A Health Coach is a professional who uses an individual-centered approach to guide, motivate, and support their clients toward making behavior changes that can improve their overall health and well-being.
According to a 2014 study by Kirsi Kivelä from the University of Oulu, a health coach plays a crucial role in helping clients in making informed choices, weighing different options, setting up plans, and identifying potential challenges. A coach’s role encompasses listening, understanding, facilitating, encouraging, supporting, motivating, and providing feedback to the patients.
An Optavia Health Coach, on the other hand, is specifically trained to guide clients through Optavia’s weight loss programs. Despite not necessarily having a dietician or nutritionist background, these individuals have undergone training about Optavia’s products and methods to effectively promote and sell them.
As a part of Optavia’s multi-level marketing (MLM) structure, independent Optavia coaches are working to support clients on their weight loss journey. They incorporate their training to assist clients in staying on track with program guidelines, maintaining motivation, and developing sustainable healthy eating habits.
What Is The Role Of Optavia Health Coach?
The role of an Optavia coach is primarily focused on selling Optavia’s diet program and products. They act more like product consultants rather than legitimate health coaches. Optavia coaches are expected to buy a monthly supply of Optavia Fuelings, which can cost approximately $511.50.
They earn commissions on product sales to clients and recruit clients to become coaches themselves. According to the Optavia income disclosure, 86% of coaches do not make enough money to cover their annual costs, and only 2.3% make enough profit to be considered a livable wage. Many participants in MLM companies like Optavia end up losing money and going into debt.
What Does The Job Description of an Optavia Health Coach Include?
The job description of an Independent Optavia Health Coach can include several responsibilities such as meeting and assessing the needs of clients, providing support and motivation to clients, and educating clients about healthy eating habits and the Optavia diet regimen.
How Does The Role Of an Optavia Health Coach Differ From a Dietitian?
The fundamental difference between an Optavia health coach and a dietitian lies in roles and responsibilities. The dietitian’s role primarily involves counseling patients on dietary modifications, developing diet plans, and providing dietary advice to promote health and prevent disease.
They play a crucial role in a multidisciplinary healthcare system, particularly in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases.
Dietitians are educated and certified professionals who are especially effective in counseling overweight or obese patients, and their services have demonstrated both clinical and cost benefits. The effectiveness of their dietary care is closely tied to their professional qualifications.
What Certifications Do Optavia Health Coaches Hold?
Optavia Health Coaches primarily hold a certification from Optavia’s in-house training program. This certification is obtained after passing an exam that assesses the trainee’s knowledge of Optavia’s products and coaching methods. The training focuses mainly on familiarizing the coaches with the company’s product range and coaching protocols.
Optavia Health Coaches are not necessarily trained in fields like nutrition, counseling overweight or obese patients, biochemistry, or psychology. The coaches come from various walks of life, including professions such as teaching, business consulting, and more.
Optavia does not require any specific degree or external certification to become a health coach with them. The primary requirement is successfully completing their in-house training program and demonstrating an understanding of their products and methods.
Who Can Become An Optavia Health Coach?
Becoming an Optavia coach is open to all, with no requisite professional qualifications or credentials in fields such as health, nutrition, fitness, or weight loss. If you’re interested in becoming an Optavia coach, the process simply involves registering as an independent contractor with Optavia and procuring a coaching business kit, a guide that will teach you necessary selling skills.
Is a Background Check Required to Become an Optavia Health Coach?
No, a background check is not typically required to become an Optavia Health Coach.
What Skills Does an Optavia Health Coach Need?
An Optavia Health Coach needs a variety of skills to succeed such as communication, customer service, product knowledge, negotiation, time management, and networking.
- Communication Skills: Essential to explain the program, products, and benefits to potential customers effectively.
- Customer Service Skills: Being responsive and supportive to ensure customers have a positive experience.
- Persuasion Skills: Needed to convince potential clients about the benefits of Optavia’s program and to motivate current clients to keep on track.
- Product Knowledge: Understanding the details of each Optavia product, including ingredients, nutrition facts, and allergens to confidently answer customer questions and concerns.
- Negotiation Skills: Useful to deal with potential objections or when selling programs/packages.
