Are you thinking about adding a group coaching program to your services?
Awesome! 💃🏽💫
Group coaching programs are a great way to guide and support your members or community in solving problems they’re experiencing in their business or life.
You’ll not only be providing solutions, resources, and support but also building a stronger and more collaborative community. Which here at Coaches & Co., we are ALL about. 🙌🏽
While launching a coaching program is exciting, it’s also important to take the time to properly plan. If you’re used to offering 1-1 services, running a group program is VERY different. So before you get ahead of yourself, here are important steps that need to be taken.
Let’s get right to it. 👇🏾
1. Do Market Research
The first step is research, research, research. You should ALWAYS do market research before launching your group coaching program (or any service or products in your business, really!).
The key to good market research is to dive deep into your target audience and ideal clients, and find out what their biggest struggles and needs are.
You can do this by simply having conversations and interviews. 🗣️
Having these conversations with your potential clients gives you clarity on:
👉🏽 A sense of who your ideal client is
👉🏽 What their struggles and pain points are
👉🏽 How your services or products are the solutions to their problems
These conversations are SO important so you can step into the shoes of your ideal clients and gain perspective. Often, you may be at a different level in business than the clients you’re serving. It can be easy to forget how you started or what struggles you had when you were in their position. By having these conversations, you’ll be able to cater to your clients more effectively and use language that will appeal to them.
Market research also helps you get a better idea of your ideal clients’ learning styles. So many biz owners tend to overlook this important fact about their clients, so don’t let this be you!
Figure out *exactly* what type of support they’re looking for – do they want weekly coaching calls? Workbooks and exercises? A community on Slack or Facebook?
How to conduct market research
A quick and easy way to do market research is by using the Stories feature on the ‘Gram. You can do Q & As, poll questions, and even quizzes. By using these fun stickers, you’ll get a sense of who your audience is, what their interests are, and what they want to see from you. 💡
Another clever way to gather intel on your clients is by keeping note of what potential clients say during discovery calls and interviews. You can even record them (with permission, of course!) using transcription software like Otter.ai. You’ll be able to find common threads on what you’re clients are struggling with, as well as take note of the language they use to describe their problems.
Gathering all of the important info ahead of time helps you deliver the best possible experience for your clients. 💪🏽
Not to mention, your messaging will be ON POINT and magnetize your clients like crazy. 🔥
You’ll be able to structure and tailor the program according to the different needs of your clients.
2. Do a Trademark Clearance Search
Friends, there’s nothing worse than getting SUPER excited about a potential name for your new group coaching program only to find out it’s already taken. 😩
To avoid that dreadful feeling AND any potential legal issues, it’s a smart idea to do a trademark clearance search before you launch your group coaching program. 🔍
A trademark clearance search helps protect against confusion of your services with other similar offerings in the market. You’ll also have greater peace of mind knowing that someone else hasn’t already taken ownership of your program name.
By taking just a few minutes to do a simple trademark search, you save yourself the risk of a HUGE legal headache down the road.
Here are two different ways you to do the search. 👇🏽
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Database
First, head to http://www.uspto.gov/ which is the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database. When you click on TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System) and enter in the name of your program, you’ll see if anyone has trademarked a similar name.
If you find a match, try tweaking your proposed business name until you find something less likely to be taken.
Google & Instagram
You’re not done yet! There’s one more step to make sure your program’s name hasn’t been taken, which is doing a simple search on Google and social media.
One IMPORTANT thing to note while doing your search is to also look for generics and trademark variations of your program name.
For example, if your program’s name is The Online Business Bootcamp Coaching Program, then it’d be helpful to also Google “Business Bootcamp Coaching” or “Online Business Bootcamp Program” to see if any other entrepreneurs are using similar-sounding names.
If there’s a name already registered or something that sounds very similar to your program’s name, that might be a red flag 🚩 that you should go in a different direction when it comes to naming your program.
For a FULL guide on how to do this, be sure to check out our blog on how to do a trademark clearance search without hiring a lawyer.
3. Don’t Forget to Pre-sell Before You Launch
Once you’ve identified the type of support your clients will need, worked on your messaging, and have chosen a solid name, it’s time to start pre-selling, friends!
This is one of the most crucial elements of a successful group coaching program launch.
When you pre-sell beforehand, you have clients already signed up, waiting, and ready for your program to begin. 🔥
DO NOT move on to workbook creation and recording modules without this key step. Trust us.
When you pre-sell your offer, you validate that the program you’re launching is something your audience *actually* wants to buy.
And the beauty with pre-sell is when your coaching program is set to launch, you’ve already been paid! 💵
Pre-selling allows you to:
✔️ Create momentum for your group coaching program
✔️ Secure cash flow
✔️ Measure interest levels among your target audience
You’ll also prevent the horror of creating an entire training program from the ground up only to realize your potential clients won’t buy – all because you failed to do market research and pre-sell before you created everything. 🤯
It’s important to find out everything you can about your potential clients and figure out details about your program BEFOREHAND to avoid making big-time investments that end up being a waste of your money and time! Because none of us have time for that. 🙅🏽♀️
4. Get Your Contracts Sorted
SO many coaches neglect this step when creating their first group coaching program.
It is important that you have a contract in place as this will help to protect you, your company and the program.
The contract is put together in a way that BOTH parties know exactly what’s expected and how to handle any potential issues that may come up.
To make sure that everyone is on the same page, outline your specific expectations for how things will run in the program and what you expect from your students when they sign up.
For example, if you want your clients to have a choice about when and how long to do the program, make sure that’s clear and upfront.
You can remind your students about their progress in the coaching program by letting them know in an email newsletter, blog post, or other social media posts.
Also, having a contract will protect yourself in your business from any unnecessary liability, infringement issues, etc.
We’ve seen firsthand what could happen to a business without having a proper contract in place, and trust us – this is NOT something you want happening to you and your business!
Things like:
❌ A client defaulting on a payment, and you’re unable to collect that payment
❌ A client holding you to guarantees for results in your program
❌ A lawsuit filed against you and your business
Situations like these happen all the time, and it’s important to have protection for yourself when they do! And this is by having a contract! 📝
And if you don’t have a contract already set in place, we’ve got you, sis! 💛
Head on over to our Contract Shop, and you’ll find contracts for every aspect of your business.
Any biz owner who has ever launched a new group coaching program knows that it can be tough to know the next steps you should take before launching.
With so many different pieces of the puzzle, it can be confusing where to start.
All four tips above 👆🏽 will help set your group coaching program up for success from the start!
Check out our ready-to-use, lawyer-approved, plug-and-play legal contract templates! So you can upgrade your client contract while staying Profitable & Protected™✨
Not sure where to begin? We’ve got you. Grab our FREE Legally Launch Handbook to get the legal lowdown on everything in entrepreneurship, without the confusing mambo jumbo. We’re serving it up straight & to the point. (Heads up: It’ll forever transform the way you view your client relationships!) Grab your copy now.
*The information presented in this blog post is for educational & informational purposes only. This should not be a substitute for customized legal advice from a licensed professional in a private setting. If you need legal advice, please consult with an attorney. This is not a law firm.
