by Benay Dyor | Aug 12, 2018 

This article was first published on 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.

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 range 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 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 a sudden I had a complete system for helping my clients get to know them-self better and plan their dream life.

• themselvesI 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.

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 checklists, 10% increase in sales, inner peace, confidence, etc.>.

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 a 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.