How to Successfully Fill Your First Group Program
Are you ready to successfully fill your first group program? It’s time for some truth telling.
The other day, my client Pam came to me and told me this story.
Monica, six months ago, before I started working with you, I was carrying about ten private clients. I didn’t want to keep working one on one with everybody, so I tried to start a group program.
I sent emails out to my list and only two people registered. I didn’t know what to do, so I ended up running the group program for two people. It was like they were getting private coaching from me.
I was bitter because I felt like I was under-charging and using my time in a way that I didn’t want to. The whole thing felt like a mess. I don’t know what I did wrong.
I find that a lot of entrepreneurs are in a similar place when they first try to launch group programs: you’re at capacity with one-on-one clients and ready to start working with a group.
Group programs are amazing. They help you leverage your time, they help you scale your business, and they’re fun. But it can be so heart-breaking and confidence-shattering when you can’t fill them the way you want to.
I’d like to share a few things that you should know about launching and filling a group program.
It’s easier to fill a group when you have a newsletter list that you’ve been regularly nurturing with at least 1,000 people on it.
Now, you don’t have to have a list of people that’s larger than 1,000 before you begin to fill your group program. But if you don’t, you’re most likely going to need other methods to generate sales conversations to fill the program.
Let’s talk about those sales conversations. If you want six people in your first group, you’ll likely need to do about 12-24 sales conversations with folks that are interested in buying from you.
And for clarity’s sake – when I’m talking about sales conversations I’m talking about a program that is $1,000 – $3,000+.
At that price point, you’re going to want to have conversations with people because it’s not as likely that people will sign up just from an email.
The key here is to plan ahead to get the number of sales conversations you want to fill your group.
Let’s talk through a few methods for filling that group program even if you don’t have a huge list yet.
Reachouts
Reach out to people who you’ve had sales conversations with in the past couple years. Call, text, and email all those folks asking them to get on the phone with you and have a conversation. Let them know about your new program.
Also, reach out to anyone who has ever been interested in your program and any referral partners.
The most important piece in this reach out is that you are reaching out to ask for a conversation and that you’re then getting on the phone with them.
You’re not simply sending an email telling them about your program.
You’re telling them that you want to check in, telling them that you want to speak to them about what’s going on in their world right now.
And when you get on the phone, you truly are doing that: you’re checking in, and if it makes sense for them, you’re offering your new group program.
Speaking Events
Set up as many speaking events as you can 30 to 60 days before your group program.
Say you want to start your group program on July 15. You would set up speaking events in May and June, and from those speaking events you would offer conversations to the people in the room.
Let’s say that you speak in front of 20 people in May and get three conversations from that.
Then you do another talk in June and get 3 conversations from that. If you do yet another talk in June and get 3 conversations there, that’s 9 conversations.
You would then be able to sell those people your group program that starts in July. Remember – you can start selling that group program 90 days before you start it.
Doing a preview event for your list
This would look like leading either a virtual webinar or a virtual workshop using a piece of content from your group program. Invite people to join you so that they can experience you and have a conversation with you.
Now the reason I put this method a little farther down is because if you’ve got a small list, it’s hard to get people to actually show up to this virtual webinar or virtual workshop.
But here’s what you need to know: you have to start somewhere. Even if only 5 or ten people show up to this virtual workshop, those people can now set up conversations with you or at least get to know you for future events.
Email Your Newsletter List
Email your list about your preview event and email your list about your group program.
I put this as my fourth tip because emails may pick up people who are already interested in or familiar with you – people who are essentially low-hanging fruit.
If you don’t have a lot of those people on your list, your emails may not do much – which is why it’s important to use the three methods above to help you fill that group program.
Everything that I have explained in this newsletter article has so many more details behind it.
If you’re a business owner who’s ready to start a group program – maybe you’re at capacity with one-on-one clients and looking to create more freedom and space in your business – I’d love to be able to support you.
Reach out to us at support@revenuebreakthrough.com to set up a conversation and see how we can support you to create and fill an amazing group program.
