Photo from Unsplash

Originally Posted On: https://www.andreascalici.com/blog/how-to-design-and-create-your-first-group-coaching-program

 

When you make the decision to start your first group coaching program in your own business, the first thing you’ll need to figure out is how to actually design and create the program in a way that gets clients results in a group format.

In this blog post, you’ll learn my step-by-step approach to making that happen, which I guide my clients through inside my coaching business.

But first let’s define what a group coaching program is so we’re on the same page.

What is a group coaching program?

A group coaching structure is a model that’s designed to provide live coaching sessions and support to a group of individuals who share common goals, interests, or challenges.

Group coaching clients engage in a collaborative and interactive learning environment facilitated by a coach or a program leader, while also participating in self-paced learning through online training programs.

There are several types of group coaching models you can choose from in your group coaching practice, but my favorite is the evergreen program model, which is what we’ll mainly focus on in this post.

To me, this style of program is structured in a way that allows multiple clients to join at any point in time and be able to start where they are, be a part of a community of like minded people, get ongoing support, and end on a specific end date – without feeling behind at any point.

If you want to learn the 8 key aspects of a group coaching program, click here.

How to design a group coaching program

There are 5 main steps to designing a group coaching program that gets clients results in the structure a group coaching setting.

Step 1: Your vision

Start to visualize what your group program will look like – including who your best clients will be, the result you’ll help them get in your program, and the process you’ll guide them through to get that result.

Visualize what each coaching session will feel like to you and to your clients. Will there be several group coaches you hire to conduct group coaching session or will you do all of the coaching clients yourself? Will you coach clients one at a time or are team coaching sessions more appropriate for what you do?

Think about what members get inside your program – an online training program, weekly group coaching sessions, a workbook, a Facebook groups community, and other things like that. What will they get?

You’ll also want to take a look at your current business coaching model, which most likely consists of one (or multiple) private one on one coaching offers, or done-for-you services. Ask yourself, “How will my new group coaching program fit into my business model? What do I need to change? Will my group be my primary coaching program?”

When you have a clear, yet flexible vision for what your building and how it fits into your business as a whole, you’ll be ready to move into step two.

Step 2: Your Ideal Client

Your ideal client is the person who finds your online group coaching program to be their best solution.

When you clarified your vision in step 1, you also formed a better idea of who your ideal client will be for your new group coaching program, but now it’s time to get even more specific.

In my program, I help my clients get super clear on who will get the best results from their new group coaching program, which is sometimes the same as their current one on one coaching clients or done-for-you clients, and sometimes it’s different.

Here’s a few questions to ask yourself to gain clarity on who your ideal group member is:

• What problem is your ideal client facing that you’ll help them solve?
• Where is your ideal client starting when they join your program? (Point A)
• Where will your ideal client be when they complete your program? (Point B)
• How will it change their life after they solve this problem?
• What would make them perfect group participants?
• Why does my ideal client prefer my course based program model and group sessions over individual coaching, cohort model coaching, the membership model, or larger group coaching programs?

When you have a deeper understanding of who will get the best results in your program, you’ll be ready to move into step three.

Step 3: The Result

The result is what your clients want when they join your program. It’s what you’re helping them to achieve. It’s where they’ll be when they complete your program (their Point B).

One of the most important things you can do is get clear on the result you’re helping your clients get in your program, because ultimately that’s what they want. That’s why they’re investing in your online program.

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to figure that out:

• What kind of result do your ideal clients want? (Health, Money, Relationships, Personal Development, or something else).
• What is the result they want in one simple sentence?
• What are 10 situations your ideal client is facing on a daily basis that motivate them to want this result?

When you have one simple sentence that describes the result you’ll help your ideal clients get inside your program, you’ll be ready to move into step four.

Step 4: Discover Your Process

So, what is the actual step-by-step process you’ll take your clients through to get the result they want inside your group coaching program? That’s what you’ll need to figure out next.

In order to do this, you’ll want to think about where you’re ideal clients are when they start your group coaching program (their Point A). What are they thinking, feeling, and doing?

You’ll also want to think about where your ideal clients will be when they complete your program (their Point B). What will they be thinking, feeling, and doing? How will their lives or business change?

How will you get them to Point B?

If you’re doing private one one one services or done-for-you services now, chances are you’re already taking clients through this process. What are you doing with your clients now?

When you know your unique, step-by-step group coaching framework or process or system for getting your ideal clients the result, you’ll be ready to move into step five.

Step 5: Validate

You’ve got your entire group coaching program designed now.

You have your vision.

You know who your ideal client is, or the person who finds your program to be their best solution.

You know the result you’ll help your ideal client get in your group coaching program.

And you know the process you’ll guide them through to get from Point A to Point B.

Now, it’s time to validate your offer and process.

In this post, we’ll define “validation” as demonstrating or proving the value of your group coaching program.

The good news is, validating your process may not be much work for you to do, because it’s likely something you’re already doing with your private one on one clients or done-for-you clients. So, further validation on your process may not be necessary.

But you may want to do a little work on validating your offer, because a group offer is likely new for you.

Let’s start here…do you already know that your ideal clients want this offer?

You may have had requests or conversations with existing client already, and they may have asked you to provide coaching in a group coaching format.

If you haven’t had requests or conversations, and you aren’t sure your ideal clients will want your group coaching program offer, how do you want to further validate your offer?

Here are a few suggestions:

• Ask your past or current private one on one clients or done-for-your clients what they think about your offer. Answer questions they may have about it. How many clients do you want to talk to? 10, 20, 30, or more? It’s whatever number feels good to you.
• Launch a free or paid beta group and get their thoughts before, during, and after the program is complete.
• Enroll a small “starter” group into your program and get their thoughts before, during, and after the program is complete.

