Training For Introductory Phone Call
Training For Introductory Phone Call (Group Coaching) Setting the Context for Coaching Please take time to assess and decide what you are willing to commit to when coaching individuals through The Healthy Edge as part of a group program. If your group coaching rate is different than your one-on-one coaching rate, there may be different expectations that need to be clearly communicated to group participants. Here are some questions to get clear on with your group participants:
Are you committed to sending an e-mail each week to individual participants (perhaps with feedback on their accountability log)? Are you committed to allowing them to call/text you if needed and therefore will give them access to your phone number? Are you committed to calling each individual every week or a certain number of times during the 8 week program?
We recommend letting participants know in writing the terms of your coaching relationship. You can use the coaching contract found in “Basic Support for Coaches”. There are a couple of reasons this is important:
If everyone understands clearly what is expected, then no one is disappointed and trust isn’t compromised. It allows you to create a relationship for future coaching and business opportunities.
Let’s take a moment to discuss what coaching is NOT:
Coaching is NOT having all the answers and/or solving your participant’s problems. o You may need to refer them to the content available in The Healthy Edge program or their Getting Started Right Guide. It can be very easy to offer information and support when someone asks, but if this information is available in the program and your participant is simply not accessing it, this is a victim mentality that needs to be encouraged to take responsibility. This may be the first REAL feedback you give your participants that can change their life. o Allow them to solve their own problems, but ask great questions to facilitate that process. What works for you may not be realistic for them. You can offer suggestions, but this is about them creating their OWN solutions. o Remind them in a loving way why they committed to this journey in the first place when people get frustrated or their focus wanes. Coaching is NOT being so involved that it takes away from your business or life. You can choose to create these boundaries! Failure to apply the above and create boundaries in coaching can result in
Copyright © 2012 by The Healthy Edge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
unnecessary work and stress. You will find yourself feeling that you are not getting paid enough for all of the work you are putting in. This is THEIR journey, not yours! The Healthy Edge system is designed to create efficiency and simplicity for your coaching.
Training for Contacting Your Participants Read this training first then print and use “Questionnaire for Initial Phone Call” to support you in phoning your participants BEFORE your first meeting.
If you conducted an Introductory Seminar, each Healthy Edge participant should have filled out a Commitment Sheet. Use the Commitment Sheet as a guide for making your first phone call. Refer to this sheet for the “best time to call.” Even if you do NOT plan on making weekly phone calls to your group participants, it is VERY important that this initial call is made to each of your participants. Everyone wants to be edified in the decision they have made and you want to address any doubts/concerns people may have as they make this life changing decisions.
The following are suggestions for what to accomplish during your first call. This may be different if you know the participants VERY well, but be sure you know the answers to the following questions! These questions follow along with the “Questionnaire for Initial Contact” so you can write down the answers during your conversation for future reference. 1. Big CONGRATULATIONS for committing to The Healthy Edge. It says a lot about them that they are making such an awesome commitment for themselves and their family! 2. Why are you ready for a lifestyle change? Here you are starting to identify their WHY! They may share a lot or a little to this question and you may even come back and revisit this question as trust is built between the two of you. Be aware of superficial answers such as “to lose 10 pounds” and encourage people to dive deeper into what they can’t do or don’t have now because of the state of their health. You will dive more into this topic in the “Get Started” coursework, but it’s good to see the motivation of the participants of your group. 3. Address their “biggest concern” with committing to The Healthy Edge Lifestyle. These could be things like fear of failure (“I just can’t handle something else not working”) or no support from spouse/family. You may hear other common concerns like “I can’t cook” or “I am nervous this is going to be expensive to live this way”. Let’s tackle the “fear of failure”. Be prepared to address how The Healthy Edge is different from a “diet”. o Suggestions: You understand how they feel and felt the same way when you first started this journey. You will be here to hold them accountable and support them in creating a lifestyle that they can truly do forever. Copyright © 2012 by The Healthy Edge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
