How to Fill a High End Coaching Program or Mastermind

High ticket selling doesn’t have to be hard or sleazy, but there’s a specific mindset you have to adapt to be able to do it with ease. If done right, it can be super successful and a process that you actually learn to enjoy and get really good at. It’s a learned skill like anything else.

In fact, selling a $10,000 or $30,000 program should be just as easy as selling a $100 or $300 product, because it’s not about the price. It’s never about that. It’s about your ability to convey the value of what you’re offering and serve it to the right person.

Allowing space for people to step into their power and commit to a life-changing process feels good. High ticket does not equal high pressure.

I just wrapped up an almost $300K launch of my intimate 10 month mastermind. I spent $0 on ads for this program, had no affiliate partners, and I did not do a traditional launch with webinars or challenges.

So what did I do? I found people who were interested and SENT EMAILS.

Yes, there was no secret launch formula, or sales tactics, just a genuine relationship with my audience, that resulted in filling this program with the most amazing women.

If you’re looking to fill this kind of program, a mastermind, or your 1:1 practice, here are my top tips to get it done with grace and ease:

Get Clear and Specific

Having crystal clarity on your offer, on who it is for and your goals is always number one when “launching” a program. I knew that this program was not for everyone. In fact, I believe that was the subject lines of one of my emails. This was a program that was an evolution of a mastermind I had run twice before and I used the data, results, feedback and testimonials to make it even better. So I knew exactly who this was for and who it would not be great for. I was clear and specific in my emails and my sales copy. I also knew my goals and kept sight of my boundaries and my bandwidth. I knew that I could only have 15 people max in this capacity. I was also clear on how I wanted to FEEL this entire process. I knew I wanted to fill it with ease and I wanted to be in flow the entire time. I didn’t want to feel worried, or stressed out or waver on my goals or my fees. I had a specific success formula. I knew that A+B without C would = Success.

Segment Your List

When you want to fill a program without doing a full blown launch, it’s crucial for you to seed your audience and segment those people who raised their hands in interest. This way, you are only pitching to people who said “yes, I want to know more”.  Here’s what I did. About 3 weeks from when I was officially going to start taking applications, I started sending value rich content to my emails, at the end of the emails was just a simple P.S. stating that I was opening up a new way to work with me 1:1 and to “click here” if you are interested in finding out more. I did this for approximately 3 weeks, sending about 3 emails a week. By the time I was ready to start accepting applications, I had a list of over 400 people who said yes, I am interested in finding out more about your 1:1. THOSE are the people I pitched my mastermind to.

Call Them Out

I made it a point to continue my specificity throughout the process. Every email, every word on my sales page, the copy on the first page of my application and the questions within the application, were all specifically geared to attract the perfect client and repel those who weren’t a perfect fit. I was very clear on who I wanted in the program, very clear on where they needed to be in business and very clear on the fact that it was a significant investment. I wasn’t just looking for 15 women. I was looking for 15 savvy and successful women who were the best at what they did, who were ready for radical change and who knew the value in investing in themselves.

Make it Exclusive

This mastermind was not a free for all. I didn’t let just anyone join and I didn’t just put a buy button on the sales page. I wanted to make sure that the people inside were a perfect fit and that I could actually help them. This is really important because entering into a coaching relationship is just like any other relationship. You are going to be spending a lot of time with this person, so you have to like them and support their mission in business. So interested parties had to fill out an application FIRST. After reviewing the applications, their websites, business models, goals, etc. I personally reached out to those people to schedule a discovery call.

Side note: this will deter many people. My application was thorough and would take about 20 minutes to fill out. People just don’t have time to fill it out, or they just don’t want to, or it’s too much work, etc. And that’s fine. People who look at an application and think “this is too long” are probably the same people not willing to do the work to get the results they desire. I had an extraordinary amount of people look at the application, compared to the amount of people who actually filled it out completely.

Only Hell Yeses

This is a HUGE one. Here’s the truth. I got over 50 applications and I only hosted about 20 calls. Why? Because I was clear (see #1) and knew exactly who I wanted in the program. I only had conversations with people who were a good fit and who I believed would benefit most from the program and my expertise. I said no to some people immediately after we got on the phone because I knew it wasn’t the perfect fit. I also cut some of the conversations short and didn’t even make my offer on some of the calls because I knew it wasn’t a good fit. The people you choose to work with (especially 1:1) need to be a hell yes… for you and for them. 

Give Them Space

I’m not one for high pressure sales or sleazy sales tactics. After the application process, I did host discovery (sales) calls to make sure it was a match and give additional details of the mastermind. Some people said yes on the call, but most of them needed time to think. And even tough personally, I’m a fast decision maker, I respect that other people are not, so I didn’t force anyone to make a decision on the first call. It’s a big investment, and if you need to think about it, then that’s fine by me. Many sales pros would tell me this is a big mistake. And yes, I might have closed more if I used high pressure sales tactics, but that’s just not me. So this is what happened: some people talked themselves out of it, and some convinced themselves they couldn’t afford it, but the right people stepped up and said yes.

I do want to note however, that when I felt someone saying “no” out of fear or sabotage I did call them out on it. When I knew someone was right for the program but was letting fear step in and take over, I reminded them of all the things they said wanted in the discovery call and how they said they wanted it now. Not letting people skate on the proverbial “I can’t afford it”, allowed these women to step up and make a powerful decision.

Believe It

Throughout this entire “launch”, I did massive amounts of mindset work. I became almost obsessive about it. I woke at 6am every day and spent a significant amount of time journaling about what I wanted, who I wanted in the mastermind and acting as if it was already done. I wrote about exactly how many people were in it, exactly who was in it, and exactly how it felt to have filled it with ease. I also wrote about it as if it was already done. What it feels like to take these women on an incredible 10 month journey of life and business transformation. This was a non-negotiable. I did it every morning. Every night. And even when I had some spare time throughout the day. I knew without a doubt that I would fill it with the perfect people. There was no other option. When you have that kind of unwavering belief in yourself and what you are doing, it has no choice but to manifest beautifully. (Sorry for getting all woo on you, but this was a BIG part of the process.)

Act With Integrity

I didn’t just decide to create a high end mastermind out of thin air. I believe in operating with total integrity and congruency. #1. I KNOW without a doubt that the value is there. The amount of support, coaching, transformation they are getting is worth double what the fee is. #2. I would never ask anyone to pay me fees that I have not yet invested in myself. I talk about investing all the time and you know I’ve invested over six figures into my own business and education. Just before I launched my mastermind, I made a huge investment of $30K in one coach. I really believe that because of this, I was able to sell my mastermind with integrity and ease. You see, there are a lot of coaches out there who are charging $10K, $20K or more, but don’t even see the value of investing that much in themselves. It’s incongruent. So operate with integrity. Always.

So that’s it! Those are my top tips for filling a mastermind or premium coaching program. I hope you can take this and apply it to your upcoming program or launch.

Want my step by step guide to filling up your high ticket offerings? Click below to download your free guide!

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