When Was The Last Time You Optimized Your Coaching Funnel?

How predictable is your monthly income? Do your clients or members move from one initial product to another of your choice, creating dependable and predictable income? Or, like many other coaches, do you find yourself with amazing sky-high months followed by unpleasantly low months?

If you’re struggling to get and maintain consistent monthly income in your coaching or membership business, the problem is likely your product and/or services funnel. Somewhere in your funnel, there is a misstep – fixable once identified. Tighten the funnel, and your monthly income begins operating on an automated consistency that you can depend on and plan for accordingly.

If you don’t presently have a funnel setup and are a ServerWise client, please open a ticket, and we’ll help you.

First, we need to make sure the right buyer persona (your preferred clients) are finding the starting point of your funnel. Whether you’re a financial, business, wellness, fitness, dating or crafting coach, there is a market eagerly waiting for you to find them via paid ads, social media groups, etc.

The Grand Opening of The Funnel

This is the great introduction of your potential clients. Where they first enter your automated sales and lead system. Maybe the individual found you from a social share, your blog content, a downloadable opt-in incentive or your free information packed webinar.

The new lead is still in the discovery phase of getting to know you. And it’s your job to convince this new funnel entrant to become a valuable convert and make a purchase or two.

Low-Cost Offers to Push Leads into The Funnel

These low-cost items are a way for you to entice your customers into spending $17 to $47 to take an actionable product for a test drive. You make a sale, albeit a small one, and you convert a watcher to a purchaser. This takes the new customer to the next level of your funnel, where you’ll start enticing with higher priced offers.

Now, we frequently call these low-cost offers tripwires because that’s what they are – quick and easy products with a small cost to entrance that will trip a person into your funnel.

Creating these tripwires shouldn’t take much of your time. In fact, you may already have what you need in your current products or sales materials. Focus on creating low-cost items with no commitment, no risk to your customers, just an easy-to-consume and quickly actionable eBook, self-study course or workbook.

Now once purchased you can’t simply let your newly acquired customer buy and bolt on you. A proper professional funnel will take that purchase and offer up a slightly higher-value add-on or complimentary item. After all, you have an individual who is already in a buyer mood, so make sure that new client has a clear path ahead of them. Make sure the buyer knows what his or her next logical step is on this journey.

Mid to High Range Offers Round Out Your Tight Funnel

A coaching funnel does more than just upsell. It teaches and proves the expertise and value of the coach through highly relevant and actionable education.

A solid funnel takes the new lead by the hand and casually but smoothly guides them through the free, to low-cost and on up to higher-end more intensive services.

Your funnel is your automated teacher. First, you provide a free resource to prove your worth. Next up, you offer to level-up the lead’s knowledge with a low-cost training resource. After that, your funnel follows up with some valuable and insightful emails in a daily series (ex. 5 days of Financial Success Mindset Programs). Once completed with the daily series of autoresponder emails, you’ll introduce the buyer to your more expensive and considerably more involved and valuable services. Perhaps you mention your VIP packages at this point or a more expensive group webinar.

Know your coaching value and charge accordingly

Example of a Professional Coaching Funnel:

  1. A free webinar (lead generation)
  2. An eBook or Quick Specialty Training Program ($27)
  3. eLearning Course or Private Site Membership ($67)
  4. Coaching Calls Access ($149)
  5. Private Coaching & Workbooks ($390)
  6. VIP Coaching ($1,200)

As you’re aware, not all of those who enter your funnel will complete it at your VIP Coaching service for $1,200. Some will burn out halfway through the funnel and unsubscribe and abandon their dreams. Others simply will not be able to afford your higher-cost items for another year. That’s business, but your funnel should be designed as if all those who enter it will wind up exiting as a VIP client.

A coaching sales and service orientated funnel must never forget the service portion. After all, it’s through education and training that you’re going to prove your value as a coach or consultant. Toss valuable information to all those who enter your funnel. Share actionable knowledge – try and make sure that everything you teach can be acted on within 24 hours. You want to motivate and maintain their motivation throughout the funnel itself.

As your funnel bloats in size with new people entering, you’ll have the opportunity to start split-testing your funnel component as well as your sales pages and landing pages to optimize every step. More people mean more data, and that means a stronger funnel overall.

When you notice higher than usual opt-outs, you’ll want to examine that specific segment of your funnel and adjust. If the opt-outs decrease, you fixed the problem.

A potent and well-thought-out coaching funnel educates and as, if not more, than it sells. It builds your brand around the clock and though it’s automated, you must still tend to it occasionally. Analyze each step of your funnel and tighten it up when possible. Through consistent analysis and careful attention, your funnel will work for you, delivering valuable clients for years.

Charles Wilson
Charles Wilson
Charlie is a classic coder from the Northwest who loves all things retro, vintage and vinyl and has spent the last 15 years at a data security firm. After retiring, Charles fell into a second career helping his wife start her niche membership site that now boasts over 12,000 monthly members.