87 | Should you offer 1:1 coaching, group coaching, or an online course?

Jo Lott: 00:01:39

Hello and welcome to Women in the Coaching arena podcast.

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I'm so glad you're here.

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I'm Jo Lott, a business mentor and ICF accredited coach and I help coaches to build brilliant businesses.

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I know that when you prepare to enter the arena there is fear, self doubt, comparison, anxiety, uncertainty.

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You can tend to armour up and protect yourself from vulnerability.

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In this podcast I'll be sharing honest, not hype, practical and emotional tools to support you to make the difference that you're here for DARE greatly you belong in this arena.

Jo Lott: 00:02:20

Hello, welcome to the 87th episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

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I am so glad you are here today.

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I'm excited to cover the topic of whether you should do one to one coaching, group coaching or an online course.

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This is a topic that comes up all the time in my work with coaches, often because we are sold the dream of passive income and perhaps having an online course, therefore utilizing our time and all of the things that we generally go into business for.

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So I wanted to cover this today.

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So you know, depending on where you're at in your business building journey, what path might be right for you?

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First, let's talk about one to one coaching.

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So this is the traditional model of coaching we will all know.

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Well.

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It's highly personalized and allows you to go deep into each individual client.

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You get to tailor the session to their unique needs.

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Even if you are selling a program, do listen to the week before last week's episode if you are wondering how to balance selling a program and actually delivering one on one coaching.

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The relationship you build can be really powerful and intimate and the impact is often high.

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The downside of one to one coaching is that it can be time consuming and I know many of you, like me are trying to fit building your business into a very short day.

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There is a cap on your income because you are exchanging time for money.

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So if you are looking to scale your business eventually or not trade time for money, one to one coaching alone might not be sustainable in the long run.

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Now let's talk about group coaching.

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So this is a fantastic way to leverage your time whilst still providing a personal level of service to your clients.

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This is how I work with my clients now.

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In a group setting you get to share your expertise with multiple clients at once.

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There's amazing space for peer learning which is also super valuable.

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Your clients will get to connect with others on a similar journey.

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So in group it's even more important to have a really solid niche so you have clients who have the same shared goal in mind and Also, the group dynamic can lead to deeper insights and breakthroughs.

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If you've listened to this podcast before, you will know I have a program called the Business of Coaching which is my group coaching program.

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It's an absolute joy and has got better year on year.

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I've been consistently filling it for over three years now and I never stop amending things, bringing in more personal support.

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So for example, at the moment I'm doing a four week small group accelerator.

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So you will be in a group of no more than five people with me for your first month of the program.

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To really help you get clarity on your niche offer and get out there within your first four weeks is my goal for you.

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And it also creates an easier transition into the larger group where we build on your marketing skills every single week, help you raise your game, help you think about exponential growth activities.

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So those are things that everyone needs to do.

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But what I really wanted to do in terms of this small group accelerator is to ensure that people really get that solid foundation to build from.

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And that is what we do in the first four weeks.

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Whether or not they've been in business for years, there is usually still work to be done on those foundational items that will be the pillars of their future success.

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So there are all sorts of ways to make group coaching even more personal.

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My group coaching clients also get a one to one call with me when they start.

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They also get one to one voice note access and one to one direct message access.

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Currently if they are ever stuck, I will send them a link to a one on one call.

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So it's a real hybrid model where I know each person in my group really well.

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From a business perspective, group coaching allows you to increase your income by serving more people without increasing your time commitment.

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You'll need to be confident in managing group dynamics and ensuring that everyone feels seen and heard, which can be challenging if not handled properly.

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I remember when I was a few months into my first group coaching program and someone was having a really bad day and they essentially spoke for like the entire 90 minute session and I remember hanging up feeling like so drained and depressed as did probably most of the participants because at the time I don't think I was experienced enough to know how to help that person feel seen and heard, but also to not impact on the entire group.

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Now I don't have those issues anymore because I have been hosting these group calls for three years now.

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So I guess little by little you gain the experience that you need to facilitate group coaching sessions properly.

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A downside may be that some clients prefer the intimacy of one to one and might not feel comfortable sharing in a group.

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Finally, let's discuss online courses.

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So this is the one which is living the dream.

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If you are able to sell your online course, it doesn't take any time from you at all.

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It allows you to package your knowledge and expertise into a program that clients can access at their own pace.

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This is ideal for clients who are self starters and prefer to learn in their own time and usually for less money.

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It also frees up your schedule because you are not tied to live coaching sessions.

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You can also pair an online course with group coaching.

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So that's what I do.

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My content is recorded so people can follow the steps, for example to create an email nurture sequence and how to do the tech and all of the things that would be really difficult to do in a live setting.

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So they have that online course as a resource and as a pathway.

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But I am there every step of the way saying share your niche, share your offer, giving them feedback on all of it.

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So there is a great way of combining the two.

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I also did launch a pure online course recently and how I encouraged people to actually complete the course is by offering a loom video review of their signature coaching document at the end of the course.

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Because online courses have a really low completion rate of 3%.

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So literally only 3% of most online courses actually complete the content.

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Many will not even log in because as we know as coaches, information is not enough.

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People need really strong accountability and support to actually implement.

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I'm really excited that my first online course, which is called Signature Solution and is a pure online course, has a 60% completion rate already which is outstanding given the stats that I just shared.

