Creating a group programme is a popular option for coaches who are looking to diversify their income out of simply working with people 1:1. They can be a great option to create more impact and income in your coaching business once you’re ready to scale.

In this post I’m going to share a few of the things I’ve learned over the years I’ve been running group programmes and group programme hybrids both in my work as a business mentor and as a health coach.

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What is a group programme?

So before we get into all of that stuff, I want just to talk about what a group program actually is, and the different ways they can be delivered.

The simplest option is where you take a cohort of people through a specific process over a number of weeks or months, often with live calls and resources included.

Some group programmes, particularly in the business to business space might be ran a little bit like a mastermind, or even a little like a membership, there’s a lot of different options for how you can set these up, and the pricing, resources structure, live elements, support elements etc all factor into to how it comes together.

Some group programmes are run just like a big flexible container of support without a lot of structure too.

I mentioned group programmes in my post on how to create recurring income in your coaching business as group programmes can be a great way to create this in your business.

The group programmes I’ve ran before

I’ve run a few different group style programmes. In the past, when I was a health coach, I remember my first group program was called Fabulous You. This programme was a very simple 12 week programme that took a group through a set of resources and actions. In time I ended up reducing the length of the programme to 8 weeks and then to 6 weeks – what I found in this case was that the group engagement started to drop off over time so 6 weeks was the sweet spot.

This programme included a Facebook group, some live calls and some PDF resources that we’re emailed out each week of the programme so it was really quite simple and it worked well!

My next group style programme was something I thought of more like a mastermind style hybrid as I ran it over 12 months. This was Wholeheartedly You, and included monthly resources, monthly check ins and live calls and was priced more highly than Fabulous You because the support was of a much higher level.

Now as Business Mentor I run a wonderful group programme called Wholehearted Business. This programme also feels a little like a mastermind / group hybrid because of the level of support on offer. This programme is designed to help coaches get clients and create marketing systems that future proof their flow of customers. It runs over 6 months and includes lots of 1:1 and group level support as well as a lot of resources and a structured process. You can learn more about Wholehearted Business here.

Group programme structures

If you’re considering running a group programme you need to consider how you’re going to structure it.

A good way to approach how you set up a group programme is to be led by the transformation you want to create. I always use something like the A-B method whenever I’m creating something like this as it’s a useful little exercise to get clear on that transformation. Then you can map out how you can take that group of people through that process and what it all needs to look like.

Main questions to ask yourself might be:

• What’s the starting point and endpoint of the people this is here to support?
• How structured does it need to be?
• What resources / training / materials do people need to facilitate the transformation or shift? How will you deliver those materials (do you need a course area or can it all be sent over via email?)
• How much time do people need?
• What kind of live support will help people move through the programme and get results?
• How will you onboard people into the programme?
• Ideally how many people would you like in the programme?
• How does the programme fit into your business and into your lifestyle and how you want to show up?

There’a a bunch of other questions I could add there but that’s a good place to start, essentially a group programme is working with a group of people through a common journey and that can look different in lots of ways!

Marketing a group programme

Something else to consider is how you’re actually going to market your group programme. A lot of people find that group programmes with a clear start and end date naturally lend themselves to be marketed using a launch model and that’s what I used for my first two group programmes in the health and wellbeing space.

I also used a regular launch model to market Wholehearted Business, however after a few years of that, I feel much happier having it open on an evergreen basis and then doing ‘mini’ launches throughout the year. The marketing needs to look differently for this, but I love that people can access the programme whenever it’s the right time for them.

What I would note is that if you aren’t getting at least a semi regular flow of clients coming in and have a community or audience (at least a small one) you might find getting numbers into a group programme more tricky, I also feel that coaching people 1:1 is usually how we learn what works so we can replicate that in a group programme too.

Next steps

And speaking of getting more clients, that’s exactly what Wholehearted Business is designed to help you do. You can check out all of the info on the programme right here, I’d love to be able to help you grow your coaching business!

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