Last year I hit a brick wall in my business and had a bit of a business wobble. I was struggling to create recurring income in a way that worked for me, and my offers just didn’t seem to be working the way I knew they could.

I decided to make some significant changes to my core signature offer, and create something I like to call a ‘group program / membership hybrid’

This was similar to a previous offer I had back when I was a health coach, so I already had experience of something like this working, and could also recognise and avoid some of the pitfalls.

Shifting to this offer structure has helped me create significant recurring income, is scalable for the future, is easier to deliver on and has created a better client experience.

In this blog post I’m going to share more on the group program / membership hybrid and why you might want to consider creating a similar offer in your coaching business.

Listen to this episode on The Wholehearted Business Show Podcast: Listen on Apple Podcasts / Listen on Spotify

What is a group program / membership hybrid?

In my world, this is a long term group program that is only offered on a long term payment plan. It’s technically a group program and performs as such in terms of how it’s delivered and structured, but it also includes features that are common in memberships such as a core roadmap or pathway of virtual lessons and monthly payments.

In my business it looks like a group program that is 12 months long with 12 monthly payments, a core pathway of online accessible teaching content, and more group program style group calls and individualised support via Voxer. I also have the option available to upgrade to include 1:1 calls.

Why does this offer structure work?

It includes many of the benefits of a membership and avoids some of the pitfalls, for example because it’s offered with a 12 month payment plan, you gain a recurring income base in the same way you would from a membership, but because it’s a group program and you’re delivering a higher level of service, you may be able to charge more than you would for a membership.

Also, because it’s a 12 part payment plan, rather than a subscription, the idea is that people are joining for 12 months rather than signing up for a membership they may not use and then cancel after 3 months.

As you’re able to charge more, and therefore provide a better level of service and delivery to your clients, they are more likely to get better results and – especially if you’re heart centered or highly sensitive – you will feel better being able to provide a deeper level of support.

Evergreen or Launch?

You could sell this either evergreen (always available) or via a launch. I chose to do launches and I currently launch Wholehearted Business™ twice a year.

This definitely has its pros and cons, but the pros tend to outweigh it for me. I like that I can use a touch of urgency and scarcity to bring people in, and that I can do all of the onboarding at one time. It also means that in each launch I can map out that recurring income 12 months ahead, so if I do have a less than stellar launch, I have time to course correct before the next one.

It also means that the coaches in the program get to form relationships with one another and no one is coming in on their own, there’s always a few others starting with them. We don’t follow a set structure either so each participant can do things at their own pace.

Why 12 months works

I love being able to deliver this over 12 months for people because it’s a much more realistic time frame in which to achieve results.

It also means that from a delivery and ‘life first’ approach, I know that everyone is getting an equal experience so when I have more downtime over August and December, there’s not one cohort who is going to miss out because of that.

When the program ends

I’m currently approaching the end of the first 12 month cohort in Wholehearted Business™ and I intend to offer current participants the option to re-sign in 6 month blocks rather than having to manage rolling subscriptions. This is another way that the group program has a membership feel – in that it can be ongoing, but I’m adjusting the model to make it work better for me, the way I deliver and my cashflow.

As I can only manage around 30-40 people in the program at any one time, allowing people to rejoin in 6 month blocks means that as I reach capacity, I’m not at risk of people leaving between launches and leaving me with an empty space.

Next steps

Interested in trying this model out for yourself? I’m happy to support you to create this in your business via my 1:1 Mentoring Offer, or of course come along and join Wholehearted Business™ when we next reopen and see what it’s like from the inside out!

↓Pin for later ↓