Let's explore the importance of pre-launch phases in building successful coaching programs. Jo shares her personal experiences, the common pre-launch mistakes such as insufficient planning, neglecting audience building, inconsistent messaging, ignoring data, and weak value propositions.
00:00 76. 5 Pre-Launch Mistakes That Are Costing You Thousands
00:41 Introduction and Personal Update
01:00 The Importance of Pre-Launch Phases
01:45 Common Pre-Launch Mistakes
02:48 Building and Engaging Your Audience
04:19 Crafting Consistent Messaging
05:30 Tracking Metrics and Data
06:07 Creating a Strong Value Proposition
06:30 Executing a Successful Pre-Launch
08:56 Key Elements of a Pre-Launch Strategy
13:27 The Power of a Waitlist
18:07 Upcoming Program: Offer to Market in 30 Days
19:52 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Useful Links
Offer to Market in 30 Days programme - starts 16 September
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Learn about The Business of Coaching programme
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Mentioned in this episode:
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Hello and welcome to Women in
the Coaching Arena podcast.
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:I'm so glad you are here.
3
:I'm Jo Lott, a business mentor
and ICF accredited coach
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:Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):
and I help coaches to
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:build brilliant businesses.
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:I know that when you prepare to enter
the arena, there is fear, self doubt,
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:comparison, anxiety, uncertainty.
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:You can tend to armor up and
protect yourself from vulnerability.
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:In this podcast, I'll be sharing
honest, not hype, practical and
10
:emotional tools to support you to make
the difference that you are here for.
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:Dare greatly.
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:You belong in this arena.
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:Hello, welcome to the 76th episode
of women in the coaching arena.
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:I am so glad you are here.
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:I was out for dinner with two
of my coach friends this week
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:in London, which was wonderful.
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:We are planning a trip to Spain together.
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:So very, very exciting
for later this year.
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:And I was sharing my recent learnings
of how good a wait list and a pre-launch
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:phase is to sell your programs.
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:Sarah reminded me that I really
should put this on my podcast because
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:I haven't spoken about this yet.
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:So I'm excited today to share
those learnings I've had recently.
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:That have made a huge difference to my
business and to those clients I've been
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:working with on this strategy as well.
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:It's something that
takes a while to learn.
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:And again, it's taken me years
because I've only really just
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:understood how important a
pre-launch phase is to your business.
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:So let's cover the gaps in your launch
strategy and set you up for success.
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:Starting with common prelaunch mistakes.
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:The first one is insufficient planning.
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:When I was running my five day challenge,
the first exercise was a calendar which
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:showed exactly how long it takes prior
to you launching your offer, generally,
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:depending on what you are offering,
if you want to do a really big launch,
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:there is a six week launch window.
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:And in fact, you could have a
pre-launch window of four months.
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:Because the longer your prelaunch, the
more successful your launch will be.
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:But what I notice is most people jump
into selling their thing without really
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:doing that nurturing phase, without
that solid strategy planed in advance.
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:And this often leads to a
failed launch and that can
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:really affect your confidence.
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:So it really is worth planning in advance,
postponing your launch if that's necessary
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:to ensure that people are fully primed
and wanting what you have to offer.
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:The next mistake I see is
neglecting audience building.
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:This has been a key learning
of mine in the last two years.
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:I grow my audience every
single week without fail.
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:It is the number one task that
I prioritize in my business.
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:There's no point putting out content
to the same people again and again.
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:You need to continuously grow.
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:I aim for a hundred people per month
that my audience should grow by.
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:That's my goal.
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:You can do that in lots of different ways.
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:For example, I use LinkedIn
primarily as my platform.
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:I did use Facebook ads for a while,
thinking that that would speed things up.
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:And it was great to grow my list,
but eventually I stopped the ads
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:because you really do need to be
on top of it the algorithm will
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:eventually tire of your ads.
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:So you need to create more
ads, more lead magnets.
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:I paused it wanting to come back to
it sometime when I have the Headspace.
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:But as we know, Headspace is few
and far between, so I'm now pausing
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:the ads until I've got the time
to think about it or delegate it.
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:LinkedIn is my prime strategy
and it's somewhere I grow every
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:single month without fail.
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:And tracking really helps as well.
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:It helps your confidence
to see that you're growing.
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:And nearly every one of my clients
grow rapidly in this area because on
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:our first call, I make really, really
clear that this is the most vital
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:thing you can do in your business.
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:Inconsistent messaging is
the next mistake I see.
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:So lack of a really clear, consistent
message will confuse your audience.
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:For example, for a two month period
earlier this year, I was promoting a
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:program called elevate, which was about
running group programs and online courses.
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:So for two entire months, I could not
talk about my core program, the business
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:of coaching, because it was a different
ideal client who were ready to scale.
