#201: [Coach the Coach] Melissa’s Not Making the Progress She Wants – Why?

Michelle Leotta:
Well hello there, health coaches. We are back for a Coach the Coach session. Haven't done one of these in a minute. So, I'm happy to be here with Melissa, who is one of our weekly mentorship members. Thanks for being here, Melissa.

Melissa:
Oh, I'm excited to talk to you one on one, Michelle.

Michelle Leotta:
Well, it is a perk of mentorship that you guys get an opportunity to do a little one on one with me live right here with everybody. So, if you are with us live, don't be shy. Say hello. You can ask questions as we go along, Melissa and I are gonna have a little conversation today. And, like I said, this is a perk of being part of weekly mentorship. We meet every single week live. So, I do have an idea of what Melissa's doing in her business. And the wait list is now open. If you would like to join us, you gotta get on the wait list. That's all there is to do at this point. You can't join. Enrollment's not quite open yet later this summer, it will be, but for now you can go to healthcoachpower.com/mentorship.

Michelle Leotta:
So Melissa, tell us what's going on in your world. How can I help you today?

Melissa:
Okay, well to start with, um, I, um, I coach women with diabetes and their focus based on type two diabetes is their desire to lose weight. And I obviously slip in blood sugar in there because that's definitely something that I know a lot about. Um, I live with type one diabetes myself, and I love the opportunity to be able to help women kind of, um, just kind of normalize what they're eating and what they're doing every day to feel good.

Michelle Leotta:
Okay. So you're living with type one diabetes. You're working with women who have type one and type two or mostly type two.

Melissa:
Well, I have both. So maybe that's part of, part of what we'll dive into today. I have... I have helped both. I have helped women in both, um, circumstances or diagnosis.

Michelle Leotta:
Okay. Um, and now I do wanna get back to that. I'm interested about that. And the problem is what?

Melissa:
I think, um, which is why I continue to be so attached to you, Michelle, and all of, all of your teachings, I've learned so much over the years only wished I'd found you sooner or plugged in sooner, but, you know, we can't change what we didn't do. So, I'm just real happy to, you know, to have a plan now around, I know I need to do a better job at communicating and making myself I guess, making my coaching more approachable to more women. So, so reaching, reaching and speaking to them is what's missing. Yeah.

Michelle Leotta:
It's what's, what's missing. So you're doing a better job than you were. And yet you told me before we hit record that you're feeling frustrated. You said I should have a wait list by now.

Melissa:
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Um, and as we all know, as coaches or you don't, you don't even have to be a coach to know this how prevalent prediabetes and type two is and how it leads to so many other health conditions that many of us, it's all kind of intertwined as far as what people are suffering with, but this is a specific diagnosis in a lot of cases. So, and it's, it can be a, I mean, it is a scare from the doctors. I mean, some women handle it differently and process it differently. Um, but I really think it's, um, I, I don't know. I think there's too much, there's a lot of information out there too. So I think that might be prior to the problem that people have when they really don't know what their first step is. So they tend to maybe not do anything or realizing that there's help out there.

Michelle Leotta:
Yeah. Why don't they realize that you're there? Why don't you have a line a mile long outside your door? Because this is, I mean, what is the statistic I heard by 2030, 30% of Americans will be diabetic or prediabetic.

Melissa:
Yeah.

Michelle Leotta:
That's a lot of people. Are you gonna have enough time for all of them?

Melissa:
I know, I may need to hire help, right?

Michelle Leotta:
We'd like to get you to that point. We would like to get you to that point. So, okay. Ask you a couple questions. You've been in business for how many years now?

Melissa:
Six years,

Michelle Leotta:
Six years now. I'm back to when I had been in business for about six years and you know, no, one's an overnight success. We always was always that joke, the overnight success, it took 20 years to get here kind of thing. So at six years, where would you like to be with your business? Like, why don't you feel like you've made the progress that you want to have made since I'm sure in the beginning you had zero clients and we're doing nothing in your business and now you're doing lots of stuff.

