I have been working on strategy with an old client, for a high-end coaching program, they are in the process of launching.

I noted some thoughts that may be useful for anyone launching a coaching biz, or even someone who is running it already and not seeing much success.

Step 1: Get Inside People’s Heads

First and foremost, never create the program inside your head and then drop it like a bomb over your prospect population. They won’t know what hit them.

Instead talk to people who you are making it for, or people like them, before you create the program. Talk to anywhere between 50-100 people. Those who you think will be ideal customers for the program inside your head. You’ll have to reach out to 3-4 times the numbers of people. It is a lot of work, but essential work. So don’t skip on it if you want to create a program that people will lap up. Have an assistant do the outreach and scheduling. And, do the talking yourself.

What do you talk about, when on a call with them?

What they want, what their challenges are, who they buy from. Also share that you are creating a program that will solve their exact pain and if you can reach out again once you are ready to launch. You also want to know words, and phrases they use and use those words in the communication about your program.

Step 2: Name and Brand Right

Use some of the ideas here.

You’d also want to lead with outcome in the name of the program. It should be self-explanatory enough for someone who reads or hears it for the first time. So, there should be an inkling of what it does for those who will experience your program.

Step 3: Deliver the Program, Here is How

Launch the program, without any pre-recorded videos. Do it live over weekly Zoom sessions, over 6-8 weeks, and record those sessions to create an updated version of the program that will be self-serve, which people will take on their own time. Offer support through an online Facebook or Slack group and do a weekly call not to deliver the program but to take questions.

Step 4: Promote to Grow

You want to get people, your prospects, to book a call with you, and sell the program on call.

The best way to do this is a combination of personal outreach + search (paid + organic) + partnerships.

• Personal Outreach: Reach out first to those among 50 interviewees, who said it was ok to talk to them at the launch and from them you should get your early customers.
• Organic Search: Show up in searches when people are looking for knowledge and information in your chosen space. And, then present the link to book a call.
• Paid Search/Online Ads: Run ads to an anchor piece of content on your website. Take those who click the ad to a free download page related to coaching, and then show a prompt to book a call.
• Partnership: Host webinars with non-competing brands that serve the audience you want to reach, and pitch your free download and from there show a prompt to book a call, like in case of online ads.

Everything may not work the way you think it will. So drop what does not work, and experiment with new approaches.

Give it 6 months and put all your energy and time behind . And, you should have a course that will solve people’s problems and make you money, a lot of it, by working only a fraction of what you will do in the beginning.

How’d you like that?