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:They were gaining lots of inquiries, which
is why they wanted to move to groups.
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:So it was a different thing, really
creating an online course in group
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:program to filling your one-to-one
roster, which is generally what I do.
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:I had to prioritize that launch
in order for it to be successful.
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:And often I notice people wanting to
sell so many different things that they
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:just won't prioritize the full period
required for people to start clicking.
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:Oh, yeah, this is what she's doing now.
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:This is what she's selling now.
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:If you just do an odd post here and
there about different things and
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:just flying any old thing out there,
they just won't get in their heads
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:exactly what you're selling to who.
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:So it's really important to
have that annual plan and know
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:exactly what you're selling when.
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:Ignoring data is the next mistake.
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:Not tracking those metrics
will leave you unmotivated.
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:The atomic habits book makes it
really clear that we need to see
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:rewards to continue that good habit.
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:So if you are not noticing your success,
for example, growing on LinkedIn
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:consistently, you will not prioritize that
task and you'll lose momentum thinking.
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:Ah, forget it.
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:Everyone else is on 10,000 plus followers.
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:I'm only on a hundred.
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:But you really need to keep tracking
that data to see your success month
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:on month so you continue to grow.
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:And a weak value proposition
is the final mistake.
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:So really failing to communicate
clearly the value and the transformation
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:that your offer, will provide.
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:These five mistakes will severely
impact your launch success.
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:And you will be wondering why
your amazing offer isn't selling.
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:So now I hear you ask, okay,
what can I do about it?
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:let's move on to the importance
of a pre-launch phase.
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:A prelaunch or launch phase involves
a warming up stage around your offer.
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:you want to build anticipation and
buzz around your upcoming offer.
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:It will establish trust and
credibility with your audience.
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:You can't just go on a date with
someone, ask them to marry you.
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:There is a nurturing process
involved before you ask them to
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:buy your thing or to marry you.
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:This prelaunch phase also allows you
to get people on board with your offer.
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:Things like polls are really great.
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:Ask for their insights and
show that you value them, build
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:that two-way relationship.
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:The pre-launch phase will
also create a sense of being
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:exclusive and urgency to buy.
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:I was lucky to sell out my in-person
event which nearly every entrepreneur
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:that I know that has hosted an in-person
events as it's the hardest thing to sell,
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:because it's really hard to get people to
commit, to traveling, to spending a whole
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:day traveling to your in-person event.
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:And how I did it was by doing
this pre-launch phase really well.
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:By being able to say I have 55 people
on the wait list for this day, and
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:there's only 30 spaces in the room.
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:So that enabled me to sell out
the event with just two emails
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:to this tiny list of 55 people.
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:It really does work.
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:And I have held in-person
events previously.
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:Not done this pre-launch phase.
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:And it has been really hard to
fill them and left me up until
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:the day before thinking, ah, is
there any one coming, have I got
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:enough people to fill this event?
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:So it really does work.
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:The final reason why this pre-launch
phase is so important is because
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:it warms up your audience and
makes them more open to your offer.
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:Especially if you have done the pre-launch
phase well, got them involved, ensured
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:that you created exactly what they wanted,
ensure that you prioritize how important
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:they are and listen to where they are at.
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:If you've just started your business
or if you just haven't really marked
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:consistently for awhile, you can't
just put a paste out there saying, hi,
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:I'm a maternity coach, for example.
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:These are the offers I provide
it's too soon without that trust
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:and credibility that you build
up through this pre-launch phase.
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:So let's cover the key elements
of a successful prelaunch.
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:Firstly a content strategy.
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:You will want to develop valuable targeted
content your absolute ideal client.
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:Addressing their pain points
and sharing your expertise.
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:Getting them involved, gaining engagement.
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:So you're not at any point
throughout at least the two week
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:period before selling your thing,
you're not saying buy my thing.
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:So for that minimum two week period
in this initial pre-launch phase,
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:you will just be gaining interaction.
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:By the time you do put out your
offer, the right people are
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:seeing your content and engaging.
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:The algorithm likes you because you have
built engagement, built trust, not ask
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:people to buy your thing cause those
posts will always be less successful.
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:The next thing you will want to
do, like I mentioned earlier is
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:always be building your audience.
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:Grow your email list if you have set
one up, because an email list is way
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:more important than social media.
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:Like I mentioned, I didn't even promote
my dare greatly event on social media.
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:I just promoted two times to my waitlist.
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:And the best thing was these people
wanted to receive that email.
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:So always think how
can I grow my audience?
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:That may be borrowing other
people's audiences, especially
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:when you first start.
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:Because it does take a long time to
show up consistently in order for people
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:to connect with you and follow you.
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:Relationship building is also
important in this pre-launch phase.
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:You'll want to engage
through live Q and A's.