Melissa:
Right, right. I, you know, I think I was, I was trying too many different things when I started out. Um, I didn't even have a niche, believe it or not. I wasn't even focusing on women with diabetes when I first started. So yeah. I graduated from IIN 2016 and with no real direction. So, but I, I think that was part of the process too, you know, 'cause we kind of have to learn about ourselves and how we work with people. So I think there was, there was a lot of value in those years learning. But I think with, where I wanna be is to, is to really be able to help women. I know that there's, there's just an, and there's, these are some women that I'm meeting. These are people that in some cases know me. Um, but there's still that disconnect that I have, what I, I have, what they need to take that next step. Um, so I really think I, once I think I'm more clear and more direct about that, um, I think it will be easier, you know, to, you know, to attain more clients. Um, I would like eight or 10 at a time would be nice. Um, I don't think anymore of that at this point, I would like to do programs where I can kind of automate some of these, um, you know, this material, you know, that I share with one on one clients.

Michelle Leotta:
Okay. So 8 to 10 clients at a time, that's important. We need like a way of measuring right. Our success. And you said like, I wanna help women. And I wanted to say, I know you are helping women. You have worked with clients, certainly mm-hmm you have mailing list, you have an audience, you're doing things all the time. So you are helping women. So you could say check, you did it but yet it doesn't feel that way because...

Melissa:
It's not consistent. Right? It's I, I think that's what we want as coaches is we wanna know that we wanna find that, that formula and it almost, we, you know, we want it on autopilot. We want it to just kind of hum along. And I know it takes time and it takes work and I'm willing to do the work that I, I think that is really what it is. It's, it's, it's the not knowing, you know, when clients finish up and you know, when you're, I've had as many, I've had as many as 6, 7, 8 at a time of clients, you know, coaching at one time, one on one. And then when their program ends and things continue, you know, things don't continue with them. It, it's just the peaks and valleys. Um, and that's kind of unsettling, you know?

Michelle Leotta:
We want the, the, the constant flow from the business should be feeding, you know, almost like an engine that just keeps feeding new prospective. Clients our way.

Melissa:
Yeah.

Michelle Leotta:
Um, okay. Where do you think if you think of it like plumbing, you know, and you have to figure out where the clog is. We know that at the far end of the pipe, there's a lot of people with diabetes. And then where do you think the, the, the clog is in them getting to you and becoming a client? Are they getting to your mailing list, but not moving beyond that? Are you having a hard time finding them in the first place?

Melissa:
I think it's a little bit of both of what you just said. My mailing list is somewhat consistent. I think I am reaching them better now with, with the, what, you know, with the freebies and the opt-ins that, that I'm doing. It's not troves of people, but, or women, but it's a little bit of a flow going in there, but I... They're, obviously they've been sitting on my list of some of them for years and why they haven't progressed to that next step is what's got me stumped. There's something missing, there's something not quite, um, resonating with them, you know, to, um, you know, to give me a call, you know, to take that next step.

Michelle Leotta:
Well, you know what, it's pretty common for some people to just sit on your list forever. Like, they are, there are like the list sitters, I would say that's just a personality type. That's a type of person. And for whatever reason, they're never gonna make another move. So I'm interested in how we can get you in front of more women who have diabetes in general. And of course, more women who have diabetes who are ready, willing, and able to make a move. Right. Um, how right now, how are you getting yourself in front of new eyeballs, new women who have diabetes,

Melissa:
Right. Um, I'm not, I guess that is the problem.

Michelle Leotta:
Bingo.

New Speaker:
I haven't, yeah, I haven't, um, besides just marketing, um, online, that's all I've been doing this past year.

Michelle Leotta:
And marketing online. I mean, that could certainly be getting you in front of new people, but are, are you referring to like your own social media posting to your own accounts?

Melissa:
Right, right, right.

Michelle Leotta:
This is what coaches are. You guys are all doing this, you know, you've I posted to Instagram however many times, and nobody follows up with a wanting to book a call. Right. So let's just do some brainstorming. Let's pretend that we're talking about someone else's business, a third person who is not here right now. Let's call them Christine, because I've noticed it's much easier to...

