple as opening a curtain to let in natural light, lighting a candle, or clearing away clutter. These straightforward acts can help create a calm and comfortable environment that will help your clients feel more at ease.
- You can make first-hand recommendations. Lifestyle change is tough, so being able to recommend a top quality farmers market from personal experience or a beautiful location for a nature hike will go a long way to helping your clients transition into their healthier lifestyle habits.
Next, we’ll provide some ideas as to the different models of health coaching that you can offer in person.
Individual Coaching
Individual or one-on-one coaching is the traditional health coaching model. It has a proven record of success, largely due to a coach being able to personalize their program to the goals of their clients.
One-on-one coaching is a good choice for a first time coach who is still mastering their coaching style.
Group Coaching
Group coaching is growing in popularity in recent years, as it provides a more affordable option for clients than individual coaching.
If you keep your group size small (between 4-20 participants) this will help build a sense of community amongst your clients, and this can help with their accountability and achieving their health goals.
Corporate Coaching
Corporate coaching is very much like group coaching, but within a workplace. A growing number of employers are using wellness programs such as health coaching to improve employee satisfaction, retention and reduced sick leave.
Public Speaking
Public speaking is feared by many. However, the best way to overcome this fear is to get in front of a group of people and start talking.
Feeling comfortable speaking in front of a large audience is a must if you’re interested in coaching larger groups or running workshops.
If you’re a novice at public speaking, then you can offer to give a free presentation at a community event. Getting in front of an audience is a great way to promote your health coaching business.
However, if you feel confident speaking in front of an audience you can advertise yourself as a health expert and charge a fee for your presentation.
Where to Speak?
Choose events that your ideal client will be attending. This could be a health-related event, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, if your ideal client is the Yummy Mommy crowd, then speaking at a Pregnancy and Baby Expo would be highly suitable.
In summary, whilst email, Skype and social media provide invaluable tools for health coaches, many coaches still prefer the personal interaction that comes with meeting with clients in person.
In this post we’ve discussed 3 offline jobs ideas you may like to pursue if you’re someone that prefers the old school face-to-face coaching style, including:
- Clinical health coaching
- Health coaching in a gym
- Starting your own face-to-face health coaching business
If you feel that your coaching style is best suited to a more personal approach, then we hope some of these ideas will inspire you pursue your passion for coaching offline.
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