Group Coaching Success Free Video Training #1 Transcript - How to Design an Irresistible Group Hi! Michelle Schubnel here, President and Head Coach over at CoachAndGrowRich.com and creator of the Group Coaching Success Program. Welcome to this free video training series. I am so excited to show you how you can add group coaching programs to your coaching business so you can serve more clients, make more money, free up some time, and, quite frankly, have more fun. In this video training, I'm going to show you that ultimately, there are only three essentials that you really need to start coaching groups, and that you can become a successful group coach a lot faster and easier than you probably think. You see, for more than a decade, my team and I have helped thousands of coaches around the world learn how to attract great clients and build a thriving, rewarding, and profitable coaching business. And, if you're like the kind of coaches we work with, I bet you love coaching, really making a difference in the lives of your clients. But, you are also wondering how can you grow your business, really increasing your income and impact without feeling like you always need to be working. Well, my friend, that's where group coaching comes in. It's great to see how many coaches are interested in group coaching, but I'm also noticing a lot of confusion out there. People aren't sure how to get started, what to do, how much additional training they need, and, most importantly, how are they going to go about filling their groups. Let me tell you, I can relate to all that. When I first started coaching groups, I had no real idea what I was doing, but I had one big thing going for me. I was committed. You see, I decided to start coaching groups because I wanted to free up a bunch more time in my schedule so I could support my mom who had bone marrow cancer. If you've ever had someone in your family or a friend or family who has gone through cancer, you know that feeling of wanting to really be there for them, to really support them. Well, that's what I wanted to be able to do for my mom. So, I was 100% committed to making group coaching work in my business. When I first started out, it was a challenge. There were definitely ups and down and I learned by trial and error, but the key thing was, I stuck with it and I learned what I needed All rights reserved. Page 1
to do. I studied and I researched, I implemented the strategies and tips I was picking up and I really figured things out along the way. You know, and I am so glad that I did because it's really true that group coaching was the thing that really gave me that freedom and flexibility so that I could fly back and forth from California to New York to support my mom. Since that time, I have now coached hundreds of group coaching sessions and helped thousands of other coaches learn how to be successful with group coaching as well. I have to say that adding group coaching to my business model is hands down one of the most important things I've done that has really added to my business success, and it's definitely been key for enabling me to earn a nice six-figure income year after year after year. I really want that same thing for you too. So before we get into these three essentials, I want to share a really important foundational tip that's key if you're committed and serious about starting groups, and that is to connect with your big "Why". Why do you want to coach groups? Why is it important to you? What kind of impact do you think it will have, being a successful group coach? Is it because you want to coach more clients? Maybe you want to make more money in less time. Perhaps you want to have a more affordable group coaching option for people, to make it easier for them to invest in your coaching. Maybe you're hitting an income ceiling in your business, or perhaps you're getting a little tired or burnt out from just working on one-on-one. Whatever your reasons, you having your big "Why" and staying really connected to it is one of the keys to success when you take on something new, whether that's group coaching or something else. Your big "Why" and your commitment is what inspires you to take the necessary action to take, keep moving forward and do whatever it takes. So, as long as you have your big "Why" and your drive and desire about why you want to coach groups, I can show you the steps how. That's really what these video trainings are all about. So, let's look at these key essentials for you coaching groups. The first one is: you need to design an irresistible group. Now this makes sense, right? You want to create a group that your ideal participants want to join. Next, the second essential is that you need to market to fill your group, and I know that this is something a lot of coaches really struggle with. And the third essential is you need to confidently coach your group. And you'd be surprised, this one is not as hard as you probably think it is. So in today's video, we're gonna focus on this first essential: How to Design an Irresistible Group. Then, in future videos, I'll be teaching you how to market to fill your group and how to confidently coach your group. So, if you haven't already, please be sure to go to GroupCoachingSuccess.com and enter your name and e-mail so we can send you the future free video trainings in this series. All rights reserved. Page 2
