Each month we feature a coach who is delivering online coaching programs though Life Coach Office. You’ll get the insider’s scoop including implementation tips and pricing structures from fellow LCO-ers.

This week, we take a look at Benay, from Universal Coaching Systems.

Benay is using Life Coach Office to run a 6-month, online coaching program, with 10 participants from all over the world. Her innovative online program is called, Next Generation Product Development (for Coaches).
Let’s see what she has to tell us…

Thanks for the interview Benay!

Hee, hee!

Can you start by telling us a little bit about your coaching business – just to set the context of your business for our readers?

Sure! My coaching business is called, Universal Coaching Systems.

We help coaches supercharge their business through our tools, systems and services (like the Coach Kick Start Pack, Life Coach Office, and through our online coaching program, Coach Changemakers Academy.

Tell us a little bit about your online program? Who is it for and what problem does it solve?

The program helps any coach who wants to sell products online, but who either, does not know where to start, or is so overwhelmed with all the ways they could go, that they want a guide to show them a way that works.

In a nutshell, the Next Gen Program guides coaches to discover a coaching niche, develop their own online products, get their business online and start attracting customers from all over the world.

I’ve basically mapped out the process that I used to build Universal Coaching Systems, trimmed off all the fat, and now share that with other coaches. They can essentially do what took me several years to figure out in just 6 months.

What do you like most about running online coaching programs?

I’ve recently written a whole article on this very topic.

But… right now, from memory, I’d say, I love that I can coach from anywhere and work with people all over the world, on my own schedule.

For example, for the 6 months I run my online coaching program, the program participants are pretty much the only coaching clients I take on and I consolidate all of their coaching sessions into the last week of the month.

That gives me time to take good care of my clients, as well as work on other projects, and plenty of time left over to take my family to the beach (something we do 3-6 times a week).

I also love the the focus it gives me in my coaching and the real tangible results my clients get. I remember the days with I first started out, back in 2006. I had an office in, Canberra, Australia, that I shared with a counselling company. I was a general life coach and coached any clients I could get on whatever they needed. Sometimes the results were tangible but most of the time, they weren’t.

Now, because of the program I’ve written, I know what every participant needs to leave with. If they have all the ticks in the box, I know I’ve done my job. If they don’t, I have not. I love how black and white it is (they do leave with a few intangibles as well but I chalk that up as a bonus!).

What do you like the least about running online coaching programs?

That is easy. I hate time zones. They just do my head in! But I’m getting better -lol!

How have your structured your online coaching program?

I keep it really simple.

On Monday’s I upload a Lesson (which consist of a video and some exercises, which are just simple Word files) into my LCO Classroom. Then I email my group and tell them the new material is online. In my email, I’ll also include any administrative points I need to cover and some motivational advice if I think it’s needed.

Some exercises take two weeks. So, in those cases I may not upload a Lesson every week, but I’ll always send a Monday email.

At the end of each month, I hold a 1 hour Skype call with each participant which I schedule using the LCO Calendar. Life Coach Office also has a Coaching Journal that the client and I use to prepare for and keep our notes about each session.

In between sessions, we all share ideas in a private Facebook group that I set up just for people who’ve done or are doing the Next Gen Program. This is great since most of my clients are already on FB and are checking it pretty regularly. It’s a convenient communication channel.

I also give my clients unlimited access to email me while they are on the program. I’d much prefer that they connect with me than sit and feel frustrated or bursting with joy from an epiphany they’ve just had. I find that email can really help keep people inspired, motivated, and on track.

What do you charge for the program?

Well, the first time I ran it it was $894 which works out to $149 per month. I’m now in my second intake and it’s $1,194 which works out to $199 per month.

I’m working my way up to $2,400. I’m finding that each time I run it, it just gets better and better and also, as my business grows, I just have less and less time to do the coaching component.  After all these years, it’s a nice space to finally be in. 🙂

I’d like to start offering the program as a self-study course. I may be ready to do that in August 2014. At this stage, I’m not sure what I’ll charge for the self-study version.

What advice would you like to give to your fellow coaches?

I would like to say – write your own 6-month coaching program ASAP! Focus on a program that delivers tangible results each month (e.g a tangible result is something like a plan, a website, a video, 10 new clients, etc.)

Design an outline, then map out each module, record a short video for each model, develop an worksheet for each module and get it online!

Once you’ve been though that process, not only will your business grow, but you will be a richer person and a much better coach.