Melissa:
To talk about someone else.

Michelle Leotta:
Talk about somebody else's business when it's not so personal. Right. So Christine wants to get, and, and if you're watching live also throw your ideas into the chat. Christine wants to get in front of every woman in America, lots of women in America who have diabetes, where could Christine potentially go to find them? I mean, the first thing that comes to mind are medical facilities, doctors. Now you, you living with diabetes doctors, tell me, tell me where else they might be.

Melissa:
Right. Um, you know, depending on the woman, right. And depending on the, the age, um, I prefer to work with women my own age, which is midlife any, you know, 40 and above and, you know, I think that's been my stuck point because I've, you know, I've done the workshops, I've done the health fairs. They don't always, they don't always attract the people that fit our, our ideal client avatar... You know, all that. So that's where I'm stuck. That's where I'm stuck. I mean, I've thought about yoga studios. I've thought about spas. I just came up with another idea today, 'cause I did this a couple years ago. Somebody just put an idea in my head, like remember, so, um, you know, type 2 diabetes to educate there's a lot of people, somebody told me today that she was just very confused as what the difference between type one and type two is.

Melissa:
And a lot of people, even when they're diagnosed, they don't understand it. So, to do some sort of it's it's it's mind boggling, but it's true. There is that confusion out there. Um, so to do some sort of an educational, um, seminar workshop or whatever, um, just to be able to find, um, I do have access and I've got to get off of my tail and do something about it. , you know, there's a chiropractic office that is close to us that we are friends with the owners, you know, we have connections there. My church community I've done workshops there, so I could definitely reconnect with those. So the brainstorming is there, um, or I should say I'm able to brainstorm.

Michelle Leotta:
Oh, remember we're brainstorming for Christine. So, oh, we're can't about Christine. I'm sure she has access to a church community. I'm sure she has access to a yoga studio or a spa or really anywhere that you're gonna find women, these women. A solid, whatever 10 to 30% of them are right. Going to be dealing with diabetes. Um, what about other things that are more specific? So everyone in this audience would be diabetes specific are there, and again, you'll have to tell me, are there websites, blogs, um, places online dedicated to diabetes management.

Melissa:
Yes. Yes. And I am connected with those. So there is an app it's called the diabetes app. So I'm one of, I'm actually one of the administrators on there. This is stuff I haven't told you before

Michelle Leotta:
I did not know this.

Melissa:
I know. So I'm one of the admins on there and the other one is Diastrong. I'm just throwing names out there, but this is a, um, it's a in telehealth specifically to serve all, all types of diabetics and not, not just, um, women, all ages. So, I'm one of the providers on there as a health coach. They are just starting out they're very early. Um, and this is interesting because this is a, this kind of comes back around to what people are willing to do as far as taking steps and spend money, so this is, and they are having trouble getting people to come on board and to hire, you know, the dietician, the diabetes educators, um, it's a beautiful platform and it's very accessible to anybody. So, you know, I guess I can't...

Michelle Leotta:
So they're starting out, so they don't have a big audience yet. Right. I thinking something like prevention magazine, or, you know, a site where people, or, or publication a print publication where most, or all of their readers are dealing with diabetes

Melissa:
With some sort... Okay.

Michelle Leotta:
There, is there a diabetes magazine? Is there a...

Melissa:
Yes. Yeah. There is a diabetes advocate is one, um, there's a diabetes sisters organization. I'm a member there as well.

Michelle Leotta:
Tell me about that. What's the sister's organization?

Melissa:
Well, , it's a good organization. It's just a little bit more corporate run. So there's a lot of rules and stipulations. So, um, yeah, I don't get the warm and fuzzy with them. I'm being honest. So, again, I'm part of the membership, I'm part of the community, but it's, it's never really opened doors so far. That doesn't mean it can't though. It doesn't mean it can't.

Michelle Leotta:
So I can totally see, like if as health coaches, we wanna pitch ourselves to like work with a, you know, have a doctor refer patients to us or in this case work with some organization that seems to be more medically focused and we can, well, we're not an R D right? Why are they gonna listen to us? What are some things though that we can offer without saying, here's what you should eat? And this many grams of this and this many grams of that, would they be open to something around the holidays where you're showing how to make treats that are lower in sugar.

