5 lessons I learnt after launching a group career coaching programme no one bought

The summer of 2021 was a real turning point for me in my coaching business.

?

?

>> Firstly, because I launched a group career coaching programme that no one bought. ??

?

?

>> Secondly, because I had a profound lightbulb moment that would change the trajectory of my business forever… ??

?

?

I'll dig into why my programme didn't sell first:

?

It was supposedly a 'new and improved' version of a group programme I'd run during the summer of COVID (which had previously sold out).

?

?

I had spent literally? MONTHS lovingly creating a programme I thought would be amazing and that I knew had the potential to change lives (and careers) …but that no one else (apart from perhaps my mum) saw the value of.

?

?

And so nobody whatsoever bought it. ??♀?

?

?

At the time, it was utterly heart-breaking. Every self-limiting belief and imposter thought became a reality. I was almost ready to throw in the towel and go back to my soul-sapping (but well-paid) Head of Talent role.

?

?

A few years later (and a few more rides on the rollercoaster ?? that is female entrepreneurship ) I see with clichéd 20/20 hindsight the exact reasons it didn't sell:

?

?

1. I positioned the programme using quinoa ?? not cake ??

?

When I look back at my social media posts and emails about it, I see now that I was promoting very intangible benefits and outcomes for the programme.

?

?

Things that I knew they needed (I call this the quinoa ??) but things they weren't actively looking for - or wanting (I call this the cake ?? )

?

?

I was referencing intangible, 'coach speak', 'quinoa' outcomes like 'reconnect with your values', 'identify your strengths', 'decode your personality preferences', 'boost your confidence', 'find your purpose'…

?

?

As a coach or consultant, you probably know that people usually need to work through the above in order to achieve their career/ life goals, but most of my dream clients didn't. So this kind of messaging resulted in tumbleweed. ??

?

?

I made very little reference to how their lives would be better or what would be possible for them once they had clarity on all these things. (i.e the cake) The outcomes they were looking for.

?

?

?

2. I didn't design the programme with a specific Goldilocks (just right) client in mind ??♀?

?

I didn't have anywhere near enough clarity or specificity on precisely who I was designing the programme for. Which meant I never spelled out any qualifying criteria in my marketing and messaging.

?

?

This lack of clarity also stopped me from being able to go really deep into the psychographics (emotions, drivers, values etc.) of my Goldilocks client. Only when you go deep can you craft Mindreader Messaging?? and offers that ensures that your content subconsciously connects with your perfect people.

?

?

I also had very little understanding about whether my Goldilocks was problem or solution aware, or anywhere near ready to invest. (i.e that their problem was significant enough that they wanted to solve it there and then). This knowledge would have massively influenced the way I positioned and marketed my programme.

?

?

?

3. My offer sounded like every other career coach's programme at the time ??

?

Like all the best business owners ?? , I was (and still am) prone to a touch of comparison-itis and doom-scrolling of my competitors' insta feeds and websites.

?

?

This meant that my programme sounded very much like all their programmes. It wasn't very 'me-shaped' at all.

?

?

I found myself parroting other career coaches' copy and including the 'bells and whistles' logistics that I thought I 'should' be offering. Although my solution was pretty signature, I rarely shared my own unique point of difference or my point of view, which meant my programme blended into a “Sea of Career Coaching Sameness”.

?

?

?

4. I never validated my 'new and improved' programme ??

?

Having validated the original version of the programme which had sold out, I (wrongly) assumed - that by 'improving' it, the leads would flood in and it would sell out too.

?

?

But it turns out, that it was only improved in my eyes and actually my perfect people much preferred the compact, intensive 6-week version of the programme to the new 4-month long one I'd lovingly designed. ??♀?

?

?

Of course I'd have known that, had I bothered to give my offer a bit of Validation Va va voom?? with some Goldilocks clients before launching it to the world.

?

?

But as business owners, we have to make these mistakes to learn. As we fail, so we learn, iterate, bloom and grow. And so our beautiful businesses blossom and our impact in the world soars. ??

?

?

It took me literally years of trial and error (and ￡1000s in business mentorship!) to master these business-building fundamentals.

?

?

But perhaps the biggest learning for me in the summer of 2021 came from my reaction to my launch being a flop….

?

?

?? My reaction was one of relief. Thank goodness no one signed up.

?

?

This emotion gave me all sorts of powerful clues ?? about what I truly wanted to be doing in my business. And after 5+ years of career coaching it wasn't career coaching. ??

?

?

If truth be told, I'd been falling out of love with career coaching for a while. I see this now as my favourite clients to work with were always those who left their 9-5 roles to work for themselves. Just as I had done in 2016.

?

?

I'd also started to get a flurry of mentoring requests from other career and leadership coaches who wanted to learn from my experience of growing a profitable, me-shaped coaching and consulting business.

?

?

So in the summer of 2021, I pivoted my business and became a business mentor for purpose-led coaches and consultants. The rest, as they say, is history. ??

?

?

Perhaps I can help you too…

?

So if you'd like to make a change in 2024 so you can stop feeling anxious about your sporadic leads, tumbleweed marketing and feast-and-famine months (and you'd like to fast-track what has taken me 5+ years in business to master) I still have 3 more spots left on my signature Fruitful Founder programme which starts in January.

?

?

You'll learn the art (and psychology) of how to design offers that sell, how to authentically attract, nurture and ethically convert dreamy values-aligned clients in your purpose-led business.

?

?

(All without having to change who you are or hustling 24/7.)

?

?

We start on Tuesday 9th January at 12pm UK Time. ?

?

?

Reply to this email with the word FRUITFUL if you'd like a copy of the brochure and to chat about whether it could be a good fit for you. Investment to join goes up on 17th December when my 2024 prices will kick in.

?

?

Sarah x

P.S if you'd like a FREE taster of my signature Fruitful Founder Method??. click here or on the image below to download your FREE workbook and guide.