- Time Management Skills: To juggle different clients, tasks, and responsibilities effectively, as well as their private life and family needs.
- Networking Skills: Helps to expand client base through social interactions both online and offline.
How Much Does an Optavia Health Coach Earn?
Optavia coaches earn a commission of 15% on client purchases, but they must have a minimum of five clients to be eligible for compensation. The amount a coach earns fluctuates based on the specific products their clients purchase, as each product has a different compensation volume.
When asking how much does Optavia coaches make, we can point to the 2022 Optavia US Income Disclosure Statement, which shows that a small percentage of coaches make between a cent and $100 a month, while another percentage earns between $100 and $250 a month.
How Often Does an Optavia Health Coach Interact With Customers?
An Optavia Health Coach interacts with clients regularly to provide support and guidance throughout their weight loss journey. This includes regular check-ins, ongoing support, goal setting and tracking, providing education and resources, encouraging community engagement, and taking a personalized approach to meet each client’s needs.
- Regular Check-Ins: Optavia coaches generally arrange 1 to 2 check-in sessions per week with their clients, totaling approximately 4 to 8 sessions monthly. These sections can be conducted through various mediums: 40% in person, 30% over the phone, or 30% via video chat. In these 20-30 minutes long check-in sessions, coaches spend around 50% of the time reviewing progress, around 30% discussing challenges, and approximately 20% of the time offering personalized recommendations to assist clients in maintaining their weight loss trajectory.
- Ongoing Support: An Optavia health coach provides essential support to clients, with 30% of their role involving answering queries, 25% delivering meal planning advice, and 20% offering encouragement and motivation. The remaining 25% consists of addressing any concerns that arise during the client’s weight loss journey.
- Community Engagement: As Optavia health coaches, it’s recommended that around 30 to 45 minutes is spent daily encouraging clients to engage with the broader Optavia community. Optavia health coaches may spend 10-15 minutes daily managing online forums or social media groups where clients can openly communicate their experiences, ask questions, and offer support to one another.
The frequency and mode of interaction can vary based on the client’s preferences.
What Are The Career Progression Opportunities For An Optavia Health Coach?
The career progression opportunities for an Optavia Health Coach follow a multi-level structure, allowing coaches to progress through various ranks based on their performance and the size of their team. Here are the potential ranks and associated earning percentages from your teams.
- Senior Coach: As a Senior Coach, you earn 4% from a Coach team and 2% from a Senior Coach team.
- Manager: Progressing to a Manager, you would earn 6% from a Coach team, 4% from a Senior Coach team, and 2% from a Manager team.
- Associate Director: As an Associate Director, you earn 8% from a Coach team, 6% from a Senior Coach team, 4% from a Manager team, and 2% from an Associate Director team.
- Director: As a Director, you earn 10% from a Coach team, 8% from a Senior Coach team, 6% from a Manager team, 4% from an Associate Director team, and 2% from a Director team.
- Executive Director: At the highest rank of Executive Director, you earn 12% from a Coach team, 10% from a Senior Coach team, 8% from a Manager team, 6% from an Associate Director team, 4% from a Director team, and are also eligible for the ED Generation Bonus.
These percentages are the earning rates from the respective downline teams up to the next qualifying Optavia Coach of the same rank.
What Benefits Are Offered To an Optavia Health Coach?
The benefits offered to Optavia health coaches are listed below.
- Optavia Health Coaches often enjoy a significant product discount, which can range from 15-20% off on Optavia Fuelings.
- There is potential to earn extra income with a base commission rate starting at approximately 15% for each product sold.
- As an Optavia Health Coach, you have the flexibility of working hours that go up to 20-30 hours a week, depending on your availability.
- Being an Optavia Health Coach involves approximately 10-20 hours of initial training, which contributes to your personal and professional skills development.
What Level Of Education Is Required To Become An Optavia Health Coach?
To become an Optavia Health Coach, no specific level of education is required. Optavia does not have any educational requirements for individuals who want to become coaches. Optavia’s coaching program is open to anyone who purchases an Optavia coaching business kit for $199.00 and completes the Optavia Certification Exam.
