Grow Your Nutrition Business Podcast Episode 62: Why You Need To Be Doing Nutrition Coach Evaluations & How To Do Them

How do you know how you are doing as a nutrition coach?
One of the best ways to see how to improve is through evaluations. Coach evaluations were added to the training process for HSN Mentoring in October of 2020. They are by far one of the best additions to the training process because they help coaches apply what they are learning and see where they need to improve.
 
In today’s podcast, Nicole Aucoin & Kayla Pollock Discuss:
  • Why are coach evals important? Who should do them?
  • When we look at the people who do really well on the coach eval, what do they have in common?
  • What are the most common mistakes?
  • What should someone do to prepare for the coach eval?
 
If you love this podcast, check out our new podcast, Nutrition Made Simple
 

Topics Discussed In This Episode

Why are coach evals important? Who should do them?

Every coach should have an evaluation, whether they are a new coach coming on board for the first time, or they’re an existing coach.
During the eval, we are focusing on one thing at a time, the habit-based, holistic approach. These are all integral parts of helping your clients truly find success.
The coach evals are important for both the owner and the coach for development opportunities.
It’s an area to really highlight the strengths, identify the areas for improvement, and it allows us to recognize and celebrate the uniqueness that each coach brings.
Consistency is so important. We want to make sure that we’re providing an excellent service to our clients and that it’s consistent across the board. Regular evaluations should be happening throughout the entire year, not just as one time thing.
Ultimately, the coach evaluation is a way to add more tools in our toolbox, in an individual coach setting.

When we look at the people who do really well on the coach eval, what do they have in common?

Coaches who are talking less are allowing and actually encouraging their clients to share more have successful coach evaluations and ultimately they have more success with their nutrition clients. 
Coaches that give their clients the space to be open and allow them to share the details of their goals, where they currently are and what their habits are.
A coach who is talking less and listening more, has a greater outcome of success. We have found that coaches who utilize the OARS (open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections and summaries) within motivational interviewing are better nutrition coaches.
The coaches who do really well take a whole lot of time in the plan creation. And with that, they’re asking their clients what they want to work on and getting their clients in the driver’s seat, which allows them to really take ownership, and they’re engaged and excited.

What are the common mistakes?

As mentioned, a common mistake nutrition coaches make is talking too much.
If you miss details with your client, you’re unable to truly create a plan that’s going to help navigate success for them. We recommend to get clients talking, ask open-ended questions, and always have a water bottle in front of you, if you have the urge to speak, take a sip of water. 
Another common mistake is giving too many action steps all at once. If we just focus on one step at a time, our clients are going to be more confident, they’re going to be consistent and they’re going to see better results.
Research shows when you focus on only one thing at a time, you’re 80% successful to maintain that one thing over the course of a year.

What should someone do to prepare for the coach eval?

It’s important to look at the rubric that we provide prior to the coach eval. You’ll be asked questions and graded based off of the rubric. 
The next thing you need is the HSN initial consultation form or a note page to follow along to make sure that you’re asking all the right questions.
Lastly, take the time to dive into the app, because it is an amazing piece that offers a ton of value. It allows us to give the support and the accountability to our clients. We ask all coaches to figure out what are the three most important features of the app, define that, and explain that when you’re doing the evaluation.

Additional FREE Help Related To
Nutrition Coaching

  • LISTEN: How To Find A Great Nutrition Coach In A CrossFit Gym HERE
  • LISTEN: How To Integrate Motivational Interviewing With Nutrition Coaching HERE
  • LISTEN: Nutrition Made Simple Podcast – CrossFit, Nutrition & Your Health HERE
  • HSN Mentoring Client Highlight: Meet Jocelyn & Barry Weidner, Owners of CrossFit Generation, How A 14-Year CrossFit Affiliate Changed Their Business Model To Make Nutrition Coaching The Foundation HERE

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HSN Mentoring is the largest nutrition mentorship business in the world, helping thousands of gym owners and coaches build successful nutrition programs.

