How to Design Your Own Signature Coaching Program
This article was first published in 17 Dec 2013 and was updated on 12 August 2018.
First things first
Once you have about 200 coaching hours under your belt you are definitely ready to design your own signature coaching program. At this stage you have enough coaching experience to start making critical decisions about your coaching future.
Your signature coaching program is a repeatable coaching process that systematically helps your ideal clients get predictable results. It also defines your coaching scope or expertise area i.e. the topics you coach and don’t coach.
Your signature coaching program can be chopped into a rage of different types of products.
Even though you design your signature coaching program as if it all happens in order (step 1, step 2, step 3, step 4, etc.) your signature coaching program can in fact be chopped into a rage of different types of products. For example Step 1 may be a workbook, Steps 2 – 4 might be an online course and Step 5 might be a mastermind group.
When I started my life coaching business I wrote, the Pathfinder Program. Today, the Pathfinder Program is a ready-made coaching tool that I sell to other life coaches to use with their clients, but back then the Pathfinder Program was my end-to-end system for helping clients who were at a cross-roads to make a decisions and transition to their next level. The Pathfinder Program was my signature coaching program – a repeatable coaching process that systematically helped my clients get predictable results!
Writing my first signature coaching program gave me so much:
- All of the sudden I had a complete system for helping my clients get to know them-self better and plan their dream life.
- I saved myself and my clients heaps of time by giving them the Pathfinder Program as homework and focusing our sessions on the deeper stuff.
- Having the structure of what I was able to help my clients accomplish gave me heaps more confidence in the value I was offering and I was better able to sell my coaching.
The Pathfinder Program
When you are clear, your clients are clear
The more you can help your clients to visualize, understand and grasp what they are investing in, the more likely they are to buy your coaching. This is why successful coaches don’t just sell blocks of coaching sessions, they sell results packaged into clear coaching products derived from their overarching signature coaching program!
So, if you don’t have a detailed coaching program to offer to your clients yet and you’d like to develop your own, here are some simple tips on how you can get started today…
How to get started
1. Define your purpose
Just fill in the bits in bold (below) and you’ll have a great starting point for designing your signature coaching program.
My signature coaching program helps <who’s it for> solve <main problem>. They start step 1 feeling and thinking <current mindset> and when they have finished all the steps they will think and feel <new mindset>. My signature coaching program will guide them through actionable material on <enter the core main topics>. Each person who completes all the steps in my signature coaching program will have <enter tangible outcomes and benefits eg. plans, maintenance check lists, 10% increase in sales, inner peace, confidence, etc.>.
Mapping out the steps
2. Map out the steps
First, brainstorm all the topics you will need to cover to get someone from where she is now to where she will be once she’s completed all the steps in your signature coaching program. Write each topic on a post-it note.
Second, structure your post-it notes on a wall or window (they stick better). Seeing the topics like this will help you order your topics into a logical hierarchy and then into a flow of steps.
Before you know it you have the outline for your very own signature coaching program!
Or, even better, join the Coach Changemakers Academy, where we teach an awesome way to get your ideal clients to TELL YOU exactly what topics you need in your signature coaching program for them to buy it!
3. Create resources and products
Now, that it’s written, use your signature coaching program as the framework to build a cohesive, rich coaching practice with a diverse range of helpful resources and products. Create assets like a blog, Facebook page, Facebook Group, workbooks, eBooks, online courses and even structured one-on-one coaching.
