Launching a coaching package or a service-based offer? Here’s what you’ve got to know before you start

What is the best launch strategy to use when launching a service-based offer like coaching or a freelance service package?

If you’d asked me that question 18 months ago, I would have given you a straight answer. But ask me that today and I’ll say: “It depends.”

And I’m not trying to cop out of answering the question. You see, after working with many coaches, freelancers and bloggers who have launched a new service package, a digital product, or their businesses from the ground up, I’ve noticed something…

Your Launch Starting Point MATTERS.

And KNOWING your Launch Starting Point is going to save you a whole lot of overwhelm, rampant to-do lists, and guilty comparisonitis – because who’s got time for any of that, right?!

All business owners can launch (in fact, it’s highly recommended to move your business forward) – but the launch strategy that worked for that celebrity entrepreneur you follow is probably not going to work for you. Neither are her sales funnels. Neither will her overall marketing strategy.

So “launch strategy” is not a one-size-fits-all kinda thing. But the good news is that you don’t have to reinvent the launch wheel either.

So back to the question:

What is the best launch strategy to use when launching a service-based offer like coaching or a freelance service package?
My answer (now): It depends… on your Launch Starting Point.

The 3 Launch Starting Points – Which one are you?

The Trailblazer

This is when you are starting your business or releasing an entirely new offer that’s got a totally different audience to who you have been dealing with in the past.

At Trailblazer level, you’re doing just that – blazing a new trail, building up a new audience, and taking a new offer to the market. It’s a very scary stage of business but it’s also the most exciting.

When you’re a Trailblazer, you don’t need to commit to too many things. You don’t need to automate too many things or record too many things either. Instead, you’re on a mission to keep things as lean and as adaptable as possible – learning at each step of the way.

You may have heard of the term Minimum Viable Product (MVP) – that’s exactly what you’re aiming to do here. Generally, the best Minimum Viable Product (or Minimum Viable Service Package if you want to be specific) for coaches is a 1:1 program. And for freelancers and other service providers, the best MVP is a clearly defined service package or even a set of three different service packages for a client to choose from.

At Trailblazer level, your most important priority is to get 1:1 clients in the door and to help them get great results. And often, doing this is WAY simpler than you may have thought.

Be prepared for a lot of one-to-one marketing tactics at Trailblazer level, for example:

• Individual coffee chats with ideal clients, rather than mass surveys.
• Emailing people directly and inviting them to book a call with you, rather than an extensive sales sequence to your email list.
• If Instagram is going to be a big part of your strategy, then your success metric is going to be how many DMs you’re sending and receiving, rather than how many likes or followers you’re getting.

The Biz Boss

Biz Bosses are those of you who have worked with several 1:1 clients and now want to become known for your signature methodology and grow your business further.

You’ve scaled up to as many 1:1 clients as you can handle and you can’t add more hours of work to your day. So, you’re ready to systematize and you’re ready to start leveraging your time to actually grow your business.

By the time you’re a Biz Boss, you’ve learned a whole lot from the Trailblazer stage about your ideal clients and your offer/MVP. You’ve also started to nail down your signature process – the typical methodology that you use to get results for your 1:1 clients.

Your priority now is to leverage your time so that you can make more impact (spread more of YOU in the world) and, of course, more income.

So, this means that you’re ready for a bit more automation, for example in your email marketing or in your client intake and onboarding process. You’re ready to commit now – to systematize all of those processes that you were “winging” a bit in the Trailblazer stage. At Biz Boss level, it’s worth your while to spend time on setting up good systems – because this is also the stage that you might want to consider hiring some extra help for administrative tasks or hiring a specialist to take care of things that are not in your zone of genius.

For your main offer, something like a group coaching program or a live round of an online course works well at Biz Boss level. And you might still be doing 1:1 work, but you’ll be able to raise your rates because this will become even more of a premium offer.

I still would caution against recorded “evergreen” courses at this stage – unless you have really good reasons for going ahead. Instead, teach the courses live. This way, you can get real-time feedback from your students and save the time you would have spent recording, editing, and setting up the tech for your online course.

In terms of marketing tactics, you can start experimenting with some one-to-many tactics, such as email marketing, running a webinar, or getting more active on a social media platform like Instagram. But don’t pin all your launch hopes on these tactics alone – you’ll still need to reach out to people individually as well.

The CEO

CEOs have delivered great results both 1:1 and in groups, and now want to scale their businesses. They want to make their businesses bigger than just themselves as an individual and some CEOs might even talk of building a movement. These big goals require the support of other people – whether that is an in-house team, or specialists who are contracted in to help with certain parts of the business.

If you are a CEO, then the name of the game is scaling. So, in terms of your offer, this is a great time to build an evergreen online course, based on live courses you’ve taught and/or the work you’ve done with your 1:1 clients.

And if you loved the work that you did with your clients 1:1, then you don’t have to let go of that entirely; however as a CEO, you may have to restructure the way you offer your 1:1 time. For example, you could offer a 1:1 session as an upsell to your online course, or as part of a high-level mastermind that you set up.

CEO level is also a great time to consider writing a book or setting up a membership site, because you’ll have a large enough audience for these kinds of offers to convert rewardingly.

In terms of marketing tactics, CEOs can focus on one-to-many tactics, such as public relations, speaking engagements at high-profile events, or investing in paid ads.

The best launch strategy is the one
that aligns with YOU and your Launch Starting Point.

If you’d like to learn about how your Launch Starting Point ties in with the next steps in your launch strategy, then watch this free training video on Launch Funnels and your Launch Starting Point: