The 2-Phase Program Model for Consistent Revenue

Listen to the Episode

In this episode I’m chatting with Benny Gallo, women’s health coach, to talk about how she works with clients one on one to help them change the way they look at food and how she’s able to provide month-to-month support after her initial coaching program ends, providing her with predictable monthly revenue.

Here’s what we’re covering in the episode:

How she got started as a health coach by sharing what she was good at
How she turned her passion into a sustainable business
The mistakes Benny made in her own business (it’s so common – most coaches do this!) and what she wished she’d done instead!

If you’ve been running a 3- or 6-month coaching program and haven’t yet added a recurring revenue stream to your business, check out this episode!

Meet Benny….

My passion for fitness led me to want to help other woman find balance and build a healthy relationship with food. As an ACE-certified health coach I’m able to teach others what I know now and help avoid making the same mistakes I did.

I want to inspire others to become the best version of themselves!

Episode Transcript

I’m Laurie Mallon, and this is the Profitable Health Coach Podcast, the show where we’re all about creating a sustainable, enjoyable, and profitable online coaching business that gives you the freedom and flexibility that you want. We’ll hear about strategies, systems, and solutions from experts and fellow coaches who’ve created the business of their dreams, providing amazing transformations, and connecting with clients across the globe. You’ll learn how to get started without the technical overwhelm.

Join me on this journey to become a profitable health coach. Welcome, everyone. I am here with Benny Gallo, who is a women’s health coach, and she has been working with clients for six years, working one-on-one with them, helping them to create a long-term, healthy lifestyle.

Welcome, Benny. Thank you. Thank you for having me today.

So, Benny, the reason that I wanted to talk to you is because the model that you use in your business, it’s really the basis of what you need to have a sustainable and long-term business. And we’re going to talk about this model, which I’m a huge fan of. We’re going to talk about that, but I would love for you to tell us like your backstory, like what got you into health coaching and how it brought you to the place where you are now with helping your own clients.

Interesting story, I have to say. So, I started about seven years ago. You know, health and fitness has always been part of my life since I was very young.

I’ve had a long journey with fitness and health, but seven years ago, I’ve always been very disciplined with my own habits, meal prepping, working out, and co-workers. I was working full-time in HR. I have a degree of bachelors in human resources.

So, my co-workers started asking me if I would train them. So, I started helping them meal prep, helping them choose healthy options, and just kind of showing them what I knew. I was helping them for free.

I started absolutely free because I had no interest in coaching at that time. I was still working on my degrees. So, I started doing that and a friend had mentioned to me she was certified through ACE Fitness and she mentioned to me, she’s like, you’re so good at what you do, you should look into just getting certified.

So, I did. I looked into the course and I always wanted, even for myself, I thought about, you know, this could help me. So, I looked into it.

I took the course. I fell in with it, especially where it teaches you about eating behaviors, just because it was that piece I was missing. That is where I actually took my business online.

I started doing online coaching and challenges and I did that for about two years. And that is kind of how it all started. Last year, 2020, I didn’t do any coaching.

It was a crazy year for us. We moved across country and I kind of had a stall in my business because I didn’t know where I wanted to take it. It’s been a year now where I kind of narrowed down my niche and where I wanted to take my clients.

I bought a mentorship program and hired a coach and that is where it led me to where I am today. So, and I’m very, very excited because I feel like being able to teach women about their eating habits, for me, it was life-changing. And to be able to teach that to other women has been just so rewarding.

And that’s how I am now. Let’s go back. So, this started kind of like seven years ago, your own journey.

People noticed that you were, you know, what you were doing and they wanted you to kind of, you know, mentor them or teach them and show them how to do what you were doing. And so, along the way, what mistakes do you think that you’ve made in your business and how did that shape, like how did you pivot from that, learn from those mistakes and kind of course correct? Probably working for free for so many years. I think that just undervaluing myself was one of the mistakes that I did getting into this business.

I think that is so prevalent because for a lot of us, we feel, and you can jump in if this is kind of what led you to do it for free, that you feel like health should be available to everyone. Like this is life-changing information and that you really just want to share it more than anything. You just want to make it available.