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:You might want to run a webinar,
workshop, challenge, some sort of
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:way of them getting to know you.
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:Maybe you want to start a
direct message campaign.
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:You can have interaction with people.
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:Social media alone is not
an effective strategy.
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:You are very unlikely to build
your business just through
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:posting on social media.
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:It's often underrated how important it
is to actually engage with others posts
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:in order for them to engage with yours.
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:And also to take that next step, people
are rarely going to see your content on
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:social media and just buy straight away.
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:Usually there will be a step
like listen to your podcast.
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:Engage with your email list.
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:Come to your workshop,
watch your free training.
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:If you think about the staircase, social
media is on the bottom of that staircase.
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:Usually there are a few steps that
they need to take before they get
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:to the top of the staircase, which
is have a discovery call with you
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:and eventually buy your coaching.
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:A teaser campaign is also fabulous.
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:Doing behind the scenes
of your upcoming offer.
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:Something exciting is coming.
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:I remember I had a mentor once who
said this prelaunch phase will add
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:an extra 10 K to any launch you do.
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:Even though I find this really
annoying, and to be honest, I'd rather
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:just say, here's what I'm selling.
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:You really have to learn
the skill of building in the
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:apprehension, the curiosity.
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:It's such a great marketing
technique when you do this.
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:Social proof is our next
important part of a pre-launch.
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:Sharing testimonials, case studies
results from anyone you've worked with.
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:Even if you haven't run this as a paid
offer in this context before, think back
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:to where you can find any social proof
that can show that you are effective.
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:So for example, when I sold my
elevate offer recently, I didn't
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:have any testimonials for that.
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:So I just went through all of my
business of coaching clients figured
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:out who had launched an online course
or a group program and found the bits
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:where they mentioned, launched my group,
launched my online course and use those
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:bits of the testimonials to really
showcase that I can help with that.
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:It's just that I haven't run this
particular program before, which
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:really specializes in that, but
I have already got expertise.
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:You also will have expertise,
so really stop and think.
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:If you haven't got any case studies
or testimonials yet, get out there
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:and think about how you can serve.
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:I did quite a lot for free when I first
started my business I coached loads of MBA
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:students for free to get the testimonials.
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:I did a women's workshop of 10 women.
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:So go out there and
gain those testimonials.
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:You can do this.
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:The final one, which I've covered a
little bit already, is the most important
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:learning that I've had over the last
six months is the waitlist strategy.
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:I also use this strategy for my
signature solution online course
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:and gained 28 sales within three
days of launching a wait list.
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:I had a two month pre-launch
window for that signature solution.
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:If you've set up an email list
already, a waitlist is kind of similar.
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:So you will have some sort of sign
up page they put their details into.
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:That will then go to a thank
you page or thank you for
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:sending out to the wait list.
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:They'll also get an email saying
thanks for joining the wait list.
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:I'll keep you posted.
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:When this program is ready you
have an active, captive audience
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:who are wanting what you have.
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:It enabled me to send five emails to
this wait list in a three-day window,
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:which I would never normally do to
my main list, because you'd feel like
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:people are gonna unsubscribe instead.
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:These people have said, yes, I want
to hear about what you're selling.
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:It enabled me to really go big
in my sales strategy, which
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:is why it was so successful.
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:You do need to give an incentive
for joining your wait list.
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:No, one's going to bother
unless it's exciting.
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:So I gave a coupon code for a discount.
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:Also offered a special bonus
available to the waitlist only.
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:Think really clearly about what
is going to captivate their
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:attention enough for them to bother
joining your wait list in advance.
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:If people don't join your wait list,
that's sometimes a sign that your
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:launch is not going to go well, maybe
you haven't got the audience yet.
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:Maybe you haven't done
enough nurturing yet.
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:So it's a great way of
just testing this idea.
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:I know a lot of people do it.
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:Saying, I'm going to run this
workshop if I have at least 10
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:people say that they're interested.
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:So that's a great way of deciding-
are you going to sell this thing?
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:Are you going to create this thing?
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:So think about, and work on this strategy.
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:There are a few.
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:Ins and outs of ensuring that
you've got the right emails and
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:you're pitching it correctly.
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:Every nuance counts so don't slap
dash this, because I have seen people
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:look at what I've done and quickly
try and do the same and then I
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:think, gosh, with a few tweaks, you
would have had such a better result.
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:So really, put the time into thinking
about that ideal client, what they want.
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:What's exciting enough
for them to sign up to.
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:What sort of offer do they want?
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:What sort of transformation.
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:Have you got the audience already.
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:Really give this your time and attention.
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:One of my mentors said to me, once, this
is the difference that can add another.
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:10,000 pounds to your launch.
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:The other reasons why a waitlist is
such a game changer is because it
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:creates that scarcity and urgency.
