I never thought in a million years I'd be writing about online coaching. And yet here we are. If you haven't yet, go back and read my previous post, "Top 3 Things You Need as a Coach." I wrote that with the in-person coach in mind. In-person coaching still and, I believe, will always exist.
Let me repeat that...
IN PERSON COACHING SHOULD ALWAYS EXIST!
If you are a new coach/trainer and have yet to work with people in person, I beg you, please, take in person clients. You will learn more about how to make clients successful by working LIVE with them.
But many of us coaches do both - we train some folks in person and some online. I've been coaching clients online since 2012 - that's before online coaching was even a thing. (I also had 12 years of experience with in person clients in my back pocket).
Over the last decade, I've learned a lot about coaching clients remotely. Whether that be through my own mistakes and errors or watching others or being the "rebound" coach when a client comes to me after a bad experience.
Here's a few takeaways:
Communication and Check-in Process
I talked about communicating by asking questions in the last post. While that still stands, an online coach should have a communication and check-in process.
Last year I surveyed my past clients on about 10 different topics. I didn't receive surveys back from all, but I got a good response and it helped me to see what I did well and what I needed to improve on. Many of the ones I surveyed were from my early years (2012-2013) when online training was new and there really wasn't a "standard" to follow or imitate.
I remember seeing one response that said something to the effect of, "The training programs were great. I wish there was a little more of a check-in process. Perhaps I could've initiated it as well. But mostly I just received my training program."
No matter what, I should've initiated some communication. Even something like, "Hey, I'm getting your next week's training program together and haven't heard from you! Just wondering how this week went and if we need to make any adjustments."
Now, as I got better and got more clients, I created a more thorough check-in process. There were times I would email, get no response, email again, no response, and email again. At that point, there isn't much else I can do. Sometimes the client has fallen off the wagon and is too embarrassed to reply and admit they aren't training. And every so often you have a client that just wants the workouts, and nothing more.
As a coach, you should initiate communication. Even if it's a mid-week "Hey, how did squats go?" Being the first one to reach out a couple times a month goes the extra mile for the client.
Set The Expectations From the Start
Another thing I learned from my past clients' survey was that neither of us knew, let alone set, any expectations. Sure, the online training world was new. I told my powerlifting clients to send videos of their lifts, but general population clients, I didn't.
Now that social media has grown and it's much easier to find people doing the fitness thing, you, as the coach, should lay out the expectations from the start.
Let them know what you expect from them. Maybe it's weekly videos. If so, which lifts and how often? Do you want check-ins? Daily or weekly? Via email or text or Skype or social media? Tell them what you expect from them. I give all my clients a check-in day. Nutrition clients are either on Monday or Wednesday. Training clients we determine on an individual basis depending on where they are in their training cycle.
Also let them know what they can expect from you. While the client has their own responsibilities, it looks 10x more professional when you tell them what THEY should expect from YOU. That's right, set it from the beginning so 3 months in, they aren't saying "Hey, I thought you were gonna do XYZ?"
A couple examples of what to let your clients know are things like:
- Response rate: How long typically will it take before you respond to an email? (NOTE: always respond to paying clients first!)
- How often you will send changes or adjustments (NOTE for nutrition clients: a coach might not need to change your diet every week!) Letting them know on the front end how and why you adjust will help their expectations.
- What happens when your time is up or how to continue. Again, lay that out from the beginning so they can either plan on rehiring you or figure out how to take what they learned on their own.
- How long you realistically believe their progress will take. Set the expectation that even though they want to lose 50 pounds, doing it in 3 months isn't realistic or healthy. If your philosophy is one of longevity, make sure you set that expectation from the start. "I'm so glad you want to get healthy for your kids and family! In my experience, losing 50 pounds the right way and keeping it off will take more than 3 months. Are you ok with this? (Usually they say YES.) If not, then I might not be the right fit for you."
Health & Training History Questionnaire
When people reach out to a coach, they want answers - and results - now!
"I emailed you yesterday at 10pm, did you get it?"
As coaches, we get those emails and messages all the time. Politely let them know that you respond to paying clients first, but you will get back to them within X hours (set the expectation!)
But usually the email is 3 sentences long with what they want to accomplish. With nothing about their past, their injuries, what's worked, what hasn't, why they are reaching out to you, etc.
You should have a Health and Training History Questionnaire. There are many examples online but it should include things like:
- Age, weight, bodyfat
- Job, schedule, sleep
- Injuries, medical, limitations
- Past training, current training, why the change
- Nutrition habits (even if you aren't a nutrition coach)
- Desired timeline for results
- Etc, etc.
So when a client emails me asking for coaching options, I send them my questionnaire first. Have them fill it out as completely as possible - the more info the better - and once they send it back, to expect (EXPECTATIONS!) a couple days to review the info (ask more questions if needed) then X number of days to create their plan.
Your goal, before starting with them, should be to get as much info as possible. And by telling them that it will help you coach them better, creates an overall more enthusiastic buy-in process.
Online coaching isn't going anywhere - at least for now. Create a successful client-coach relationship by starting with these 3 things. Many more come into play when it comes to being a great coach, but these should be set from the start while you develop your own coaching philosophy.