This one word will cost you sales

“How can I get more people to sign up for my group coaching program?”

Can you identify the one word in the common question above that illuminates why the program is not selling as well as it should?

It’s an insidious word that may be costing you sales right now.

The answer is embedded in the follow-up question I frequently ask when faced with the challenge of attracting more students to my clients’ group programs.

“Who is this program for?”

If the answer contains the word “people,” I immediately know we have a problem. “People” is far too broad as an intended audience for any offer.

“This group program is for people who…”

That’s not good enough. It seems simple, right? But I hear this all the time. Take a look at the following statements.

“My program is for people who need to excel at negotiation.”
“My program is for people who feel stuck.”
“My program is for people who want to earn higher returns on their savings.”

Any of these three statements tells me the program will struggle to attract its intended audience because the expert doesn’t know who they are!

Moving from one-to-one services to one-to-many courses and programs requires you to be specific about who you serve best (if you haven’t narrowed it down already).

Coaches and consultants get far too used to creating custom offers that meet the needs of each client.

You must make your intended customer abundantly clear to package and sell your expertise en masse.

Compare the following statements with those from above.

1. “My program is for real estate investors who want to excel at negotiation.”
2. “My program is for someone in their mid-career who hates their job and feels stuck.”
3. “My program is for people age 40+ who have 10k or more in savings and want to earn higher returns.”

Can you see how each of these statements makes it much clearer who the group coaching program is for?

If you were the intended customer, you would know immediately whether or not it was for you. If you were a referral partner, you would know who to send to this program.

If you’re struggling to sell your “one-to-many” course or program, the first question to ask is this.

Who am I creating this program for? Be VERY specific.

The second question to ask is:

What outcomes will this program deliver to that audience?

But that’s a topic for another newsletter.

Are you clear about your intended audience? Why or why not?

If you struggle to identify your ideal audience, look at your past clients. Who are the five clients you enjoyed working with? Identify the common elements between each of these.

Join the conversation here on LinkedIn and see what others had to say about this topic.