So, when you say that that was a mistake, do you feel like because you could have been generating revenue and you could have turned it into a business a lot sooner than you did, or would you say that maybe not charging people had an impact on how much information that you provide? Would you say either one of those, like what was more of a factor for you to call it out a mistake? When you don’t put a value or a price to something you’re committing to, you don’t commit 100% as a client, right? So, as the people I was helping. And for myself, I think that I could have been making revenue at a very early stage. At that time, I know when I started, it was just kind of helping friends.

I made that mistake that because I was helping friends and family, I was just providing everything for free. And that’s just not the way we should start a business. I agree.

Let’s talk about the model now that you have for your program and for your business. So, can you tell us a little bit about that? So, the program I currently have, which I’m so excited for, it’s a 12-week program and it’s transforming from the inside out. And the program is based off five phases.

So, each stage can take an individual a week, two weeks, three weeks. It just depends on what they have to deal with. So, during those 12 weeks, we go through each stage.

We go through the progress, but towards the end of the 12 weeks, I assess the progress they’ve made and then give them the option to continue on a month-to-month basis. And some clients make great progress, but some clients need extra help, need more time. And that is why I give them the ability to stay on on a month-to-month basis.

What percentage, would you say, of your clients that go through the 12 weeks opt to continue month-to-month? The majority. And it makes sense, right? Because a lot of times, when they’ve gone through your program or any program really, they’ve had a transformation. They’ve achieved a certain result and they can see the difference between their point A and their point B. Like, they can look back and say, okay, this is where I was and this is where I want to be.

I mean, 12 weeks is not really that much time for them to really solidify habits, new routines, new mindsets, right? So, having that month-to-month support and someone to check in with and just kind of make sure that they’re going to be able to maintain what they’ve achieved is really critical, right? So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how easily do you get your clients to sign up for this maintenance package? Is it much of a sell or do they just, are they like, they’re pretty much on board because they’re not ready. Like, they’re just like, I really want to keep, yeah, they’re enthusiastic. Absolutely.

They want to keep talking to you. They’re not ready to go it alone. Yes, because, you know, during the 12 weeks, the clients see significant amount of change in themselves.

When you’re actually working from the emotional part of this journey, it really transforms the individual because not only are you feeling great on the outside, you’re feeling great on the inside and that shows. So, I think that, you know, when the 12 week comes around, the majority of clients are not hesitant to keep going because they feel amazing. And they attribute that to you.

They know that you are a big part of them. They want to make sure that they still have access to you. So, what does it look like? What does your maintenance program look like month to month? What do they get? They would get the same thing as the 12 weeks.

So, during the 12 weeks, we do, every two weeks, we do phone calls or video call, whatever the client prefers. And they do have access to me either email or text message. They have access to me during that time.

So, I’m available to them. So, is it unlimited? They can just text you whenever. They can message you whenever.

Well, I do have my set hours. Okay. Okay, good.

All right. I was going to say, we need some boundaries around this. Yes, yes.

No, I do have some set hours and I do make that aware. But if I do have a client that is struggling, and the majority of the clients are texting me, it’s because they need immediate help. And I make that aware because, you know, I also have a life in kids.

So, I let them know if they need me at that time immediately, feel free. Did you always do it this way with the 12 weeks and then offering maintenance or is the maintenance ongoing monthly support new to your business? This is something you added on later. I just added it.

How has this changing this framework, how has this changed your business in terms of profitability, sustainability, being able to kind of grow and scale? It’s been a lot more stable, I would say, just because, you know, we do have the 12 weeks upfront, and then the monthly subscription. So, for me, it’s been a lot better, more stable. I’ve seen a lot of coaches and they’ll come to me and they’re like, well, I have this like three month program and then I have this six month program, but that’s it.

And then they were kind of always in this loop of, okay, this client just finished their program. Now I need to find a new client. So, they’re in this loop of always trying to like generate new clients.