Here are just a few ideas to get you started…
| Blogs and Facebook pages/groups |
Use your signature coaching program as the main focus and scope for your blog and Facebook postings – everything should fit neatly underneath the umbrella of topics covered in your signature coaching program. You can even start a private Facebook group that talks only about topics in your signature coaching program, maybe at a deeper level than you do on your public page. I run an invitation only FB group called Online Coach Entrepreneurs. It’s been a great way to connect in a meaningful way with coaches who are serious about getting their business online. If you want to hang out with hundreds of other online coach entrepreneurs, feel free to join the group! |
| eBooks and workbooks | Use your signature coaching program to write an eBook workbook or even a series (one eBook per step). It will add to your expertise and will impress your clients and prospects. |
| Online Courses |
Develop all or a part of your signature coaching program into an online course or a series of online courses. Create one lesson from each topic by recording a PowerPoint presentation with voice-over. Attach an exercise worksheet to each lesson that students can print out and fill in. If you are using Life Coach Office to manage your coaching business online, use your Classroom to simultaneously deliver your online courses to groups as well as individual coaching clients. |
| Structured One-on-One Coaching |
Offer to hold someone’s hand through all or parts of your signature coaching program. Make sure you charge a premium rate for this premium VIP service! If you are using Life Coach Office to manage your coaching business online, use your Classroom and Library to deliver bonuses like online courses, eBooks and workbooks to your VIP coaching clients. |
The Key to Your Coaching Success
Your signature coaching program is the key to becoming a respected thought leader in your area of expertise. It’s your foundation and the first big step to creating passive income, maximumly leveraged use of your time and a smart coaching business.
13 Comments
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Out of all the coaches and business owners I have encountered during my course of learning how to become a good coach, you Benay are by far the best teacher and mentor I have come across. You have been so forth coming with information and extremely helpful with your informative articles. This article has set me on my way to greatness!!! I have subscribed to The Life Coach Office and I’m working on my first ebook. Thanks so much for the valuable information!!!
Linda
WOW – thank you Linda!
I really love what I do and getting feedback like yours makes it even that much sweeter.
Please keep me posted about your ebook and if you have any questions about how to get the most out of Life Coach Office, be sure to log a support request or post on our private LCO Users Community FB page.
-B
Almost 2 years later and I still agree. Benay, Thanks for all you do!
Kim
Benay,
An opportunity opened up to me this past week to fulfill a long-time dream of coaching. It’s happened so quickly and unexpectedly that I started searching online and came across your website for the first time this morning. I feel the same sentiments that Linda Simms described!
Your sense of order and calm step-by-step process is exactly what I’m looking for.
Thank you for being so generous with such valuable information. I look forward to getting to know more about you and your services.
Sincerely,
Marianne Foscarini
Thanks Marianne. This is totally doable if you stay calm and take one step at a time. You’re in for a wonderful journey! I’m happy you found my site 🙂 – B
Wow. I have learnt so much here. I just began group coaching on Whatsapp and I am starting up one on one coaching and I needed to know how to design a program.
The information here has got me up. Thanks so much.
Good to hear Bonny! If you need more, check out our Coach Changemakers Academy and be sure to join our private community for Online Coach Entrepreneurs. -B
Hi Benay,
This is epic. Thank you so much. I have always had interest in coaching but sometimes I’m not steady…. I start up a coaching class, admit few students and once that’s over, I get weak and move on to something else.
But reading this post has called my attention to a few things I need pay rapt attention to. Thanks for sharing.
I’m sure your coaching program will be epic too.
Emenike
You can do it Emenike! Maybe all you’ve been needing to keep the motivation is your own amazing, from the heart, signature coaching program. 😉
Hi Benay,
Thank you for your amazing step by step. I just got unstuck!!!
amazing!!!
Wow! Thanks you so much! I have being a certified Life coach for almost 5 years now. I am also a social worker and has being during a lot of group coaching with my clients while at the same time teaching parenting coaching as well as teaching cultural competency classes to other service providers. Recently few of my co-workers asked/requested that I start my own certification training program / one on one coaching business but I really don’t know where or how to start. I really, really want to start my own business and have the first group of clients to start. please give me some pointers?
Hi Esteria. Love your enthusiasm! Wow – that is really a big question. Happy to help. Feel free to book in for a discovery call https://calendly.com/benay/30-min-discovery-session
We can get a lot done in 30 min. I look forward to meeting you! -B
Hey Benay,
Good job!! You explained your topic very nicely. Really loved it. And keep posting.
Thank you:)