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Episode Transcript:

Nicole Aucoin (00:02):
Welcome back to the Grow Your Nutrition Business Podcast. At Healthy Steps Nutrition, we believe something as fundamental as nutrition shouldn’t be complicated, which is why we focus on a simple habit-based approach when working with clients. We help gym owners and coaches build successful nutrition programs without reinventing the wheel. I’m your host, Nicole Aucoin, registered dietitian and founder of Healthy Steps Nutrition, CrossFit HSN and HSN Mentoring. I’m also the author of The Basics of Nutrition Coaching Course, CrossFit Preferred Nutrition Course. I’m going to teach you how to take one step at a time to build a successful nutrition program where you finally feel confident talking about nutrition to your members and your community. This week on the podcast, I sit down with Kayla Pollock. She’s a gym owner, nutrition coach, and now an HSN mentor. She actually helped us launch one of the most valuable additions that we have ever made to the HSN Mentoring training, which is the Coach Evaluation.

Nicole Aucoin (01:09):
In today’s podcast we discuss why coach evaluations are important for your nutrition coaches, who should be doing them? When we look at the most successful nutrition coaches in the evaluation, what do they have in common? Next, we talk about the most common mistakes. And lastly, what an HSN Mentoring coach should do to nail their coach evaluation. Coach Evaluations were designed for a couple of things, one to ensure consistency with the delivery of the Healthy Steps Nutrition program with the thousands of coaches and gym owners that are using it. And two, to increase confidence of nutrition coaches by providing feedback and giving them more tools in their toolbox. We’ll get to this episode on Coach Evaluations right after this message. Did you know the HSN Mentoring has a turn key solution to save you time and not reinvent the wheel when it comes to building a nutrition program from scratch. That’s right.

Nicole Aucoin (02:14):
HSN Mentoring starts with the training process, that includes online modules, homework, and six one-on-one mentoring calls. The training teaches you how to get your program set up in a gym or independently, how to market your nutrition program, how to coach clients using a habit-based approach; and most importantly, how to retain them. Lastly, we talk about how to run a successful nutrition challenge and convert clients to ongoing coaching after your challenge is over. Getting started is easy, you can book a free call by clicking the link in the show notes. From there, we will talk and see if this is a good fit. And if it is, you can get your program up and running in as little as four to six weeks. All right, let’s get to this episode on Coach Evaluations. Kayla, welcome back to the Grow Your Nutrition Business Podcast.

Kayla Pollock (03:08):
Oh, thank you. Thank you for having me. I was actually looking and it was just about a year ago, the last time I was on the podcast.

Nicole Aucoin (03:14):
Yeah. We were going through switching to virtual, like COVID had just happened and you had done such a good job with conversion to ongoing nutrition coaching from a challenge. And I was like, “You know what?” “We got to have you on the podcast talking about converting clients to ongoing coaching.” So, we’ll go ahead and link that podcast episode below this one. But man, a lot has happened and you have done some incredible things, not only with your nutrition program at your location, but also coming on board as now a mentor for HSN Mentoring, and heading up one of the coolest additions that we have added to the training in the past year.

Kayla Pollock (03:55):
Yeah, absolutely. It has been a wild ride and I’m honestly just living a dream every day. If you told me a year ago, this is where I’d be, I think I would have laughed in your face.

Nicole Aucoin (04:06):
Oh my gosh. Well, you did your last internship with us or your last rotation, which ended up being a few months during COVID.

Kayla Pollock (04:13):
Yep.

Nicole Aucoin (04:13):
And, you did such an amazing job with that. Ashley, our director of nutrition education, I was like, “We got to get her on board doing something, we can’t let her go.” So, thank you for coming on board with us. We’re so thankful to have you. So, one of the things and the main thing that you came on today to talk about is coach evaluations. And, we noticed even our RHQ location, sometimes coach evaluations don’t happen as often as they should on the gym side, let alone on the nutrition coaching side. Right?

Kayla Pollock (04:44):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Absolutely.

Nicole Aucoin (04:46):
And, one of the things that we started adding to the mentoring process as the last stage of mentoring is a coach evaluation. So, you are the client and the coach is the coach, and you walk them through a scenario of an initial consultation.

