Why Group Coaching Is Key for Business

It used to be that one-on-one coaching was the Jackie Chan of coaching models. Such a program was comparable to signing up for a martial arts course and landing a solo session with the Martial Arts Master himself. No doubt, you’d be flying high. While I can’t deny the appeal of a private training session with Mr. Chan, I will say that the allure of group coaching has taken a huge leap forward in popularity.

With one-on-one coaching, it’s just you and your coach. The focus is all on your business, health, or life, what you did (or did not) accomplish in the last week or month, and how you can improve. In other words, it’s a bit of a vacuum.

Group coaching, on the other hand, has a much more social dynamic, and it’s likely that your clients actually prefer that – even the introverts.

To be sure, IDC, a large advisory firm, forecasts that by the end of 2019, the worth of online communities worldwide will reach $1.2 billion. And this is in part due to the favorability among clients, but also because of the benefits it brings for coaches themselves.

Let’s start with the client-facing advantages.

Online Communities Equal an Automatic Cheerleading Team

While the benefits of group coaching are extensive, one that immediately comes to mind is the social support garnered.

Need a shoulder to cry on about your recent diet flop? How about a few cheerleaders as you prepare to step outside your comfort zone for your first keynote address? A group coaching program offers all that, and best of all, with a community of like-minded members, the help and support is actually, well, helpful.

Stronger Relationships Come Naturally

Let’s face it: As we become more work-at-home and tech-focused, we are losing out on some of that all-important magic sauce called relationships. Having a group coaching program, especially like the type offered by a membership site business, alleviates some of this.

After all, such communities offer a combination of time spent together in one place, frequent engagement, and more in-depth interactions that lead to the development of healthy relationships.

Group Coaching Often Leads to Better Outcomes

With a group program, clients are very nearly guaranteed a successful outcome—especially if the program has been around for a while. Group coaching programs such as Marie Forleo’s incredibly successful “B School” has long been proven to change the lives of those who take the course. Naturally, participants must actually do the work, but the fact is, the model is solid, and clients know that going in.

One big reason for this is accountability. When you’re “forced” to post your goals in a public sphere, much less your goals combined with an action plan and a record of successes and challenges, you are much more likely to hold your own feet to the fire. Add in a carefully nurtured community, one where the coach has specifically set it up for group accountability, and you suddenly have a powerful combination of features.

That said, the benefits for coaches themselves are not to be overlooked.

Leverage Your Time with a Group Coaching Program

Time and time again, my clients report feeling exhausted. Exhausted from hustling for new clients, exhausted from the day-to-day repetition of one-on-one coaching, and exhausted from trying to shuffle marketing, constant coaching, and paperwork. Yet a group coaching system alleviates this exhaustion.

Group coaching, particularly that in membership sites, afford coaches the opportunity to work with many clients simultaneously, offering their services at a more accessible price point, and fit the coaching into a schedule that jives with their personal time frame. Instead of trying to juggle 5 clients a week, each on their own schedule, the coach can now reach hundreds of clients in a selected block of time with a group coaching model.

Enjoy Increased Scalability

And it would be foolish of me not to point out the obvious: Group coaching within a membership site is far more scalable than one-on-one coaching. There is clearly only one of you, which means that the number of clients you serve in a traditional coaching model is limited to the number of hours in your day.

Coaching within a membership site, however, allows you to deliver content to the masses without concern for the time slots everyone needs. With the leverage created by working with more people at one time, it can free up a coach to undertake additional activities within their business. The opportunities for hiring additional staff are also amplified with this approach.

Are you thinking of creating a group coaching program? I’d love to help! I can help you form your high-ticket offer, develop the group coaching business, implement systems to ensure longevity, and also market your business for greater success. Schedule a short breakthrough session now and learn how to skyrocket your coaching or mental health business. You might just find out your potential clients have been waiting for you to take this step for a long time.