So when it comes to designing an irresistible group, there's actually two key factors that you want to keep in mind. The first one: You design an irresistible group based on who your group is for. So the more specific you are, the better, and also you want to think about who are going to be the easiest clients for you to find. Let me give you an example of this. Let's say you're a career coach and you're thinking of offering a group coaching program for people in career transition. Well that's great, that'll apply to anyone that's interested in career transition, but let's say instead you take this "Who" to heart when designing your irresistible group and you say, "You know what? My career coaching business has two main kinds of people. I work a lot with new college grads and also with Baby Boomers who are recently unemployed and weren't expecting to be in a career change at this point." A smart coach would then say, "I'm going to design two different groups, one to appeal to each of those target markets," because, you're really gonna be able to speak their language and address the concerns and challenges that those two different groups have around the one common topic of career transition. So, that's the first way to design an irresistible group. Pick a specific "who," group of people it's for, and really focus on that in your marketing. The second way to design an irresistible group is to focus on what the group is about. So, people will come to a group coaching program because they want to achieve a specific result or outcome, and the way that you make your group irresistible is by really understanding what your target market, what your ideal clients want. The way I recommend you do that is by doing some target market research. You can do an online survey, one-on-one interviews - either by phone or in-person, or perhaps do focus groups. I can tell you that the focus group approach works excellent for designing a group coaching program. For example, Brenda, one of the participants in one of the earlier Group Coaching Success programs, decided to do just that. She knew she wanted to coach middle-aged women, women in mid-life transition, but she wasn't sure what to make the coaching group about. So, she wisely decided to host a number of focus groups - in-person small gatherings with women in her target market in her area - and through those focus groups, they told her exactly what they were most interested in getting out of the group, how they wanted to meet, which was actually in-person, and she was planning on hosting the group by phone; how frequently they wanted to meet; what day of the week was best; and how long they wanted that first group to be. Brenda designed that group exactly according to what they told her and she filled that group in a heartbeat. So, if you want to design an irresistible group, you want to really make sure you connect with who that group is for and what that group is about. Okay, I also have a bonus tip I want to give you, which is, you want to focus on making, especially your very first coaching group, geared toward people who are going to be the All rights reserved. Page 3
easiest for you to find. Let me give you some examples of what I mean by that. So, for example, you might focus on reaching out to past employers and professional connections. What about groups, associations and clubs you belong to? You also want to think about any religious organizations you participate in, as well as tapping in to your personal network, your e-mail list, and, of course, past clients. For example, Anamikin was a participant in one of our first Group Coaching Success programs. She lives in Belgium and she wanted to start her first coaching group quickly, so she put together a program specifically for past clients. Through just a couple of e-mails she sent out, she was able to fill that initial group. Then there was Patricia. She's a parenting coach, very involved in her local community parenting association, and she realized that to start a group for parenting, which was a niche she was really focused in, she could tap into that existing parents club, and she offered that first group program through them. One last example I want to share with you: Nancy, a coach I work with one-on-one, wanted to start doing corporate coaching work. So, she tapped in to her existing HR network and got an introduction into the HR department of a Fortune 100 company here in the Bay area. Well, long story short, within three months of that initial meeting, she was running two career development groups for women in a specific department within this Fortune 100 company and then continued to offer programs within that department for a long time to come after that. So, clearly, if you start in your own backyard, it makes it so much easier, and you would be shocked, you would be shocked about how easy it will be to fill your first coaching group when you really get serious and committed. Okay, we're at the end of today's training video and I really hope this has served you. I have two action items for you if you choose to accept them. Number one: identify and connect with your big "Why." And, if you feel like sharing it, I'd love to read about it, so you can post a comment below and I'll take a look at it. I'd really appreciate that. Action item number two: start designing your irresistible group by thinking about who your group will be for and what it will be about. And I do, so strongly recommend, that you do that target market research. In fact, I have a gift for you that's going to make it as easy as possible for you to take action on this front. Below, I posted a handout that shows you step-by-step exactly what you need to do to do target market research. In fact, this is one of the resources from the full Group Coaching Success Program, and it shows you how to find the people to do the research with, what kind of questions to ask and even the mistakes to avoid, so I think you're going to find this really useful. Finally, if you've gotten value from today's video, I'd really appreciate it if you would click the like button and please post any comments or questions you have and I'll personally reply. Thank you so much for joining me today. I appreciate you for being here. I appreciate your time and I appreciate you for wanting to coach groups so that you can make a bigger difference and impact in the world and get your coaching gifts out there in a All rights reserved. Page 4
much bigger way. Stay tuned for video number two, where I'm going to be answering that number one question I get about group coaching: How do I fill my groups? Until then, don't forget to download the handout, click the like button, and please post any comments or questions you have. See you again real soon! All rights reserved. Page 5