You know your business better than anyone…can you think of any other ways to validate your offer before you create your program?

After your group coaching program is designed, you’ll be ready to bring it to life.

How to create a group coaching program

There are six main steps to creating a group coaching program that gets clients results in group settings.

Step 1: Outline

Start by writing down the outline of your group coaching program, which includes the modules and lessons that will be inside your online course (or online courses, if you plan to have more than one).

The modules will likely be the same as the steps they’ll go through in your program, which you already figured out when you designed your group program.

But now you’ll want to get even more specific and decide what lessons will be necessary for your ideal clients to know in order to get them the result.

Figuring out your outline is a creative process, so it’s important to give yourself time and space to figure this out.

When you’ve got your outline written down, you’ll be ready to move into step two.

Step 2: Timeline

The next step is to write down your timeline for creating your group coaching program.

The very first decision you’ll want to make is whether or not you want to pre-record your videos that will go inside your online training (if you plan to offer videos and an online training program) or if you want to deliver your content in live group coaching sessions after enrolling a few clients.

There is no right or wrong way. Many coaches have decided to pre-record content and many coaches have decided to deliver their content live during coaching sessions. It’s totally up to you.

When you know that information, you’ll be able to create your timeline – which will include the order and timeframe things will get done.

When you’ve got your timeline written down, you’ll be ready to move into step three.

Step 3: Training Videos and Resources

If you plan to pre-record some or all of your videos for your online course training, now is the time to do that. And if you plan to create any resources, such as a workbook, now is the time to do that as well.

If you plan to deliver your content LIVE after enrolling a few clients, I highly recommend you take a little time now to prepare what you need to – like slides, video and audio equipment, and your environment. You may even want to do some practice recordings to get more comfortable teaching the material.

Question for you…will your videos be direct-to-camera, or slides only, or a combination of the two?

If you plan to have slides, get those created.

If you plan to be in the video, whether it’s direct-to-camera or a smaller circle on the slide, get yourself prepared with good lighting, audio, background, etc.

You’ll also want to decide what your unique teaching style will be, if you don’t know it already.

If you plan to pre-record your videos and create resources for your clients, take some time and do that now.

When you’re ready, move onto step four.

Step 4: Program Brand

If you are offering private one on one or done-for-you services now, you are likely selling your services based on your personal brand. But when you start offering group coaching services, you’ll likely be selling your services based on a combination of your personal brand and your program brand, which you’ll need to create.

What do you want your program brand to be?

Your program brand consists of your fonts, colors, logos – and it also consists of your message that clearly states what sets your program apart from others similar to it.

I highly recommend you do a little market research here. Take a look at your competitors and how they’re offering their services – and don’t do the same thing. Instead, find your unique message and how you help your clients, and lean into that.

This is a creative process, so make sure to give yourself time and space to figure this out. And make sure you don’t go into compare and despair mode when you do your market research. Try to approach it as a data-seeking exercise only.

When your program brand is created, you’ll be ready to move into step five.

Step 5: Client Experience

This is my favorite step in the group coaching programs creation process, but many of my clients find it tedious. I’m curious to know what you think.

When you create your client experience, you’ll want to write down the step-by-step details of what your clients will go through from the time they find your program, to the time they enroll (onboarding), to your program delivery, to the time they complete their time with you (offboarding), and what happens after that.

This post has more details about how to create this document.

When you have this document, you’ll be able to clearly see what your clients will experience, which will also help you improve the process over time.

Although documenting your client experience for the very first time is tedious, it’s so worth doing. I can help you with this inside my program.

When your client experience is written down, and you feel good about it, you’ll be ready to move into step six.

Step 6: Technology

You’ve got your entire group coaching program created now.

You have your outline.

You have your timeline.

Your training videos and resources are either pre-recorded or there’s a plan in place to deliver them LIVE to your first few enrolled clients in those beginning group coaching sessions.

You have your program brand.

And you have your client experience.

Now, it’s time to set up your technology.

I use Kajabi, which is an all-in-one software.

(That’s an affiliate link, which means I may get an affiliate commission payment from Kajabi if you click on that link and sign up for Kajabi. Just an FYI to keep things real.)

I really like using Kajabi, because I don’t have to band-aid a bunch of systems together, and try to figure out which one is broken when things don’t go as planned. I like that everything is in one place. Plus, their support team is awesome and makes me feel like I have my own dedicated technology team.

But Kajabi isn’t the only option. There are so many options out there for your technology. If you’re already using one you like, keep using that.

You’ll want to set up your client portal, which may include your online training, workbook, group sessions, coaching calls and replays, community, and whatever else you decide is in your program.

Take some time to get this done well, because it’s a part of your client experience, and it’s important to make it as seamless and intuitive as possible for your future clients.

When your technology is setup, you’ll be ready to invite clients into your group coaching program!

Summary

When you make the decision to start your first group coaching program in your business, the first thing you’ll need to figure out is how to actually design and create the program in a way that gets clients results in a group setting. When you figure that out, you’ll be on your way to launching a successful group coaching program.

In order to design your program, you’ll want to get clear on:

• Your vision
• Your ideal client
• The result
• Your process
• How to validate your process and offer

In order to create your program, you’ll want to focus on:

• Your outline
• The timeline
• Your plan for your training videos and resources
• Your program brand
• Your client experience
• Your technology

After you design and create your program, you’ll be ready to sell your group coaching package and provide clients with effective group coaching!

Designing, creating, and selling your first group coaching program is exactly what I do with my clients inside Life and Business, my own group coaching business program.

I’m a Life and Business Coach and I’d love to help you through this process, so you can fill your new program and get started working with your clients inside your new program.

Get all the details at the link below.