Kayla Pollock (05:02):
Yes, exactly. And Nicole, I have to say, it has been so much fun. I get to dive in to these different client scenarios. I’ve been a busy mom of three. I’ve been a die hard keto fan, just all over the board, and seeing how the coaches handle the different scenarios is just, it’s so much fun.

Nicole Aucoin (05:21):
Well, what’s really cool is this is really helped coaches become more confident when they have paying clients, because your first client is a little nerve wracking. Even if you go through getting your master’s in nutrition, like becoming a dietician, opening my private practice, I remember my first client, I was super nervous. Like, “Am I doing this right?” “Am I giving too much information?” And, that’s what happens a lot of times, we want to make them feel like we know what we’re talking about, so we overspill and not keep it simple, which is the exact opposite of what we believe at Healthy Steps Nutrition. So, let’s just look at the overall picture of coach evaluations. Who should be doing coach evaluations for nutrition coaches at a gym?

Kayla Pollock (06:00):
First. I want to say every coach should have an evaluation, whether they are a new coach coming on board for the first time, or they’re an existing coach, because a lot of changes have been made with focusing on one thing at a time, the habit-based, the holistic approach. And, those are all integral parts of helping your clients truly find success. And, I can not stress enough how important these evaluations truly are.

Nicole Aucoin (06:27):
Well, we even made it easy for owners to give coach evaluations, because the rubric is in the platform. So, if you are a owner listening to this or a coach, like the rubric is in the platform, go look at it and see, are you actually doing what you should be doing to help become a better coach? And really, this not only goes to help you become a better coach, but it really helps you be able to help your clients more and increases retention with your clients, because you are able to help them with a meaningful change instead of overwhelming them with too much information at one time.

Kayla Pollock (07:00):
Absolutely. And, that’s actually one of the common mistakes, but to go back to how important they are. As a business owner, myself, sometimes when we’re wearing all the hats, thinking about all the things that need to be done, evaluations are one of those things that kind of get pushed aside. But, they’re important for both the owner and the coach for those development opportunities. It’s an area to really highlight the strengths, identify the areas for improvement, and it allows us to recognize and celebrate the uniqueness that I think each coach brings.

Kayla Pollock (07:31):
And, a big word I want to use is consistency. We want to make sure that we’re providing an excellent service to our clients and that it’s consistent across the board. So, this is especially important if you have more than [inaudible 00:07:44] on staff, for example, because I want client A working with nutrition coach A to get the same awesome experience and success as working with a second client with a second nutrition coach. So, it is so important that as an owner, you understand the value that’s being provided, and everything that’s going along with the value within these meetings working with the clients.

Nicole Aucoin (08:07):
Okay. I want to unpack this for a second, because a nutrition program in a gym is so different than a private practice. Your clients talk to each other. So, if coach A and coach B are doing something different, it’s going to be really easy for your clients to tell, unlike a normal nutrition private practice, where your clients don’t talk to each other every day.

Kayla Pollock (08:26):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Nicole Aucoin (08:27):
I was just talking to a dietician yesterday on a free call, and she is helping some gyms implement nutrition programs and she’s doing stuff different than the coach in-house. I’m like, “Well, that’s not going to be the best experience for that gym, and for the clients of yours and that coach.” Because, they’re going to talk to each other, and at some point, it’s going to be exposed that you guys are doing things differently.

Nicole Aucoin (08:50):
So, you’re a 1000% right, consistency is so, so important. And Kayla, one of the things that we talk about, and there’s some gyms, I’m thinking of Cigar City right off the bat, Arielle, she did a coach evaluation with you, but she has multiple coaches underneath her, right?

Kayla Pollock (09:05):
Yeah.

Nicole Aucoin (09:05):
So, she’s doing the nutrition coach, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the owner. It could be the head coach, and some of these big gyms that have multiple nutrition coaches, just someone needs to be doing them.

Kayla Pollock (09:16):
Absolutely. And, I love that we at HSN are able to offer that first evaluation to really understand what the process should look like. And then, we also offer the rubric and everything that goes along with it, so then the gyms can stay consistent. Because, regular evaluations should be happening throughout the entire year, not just this one time.

