Why Coaches are Scared to Launch a Program
The #1 reason why heart-centered coaches don't launch an official program - even though they know that would grow their income and client base - is that they don't feel confident they can deliver it and give clients specific results.
They worry that they will be out of integrity because they’re not sure they can make promises about clients getting results from their program.
Here's how we overcome that. In our programs, we set it up so that the first time our coaches run their program, they are running it as a test.
Let me explain:
It’s really a bit of a conundrum to expect yourself as a coach to be able to make promises about results from your program when you haven’t run it yet, and, at the same time, you need to be able to articulate results in order for clients to register.
To get out of this pickle, we need a way to gain momentum in your business that feels like you’re in your integrity and allows you to move past the fear and lack of confidence.
The easiest way to do this is to be totally authentic with your audience and tell them that you are creating a brand-new program that is running as a test program right now.
When you are upfront about the fact that your program is new, it creates an energetically aligned feeling for you, because you’re being honest. It also creates a feeling of excitement for your audience, who have likely been waiting for a fun, new way to work with you.
Even if your audience is small, they are there for a reason. They’ve connected with you in some way, and they want more of what you offer.
Then, when you let everyone know that you’re offering this new program at a test-price, which should be roughly half the price (or less than half) of the eventual full price, you are both building excitement and interest and calming the part of your mind that’s nervous to charge money for your new, untested program.
The goal is to get two or more people into your test program (which we call a beta program) and get their feedback and testimonials as you go along.
This allows you to build confidence in your work, because you know what results at least two people got, you can share their testimonials, and you now have experience under your belt. The best way to build confidence is to gain experience!
When you ask your test clients what their results are from the program, you’re also getting clear on how you can articulate your message when you start to sell your program full-price.
For example, when I ran a test version of my current program, I had many participants because it was brand-new and everyone was excited to try it out.
As my participants went through the program, I learned that several of them were getting the result of attracting new clients to their business even before they created new messaging and a signature program (two of the goals of the program).
I discovered that the energetic alignment aspects of the program were powerful enough to generate those results repeatedly even before they implemented the practical business tools.
I was able to use those testimonials and stories going forward because now I knew a clear result my clients were getting from my program. Also, it was a result I had not expected, which made it more fun and interesting! There’s nothing better than real data when you’re trying to articulate client results for your marketing.
When you’re starting out as a coach and you’re ready to make your first program, you can’t promise people the moon, of course. However, you can trust your instinct around the possible results your clients will get, because you do have experience. You have your own experience. You wouldn’t be creating this program otherwise!
It’s important to take stock of all the experience you have from prior work, your own personal experience with the issue, and any other expertise you already have so that you can also feel confident in your work as you build your program.
Testing it and getting the testimonials is just the final step that will allow you to offer the program with full integrity.
Give yourself credit for all of your expertise so that your clients will feel the energy of your clarity and confidence. This allows them to trust you and feel safe in your program.
When you are advertising your test program, you’ll be basing your messaging around what outcome you feel your clients will get from the program based on your own prior experience, your expertise, and any experience you do have.
You can say, “This program is aimed at getting you X result” and then describe that result. This is a perfectly great place to start, and then you’ll have the final clarity you need once the beta program is done.
For example, when I was first starting out as a coach who worked with pelvic pain using mind-body healing practices, the only person I had worked with was myself. So, I based my outcome message on that. I wrote stories about my own personal healing in my marketing. Later, I was able to start adding in those client testimonials and stories.
Helping you to build confidence through mindset work, practices to release fear, and a step-by-step process to test your program is part of what I do in my 1-1 program.
I’ll walk through the whole process with you; creating clear messaging that explains the outcome your clients will get so you can attract them to your program, developing your program in a way that feels aligned with how you want to work, testing your program with us at your side the whole time, answering questions, and giving you feedback and coaching.
If you’d love to feel energetically aligned as you go through this process of building a program and gaining confidence, we can bring the magic for you!
We also work on identifying your niche and calling and make sure your program is aligned with that before we start building out the actual outline. All of this work gets done within my Slacker Magic System, which is designed to help you work in a non-hustle way that automatically puts you in manifesting mode every day in your business. You can learn more about this program and others here.