3 Common Myths about Signature Programs

During a recent workshop, someone asked about shifting from a 1-1 client model to a signature program model, and I realized that there are some important misconceptions about creating a signature program that often hold heart-centered coaches back from making more income with less effort.

A signature program is actually the fastest way to create more income in your business without hustling, and it can transform your entire business if you’re already making the income-level you want but are feeling burned out.

The first myth about signature programs is that you have to have a large client base of 1-1 clients before you can create a signature program.

I’ve heard this one many times from clients.

This is quite the opposite of reality. Growing your signature program will be a heck of a lot easier than trying to get a lot of 1-1 clients.

Here’s why:

If I’m your ideal client and you’re offering 1-1 sessions around helping women with investing, for example, I have to think twice as hard before I hire you. First, I have to understand what problem you solve and what solution you offer. (Not a lot of coaches are articulating this in a really clear way when they’re offering 1-1 coaching.) Then I have to wonder how you can help me and make the large assumption that somehow in our 1-1 sessions we’ll reach the outcome I desire.

On the other hand, if you tell me that you help women who are recently divorced and excited to understand investing so they can grow generational wealth and learn to be confident with their investments and that you have a 10-week program I can take to do this, I’m in before you even tell me what’s in that program.

Finding out all the exciting modules and different ways you’ll support me in the program is just icing on the cake!

Now, if I also want 1-1 support and you offer that as an option in your business, I’m far more likely to sign up for it because I saw the clarity of your offer first and felt compelled to connect with you.

You don’t need to try to grow a large 1-1 clientele before you can have a program. Building the program now is going to make growing your clientele so much easier (as described above)!

I made my first signature program within the first six months of opening my coaching practice, and it was a tiny, baby coaching practice. That signature program exploded my income and my 1-1 clientele, actually. 

The second myth about signature programs is that you have to create a group program.

Not at all!

Your signature program can actually still be 1-1 coaching at first if you’re not feeling ready to do group coaching.

You can make materials for your clients such as videos, workbooks, written PDF files, or audio so that your 1-1 clients can learn what you teach without having to be in session. Then you can get on Zoom with them and coach them around their specific concerns.

This allows you to be super clear when you articulate who you serve, what you solve, and the outcome of your program and still work with 1-1 clients until you’re ready to move into group work (if that feels like fun to you). When you do shift into group coaching, your program material is already created.

Your potential client will feel excited because they can see exactly where they’re going to go in your program and will be more likely to jump in. It’s far more compelling to see your 10-week investing program as described above than to see a call to action like “Book a session with me 1-1.”

A lot of advice about building your coaching business says to offer a coaching package of three to six or more sessions, but this is like asking someone to promise to go on six dates with you before even meeting. Your potential clients don’t necessarily even know if they want a package of 1-1 sessions right away. They’re not sure how all those different dates will go. What restaurant? Where are you meeting? What will happen? It’s too unknown.

However, if your program is clearly defined, they WILL want a number of sessions together because there’s a clear map and clear outcome. Because you’ve articulated your outcome clearly, you’ll also only be attracting people who really want that outcome and are excited to get moving toward it.

This makes it far more likely that you’ll be working with clients you adore every single time. You’ll also notice they have fewer objections to working with you on their path to registering.

You can also make a hybrid program with some 1-1 coaching and some group coaching that still allows you to scale your business, create more time freedom, and offer support to more people. The options are endless!

In a way, creating a signature program forces you to be far clearer about the problem you solve and the outcome you provide when you’re sharing on social media and via email. You can’t just fall back on the easy “book a session with me” invitation, so you’ll have to be much clearer. This is great for your client attraction!

The final myth is that your signature program has to be complicated with lots of videos or modules.

Nope! It can be super simple and easy to make.

In fact, the best part about a signature program, besides all the clarity it creates in your messaging, is that you can set it up to align with how you want to work. It can feel light, fun, easy, and exciting to deliver to your clients. You get to explore how you love to work, what works best for you, how you feel you can deliver the best results, and what allows you the kind of time freedom you crave.

I know for me that setting up my programs to run with bi-weekly classes with me, for example, allows me to run my business successfully. During the first and third weeks of the month, I’m coaching live all week, pretty much every day. I’m in the coaching zone!

During the second and fourth weeks of the month, I’m writing content, planning, doing administrative work, and getting ideas. I have a more spacious schedule those weeks and can take downtime when needed.

You can design your business around you. If your body has a chronic illness or is sensitive to energy, you can create whatever your body needs in order to feel good. If your spirit craves weekly hikes, you can build your business around that. Your business needs you to feel good for it to thrive!

Helping you design your signature program, pull out your unique genius and turn it into a program framework, and get your program built with ease is a big part of what you get support with in my Mind-Body Magic Life Coach Training Program. I’ll even help you articulate who you serve and what your solution is; I’ll ask you a few questions and write that out for you! (I use my intuitive Celtic Seer gift to see the money-making niche that aligns with your calling.)

You’ll also learn how to use mind-body (somatic) techniques with yourself and your clients that really get to the root of anxiety, stress, and even chronic pain so that any troubling issues that your clients want to resolve won’t stand a chance. You’ll use the tools on yourself throughout the program as the way to learn them, which gives you the added bonus of taking stress OFF your plate as you move through the program!

You can learn more about this program and others here.