It is a lifestyle and “The Healthy Edge” is not going to DO THIS for them, THEY are going to do this. The breakthrough that is available for them to have is going to ensure that these results can be managed forever. Wouldn’t it be great to get out of the selfsabotaging cycle! We give them an opportunity to address the emotional issues of their weight or unhealthy lifestyle not just how-to’s. They will always have The Healthy Edge as support for their lifelong journey (you, Healthy Edge community, ongoing subscription opportunities, etc.) Use your Experiences! This is where personal development and growth that YOU have experienced is absolutely necessary! If you have not dealt with these issues, how can you support someone else through them? Validate what they are saying but do not allow them to stay in victim. People will talk about EVERY thing that they have done that has failed. Move them into responsible by asking the next questions on your Questionnaire. 4. What has worked for you in the past when you lost weight or when you felt the best? (Remember, not everyone wants to lose weight). Examples are working out in the morning, cooking on Sundays for the week, planning my meals, not bringing junk food into the house, not going to fast food. 5. What (in the past) contributed to you to stop doing the things that were working for you? You will get excuses like time, money, traumatic event, boredom which will all be addressed in our personal development aspects.) Pay close attention to this because these are the issues that need to be addressed if this is going to be a lifestyle. Lifestyle means even when things don’t go your way! They will soon discover in Audio #2: Victim/Empowered that these things are not responsible for you not continuing on your journey, it is always your choice how you deal with the obstacles of life. 6. What didn’t or doesn’t work for you based on things you have done in the past? Examples: counting calories, driving to the gym after work, eating the same food over and over, etc. 7. Is there anything that you are not willing to change in your lifestyle?
This needs to be addressed, especially if it is one of the components of The Healthy Edge. Example: Eating every 2- 3 hours or drinking 80 oz. of water. Use the million dollar question. If you were given a million dollars, would you find a way to ….? “Ok, so you CAN do it, but you are choosing not to do it.” This may allow you to dig deeper to the real issue behind why they have an objection around one of the goals. You may need to get them to commit to doing something 50% the first week (drink 40 oz. of water daily) and continue to set goals to move them to where they need to be. If you show them the benefit, they will most likely change. If it is something like eating pizza, drinking beer, diet sodas, etc. use the technique of 80/20 and encourage them to keep the things that they love as part of their lifestyle but 80% of the time they choose healthy things to support their health and 20% of the time they choose their indulgences. Daily “poor choices” for your health is probably what has gotten them into the situation they are currently
Copyright © 2012 by The Healthy Edge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
in. Be sure they don’t feel that there are thing that are OFF LIMITS but rather that they always have a choice and moderation is the key. 8. What are you willing to change about your lifestyle? This is empowering for them to say out loud! 9. What information or part of this journey are they most excited about? Pay special attention to this, because this may be the whole reason why they joined the program!
Example: Recipes. If they are most excited about the recipes, you need to make sure that they know how to use the website to get access to them! You can even share some of your personal recipes, The Healthy Edge Cookbook or additional websites so they are fully supported. This is that basis of stellar customer service. If it is a specific seminar, make sure that they know when that seminar is so they are sure to make it! It could also be feeling better, releasing weight, feeling in control and having more energy. 10. How would they like to be supported? It is VERY important to support people in a way that works for them, not you! You may not like to talk on the phone, but if the person you are supporting prefers to be supported that way, you may want to reconsider! If someone likes to be supported through phone calls, set a standing appointment each week for a 5-10 minute call (or whatever you have determined is part of your group package. Some people like rewards and some people like consequences! Use these! This is a great way to hold people accountable for things that they are struggling with! Refer to “Successful Coaching” for support in moving people forward and asking powerful questions. 11. Address if they have any medical issues. They will need doctor’s permission if they are dealing with serious medical issues. If you are offering product support, use the knowledge of your products to support them in their medical issues! Remember to NEVER diagnose, just provide information! 12. What does being healthy look and feel like to you? This allows people to really start to “see” themselves as the person they want to be. This is important because it is going to be very difficult to achieve something that they don’t believe they can get. You can encourage them to think about and pray about that vision for being a healthy and energized person that is able to do all of the things they desire. 13. Who are you biggest supporters in your life? Encourage them to tell them about The Healthy Edge and what they are doing so their commitment to this lifestyle becomes even stronger and more “real” for them. Also, encourage them to share with those people what support looks like for them! o Examples: Working out with them, compliments, shopping together, not asking them to go out to eat, not bringing any junk food over, etc.