Melissa:
Right. Perfect. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, another part of, um, a lot of these organizations, because it's not just the diet that, that they're supporting people with. But it's, it's the lifestyle, it's the mindset and the confidence, um, which really, it, it, it can deteriorate for a lot of people. Um, so that sort of mentoring really does help. Um, okay. And that's, and that's where I'm different because I know I have that secret sauce. I mean, I'm, I've been taking insulin for 40 years. I know just a little bit about this. I, I, I know the ups and downs I've been there. I've lived it. Um, I'm still living it. So I, I think I come from such a very unique spot, um, to be able to help and serve because I get it. Um, and that's really the area I want to be able to be a lot more transparent about. And I don't know that I have been, um, with my marketing and the way I'm coming across.

Michelle Leotta:
Okay. Well, I want you to do that and I want you to do that for diabetes, uh, magazine and for the diabetes sisters organization, like right now is we're in June. So if you were to reach out even just cold reach out, or if you have contacts at these places, what do you guys have planned for the rest of you? What does your editorial calendar look like? Are you accepting guest articles? Could I write a column? What, what would you think about a diabetes friendly recipe book for your members this holiday season, if you're in June and you're asking them about three months, six months, maybe even 12 months from now, they might be able to say, yeah, that would be perfect for the holiday season. How about a column where we talk about the like more holistic approach to diabetes?

Michelle Leotta:
You guys do a great job with the nutrition (lie if you have to), you guys do a great job with the nutrition, I'd love to bring a holistic spin. Would you have, you know, a space in your editorial calendar for that pitch, these ideas of five, and then what you wanna go where you think about your woman. She's like 45 years old. She just got diagnosed with diabetes type two diabetes. She comes home. She has no idea where to start. And she just types in like what to do with diabetes, how to handle diabetes. And she, you wanna be in those places that she's finding if at all possible. And I feel like if you want it to be in shape magazine, that's hard.

Melissa:
Right.

Michelle Leotta:
But if you wanna be in diabetes magazine, that's a heck of a lot easier, cuz it's so niche.

Melissa:
Yeah.

Michelle Leotta:
And you have an in you, I mean, you have obviously your personal story and you're an expert in this and you can provide great content. Publications need that. What about podcasts, Melissa?

Melissa:
Yeah. Yeah. That's another good one. And um, I, I've got, I've got to take the steps. Why am I holding back? Why am I, why am I not jumping in? Yeah, there's the diabetes app just started, a podcast, um, brand new couple months old, which is actually the perfect time because they're looking for guests.

Michelle Leotta:
Yes.

Melissa:
And yeah. And it's called just my type, which is very cute. Cute. So yes. And it's for type one and type two, um, diabetes. Yeah. There's definitely some podcasts now that you remember, um, diabetes, diabetes di daily grind is another good one. So yeah.

Michelle Leotta:
Pitch, Pitch, pitch.

Melissa:
Pitch pitch.

Michelle Leotta:
And you have to remember that. And I can tell you this as a podcaster myself, especially if you're a podcast that relies on guests, you always need guests. So it doesn't matter if you don't have a PhD after your name, you've been living with diabetes for 40 years. You've got a great story to tell just in and of that. And then of course the work that you're doing with women look in their, uh, their podcast catalog. What have they done episodes on, see what's missing. And you can say, Hey, I noticed you, haven't done an episode about...

Melissa:
Great point

Michelle Leotta:
...how meditation can help. I'm just making this up, you know? Right. Uh, or how stress relief plays into diabetes management. I would love to come, you know, bring that to your show. Do you think that's something your listeners might be interested in, right. Right. You know, show them that you have listened to their show. You've noticed something either they have done before and it seems well received or they haven't done before and it's like missing and pitch them an idea. And the worst thing that happens is they never respond.

Melissa:
Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. You don't, you don't know until you try, right?

