Why your group program did not fill and steps for success next round
Group coaching is a powerful container. A few group programs fundamentally changed my life.
But too often, I see coaches launch groups that just don’t fill.
And it has nothing to do with your value or skill as a coach… and usually everything to do with strategy and tactics.
Three points of friction in launching your group program:
Your eligible list size is not large enough.
A rule of thumb, particularly as the online coach space gets more populated, is that 5-10% of your list might enroll in your group program. Enrolling a group is more challenging than 1:1 since it has to be the right problem, at the right time, when a whole group has capacity.
Consider your eligible audience or list size. How many are friends or family? How many are not the target for this group - or that have already completed your program? How many of your list actively read your emails? Consider that your organic reach on social media might be <10% of your followers.
The entire launch and marketing process was too short.
Unless you’re working with personal invites to a highly engaged list, sending out 1-2 emails in the few weeks before it starts and making some posts on social media is likely not going to fill your program.
We are bombarded with inputs every day, and even for programs I ultimately enrolled in, I needed reminders and nudges to enroll.
It didn’t account for the seasonality of the industry
Many of us coaches have a line item in our budget for coaching. And often… when that line item is filled - it’s filled. Both financially and in their calendars.
There are common times for programs to start (like September, January) and times to avoid (summer for live group programs is challenging with vacations). So being aware of the seasonality of your industry can help you define your program timing and sales process.
So what can you do NOW to have success in 2023?
Begin building your audience
Start getting in front of new audiences, as well as nurturing your current client and audience base. Guest on other people’s podcasts, teach/speak in other people’s programs, and be present and of service in non-coach communities. If you don’t have those connections, it’s an opportunity to build out your advocates and your ecosystem.
Plan your launch cycle now.
Define your cycle dates across pre-launch, launch, and after-launch. In pre-launch, you start socializing the message and the method, like in an email challenge or community workshop series. Let your audience know what’s coming. Post-launch, follow up with people who are interested but didn’t enroll - are they interested in another container if this group wasn’t the right fit?
Account for the collateral you’ll need
Get ahead of what you’ll need for your sales page, launch emails, classes or webinars during the launch, and social media. You will generate a lot of copy and imagery to run a successful launch campaign - and want a system to reuse it. Make sure to start building your collateral and capture system early so you don’t run out of time - or plan your budget to enlist help.