Copyright © 2012 by The Healthy Edge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
14. Who are the people that will discourage you or not support you? There may be people who are NOT supportive of this journey and these people may be VERY close to them (spouse, parents, siblings, etc.). Depending on the relationship, your participant may want to share their “why” with these people and just ask for them for their support by simply not saying anything. You may need to work with your participant in this area. Many times the people they feel that are “non-supportive” are really just tired of seeing them commit and uncommit to things and the participant may force their opinion of things on them and that is where the real issue is. This is THEIR journey and nothing should be forced on anyone else in an effort to make them do what they are doing. Address how these people should be dealt with. Probably best not to rely on them for motivation. When you want to see change in other people, you have to begin with yourself! Many people will self-sabotage themselves by going to the people that discourage them the most. We want to move people out of this! Remind them that you are there as a support system. This next section applies IF you are offering product support to the participant you are talking to. 15. Educate about the products they are taking. Do they know how to take their products? Have them tell you. If your company provides a monthly autoship program, educate them about how this works and WHEN their autoship will process. Call them a week before their first order processes to remind them! This is courteous and builds trust. You would be amazed how many people will forget about your conversation about the monthly shipment and feel they were not communicated to or taken advantage of. Make sure they know how to order product if they decide they need more product or people they know wants product! It is liberating to have people ordering product themselves without having to contact you.
The Healthy Edge Program 16. Confirm they received their welcome e-mail from support@getthehealthyedge and have set up their username and password and completed their registration. If they have been activated as a participant, they should have received a welcome e-mail giving instructions on how to set up a username and password. Confirm that they have received this e-mail and set up their username and password. You can resent this e-mail from your Leadership panel by clicking “Participant Tracker”. This is also where you can verify if they completed their registration process. If the “resent” button appears, they have NOT completed the process. If your participant wants to grant access for you to see their progress through The Healthy Edge course, they will have to click “yes” in their “Profile panel” where is says: “Allow my facilitator to Copyright © 2012 by The Healthy Edge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
see my progress”. When they click “update”, it will save this information. Refer them to page 26 – 27 in their Guidebook. 17. Encourage them to read and complete pages 14-41 of their Guidebook and “Get Started” in their coursework section online BEFORE the first meeting.
Copyright © 2012 by The Healthy Edge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
Are you committed to sending an e-mail each week to individual participants (perhaps with feedback on their accountability log)? Are you committed to allowing them to call/text you if needed and therefore will give them access to your phone number? Are you committed to calling each individual every week or a certain number of times during the 8 week program?
We recommend letting participants know in writing the terms of your coaching relationship. You can use the coaching contract found in “Basic Support for Coaches”. There are a couple of reasons this is important:
If everyone understands clearly what is expected, then no one is disappointed and trust isn’t compromised. It allows you to create a relationship for future coaching and business opportunities.
Let’s take a moment to discuss what coaching is NOT:
Coaching is NOT having all the answers and/or solving your participant’s problems. o You may need to refer them to the content available in The Healthy Edge program or their Getting Started Right Guide. It can be very easy to offer information and support when someone asks, but if this information is available in the program and your participant is simply not accessing it, this is a victim mentality that needs to be encouraged to take responsibility. This may be the first REAL feedback you give your participants that can change their life. o Allow them to solve their own problems, but ask great questions to facilitate that process. What works for you may not be realistic for them. You can offer suggestions, but this is about them creating their OWN solutions. o Remind them in a loving way why they committed to this journey in the first place when people get frustrated or their focus wanes. Coaching is NOT being so involved that it takes away from your business or life. You can choose to create these boundaries! Failure to apply the above and create boundaries in coaching can result in
Copyright © 2012 by The Healthy Edge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
unnecessary work and stress. You will find yourself feeling that you are not getting paid enough for all of the work you are putting in. This is THEIR journey, not yours! The Healthy Edge system is designed to create efficiency and simplicity for your coaching.
Training for Contacting Your Participants Read this training first then print and use “Questionnaire for Initial Phone Call” to support you in phoning your participants BEFORE your first meeting.