Nicole Aucoin (09:36):
A 1000% right. One of the things that we do with our mentor meetings with you guys, as well as our nutrition coach meetings is we give different scenarios. And, part of working with a team is that you can hear other people’s cues that you might not be using and think like, “Oh man, that’s a great thing to say, I can use that for some future clients.” And, having nutrition coach meetings, if you are in a team, is really helpful because you can add more tools to your toolbox. And this essentially, is a way to add more tools in our toolbox, in an individual coach setting.

Kayla Pollock (10:10):
Oh, absolutely. And, that’s why I stress even the coaches who have been doing this for years at this point, they should still get the evaluation. I’ve been doing it for a while. I went to school for this, and I still walk away from a lot of these evaluation thinking, “Man, that was a really great aspect.” “I’m going to steal that and use it in my program and try to find my own style with it.” So, it’s been a really great experience, even for myself to learn new cues.

Nicole Aucoin (10:36):
And, I think that goes down to one thing that you just said is having a growth mindset. We all can be better, and until you can get to the point of thinking like, “Hey, there are some things that I don’t know that I can learn and get better, and help myself as a coach, but then also help my clients.” You’re not going to be able to really reach your full potential. Okay. So, we understand about coach evaluations. We understand why they’re important. Let’s dive into some of the evals and you’ve done quite a few evals.

Kayla Pollock (11:04):
So many.

Nicole Aucoin (11:06):
Tell me about… When we look at the top 10 evaluations, what are those people doing really well?

Kayla Pollock (11:13):
Yeah. I love this question. I would say that the coaches who do the best are honestly the coaches who talk the least. Yeah, I know that sounds a little bit weird, but really, it’s a huge factor that I’m noticing between those who are really successful and doing really great in the evaluations. Coaches who are talking less are allowing and actually encouraging their clients to share more. And, they give them the space to be open and allow them to share the details of their goals, where they currently are, what their habits are. And, that just allows us to really create a solid plan that leads to long-term success.

Kayla Pollock (11:54):
And, I think the coaches who do the best with this are those, the ones who really utilize OARS within motivational interviewing, which I know you and Ashley have talked about on podcasts, but that’s open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections and summaries. They’re able to guide the clients with those open-ended questions. They’re responding with affirmations which builds rapport, and then they’re offering reflections and summaries, which is really just making sure that everybody’s on the same page and we’re feeling confident and comfortable, which is everything. On a similar note, going up the same thing, they’re able to get the clients in the driver’s seat. And again, that includes getting your clients to talk more. And, the coach is actually talking less and listening more. So, I would say that’s the first big one.

Nicole Aucoin (12:39):
Which a lot of times you don’t even realize how much you’re talking when you do initial consultations, like especially at the beginning. You might be nervous and so you’re just rambling. When in reality, if you just shut up and let the client talk, you’re going to build [crosstalk 00:12:55] that rapport so much better. And it’s interesting, in the virtual setting, it’s given us an opportunity to watch our own consultations, because you can do them through Zoom, and they’re recorded and you can watch your own. So, I think a great opportunity for you if you’re not an HSN Mentoring client is to record one and watch back, and just look at how much time you’re talking and how much time the client’s talking. It could be a great reflection, because you might not even realize that you’re talking the entire time, and not actually giving your client time to figure out what they want to work on and give them the autonomy of making their own decisions.

Kayla Pollock (13:32):
Absolutely. And, that kind of goes to like the next big thing that I see, the coaches who do really well take a whole lot of time in the plan creation. And with that, they’re asking their clients what they want to work on and getting their clients in the driver’s seat, which allows them to really take ownership, and they’re engaged and excited. And, that leads just to more success.

Nicole Aucoin (13:57):
I love that. One of the things that we’ve talked a lot about, because you come on our Coach’s Corner, formerly round table discussions and kind of give some tips to coaches a lot, but one of the things that we’ve talked about when creating this plan is, it’s not just, okay, do this action step, we really have to dive into how are you going to actually do it? Let’s walk through the action plan. If you’re going to prep breakfast, okay, let’s open up the cookbook, let’s pick out a breakfast recipe. What ingredients do you have at home? What ingredients do we need to get? When are you going to get them? When are you going to prep it? Like let’s map out every step, so it’s so easy and thoughtless for clients to actually do what they talk about doing.