Michelle Leotta:
And you'd be really surprised because most people are doing exactly what you said, Melissa say, they're just not, they're just not doing it. Whether it's fear or lack of time, or for whatever reason they're not pitching. So when you reach out, it can be like, yes, we need this and they're not gonna ask you, where did you go to school? What are your credentials? they just wanna have a great engaging show. So, I think you rattled off a handful of diabetes podcasts, and I'm sure there are many more, if you do a search, you'll find them. Okay.

Melissa:
Yeah. Good points.

Michelle Leotta:
You're gonna get more people in your world, looking at you as an expert, fresh eyes all the time. If you can position yourself in front of these diabetes audiences. And I mean, we've just been talking about publications and podcasts, but you could also think about organizations, groups that you might do speaking events for. I mean, endless possibilities there mm-hmm but another thing you had mentioned was like going to like the yoga studio or your church where a percentage of people there have diabetes.

Melissa:
Mm-hmm

Michelle Leotta:
And I don't think that that's a bad idea because so many people have diabetes. But I think you might approach it slightly differently. Like you wouldn't go to like the yoga studio and have like, you know, diabetes friendly holiday treats, because like not everybody needs that mm-hmm but I wonder, okay. Only certain percentage of them will have diabetes, but what percentage of the people at like a yoga studio have someone in their family or someone close to them that has diabetes?

Melissa:
Oh, probably a hundred percent.

Michelle Leotta:
Probably.

Melissa:
Because we, yeah, we all know somebody.

Michelle Leotta:
Probably, and if you're talking to this age group, like over 40, where people are starting to get diagnoses and might be feeling scared, I was just thinking, what if you went in with a, a workshop or a talk just like, what is diabetes or like understanding diabetes for you and your loved ones. And that's where you get the questions. Like, what's the difference between type one and type two.

Melissa:
Yeah.

Michelle Leotta:
You know, educate, educate, educate in the populations that are not already immersed. And then you can go to populations that are immersed and offer them resources. And between the two, I feel like you could have, you know, 10 times more eyeballs on you than you do right now, right away.

Melissa:
Yeah. Helpful.

Michelle Leotta:
Helpful. All right. So very helpful the next week. Do you think you could at least put together a list of venues, publications, podcasts that you're going to reach out to?

Melissa:
Yes. Yes. As soon as I get off just call with you, I will do that. And it's so easy to get a piece of paper and pencil out. And, and I, and I, and that's one of the things that you shared in fast track too, is how to follow up with, podcast, guests and publications. So, I will go back to those notes because they're there and yeah, definitely.

Michelle Leotta:
And implement. And you know what, since it's the summer, you cannot promise me get discouraged. If you don't hear back, because it's a combination of just normal, busy, everything and vacations. So, your job will be reach out to them. Like if this week you make your list, maybe next week, you're doing your outreach and follow up, follow up, follow up throughout the summer, because you're gonna have somebody that's like away for a month, you know. Right, right. And they're not gonna get your email and it's gonna get brushed under the rug. So I wouldn't be shy about doing several follow up.

Melissa:
And be persistent.

Michelle Leotta:
Exactly. And you can do that by email, but if you can find them on social media, if they have like an Instagram account, you know, follow them there, leave some comments, like be visible in their world. And that is also helpful. And then also I think in the fall we'll be having a different conversation.

Melissa:
Yes.

Michelle Leotta:
Yes. That would be great. That would be great. Yeah. I really appreciate, appreciate it. Appreciate your vulnerability and opening up about how frustrating it can be to be doing this work. And I know you're doing the work. You're not just sitting on your laurels and still not seeing the return, but it, it it's coming when you get a it's a little more strategic about how you spend your time.

Melissa:
Yeah, exactly.

Michelle Leotta:
Thank you for being here. Great points. Thank you, Michelle. And for everybody listening, if you'd like to be part of our weekly mentorship group and have the opportunity for a one on one session with me, like I just did with Melissa, please go ahead and put your name on the wait list. Healthcoachpower.com/mentorship. Thanks a lot. You guys we'll see you next time.