If you conducted an Introductory Seminar, each Healthy Edge participant should have filled out a Commitment Sheet. Use the Commitment Sheet as a guide for making your first phone call. Refer to this sheet for the “best time to call.” Even if you do NOT plan on making weekly phone calls to your group participants, it is VERY important that this initial call is made to each of your participants. Everyone wants to be edified in the decision they have made and you want to address any doubts/concerns people may have as they make this life changing decisions.
The following are suggestions for what to accomplish during your first call. This may be different if you know the participants VERY well, but be sure you know the answers to the following questions! These questions follow along with the “Questionnaire for Initial Contact” so you can write down the answers during your conversation for future reference. 1. Big CONGRATULATIONS for committing to The Healthy Edge. It says a lot about them that they are making such an awesome commitment for themselves and their family! 2. Why are you ready for a lifestyle change? Here you are starting to identify their WHY! They may share a lot or a little to this question and you may even come back and revisit this question as trust is built between the two of you. Be aware of superficial answers such as “to lose 10 pounds” and encourage people to dive deeper into what they can’t do or don’t have now because of the state of their health. You will dive more into this topic in the “Get Started” coursework, but it’s good to see the motivation of the participants of your group. 3. Address their “biggest concern” with committing to The Healthy Edge Lifestyle. These could be things like fear of failure (“I just can’t handle something else not working”) or no support from spouse/family. You may hear other common concerns like “I can’t cook” or “I am nervous this is going to be expensive to live this way”. Let’s tackle the “fear of failure”. Be prepared to address how The Healthy Edge is different from a “diet”. o Suggestions: You understand how they feel and felt the same way when you first started this journey. You will be here to hold them accountable and support them in creating a lifestyle that they can truly do forever. Copyright © 2012 by The Healthy Edge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
It is a lifestyle and “The Healthy Edge” is not going to DO THIS for them, THEY are going to do this. The breakthrough that is available for them to have is going to ensure that these results can be managed forever. Wouldn’t it be great to get out of the selfsabotaging cycle! We give them an opportunity to address the emotional issues of their weight or unhealthy lifestyle not just how-to’s. They will always have The Healthy Edge as support for their lifelong journey (you, Healthy Edge community, ongoing subscription opportunities, etc.) Use your Experiences! This is where personal development and growth that YOU have experienced is absolutely necessary! If you have not dealt with these issues, how can you support someone else through them? Validate what they are saying but do not allow them to stay in victim. People will talk about EVERY thing that they have done that has failed. Move them into responsible by asking the next questions on your Questionnaire. 4. What has worked for you in the past when you lost weight or when you felt the best? (Remember, not everyone wants to lose weight). Examples are working out in the morning, cooking on Sundays for the week, planning my meals, not bringing junk food into the house, not going to fast food. 5. What (in the past) contributed to you to stop doing the things that were working for you? You will get excuses like time, money, traumatic event, boredom which will all be addressed in our personal development aspects.) Pay close attention to this because these are the issues that need to be addressed if this is going to be a lifestyle. Lifestyle means even when things don’t go your way! They will soon discover in Audio #2: Victim/Empowered that these things are not responsible for you not continuing on your journey, it is always your choice how you deal with the obstacles of life. 6. What didn’t or doesn’t work for you based on things you have done in the past? Examples: counting calories, driving to the gym after work, eating the same food over and over, etc. 7. Is there anything that you are not willing to change in your lifestyle?
This needs to be addressed, especially if it is one of the components of The Healthy Edge. Example: Eating every 2- 3 hours or drinking 80 oz. of water. Use the million dollar question. If you were given a million dollars, would you find a way to ….? “Ok, so you CAN do it, but you are choosing not to do it.” This may allow you to dig deeper to the real issue behind why they have an objection around one of the goals. You may need to get them to commit to doing something 50% the first week (drink 40 oz. of water daily) and continue to set goals to move them to where they need to be. If you show them the benefit, they will most likely change. If it is something like eating pizza, drinking beer, diet sodas, etc. use the technique of 80/20 and encourage them to keep the things that they love as part of their lifestyle but 80% of the time they choose healthy things to support their health and 20% of the time they choose their indulgences. Daily “poor choices” for your health is probably what has gotten them into the situation they are currently
Copyright © 2012 by The Healthy Edge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
in. Be sure they don’t feel that there are thing that are OFF LIMITS but rather that they always have a choice and moderation is the key. 8. What are you willing to change about your lifestyle? This is empowering for them to say out loud! 9. What information or part of this journey are they most excited about? Pay special attention to this, because this may be the whole reason why they joined the program!
