5 Surefire Ways To Be A Rockstar Health Coach & Rise Above Your Competition

It’s no secret that there are a lot of health coaches and wellness practitioners out
there. Luckily for us we are experiencing a shift in consciousness where seeking out
alternative methods of transforming health is becoming the norm, not the exception.

Can you feel the tides changing? Huffington Post blogged that 2014 will
be the year of mindful living. Huffington reported that mindful living “has
staying power, because our world is only going to become more saturated
with technology, and therefore people have to find ways to counteract that.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/02/will-2014-be-the-year-of-_0_n_4523975.html

The stigma around whole foods, meditation and mindfulness is lifting, making it
easier for us to fulfill our passion and transform more lives. There is also a dark
downside to holistic health becoming the norm. More and more people are leaving
their high stress corporate jobs to find fulfillment as a health coach or any one of the
hundreds of holistic therapies available.

This means more competition for you. It means you must up your game and know
how to differentiate yourself from your competition. Some “guru” type marketing
people will say there is no such thing as competition because each one of us is
unique and will resonate with our own ideal clients. I partly agree and would fully
agree except I get asked this question on a regular basis, “What makes WOW!
Weight Loss different from Weight Watchers?”

That question signals to me that my program is competing against Weight Watchers.
Have you ever been asked a similar question? What is your answer?

Gary Vaynerchuk, in his wildly successful new book Jab, Jab, Jab Right Hook, nails
brands and companies for not focusing on relationship building. As a master of
social media he credits everything to his ability to build real relationships through
social media and takes his customer service extremely seriously. He said in an
interview that as more and more people become like the Jetsons, the companies that
treat their customers like the Flintstones will outlast the rest.

So how do you rise above your competition in a noisy technology filled world where
social media reigns king and real live relationships are becoming archaic? You care
more about the person than everyone else. You show that you care more by doing
the little things that others simply don’t think about.

As Seth Godin would say… Be a purple cow.

Here are 5 low cost or free relationship building tactics you can use in your online
or offline business. Allocate some of the revenue from each client and put it towards
caring more and building relationships with your prospects and clients.

1. Send a personalized card in the mail

Everyone likes to feel appreciated. It’s nice to get a thoughtful note in the mail. Yes,
I’m talking about snail mail. You can use one of the many online platforms available
to automate the creation and mailing of personalized cards to your clients. Send a
welcome card at the beginning of their journey with you, or a thank you card at the
end of their program.

2. Birthday recognition

Start collecting your clients’ birthdays. Send out a small gift with a card letting the
past or present client know you remembered their birthday. You don’t have to
spend a lot of money on a gift. It could even be a gift certificate towards a program
you offer. This tactic helps you stay at the top of their mind with past clients and
shows current clients that you are more than just their health coach.

3. Pick up the phone

When your client experiences a success milestone pick up the phone and talk
to them in real time. The congratulatory email doesn’t carry enough weight.
Breakthroughs deserve to be recognized and celebrated.

4. Check in and follow up

Create templated check in emails that can be easily tailored for each client. Decide
when the check in emails should be sent. This can be done for online programs too.
Too many people buy online programs and never use them. An example would be to
schedule a 4-week post program completion check in email.

5. Give surprise value

Who doesn’t love getting a gift? Think outside the box on this one… what can you
offer to your clients that would best serve them and show them you are always
thinking about them? This last tactic will require you to allocate some of your
revenue towards giving back to your clients. Perhaps it’s not giving back directly but
making a donation to your favorite charity in their honor. Be a go-giver and honor
your clients with surprise value.

No one can put a price on caring. In our noisy world filled with attention seeking
marketing tactics it’s our responsibility as health coaches to demonstrate to
every single one of our clients that we value them. This can only be done through
intentional relationship building in real time. Be a rockstar by going above
and beyond what the average health coach does and watch as your business
authentically grows.