270
:For example, I could go out there
and say, I've got 95 people on the
271
:wait list and I've got this bonus,
which is available to 30 people.
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:So that really drove people
to take action quickly.
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:You can also collect data
about your customers.
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:For example, for my dare greatly
in person events on the automated
275
:email saying, thanks for joining the.
276
:wait ,list.
277
:I asked them three simple questions.
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:Like, what are your goals?
279
:What are your challenges?
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:What would you want from an in-person day?
281
:That enabled me to message
them back and forth.
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:Build a relationship and also learn
exactly what those themes were, which
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:I could then build into the day?
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:And that leads me onto my next
point, which is the commitment.
285
:When people join a wait list, they're
more likely to follow through with a
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:purchase because they've made a really
small micro commitment towards you.
287
:You can also offer those
early bird incentives.
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:Some sort of fast action
bonus works really well.
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:It's a great way of gauging interest
and predicting your launch success.
290
:It will give you.
291
:so much confidence that you
can definitely sell this thing,
292
:which is what it did for me.
293
:But also, if you don't gain that
interaction, and I have had flopped
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:launches before then generally
you might not be focusing on
295
:the thing that the client wants.
296
:All we can do is think you will win or
you will learn and use that data to think.
297
:Okay.
298
:Do you know what?
299
:They're really not that interested.
300
:Maybe they want something else.
301
:What is it that they want?
302
:So you may be thinking this all
sounds great, but how am I going
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:to actually implement this to
ensure that it happens this time?
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:Because launching is extremely stressful.
305
:I have launched several times and every
single time it's a real emotional toll
306
:of does anyone want what I have, and
the consistent action, the showing up.
307
:There's so many elements of a launch
that can really keep you stuck.
308
:So in September, I'm intending
to do a 30 day program called
309
:offer to market in 30 days.
310
:I will take you, step-by-step
through this launch process to
311
:effectively launch your offer.
312
:It is just a 30 day program.
313
:This is probably not for you
if you've never put a post out.
314
:I mean, people have had huge
success I must say that have done
315
:this program because it's built
that consistent showing up habit.
316
:Emotionally you need to be ready to
take action because a launch is showing
317
:up and being visible for a full 30
days, absolute minimum . So, this is
318
:for you if you have started something,
but maybe you're not really focusing
319
:on those money, generating activities.
320
:You're perhaps just showing up
occasionally and you know, you really
321
:need to show up in a much bigger way.
322
:Or you have launched before and it
hasn't been successful and therefore
323
:you want to make damn sure you
learn how to launch effectively.
324
:So this is for you if you
are ready to take action.
325
:We will start on the 16th of
September and you will find the
326
:signup page in the show notes.
327
:And if you sign up quickly, just like I've
talked about with the pre-launch bonus.
328
:You will gain my help, well,
in advance of that 30 days.
329
:So, you know, you will be starting strong.
330
:You can work on your offer and
send it to me for review so, you
331
:know, you have everything you need.
332
:If you want to implement this waitlist
strategy, then the 30 days is not
333
:going to be enough time to do that.
334
:So you will want to sign up
quickly so I can help you with a
335
:waitlist strategy if you want to
include that in your launch plan.
336
:So you will find the offer to market
in 30 days details in the show notes.
337
:in summary, a successful launch,
doesn't start on launch day.
338
:It begins months before.
339
:I hope this episode has helped
you to identify any gaps in
340
:your current launch strategy.
341
:Like I've mentioned, if you want to be
taken by the hand step by step with daily
342
:instructions and templates of exactly
what to do each day for 30 days then
343
:do join me in my program off to market.
344
:I only run this once or twice a
year maximum and I do it live.
345
:So we are starting on Monday,
the 16th of September.
346
:If you sign up prior to the 10th of
September, you can use the frameworks
347
:you'll find immediately in the portal.
348
:And then send me your offer and I
will do a details, offer feedback
349
:for you and help you with anything.
350
:That's going to get you in really
good stead for our 30 days.
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:That's all for today.
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:I hope you found it helpful.
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:And like I say, at the end of every
episode, trust yourself, believe
354
:in yourself and be the wise Gardner
who keeps on watering the seed.
355
:Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):
Thank you so much for listening to this
356
:episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.
357
:I have a mess of free resources on
my website joannalottcoaching.com.
358
:That's Joanna with an A
and Lott with two T's.
359
:joannalottcoaching.com.
360
:And I'll also put links in the show notes.
361
:Let me know if you found
this episode useful.
362
:Share it with a friend and
leave me a review, and I will
363
:personally thank you for that.
364
:Remember to trust yourself, believe
in yourself and be the wise Gardner
365
:who keeps on watering the seed.
366
:Get into the arena dare, greatly and try.