Anyone who does group coaching or training events will tell you the hardest part of the whole thing is getting people to show up.
Even if your thing is free, it can be tough to get people to give you their time.
It’s even harder to get them to give you their money…
When clients say they want to do groups or events or sell information products, I remind them that they are going to have to make a major time investment in marketing.
It’s honestly easier to sell my premium 1:1 coaching, and often it’s more profitable.
That said, sometimes it makes sense to do a group program. If you’re looking to scale and have a proven process you can follow, it might be time to try doing it in a group format.
This was the case for my ResurfA.C.E. half-day workshop I gave in partnership with TENWOMENSTRONG.
Based on my eBook and the process I have been using for 10 years, it was easy for me to drop it into TENWOMENSTRONG’s A.C.E. (Authentic. Creative. Expressive.) Leadership Model.
Having worked primarily as a solo practitioner, I was excited to partner with an organization with a great brand and mailing list. We did social media posts, promo videos, and emails – all the stuff you’re supposed to do.
People we showed the landing page to gushed about how great it was.
We added a video of us talking about the class and testimonials about our work.
We got zero signups.
A week out, I started to panic. Even though it’s very typical for people to wait until the last minute to sign up, we’d been promoting it for weeks and we were tired.
However, we knew it would give great value to attendees and we were so excited to do it.
I refused to throw in the towel and reschedule it.
I started reaching out to individual women who I knew would benefit from attending. I had to reach out to each woman a few times. It was uncomfortable, but I pushed through.
In the end, we got the number of attendees we were aiming for and I didn’t give away one seat for free. Everyone paid the listed price. I did add a follow-up complimentary coaching session with me, which I was happy to do as they were women I knew and cared about.
I am pleased to share the workshop itself was a smashing success. The women who attended LOVED it and the group really bonded. Everyone shared and supported each other. It exceeded all of our expectations.
I am so happy I didn’t reschedule it, even if it did kick my butt. We now have a proven workshop that we can give multiple times a year.
In fact, the next one is scheduled for May 1, 2021. You can learn more about the ResurfA.C.E. workshop here.
So, if you’re struggling to get people to sign up for your thing, please know that you’re not alone.
You might want to check out “The Big Butt Enigma” episode of Why Are We Shouting? with Jill Salzman.