When working with a coach, clients want to know and understand the value of the service they’re paying for. They want to know exactly what they’re getting and how it will benefit them. What outcomes they might expect. This is why it’s crucial to define those benefits and outcomes whether you’re offering a course or selling a coaching program.
Let’s explore the difference between the two within the context of your business.
Knowing the Difference Between Online Courses and Coaching Programs
An online course involves self-paced learning, usually with support for some type of Q&A, while a coaching program may include live teaching, workshops, and 1-on-1 or group calls. And due to the differences between those offerings, the pricing will also be significantly different as well. Coaching programs usually require more of an investment since you’re working directly under the guidance of a coach.
Jennifer Bourn of Coach Factory emphasizes the importance of being clear about the structure and how much of yourself is going into the program.
“What’s most important is that you’re really, really clear on the difference in your business, your business model, and with your coaching clients so they know what expectations they have going into a course or a program because the biggest difference is often the access they have to you.”
— Jennifer Bourn
Deciding Between an Online Course and a Coaching Program
Now that you understand the difference between an online course and a coaching program, you probably want to know which one is right for your business. The best part is that you get to define what each one looks like for your business!
Online courses are better for your model if you have clients who find it difficult to commit to a set schedule. This path allows them to access content and training on their time. To personalize the experience more, consider adding an “office hours” option to provide additional support and 1:1 time with you, the coach.
The downside is that you’ll need to create more content upfront to fill your online course. Since it’s self-guided, you need to include elements that will help your clients with their transformation. Online course content typically includes things like video lessons, worksheets, assignments, and even Q&A sessions.
On the other hand, coaching programs require less work upfront and a heavier lift for an extended period of time. This is because you’re providing guidance, support, and accountability to help your clients achieve their goals. A typical coaching program can last up to 12 weeks or more, and it will demand more of your time and attention.
To lighten the load, it’s best to format this option into cohorts, or small groups. That way you can serve more people at one time.
Review the following questions to decide which option is best for your business:
- What expectations do you want to lay out for your future clients?
- Are you interested in a group setting or would you rather provide a comprehensive, self-guided experience for your clients?
- How comfortable are you with creating live content experiences?
These questions will help you decide whether an online course or coaching program better serves your clients.
Tips for Creating Your Online Course or Coaching Program
There are so many online coaching courses and programs available to the people who need them.
How will your offering be different?
Remember that your coaching program or online course attracts clients because of your expertise and years of personal experience. This is why it’s important to infuse your content with your own voice and opinion to separate your offering from your competition.
Listed below are a few more tips that will add value to your online course or coaching program while benefiting and attracting your ideal clients.
Carefully curate and select the content you want to include.
More content doesn’t always equate to more value.
Jennifer shares her own experience of initially including too much content in her first course. She realized that dialing it back and focusing on providing just enough content to empower them to act and get results. The testimonials and success stories she received were not about the content. They were about what clients achieved with it.
Once you’ve created your offering, go back through it and try to experience it from the client’s point of view. If any parts feel overwhelming or too hard, revise it. Make sure your content is intentional and designed to help clients make meaningful progress towards their goals.
Provide access to archived content.
During a live coaching program, you’ll want to give your clients access to the coaching materials. Maybe someone missed a day or another client may want to review it later. Within the Coaching Genie software, you can create a content library to store replays.
Doing this adds extra value to your coaching program and gives clients time to reflect on parts of your program that were the most impactful to them.
Be intentional about your pricing.
There’s a huge difference in pricing between a coaching program and an online course.
“When I hear about a course or a coaching program, I immediately assume that a coaching program will be more expensive because it implies that there is a coach who is gonna be guiding you through the process.”
— Milana Leshinsky
When you’re creating your offer, take time to consider who your ideal clients are, and how much they’ll expect to pay for access to the content or your time.
Do What’s Right for Your Business
Remember that you’re not limited to a set definition of an online course or coaching program. It’s your offer and you can do what you want with it!
Still, it’s important to know the guidelines to give your clients a quality offer. By clearly defining your offer and setting clear expectations for your clients, you can ensure that they know exactly what they are getting and what they can expect from you. This will not only improve your client’s satisfaction, but also prompt them to refer you to everyone they know.
Want to learn more?
Listen to the entire conversation here, or subscribe to the Coaching Genie channel on YouTube and hear from experts once a month to grow your practice and find answers to your most pressing — and sometimes controversial — coaching questions.