Example: Recipes. If they are most excited about the recipes, you need to make sure that they know how to use the website to get access to them! You can even share some of your personal recipes, The Healthy Edge Cookbook or additional websites so they are fully supported. This is that basis of stellar customer service. If it is a specific seminar, make sure that they know when that seminar is so they are sure to make it! It could also be feeling better, releasing weight, feeling in control and having more energy. 10. How would they like to be supported? It is VERY important to support people in a way that works for them, not you! You may not like to talk on the phone, but if the person you are supporting prefers to be supported that way, you may want to reconsider! If someone likes to be supported through phone calls, set a standing appointment each week for a 5-10 minute call (or whatever you have determined is part of your group package. Some people like rewards and some people like consequences! Use these! This is a great way to hold people accountable for things that they are struggling with! Refer to “Successful Coaching” for support in moving people forward and asking powerful questions. 11. Address if they have any medical issues. They will need doctor’s permission if they are dealing with serious medical issues. If you are offering product support, use the knowledge of your products to support them in their medical issues! Remember to NEVER diagnose, just provide information! 12. What does being healthy look and feel like to you? This allows people to really start to “see” themselves as the person they want to be. This is important because it is going to be very difficult to achieve something that they don’t believe they can get. You can encourage them to think about and pray about that vision for being a healthy and energized person that is able to do all of the things they desire. 13. Who are you biggest supporters in your life? Encourage them to tell them about The Healthy Edge and what they are doing so their commitment to this lifestyle becomes even stronger and more “real” for them. Also, encourage them to share with those people what support looks like for them! o Examples: Working out with them, compliments, shopping together, not asking them to go out to eat, not bringing any junk food over, etc.
Copyright © 2012 by The Healthy Edge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
14. Who are the people that will discourage you or not support you? There may be people who are NOT supportive of this journey and these people may be VERY close to them (spouse, parents, siblings, etc.). Depending on the relationship, your participant may want to share their “why” with these people and just ask for them for their support by simply not saying anything. You may need to work with your participant in this area. Many times the people they feel that are “non-supportive” are really just tired of seeing them commit and uncommit to things and the participant may force their opinion of things on them and that is where the real issue is. This is THEIR journey and nothing should be forced on anyone else in an effort to make them do what they are doing. Address how these people should be dealt with. Probably best not to rely on them for motivation. When you want to see change in other people, you have to begin with yourself! Many people will self-sabotage themselves by going to the people that discourage them the most. We want to move people out of this! Remind them that you are there as a support system. This next section applies IF you are offering product support to the participant you are talking to. 15. Educate about the products they are taking. Do they know how to take their products? Have them tell you. If your company provides a monthly autoship program, educate them about how this works and WHEN their autoship will process. Call them a week before their first order processes to remind them! This is courteous and builds trust. You would be amazed how many people will forget about your conversation about the monthly shipment and feel they were not communicated to or taken advantage of. Make sure they know how to order product if they decide they need more product or people they know wants product! It is liberating to have people ordering product themselves without having to contact you.
The Healthy Edge Program 16. Confirm they received their welcome e-mail from support@getthehealthyedge and have set up their username and password and completed their registration. If they have been activated as a participant, they should have received a welcome e-mail giving instructions on how to set up a username and password. Confirm that they have received this e-mail and set up their username and password. You can resent this e-mail from your Leadership panel by clicking “Participant Tracker”. This is also where you can verify if they completed their registration process. If the “resent” button appears, they have NOT completed the process. If your participant wants to grant access for you to see their progress through The Healthy Edge course, they will have to click “yes” in their “Profile panel” where is says: “Allow my facilitator to Copyright © 2012 by The Healthy Edge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
see my progress”. When they click “update”, it will save this information. Refer them to page 26 – 27 in their Guidebook. 17. Encourage them to read and complete pages 14-41 of their Guidebook and “Get Started” in their coursework section online BEFORE the first meeting.
Copyright © 2012 by The Healthy Edge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
