Are you considering scaling up your coaching business with group programs or online courses?

It seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?

There are so many marketers claiming to earn 7 figures while they sleep in these business models and they would love to teach YOU how they do it.

Years into my business, I bought into that tactic and thought I would justput up a few online courses, make a bunch of passive income and that would leave me more time to coach.

While it’s true that the bulk of content creation is done up front, there are significant other costs to sell online programs or group coaching. The rule of thumb is:

The more people that you’d like to buy your online program the more marketing you’ll have to do.

It is NOT a build it and they will come scenario.

Let’s uncover the real-world costs of selling online courses, membership programs and group coaching and talk about a much more sustainable and savory way to increase your income as a coach.

Hey Coaches!

Do Coaches Need a Business Model?

Yes, they do.

A business model is literally your plan for how you will earn a good living as a coach.

Without a business model, you are leaving your success up to dumb luck.

You experience all types of business models every day but you might not have thought much about it. I’ll just name a couple.

Let’s take Netflix. You get an account. Pay monthly. And for that low fee, you get access to their impressive catalog of TV series and movies to stream on demand.

That’s a Subscription Model. It has 3 main parts:

Subscription service + Options the consumer wants + Delivered on demand

What about Uber? That business model is called Create the Marketplace, which operates on supply and demand. THE SUPPLY is people with cars who want to earn driving them. THE DEMAND comes from people who want to get someplace now without driving themselves.

It’s a very specific and innovative way of doing business.

And coaches also need to create their marketplace. You identify BIG PROBLEMS your specific audience faces in the way of a BIG GOAL then design a program that helps them overcome those problems to reach those goals. It’s supply and demand.

The Simplest Coaching Business Model

For a coach, the simplest and most sustainable business model is to offer 1:1 coaching tailor made to your audience and priced high.

In my VIP Mentoring program called Coaching Business Breakthrough I help coaches develop this business model, which is a different approach from what most coaches do:

  1. First choose a viable, narrow audience to serve
  2. Find out their BIG SPECIFIC PROBLEMS related to your niche that cause them to seek solutions. That’s how they will find you. Episode 65 is called Are You Solving a Big Enough Problem so check that out.
  3. Then, instead of selling coaching session packages, develop a high- ticket private signature program designed to solve those specific problems. Episode 292 called Create a High Ticket Signature Program Your Audience Wants will help you.
  4. Be highly visible to your audience, posting or speaking about what’s most important to them. Don’t talk about coaching.
  5. Drive traffic to your client-winning website. Episode 42 talks about What Makes a Coaching Website Client Winning.
  6. Invite ideal prospects to an enrollment conversation where they will hire you.

What’s so great about this simple business model?

  1. If you really want to coach and not spend all your time marketing, this is for you.
  2. You quickly learn the best way to coach your ideal audience.
  3. You can earn 6-figures with relatively low costs and working a sustainable schedule.
  4. It’s an immensely satisfying way to help people.

And a bonus is that you’ll only spend your private time with highly motivated prospects and clients because your program is tailor made and high ticket.

Keep your life and business simple and sustainable with this approach. If you charge high ticket prices for your signature program, you’ll likely earn better than you can in group or online programs. Work less, coach more and earn more. Take it from me it’s so much easier than online programs or groups.

The Joint Venture Affiliate Marketing Business Model

But what if you’re longing to be the next Tony Robbins, Brendan Burchard or Marie Forleo? What does it really take to be like them?

  1. A lot of labor costs in the form of staff to help you get and keep the business operating.
  2. An iconic personality that loves the spotlight.
  3. Serious marketing acumen. You have to love the most salesy approach to marketing.
  4. A big leads list and joint venture marketing partners.

For programs that will teach you this business model you’ll see testimonials like this:

“I just had my first $50,000 month!”

But ask yourself, if it is true, what exactly did it cost that person to earn that $50,000 in revenue? Chances are the up front costs bit very hard into their profits. And, monthly figures like that in the first 5 years are not replicable for most people.

The marketing approach is high tech, highly promotional and takes you away from what you really want to do — coaching. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

  1. Create your own unique offer and develop at least 10,000 leads of your own. That takes time.
  2. Create a highly strategic multi-media marketing campaign.
  3. Create an affiliate marketing capture and pay system. It requires a lot of technical knowledge.
  4. Network with affiliate marketers who have a similar audience to yours and large leads lists. It’s a playground for highly charismatic individuals with capitol to spend, high ambition and egos.
  5. Convince them that your program is valuable and will make them money.
  6. Schedule a year’s worth of events when they will market your program and when you will market theirs.
  7. Provide all the swipe copy, links and media to make it super easy for your affiliate marketers to promote you.
  8. Run the campaign, which might include online webinars and a sales pitch.
  9. Pay those affiliate marketers for the sales they generate out of your profits. The fee per sale to affiliates can be as much as 50% of the program price. And tracking all of that requires special apps.
  10. Do it all over again a few months later with a new crop of affiliate marketers.

If this sounds fun to you, go for it! It is a way to reach for an empire of your own.

Just know there’s nothing PASSIVE about this revenue. While it can be highly lucrative in the long run, in the short run it’s highly stressful.

After doing this for a few years, I was literally exhausted and disillusioned about the “churn rate” — the small percentage of buyers who succeed with these types of programs, because most people do not. I was told I had to be okay with that reality and I was not.

Are Membership Programs a Good Approach for Coaches?

Back in 2006 when membership programs were a fresh idea, I took nearly a year to create a comprehensive online course called The Coach’s Power Path. It was dribbled out a module per week for a year! I woke up one day with a strong vision of helping thousands of coaches with this program and “earning while I sleep.”

I invested 10’s of thousands in that venture and never broke even.

I didn’t realize how complicated it would be — not only to create the curriculum and the entire back end of the membership site — but also to constantly market in ways that I really disliked through affiliate marketing. I was just so surprised that more coaches didn’t jump in and absorb the program. It’s human nature. We buy but don’t fully experience these online programs.

Later a marketing expert told me that most membership programs are loss leaders, which means it’s only a low-cost offer to raise awareness and trust so you can offer people something higher priced and higher touch.

Wish I’d known that before I jumped on that trend! There’s a lot more to know than what you’re taught in the how-to programs.

Needless to say, I dismantled my expensive membership program and shifted to offering a high-ticket Signature Program serving people privately. What a relief!

Is Group Coaching More Profitable Than One on One Coaching?

Group coaching is a much simpler business model than selling courses, membership programs and products. And, for many target audiences, gathering people with the same big problem or goal will greatly add to their transformation.

But, similar to selling online program, for this model to work well,

you need thousands of loyal followers in your target audience.

Another problem with selling group coaching is getting enough people into your group all at the same start date.

For example, let’s say that 8 people is the least amount of people you’d want in a group (less usually means there’s not enough energy) and, after significant marketing, only 5 people sign up. You’ll have to refund those 5 people and that’s embarrassing.

It’s so much easier to charge more for 1:1 signature program.

So … do you have a sustainable plan for how you’ll earn well as a coach? What will you offer and how can you make it easy on yourself?

Stay inspired and make things happen!