Kayla Pollock (14:38):
Oh, absolutely. I do something very similar and I’ll use the example of the plate method, because I feel like that’s a common action step that my client scenarios get, which is a great one. I think it’s a solid first step for a lot of nutrition clients. But, pick out one to two recipes and then figure out what portion of the plate that’s covering, and then using the amazing resource like the Food Options Guide, have them while they’re in the meeting, pick out one to two ideas that they can fill the other portions of their plate with and have that list. And, the end goal should be that when the client walks out of the office, they know exactly what they’re doing and how to find success. And so, the coaches who are doing the best with that are the ones who, I like to explain it as they don’t take anything for granted.

Nicole Aucoin (15:26):
I love that. The more simple you can make things, the more confident your clients are going to feel. So, taking the guesswork out of it and letting them actually walk away with something tangible and a plan, but not only just like a goal, but actually, okay, what do we need to do to accomplish this goal, is going to help you build the rapport with your clients, and help them understand how you’re going to support them in the future.

Kayla Pollock (15:52):
Exactly.

Nicole Aucoin (15:54):
Any other things that you could think about? I want to give one tip. So, if you find yourself struggling with talking a lot, get yourself a cup of water and put it in front of you, so that when you find yourself talking, if you don’t like that awkward silence, so go ahead and just drink a sip of water. And, that’s going to force you to shut up.

Kayla Pollock (16:14):
A 100%. I have actually written that, because after the evaluations through HSN, I hand pick out some resources and offer suggestions to help with any of the areas. And, I have written in there, drink some water when you want to talk and that’s going to hold you back, because your mouth is going to be busy. So, I love that a 1000%. So, I would say another thing to think about, and you’ve kind of said it over and over, I think every podcast I’ve heard this, keep it simple.

Kayla Pollock (16:42):
Coaches often get stuck in this web, and it gets overwhelming for the client when they start to share too much information. And like I said, as the client, and I’m somebody who has a lot of background with nutrition, I still find it overwhelming at times. So, I just want coaches out there to really reflect and remind themselves that, unfortunately, people don’t care how much until they know first how much you care and then how you can solve their problems. So, just do yourself a favor, while all your education is amazing, keep it simple and start stretching it out. Sprinkle the education pieces in more bite sized, digestible amounts.

Nicole Aucoin (17:24):
I love that. And, you being able to provide ongoing education is going to help your clients understand the value of ongoing coaching with you, so don’t feel like you have to share too much at one time. Trust me, we have all been there, and I always wondered why my clients never stuck around, it was because I overwhelmed them with too much information at one time.

Nicole Aucoin (17:43):
No, it was interesting. We recently released a podcast with Jason Ackerman. He was talking about coaches, at first, you keep it simple like before you have any education because you don’t really know anything. And then, you get this education and you like make it complex. And then you realize, “Okay, that’s not working, we have to go back to simple.” So, it’s like this bell curve of simple, complex, so much information, and then, okay, now we have to simplify. And, I can honestly say from experience, that’s how Healthy Steps Nutrition has evolved. And, you will be so much more effective when you keep it simple.

Kayla Pollock (18:16):
Yes, I totally agree. And just like everybody else, I started off the same way. I would spend like 75 minutes sharing every resource, reading every line in the handbook, talking about micronutrients and the exact amounts your body needs. And at the end of the day, my clients were like, “That doesn’t help me at all.” [crosstalk 00:18:35] so defiantly a learning process.__

Nicole Aucoin (18:36):
I’m really confused.

Kayla Pollock (18:36):
Yeah. So, I’ve had to learn myself and grow. And like I said, I’ve been doing this for a bit now, and I am still growing and learning new things along the way.

