Ask Steph: How can I transition from 1:1 to a group program without risking client success?

Today I am answering a question from a listener who is wanting to scale her offer to six figures, however, her current 1:1 model is not sustainable at that level. She is hoping to move it towards a group program, but she's wondering how she can still get her clients the kind of results they've seen in the 1:1 format.

In this episode I share
– Why replicating 1:1 success in a group format can be tricky
– How to ensure you're providing enough support in a group format
– How a group format can create advantages that aren't available in the 1:1 format
– Identifying perceived group format disadvantages and creating workarounds to overcome them

Have a question you’d like me to answer on the show? Write in with your question at https://stephtaylor.co/asksteph

 

I'm answering a listener question about how to go from a one-on-one program to a group program without risking the client's success. Today's question says: 

“I've had a couple of successful five-figure launches with a new program that is a hybrid model.

I have a prerecorded course, plus one-on-one coaching. I want to scale it to six-figure launches, but I know that this model won't be sustainable because I don't have enough bandwidth to take on that many private coaching clients. How can I transition this to a group program without risking the success my clients have had in the program because of the personal guidance?

For reference, it is a program that teaches people how to create annual sales plans for their online offers and sell them more effectively so they can reach six-figure years without burning out.” 

So a couple of different things to cover off on here. 

 

Why replicating 1:1 success in a group format can be tricky

Firstly, I want to really let you know that it's always going to be tricky to replicate the exact same success in a group versus in that one-to-one format. I won't say it's impossible, but it will be harder than in a one-to-one format because they don't have that same level of individual attention.

But this is also why group programs tend to be at a lower price point than one-to-one because they are less time intensive for you to deliver. They are getting less of that tailored approach. They need to be a bit more self-motivated and a bit more self-accountable than they do when there's that one-on-one format. So price it accordingly.

And that doesn't mean that you have to lower the current price. It doesn't mean that it has to be lower than what you're currently charging for that program. It could be that your one-on-one price goes up and that the group program comes in at the price that your one-on-one used to be.

Because I think that the other thing about one-on-one that makes it so effective is that the investment is high. So when somebody signs up, they are committed, you know, I think about how many courses I've bought that were $2,000. That I've skipped the live calls. I've not really put it into action. I've picked enough to choose little lessons from them, but I've never completed them. Versus when I invested in working with a business coach for six months at $26,000, I never missed a call. I never skipped homework. I never didn't implement anything that she told me to implement because it was such a big investment. I stepped up and I did the work. 

So I think there is also a little bit of magic in that price point and that's one of the reasons why I've really stopped loving low-ticket offers. You know, like I used to have a $27 product. And I saw the number of people who never even logged in once.

And it was like, wow. Okay. You really need to have some skin in the game. Otherwise, it's just going to sit there and gather dust anyway.

 

How to ensure you're providing enough support in a group format

The second thing to get clear on is the framework or the process that you are taking them through. And it sounds a little bit like you already have this with your hybrid prerecorded course, plus the one-on-one coaching.

Maybe there are some insights that you've gathered from that one-on-one coaching from maybe questions that have come up or challenges that have come up with those clients in a one-on-one space that you can apply to your existing curriculum or framework or whatever you want to call it. You can apply those things to that framework and refine it and make it a little bit better than it was before. 

So, what is that week-by-week structure? Get really clear, what does that week-by-week structure look like, that they need to follow to get those results? You've already got that cost framework there, but what other things would they have been doing with you in a one to one space that they're not now doing? And how can you add that to the group? Structure the group format. 

What actions do they need to take? What support do they need? You know, there's no set format for how to best deliver a group program. It's not like it has to be one zoom calls per week where everyone gets to talk for 10 minutes and you give them all feedback.

It really all depends on what they need from you. And maybe they need to access you between sessions to ask questions. Maybe they'll just be fine bouncing questions off the rest of the group. We don't know yet. And it's worthwhile looking at where they needed that support last time. 

Now, what are the commonalities? You know, the things that everyone in the group is going to struggle with versus what are the unique challenges that might come up? Because it could be worthwhile. So not completely removing the one-on-one element that maybe if you know that everyone gets stuck at week three, maybe everyone gets a one-on-one call around that point in time.

Or maybe they get one one-on-one call that they can book at any time during the program to stagger them out a little bit, rather than having them all at the same time. Or perhaps if you know, everyone gets stuck in week three, Maybe that's the week where there are two group calls instead of just one.

So there are a lot of different ways that you can structure this and think about how you can best support these people. And look, it doesn't have to be this next launch. Doesn't have to be the perfectly scalable one. You can start to make it even more hybrid. You might go from it being one-on-one calls to now the next time that you launch it, it's access to you via Voxer instead of one-on-one calls. So it's slightly more scalable than the one-on-one calls.

 

How a group format can create advantages that aren't available in the 1:1 format

Now, the next thing to consider is what advantages are there of this being a group format than a one-on-one. Because there might be better accountability now that they have a group. That they are part of the group helps to keep them motivated. Maybe that group supports them.

Maybe there are little challenges that you can set to encourage them to take action and really challenged that little competitive streak if they have that. You're being part of that group, help them to build a network. Does it help them to make friends in what can be quite a lonely industry?

Really getting clear on what are those advantages? And then how can you leverage those advantages of the group format to help them get the best results that they want. And then the final thing to consider is what are the gaps or the disadvantages of this being a group format. 

 

Identifying perceived group format disadvantages and creating workarounds to overcome them

Obviously, you don't get to give them that tailored advice. But if you slowly start to step back from the one-on-one and go to something like Voxer coaching, or maybe they can access you via WhatsApp messages, or maybe you'll answer their questions in a group space, like a Facebook group or something, maybe there's some kind of hybrid there where you're less involved than a one-on-one, but you're not quite at that point where you're going to sell a thousand of them just yet.

Maybe you will also start to notice where people are getting stuck, that they weren't when they were getting that one-on-one feedback. So, yes, the gaps and the disadvantages of the group format, it's going to be a bit easier for somebody to hide in the shadows and not actively participate and get those results. 

Maybe they will be more hesitant to speak up when they have a question. So if we identify those gaps, those disadvantages, that means we can put measures in place to try and improve them. If somebody's hesitant to speak up when they have a question, maybe we get around that by adding an anonymous question box. 

And when we try to improve them, we can reach out one-on-one and we can ask what questions they have rather than asking in front of a group. We can have that question box. We can check in weekly and see how they are progressing to try and keep that accountability.

So really getting clear on what are those disadvantages and how can we overcome those? So that they are not at a huge disadvantage for it being a group program rather than a one-on-one. However, as I said, it is going to be tricky to replicate that exact same success. That is the nature of one-on-one versus group. And that is why one-on-one anything tends to be more expensive.

Because if you've got that one-on-one personal trainer, you're not going to cancel on them when your alarm goes off at 6:00 AM and you don't want to get out of bed. But when it's a group fitness class, they're probably not going to even notice that you're not there. So you're much more likely to cancel your class. 

That is just the nature of group versus one-on-one. But by identifying those disadvantages, then we can work on ways to increase that commitment, that accountability, that support the bits that are lacking in that group format and still hopefully design something, design a container that helps them to get the best results that they can in a group format.

Hopefully, that has answered your question and given you some ideas, and anybody else who is in that space where you are offering one-on-one and you're thinking about how you can take that into a less high-touch version of what you are teaching or helping your clients with. 

 

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