10 | How to Create a Signature Coaching Programme

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Hello and welcome to Women in the Coaching Arena podcast.

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I'm so glad you are here.

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I'm Jo Lott, a business mentor and ICF accredited coach, and I'm on a

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mission to help brilliant coaches build brilliant coaching businesses.

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In this podcast, I'll be sharing honest, not hype, practical and

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emotional tools to support you to make the difference that you are here for.

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Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone): Hello and welcome to episode 10

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of Women in the Coaching Arena.

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I'm so glad you are here.

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In today's episode, we are diving into the topic of creating

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a signature coaching offer.

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So if you have been in my world for a while, you know, I talk about this a lot.

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It's a crucial step because without a tangible offer, all of your marketing

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efforts could go to waste, and we definitely don't want that to happen.

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So firstly, what is a signature system?

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Your signature system is the unique method that you use with clients.

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In other words, it's how you help your clients get from A to B or how I

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like to describe it from Hell Island, which is where they are now, to Heaven

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Island, which is where they want to be.

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And here are some reasons why you would want a signature coaching system.

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So firstly, it differentiates you from other coaches.

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If you are a coach and have no other differentiator, then

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you have a lot of competition.

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Whereas if you have a unique methodology, then people will start to like the

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way you do things and your signature coaching offer will be something

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that you can become known for.

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My signature coaching offer is the business of coaching.

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It's my one program that I have poured my heart into, which helps coaches go

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from not enough clients and overwhelmed to having clients and having clarity

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about where their business is headed.

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Another reason why you would want your own signature system is because

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it creates more reliable outcomes.

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Because when you have coached somebody on that sort of topic, several times, you

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will start to notice patterns and you can refine and perfect your process over time.

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So thirdly, having a system in place versus selling coaching just

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as 6 sessions or something really helps you to actually sell coaching

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because people don't buy coaching.

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They buy solutions to their problems.

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I have a particular framework that is my intangible, tangible framework that

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I work through with clients to help them to bring the intangible, which

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is coaching and most people don't understand well enough to buy to a

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really tangible thing that the average person understands and values enough to

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part with their hard earned money for.

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So I provide lots of templates so my clients can create a visual

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representation, so then you can start to talk through your offer and really

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allow people to see the journey that they will go on if they work with you.

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It also allows you to filter out clients who aren't a good fit, because

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if they're not bought into your point of view, it's not going to work out.

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So for example, I believe that you do need to niche to be able to have,

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and grow a successful business.

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That doesn't mean that you can't get a client without niching, but you might

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just get the odd one or two, and it's probably not gonna be particularly high

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fees because if you're just selling coaching, it's really, really difficult.

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So my point of view is that you do need a niche and a signature coaching

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offer to be able to really sell coaching effectively enough to build

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a solid, reliable, long-term business.

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So if you don't believe that, then you are not gonna be a great client for me because

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I'm not going to be able to help you.

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So the fourth reason why is it allows your clients to feel safe and cared for.

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So when your client sees that you have a process, they can put their trust in you

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and know that you are able to get there.

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And obviously if they believe it's possible, then they are

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more likely to get the results.

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So a lot of it is also them buying into the fact that this is possible for them,

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and you can transfer that confidence that you have a way of helping them to get

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there versus the come for some coaching, we'll see where we get to, and most

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people then like, oh, I'm a bit busy.

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This isn't worth the money.

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All of that kind of stuff.

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So if they see that you have this way of getting them there, then

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they will lean into that process and are more likely to get the results.

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So the last reason why this is brilliant to do is it gives you the ability to

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create multiple streams of income.

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So when you want to stop trading time for money, you can build a book out

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of your signature coaching offer.

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You can build a course, you can build a group program, you can build a membership.

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There's lots of things you can do, and you can literally take this one

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system that you will become known for and use it in several different ways.

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So let's get started with the really exciting bit now and create

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your signature coaching package.

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So the first point you need to be aware of here is sell them what

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they want, not what they need First.

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We will explore that concept because it took me a really long time to really

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get it enough to do it effectively, because the two things are really

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different, and as coaches we often have a raised sense of awareness, that

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we can talk to them in, coach speak.

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We think that everybody knows about limiting beliefs and values and

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all other things that we know, but sadly, the average person doesn't

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know this stuff yet, and so coaching can be seen as a luxury item, and we

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need to help the average person who isn't used to investing that kind of

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money in themselves see its value.

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So we need to position your coaching in a way that resonates with them and

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addresses their immediate desires.

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So to do this, I love the analogy of the front door and back door.

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So, for example, someone who is unhappy in their job and wants a new job, the

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front door is, I wanna get a new job.

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The back door is the confidence to actually leave that job knowing their

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values to ensure that they go for a job that they love, knowing their

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strengths so they can actually really feel fulfilled in the next move.

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So what can happen by accident, because we know as coaches you know, there's a lot

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more involved with just getting a new job.

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Usually than filling in your CV and just applying for another

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job because it's often a pattern.

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Like they're probably miserable in their job because they were miserable in the

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one before that and the one before that, there is so much more usually to be done.

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So we will often say, and I've definitely done it to my friend, come for some

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coaching, I can really help you.

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We can improve your confidence that you can really go for jobs that you love.

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And she is like, no, thank you.

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I don't have time for that.

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That's really nice.

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And I know that, yeah, one day I'll do that, but right

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now I just need to get a job.

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So what I really need to do is lean into my friend's immediate must

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have solved now issue, which is get a job and say, come work with me.

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I'll help you to get that next job.

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And then when she's in the front door, which is get the job, we will say, great.

