One of the members of The Business Oasis was having trouble filling a course and had listed a number of bonuses and other types of things she tried at the last minute to bring up the numbers, without much success.
Here’s my reply to her, outlining the seven necessary parts to filling a course. I’ve written about each of these in much more depth, but an overview is worthwhile having for those of you who are trying to fill your courses and offers.
We now have a multi-year (as in 4-5 year) track record of selling out most of our courses. And when we’ve failed to do so, it’s because we missed one or more of these pieces.
1. Needs and Desires, Not Process
Have an offer that absolutely hits on the head both a need and a desire of your audience. One that speaks really clearly to something they are struggling with.
It’s painful to tell you, because you love what you do so much, as I love what I do, but no one really wants to learn about “The X Technique.” The only ones who might, are people who want to run a business like yours. But not your potential clients.
I had a miserable time filling our marketing course, until a friend mentioned that I should rename it. So “Focus on Marketing” (X Technique, ugh!) became “Opening the Moneyflow” (need and desire.) Sell out. It also helped to shift the intention of the course, so that participants would actually see results, like a participant in the current Moneyflow course telling me that her practice has between doubled and tripled in the last four months.
2. Allowing More Time Than You Think
Often, it takes more time than one imagines to make a significant decision. For instance, Holly and I have been thinking about signing up for a baby sign-language class since before the boys were born. We finally signed up a week ago, because they were old enough, and because we mused about it for months, years even, while trying to learn from books.
If this is the first time you are launching your course, in many ways it’s actually marketing for next year’s or next season’s course.
We’ve failed to sell out our Path to Profitability Retreat, although we’ve had some very healthy numbers (18+ people the last two years), because of this factor. It just takes a good long while for people to make space in their schedule to come to a five-day retreat.
And, please note, it’s mid-May, and I’m beginning to mention the retreat right now, and it happens in November. And I still think I’m late on the lead time. We’ll see what happens.
3. Repetition in the Campaign
People need to be reminded multiple times–often more times than we’re comfortable with as the business owner. You don’t want to be pushy, so you just mention it once or twice to your readers. You shyly mention it here or there.
Meanwhile, your best clients see it, and say, “Wow, that sounds great. I have to think about that!” And then, no more notices from you. They forget about it only to begin wondering months later, “Did that course ever happen? I really wanted to do that.”
You want to be telling your email list or blog readers, in various ways, 12-15 times over a couple of months at least. It seems like a lot, and it is, but it can be done in ways that aren’t too invasive, and yet still effective.
I once had someone complain to me that I didn’t send out a reminder email. Because I didn’t want to bother people, I didn’t remind folks of the early-bird deadline. “You let me miss the early-bird deadline!” Chagrin.
There are exceptions–you can have built up a huge, rabid following that is ready to leap on what you’re offering as soon as the doors are open. And you’ll notice that the folks who experience that are actually doing the things on this list.
4. Answering All the Questions in the Sales Copy
This often leads to longer sales pages than you might be comfortable writing, but it needs to be complete enough to work. Your followers have all kinds of both obvious and crazy questions about your offer. If you don’t answer them, they don’t feel safe enough, and they don’t sign up.
I was teaching Heart-Centered Copywriting, which I haven’t taught in a few years except within the Moneyflow Course, and we were working on one student’s offer. He told us about a retreat he likes to lead in the desert. I then asked the class, “Okay, what questions do you have?”
All kinds of normal questions popped up, over twenty of them, easily. And then someone asked, “Is it safe?” Huh? “Wild animals? Are there wild animals that will attack me?”
He was dumbfounded. He’s been going to the desert for years, and it’s very safe when you know what to do. He never considered that a potential participant might be afraid of wild animals. He had to answer that fear in his sales copy, along with the other 20+ questions.
Rather than getting caught in the “long” versus “short” copy debate, consider whether it is complete or incomplete. Does it answer the questions, or doesn’t it?
5. Really Easy Registration Process
Meaning that there is a clear “buy” button and a clear flow through the purchasing process. Don’t make people pick up the phone to register. If someone has a question, give them a web form right on the sales page that they can fill out.
This is where paying for a good shopping cart service is worth the money. They make it easy and smooth.
6. Urgency
There needs to be internal (to the client) urgency, where the person feels an active need and desire for the results your offer produces.
But you also need to help people wake up from the autopilot flying their life. Humans have an almost infinite capacity to tolerate pain and suffering, thank goodness. This is why Zen masters thwack their students with bamboo cane while meditating–to wake them up. My shaykh yells out at 3 a.m. during prayer retreats for the same reason.
External urgency such as an early-bird price, limited quantity, or other defined limits really help people pay attention now and reassess their priorities. It also helps you fill courses. Of course, you don’t need to hit people over the head repeatedly–that leads to hype.
But a little bit of urgency can get folks to wake up and make a decision before they miss the opportunity.
7. Numbers
If you are trying to fill 12 slots in a course, and you only have 100 people to offer it to, then I’m doubting that you’ll fill it, period, no matter how hard you work. A 12% conversion rate is HUGE, and not a fair expectation of yourself or the folks who are listening.
The numbers are important because people have lives. 🙂 They have other commitments and priorities, they are in various stages of the decision-making process, and timing just isn’t right for many of them.
If your reach is smaller, you will get smaller numbers. That’s okay, you aren’t doing anything wrong. Unless you aren’t trying to expand your reach.
Of course, you need to be reaching people who actually want what you’re selling. Numbers alone won’t do it, which is one reason why our list outperforms, in revenue, the lists of two other people I know whose lists are ten times the size of ours.
But without numbers it ain’t going to happen. A round, no-hard-data-only-anecdotal-evidence-to-support-it observation:, if you want a professional-level income or higher in your business, then you’ll probably need to be reaching, minimum, around 400 to 700 people.
The Checklist
If you hit all of these points, you’ll probably have a decent chance at filling your class. I know each of these points deserves an article if not an entire course, but you can still start to apply these pieces in imperfect but effective ways, and notice what’s happening.
Let me know if you have anything to add to the list, disagreements, or questions.
p.s. The Eighth Necessary Thing
Sometimes the seven necessaries don’t work as well as you think they should. What’s missing? It might be the Eighth Necessary Thing.
What I’m calling the Eighth Necessary Thing is a healthy relationship with money and finances. Are you open to really letting it in? Are you centered enough that you can make an offer without falling into piranha “eat the client because you need the money” mindset?
Underlying all the activities and strategies that make your business work is the heart. When the heart is at peace, everything works more smoothly, insights and wisdom come easily, miracles are noticed instead of ignored.
When your heart is in struggle, everything is harder. And there is nothing like issues with money, provision, and security to put your heart into struggle.
If you’re ready to heal your heart and have a healthy relationship with your finances, please join me.
The Heart of Money Transformational Journey
Begins June 16. Early-bird deadline June 1.