And I tell them, and I mean, some of them listen and some don’t, but having that month to month, I mean, that is going to change your business. Having that recurring revenue, knowing that you have, you know, you don’t have to run out immediately and find a new client next month and you don’t have to be in this hustle of, you know, where am I going to, where’s my next client coming from so that I can, you know, pay my mortgage next month or something like that. So, having that month to month, and I had the same thing when I started doing that recurring revenue, it completely changed my business like a total 180.

It was a game changer for sure. Let me ask you, where are you getting most of your clients now? What’s working for you in terms of getting clients? Right now, I introduced this new program to clients I already had and then a Facebook group that I have. So, that is where I’ve introduced the program as of right now.

When you’re introducing and you’re looking to pick up new clients, you know, the lowest hanging fruit is people who’ve already worked with you, referrals, right? So, people who we’ve already built that trust with. Getting to the people that already know like and trust you is, you know, like that second circle, right? So, retention marketing and referral marketing have the absolute highest rate of conversion and then really smart to go with your Facebook group because you’re already showing up for them. You’re already providing a value.

They already know you like you and trust you. So, it seems like, you know, that’s the logical next step. So, for the clients that do stay with you month to month, how long do they normally stay with you? Yeah, that’s a tough one just because I haven’t run into that yet.

Okay, that’s great. So, you know, it’s working. At this point, you have 100% retention rate month to month.

Right now, yes. And hopefully, you know, and I think that’s really smart because especially with health and wellness, people like to feel like they have access, that they have a resource to turn to especially knowledgeable about, you know, habits and behavior modification and, you know, changing kind of their mindset around the way they approach food instead of, and I know that, you know, we’ve all been subjected to diet culture for the last, you know, 10 decades or whatever, where, you know, we’ve been told, you know, just eat less and move more, but we know that getting healthy has a lot more to do with our behaviors, our environment, and our habits. Correct.

So, being able to kind of, you know, promote that this is really more about like your lifestyle and how you live day to day and not just like a temporary, you know, exercise hard and cut out all the carbs and, you know, do something crazy for a short term and then go back to whatever you were doing before. It doesn’t work. No, it doesn’t.

None of that works. And I think people are starting to catch on that, really, this isn’t, this is a lifelong process. So, so that’s great that that’s working for you and that you found kind of this model that is helping you build this, you know, profitable, sustainable business that you, that you love, right? Yeah.

This is what you do full-time. Now, I do yet. No more, no more HR? No more HR.

So, Benny, this particular podcast is for other health, health coaches who are looking to kind of achieve what you’ve done, which is create this business that you love and that really makes you happy and it’s sustainable. So, what would be your top three tips for other coaches out there who are looking to, to do something like this? Top three things would be, stop waiting to feel that you’re ready until you’re ready. I think that, you know, sometimes we, we wait too long to make things happen and invest in yourself as soon as you can.

I think that moved my business a lot quicker and then stop paying for so many certifications. People want someone that they can connect with, people they can build a good report with because people want to feel that you understand. So, I think that if you are capable to do that, you’ll be successful.

I, I can’t agree with that last point more. Like I’m just nodding along like a big dope over here because I see coaches and I don’t know if this is some kind of, you know, manifestation of like an imposter syndrome where they feel like the more certifications they have, the more likely they are to get a client, but it’s really, it’s really serving to reinforce their insecurity, I feel like, and this could be my own, whatever, but they feel like the more letters they have after their name or the bigger list of certain serves that they have, the more qualified they are going to feel and that that is going to give them the confidence to get clients or give potential clients the confidence to invest in them and it does not work this way. Correct.

It’s like you said, people want to hire a coach that they connect with, somebody who’s relatable, somebody who can get results and that does not always translate to, you know, the number of certs you have. It, it just has to do with how, you know, your own experience and what you know, which is does not, is not always coming from a certification, right? I mean, you should definitely be qualified. Definitely don’t be open practice.

Like I was about saying, of course, but you know, stop hoarding those certifications because you think that is going to give you the confidence you need to move forward in your business. But I mean, we all know it’s, it’s action and actually working with people gives you the confidence, which actually attracts more clients. It’s one of these, like you have to kind of step out.

Like you said, don’t wait, put yourself out there. Correct. That’s amazing.

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