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So there are ways of making quick, easy videos, worksheets that people can actually implement and like I say, maybe sharing some sort of carrot at the end to hope help people log in and want to get your feedback at that final point.

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The benefit to online courses is it provides that passive income stream and allows you to serve hundreds or thousands of people globally.

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The challenge is you lose that personal interaction so you might not actually find it rewarding.

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I know I much prefer to have interaction with my clients.

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I have previously not really had the one to one interaction that I have now with clients at certain periods of the program.

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But actually I felt like I missed knowing them so I have kind of brought that back in now a little bit more.

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So it's all about the joy that you get from the work you do as well.

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Creating the course also requires significant upfront work.

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All of that content creation, recording, marketing, tech.

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And let's not forget you need a really solid strategy to sell that course or otherwise it will just sit there.

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The biggest blind spot in those creating online courses is creating a course with no audience at all.

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Even with maybe a 10,20,000 number in your audience, you will still struggle to sell many of your course usually.

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So it really does require a big audience and a really nurtured community to be able to sell online courses effectively.

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So which model is right for you?

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One to one coaching, group coaching or an online course?

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Here is my take.

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You don't have to choose just one.

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Many successful coaches offer a mix of these options.

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Like I mentioned, that's what I do.

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So it's about designing a business model that works for you.

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What are your goals?

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Do you love the intimacy of one on one coaching?

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Do you thrive in a group setting or are you passionate about creating resources that can impact people at scale?

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I always knew that I wanted to do group coaching even when I had only just qualified.

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Something about that group setting really brings me alive.

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So think about your strengths, your energy and what sort of lifestyle you want to create.

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And then you get the flexibility to design a business that fits your needs as well as your clients needs.

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So here are a few questions to help you decide.

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What kind of energy do you thrive on?

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Personal one to one relationships or the excitement of group dynamics?

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How much time do you want to spend working each week?

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Are you comfortable with the idea of scaling beyond one to one interactions?

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Do you want to create something that runs without you being present in every situation like an online course?

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Ultimately, the choice between one to one coaching, group coaching and online courses is all about you, your business goals, your personal strengths and how you want to serve your clients.

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Also, don't forget, it's also about your audience size.

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So again, I have seen many people jump way too soon to group or online courses and then after six months of work preparing all of the content, they realize that no one is buying.

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Please don't let that be you.

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One to one is a great place to start and while you build your audience, you can prepare for that group or online course.

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It's also such an exciting moment though.

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So if you are in the place of wondering whether your particular clients will thrive in a group setting, know that I helped somebody who had this exact worry because all of her clients were in the same industry, so she was worried that they wouldn't want others to know that they were changing career or feeling nervous at work and actually she had a really successful launch with nine people into her first group coaching program.

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So sometimes it does require courage without knowing.

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I certainly went into my group program with just two participants when I first started.

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So there are ways to get this started and to launch without it being completely exhausting.

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But just bear in mind the time you have and the energy that it takes to create and fill a group program.

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I had a program called Elevate which was solely on creating a group program or online course and I ran it in June, which I loved.

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But what I learned is that so much more goes into creating a group program than just creating a group program.

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It's all about good, deep marketing, is about clarity on niche and offer and it's about consistently filling that group program.

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It's not just about a one off project.

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So I'm really excited.

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In January I'm launching my next level Mastermind.

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This will combine things like launching group programs, but also selling to corporates, consistently filling your pipeline, leveraging a team, all of the things that you need for your next level in business.

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It won't be prescriptive, it's more of a personalized mastermind experience that will help you prioritize your goals and achieve them.

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This isn't for everyone.

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The next level Mastermind is for you.

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If you already have an established client base and a healthy revenue and are now looking for more money, more freedom and a greater, stronger influence in your field, you're a force to be reckoned with.

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But even the strongest need support.

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You also are experienced enough in business to know that this is not a quick one month project.

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This is a long term next phase level of your business to really help you to make more money, help more people in less time.

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We begin on the 9th of January.

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The next level Mastermind will be application only.

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So do drop me an email or message on LinkedIn if you are interested in the details and I will send them over to you.

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My email is joanna@joannalotcoaching.com so in summary, you can combine all three of these and know that the best thing is there is always more to look forward to in your business.

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This is not a once and done thing.

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I have created my group but I still continue three years on to show up, do my marketing, get better case studies, improve my program, all of the things.

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So there is so much to look forward to in your business.

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Just know that wherever you are right now on your journey is exactly where you're supposed to be and one day you will look back on where you are now and see that it was leading you on the path that you were always meant to be on.

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Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

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I hope this conversation has helped you to gain clarity on which direction to take with your business at this moment in time.

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If you have enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to take 1 minute to scroll down and rate and review the podcast.

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If you are an Apple listener, it allows you to leave a review and I would absolutely love to read it.

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I think on the other platforms you can only leave a rating, so that would mean the world to me as I sit here on this Sunday morning creating this episode for you.

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So until next time, trust yourself, believe in yourself and be the wise gardener who keeps on watering the seed.

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Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

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I have a mass of free resources on my website joannalottscoaching.com that's Joanna with an A and Lot with two Ts.

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Joannalotscoaching.com and I'll also put links in the show notes below.

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Let me know if you found this episode useful, share it with a friend and leave me a review and I will personally thank you for that.

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Remember to trust yourself, believe in yourself and be the wise gardener who keeps on watering the seed.

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Get into the arena, dare greatly and try.