Nicole Aucoin (18:45):
I think we all are learning it, and that’s the most important thing like, “Okay, what works and what does it?” And, let’s keep what works and hold that close, and figure out what the heck to do better to overcome the things that don’t work. All right. Now, let’s talk about the things that don’t work. What are the most common mistakes that you’re seeing with coach evaluations?

Kayla Pollock (19:03):
Yeah, I’m going to say just talking too much. And, when the client talks too much, and I know I’m talking about the same thing, but it is so important. When you talk too much, you’re missing out on the detail that’s going to shed light on the lowest hanging fruit; and even further, all the barriers that your clients are going to face on a daily or weekly basis. And, when we miss that detail, we’re unable to truly create a plan that’s going to navigate that for them, where they can find success. So again, we got to get our clients talking, open-ended questions, and really have that water bottle in front of you. I want you to drink 60 ounces before the meeting is over.

Nicole Aucoin (19:44):
I love that. I think sometimes as a nutrition coach, you focus on just the nutrition piece and underestimate the value of all the other things.

Kayla Pollock (19:53):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Nicole Aucoin (19:54):
What do I mean with all the other things? If you look at the holistic approach of Healthy Steps Nutrition, I think one of the most undervalued things is support system.

Kayla Pollock (20:03):
Yes.

Nicole Aucoin (20:04):
And, if you’re talking to your client, let’s say a husband who… Or we can use my family for example, if I’m a nutrition client and you’re talking to me about, well, grocery shopping and prepping food, I do 10% of the cooking in our household, my husband does 90%. So, if we never got to the point of who does the cooking in the house, who’s there to support you? And, you never found out that I actually don’t do any of the cooking, it doesn’t really matter what you tell me to cook, because I’m not cooking anyways. It’s my husband that needs to be involved in the conversation.

Kayla Pollock (20:33):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Nicole Aucoin (20:34):
So, you have to look at all of the other factors, not just what are you putting in your mouth.

Kayla Pollock (20:40):
Yes, it all comes together. And, the holistic approac is something that I’m very nit-picky in with the evaluations, because it is that important. I actually have a client scenario ,and I’m not going to give too much information because I really like to use this one in the evaluation. But, I’m a busy mom of three, and one thing I have to navigate is taking care of the entire household. And, I really only have my spouse in this scenario, who’s home on the weekends to help out. And so, a conversation that may need to happen and probably should happen is talking with the spouse about how important the goals are, my why’s behind it. And, how my spouse can maybe take care of the kids for a little bit, so I can maybe do some meal prep, or I can just spend some time on stress management, so my cup is also being full. And so, those are the missing pieces. When you don’t hit the support system, that’s a huge barrier that your clients may need to navigate, and we should be there to guide them and offer solutions for that.

Nicole Aucoin (21:40):
And even going a step further, I would say in your scenario, let’s role play that conversation of how you’re going to talk to your husband.

Kayla Pollock (21:50):
Yeah.

Nicole Aucoin (21:51):
Let’s have a conversation about it, let’s practice right now, so that you feel confident going into that conversation with your husband. Because if you don’t play it out, they might not feel comfortable actually doing it, and then that’s a barrier.

Kayla Pollock (22:03):
Yeah. Yeah. And for some reason, those conversations, well, they are the people we’re closest with. They can feel really scary. And so, while I’m role-playing for the evaluation, all of our coaches should honestly get comfortable with that role-play, because that is going to be a huge piece of the puzzle for a lot of the clients they’re working with.

Nicole Aucoin (22:22):
I love that. Support system is such a big piece of the holistic puzzle. And, if you’re just focusing on what you eat, I challenge you to go listen to The Nutrition Made Simple Podcast, the first seven episodes, we actually dive into each of the pieces of the Healthy Steps Nutrition framework where we are looking at a holistic framework. So, we’ll link those episodes below this one, but it is important to keep in mind, it’s not just about what you eat, there’s so many other factors that you can help with as a coach.

Kayla Pollock (22:50):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah.

Nicole Aucoin (22:52):
Any other common mistakes that you see with coaches?

Kayla Pollock (22:56):
I would say a big one then would be giving too many action steps all at once. There have been some, I walk away and I’ve counted five plus different action steps that my client would walk away needing to think about.