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So session one, what's going on for you right now?

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What's holding you back from getting the job that you love?

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And then you'll get to explore all of the stuff that is holding the person

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back from actually achieving their goal, which is usually the confidence,

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the mindset, all of the stuff.

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But we need to actively lead with that front door issue.

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So have a think about your ideal client.

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What is their big goal that they are currently actually

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aware of and actively seeking?

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Think about what they're thinking about in the middle of the night

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when they're worried, what is the one thing that they are aware of

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that they need help with right now?

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So take some time to have a think about your ideal client's front door issue.

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Another real life example of a mistake I made when I first started

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my program, the business of coaching was selling the idea of helping people

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to build their coaching business.

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I mean, obviously that's what you need to do to get clients.

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There is identifying your why.

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Setting up your business, your niche, your marketing, overcoming your

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visibility issues, knowing how to have sales calls, how to set up sales

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funnels like there is so much involved.

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So I was leading with help you to build your business.

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But actually what people wanted was, I just wanna know how to get clients.

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Thank you.

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So for example, I used to have a lead magnet, which is a free pdf.

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I've probably spoken about it in previous issues of 10 steps

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to build your coaching business.

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I had really slow growth with that lead magnet.

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Yeah, people did download it, but the moment I changed my lead magnet,

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to, 12 ways to get clients now.

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I had like 50 downloads in the matter of a day, so it was a huge difference

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and really showed me that I too, was going wrong because again, of the raised

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awareness I have of what's involved in actually building your coaching

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business so again, it's really easy to get this wrong because we know

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far too much about the things that we usually end up helping people with.

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So once you understand your client's front door issue,

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it's time to craft a compelling headline that resonates with them.

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So what is going on in their life right now?

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What do they wish for?

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And try to express it in really concrete terms.

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So for example, get out of your rut and get into a job that you love.

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That could be a clear front door message.

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If you, for example, are a career coach.

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Okay, so now we know how to sell them what they want, not what they need.

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Let's move on to your journey.

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So your steps that you are going to take this person on to get them there.

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Have a think about three to six steps that they may need to take.

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So, for example, if you are a career coach, they might be your confidence, your

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strengths, the technical aspects of career change, and then maybe a how to excel in

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your career once you have your new job.

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So they might be my four steps in my coaching program that will

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help somebody get from stuck in a rut into a job that they love.

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So by outlining a journey, you can provide a tangible roadmap that people

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understand enough to think, okay, I can kind of see that if I wanted to get

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this result, it looks like these are the sorts of things that I need to know.

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Yes, please.

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I am in.

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So now you have your high level steps.

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It's time to think about the logistics.

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So just because you have three or four high level steps doesn't

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mean that that is the amount of coaching sessions you will use.

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You'll want to think about what are the logistics like how many sessions

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are you giving free email access, like what goes into your offer and

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tailor it to fit that person's needs and your needs as well ultimately.

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Then comes pricing.

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So it's crucial to think about your pricing in terms of the

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transformation that you provide versus the cost of a session,

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because it's not about the session.

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So much goes into that relationship.

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You hold space in your heart for that person while you're working with them.

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Over the several months you're working with them, not just in the session.

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There will be toing and froing back and forth over things.

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They will be gaining insights from the actions they're

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taking in between sessions.

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If you want to have a really successful coaching business, it's really good

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to start thinking about the time, energy, and expertise you bring to the

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table and confidently set your prices.

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So if you are thinking, what about coach training school, because this

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sounds completely the opposite.

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Yes, you are right.

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It is completely the opposite because at coach training, they teach you

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how to coach, but they don't teach you how to actually sell coaching so

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that you actually do get to coach.

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Because there is a huge gap and I wish more coach training providers were

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really open about the fact that you might need to learn some marketing and sales

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skills to be able to have a career as a coach because there is so much to learn.

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It's like an entire, another qualification in itself, how to build a business

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and actually make this work for you.

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Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone)-6: So that was a Whistlestop tour into

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creating a signature coaching program.

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Let's summarize today's episode.

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So firstly, what is the Signature Coaching System?

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It's how you help your clients get from A to B.

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Secondly, we covered why you might want a signature coaching system

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versus just selling coaching.

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And the reasons were it differentiates you from other coaches.

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It creates more reliable outcomes.

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It helps you to actually sell coaching so you can actually do the thing you love.

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It allows your clients to feel safe and cared for, and it gives you the ability

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to create multiple streams of income.

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Thirdly, we went into how to create your own signature coaching package.

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So firstly, sell them what they want, not what they need, address their front door

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issue rather than the back door issue.

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Secondly, mapping out your journey from their current situation

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to their desired outcome.

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Thirdly, we talked about the logistics.

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How many sessions, like what's exactly involved in what you're

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selling, and fourthly, determining your pricing and making sure that it

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reflects the value that you provide.

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So good luck with your signature coaching offer.

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If you want my help implementing this, this is what I do best in

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my signature coaching program, the Business of Coaching.

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You can learn more about this via my website in the show notes or book a call

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to see if it's what you need right now to grow your business with more ease

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and attract the clients that you want.

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And like I always say at the end of every episode, trust yourself, believe

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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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Please come and say hi to me on LinkedIn or Instagram and let me

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know how you are getting on in your coaching business and how you are

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gonna go for your dreams this year.

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My name on LinkedIn is Joanna Lott and on Instagram is at Joanna Lott Coaching, and

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I'll also put links in the show notes.

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Let me know if you found this episode useful.

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Share it with a friend and leave me a review, and I will

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personally thank you for that.

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Thank you so much for listening.