Nicole Aucoin (23:15):
That’s a lot.

Kayla Pollock (23:16):
That is a lot.

Nicole Aucoin (23:17):
One step at a time. I know its Healthy Steps Nutrition, there’s a lot of steps that . But, if we just focus on one step at a time, our clients are going to be more confident, they’re going to be consistent and they’re going to see better results. And, that the research shows when you focus on only one thing at a time, you’re 80% successful to maintain that one thing over the course of a year. And, that’s a really important of the puzzle, because you don’t want to give your client too many things at one time, they feel overwhelmed and then they don’t want to come back, because they feel like they’re going to get more stuff from you. And, they’re already overwhelmed and overworked, and have too much on their plate to begin with.

Kayla Pollock (23:59):
Yeah. I’ve actually had a few conversations with coaches about why they gave so many action steps, and it usually boils down to being worried about not providing enough value. But, I want to remind those coaches that if you give them all the resources, and all the action steps and they don’t find success, that is not the value that your client was looking for. We should be there to build them a plan where they can find those successes. And when they do, it’s going to breed more motivation, because it’s not the sprint, as we say, it’s the marathon. And ,when they can reach that success, that long-term goal, that’s the value that. That is what this is all about.

Nicole Aucoin (24:38):
I love that. And then, you have the apps to keep them accountable. So, you have the HSN App where you are putting in their action step and their habits that they’re working on. They can mark off complete, you can see as a coach, did they actually do what they said they were going to do? And, streamlined communication is a huge piece of the puzzle when you’re looking at managing not 10 clients, but 30, 40, 50 clients, you need streamlined systems to be able to manage all of those clients. All right. What should a coach do to prepare for their evaluation?

Kayla Pollock (25:09):
Yeah. Great question. There’s actually a new page through HSN, which I am absolutely in love with, but it highlights a few of the key resources. First and foremost, look at the rubric, the evaluation that I am grading you on, because that’s going to give you insight to what I’m looking for. If you are a checklist person, write those out and make sure you touch upon them, and then we’re going to refine the process together, but at least you’re getting that baseline. So, just know what we’re looking for. And I always check this in the beginning, I always ask, “Do you have the HSN initial consultation form or a note page to kind of follow along to make sure that you’re asking all the questions?” And really, it’s to remind them to hit every aspect, including the holistic approach, which we discussed is just so important.

Kayla Pollock (25:53):
And then, another big thing I would say is take the time to dive into the app, because it is an amazing piece that we really talk about scalability. It does offer a ton of value. It allows us to give the support and the accountability to our clients. So, I want all the coaches to figure out what are the three most important features of the app, define that, and really just explain that when you’re doing the evaluation, not every aspect of the app, because man, that can get a bit overwhelming.

Nicole Aucoin (26:25):
What are the three most important aspects that you think of when you think of the app?

Kayla Pollock (26:29):
Yeah, so I do the same exact thing when I’m working with my clients. So, I always explain the habits. But when I explain the habits, I spend a bit more time. So, I put the habits in there. I explained how they track them and why it’s so important. And, the app is so amazing when they start tracking their habit, you can pull up a calendar and it breaks down how consistent they are with the percentage. So, I always lead them with a goal. Do you think that we can get 80% consistency with this habit before the next time I see you? And, consistency is everything. People are always looking for the best diet out there, the solution out there, whatever the magic pill is and you said it before, it’s consistency. So, having that is so important. So, I walk them through the how and the why of the habit.

Kayla Pollock (27:15):
The second thing I show them is their training program where they can locate the videos that go out every single week. And I always show them, “Hey, it’s going to be great tips.” And, there’s always a recipe at the end and that’s my favorite part. I want people to be excited about the food and love the food that they’re eating. If they’re not, what’s the point? So, I do the habits, I do the videos. And the last thing is messaging, because the clients who are more engaged and checking in more often are the ones who find the most success. So, those are my top three.

Nicole Aucoin (27:48):
I love those. Those would be my top three for sure too. You want to be able to have a streamlined form of communication. And, if you’re not showing them how to message you, they’re going to go to the way that they already were messaging you before, Facebook message, email, text, and you don’t want that because it’s going to be impossible to keep track of conversation. So, you need to show them how to message you within the app, for sure.

Kayla Pollock (28:07):
Yeah.

Nicole Aucoin (28:08):
The coach evaluation is a part of the training process and it’s a part of adding a new coach. But you and I, and Melinda, and Lindsay, and Ashley were on a meeting a few months ago and we’re like, “We really want other coaches to get coach evaluation some older coaches.” Right?

Kayla Pollock (28:25):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Nicole Aucoin (28:25):
And basically, what we said was, “If you get a coach evaluation and you’re an existing coach, you can get on this new directory that we released, hireanutritioncoach.com.” So, why is that important? Well, now at the end of the nutrition made simple podcast, the call to action is find a Health Steps Nutrition coach near you, go to hireanutritioncoach.com. So now, you not only have all of the new gyms coming on board and new coaches coming on board, getting coach evaluation. Do you also have all of these existing coaches who’ve been with us for years and years, that are now getting coaches evaluations because they want to get on the directory. Right?

Kayla Pollock (29:04):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yes. If you look at my calendar, it is just all evaluations, it’s been a blast.

Nicole Aucoin (29:10):
Man, this is awesome. Kayla, thank you for coming on today and sharing the insight about coach evaluations. It’s so important to have a consistent experience in a gym setting if you have multiple coaches, but then also from a coach perspective, you want to become a better coach. And, when you are a better coach, you are able to provide your clients more value, simplify the process, help them see better results. And at the end of the day, that’s going to get them staying longer, so it’s going to help you build your nutrition program faster. So, Coach Evaluations are an amazing tool. If you are an HSN client, please get your coach evaluation, sign up for our coach evaluation, you do have to pay extra for it. It’s $199, but a 1000% worth the value. And then, you can get on the director as well. So Kayla, thank you for all that you do. Truly, you have such an amazing passion for helping others with nutrition, but empowering our coaches to do the same. So, thank you for all that you do.

Kayla Pollock (30:06):
Oh, thank you for the opportunity. And, thanks for having me on the podcast again.

Nicole Aucoin (30:10):
Awesome. The Coach Evaluations is one of the most incredible additions and I could not think of a better person to head up the evaluations than Kayla. She has years of experience coaching clients using the HSN Mentoring platform, has graduated from school to become a dietician, has helped build the Basics of Nutrition Coaching CrossFit Preferred Nutrition Course, and really helped shape the program into what it is today. But, the truth is they are a team of people that work together to create all of the tools and resources that we release to simplify the process for gym owners, nutrition, coaches and dieticians in our platform.

Nicole Aucoin (30:52):
Thank you to everyone on our team to helping the vision, to becoming what it is today. I’ve linked the podcast that we discussed on the blog connected to this episode. All you need to do is click the link in the show notes and you can access them super easily.

Nicole Aucoin (31:08):
If you are a gym owner or a nutrition coach looking to save time and not reinvent the wheel, HSN Mentoring has the solution for you. We provide the owner and a coach, the training to set up the systems, and the nutrition coaching education to become an effective nutrition coach. What separates HSN Mentoring from all of the other courses in the market is that everything is in one place. The business support, the systems, the app to manage your clients, all of the social media content and new content every single month, as well as the one-on-one support with one of the experts from one of our mentoring team. Not only do we help you set up the program, you have the ongoing support to continue to help you grow your program. And the best part is, you’re not paying us per client that’s using the platform, it’s a flat subscription fee every single month.

Nicole Aucoin (32:10):
So, if you are looking to save time and not reinvent the wheel, we would love to help you. Click the link in the show notes to get all of the details and see how it works. It’s pretty easy to get started. You book a free call with me to see if it’s a good fit and if it is, you sign up, get access to the course immediately and start going through the training, so your program could be up and launched in as little as four weeks. One more thing, did you enjoy this episode? Make sure that you subscribe. And, go ahead and leave us a review, so that you do not miss another episode. We’ll see you back next week.