How to Get Paid While You're Still Building Your Program

Most coaches spend months building their program before they ever sell it.

They write the modules. Record the videos. Design the workbooks. Polish every detail. And then, finally, they put it out into the world.

And then they find out nobody wants it the way they built it.

There is a better way. And it starts with flipping the order.

The Mistake That Wastes Months

Here is the story I always share in my Rocket Launch Challenge.

My very first job was as a book editor. My boss would come to me before the Frankfurt Book Fair every year and say: we need a new book series to sell at the fair. Create a mock-up.

She wasn't asking me to write the books. She was asking me to create a cover page, a contents page, some sample pages, and a back cover. Then she would take those mock-ups to Frankfurt and sell them to distributors. 30,000 copies. 50,000 copies. 100,000 copies. Orders placed before a single full book existed.

Then she would come back to me and say: now go create them.

That is the smartest way to build anything. You do not create first and sell later. You sell first and create after you have confirmation that people want what you're offering.

Think about it from a different angle. If you were opening a cake shop and you could bake 10 flavours, would you bake all 10 from day one, not knowing which ones your customers actually want? Of course not. You'd ask first. You'd find out the top three flavours. You'd start there, serve those well, and expand later.

Your coaching program works the same way. You don't want to create something your market doesn't want. You want market confirmation first.

Pre-sell before you create. Write that down.

The Three-Step Pre-Sell Method

So how do you actually do this? Here is the framework I teach.

Step 1: Create an outline, not a full program.

All you need to launch is a six-week outline. Not the full modules. Not the recordings. Not a completed curriculum. An outline of what you'll cover week by week. That is your mock-up. That is enough to sell.

This is the co-creation process. You show up to week one and deliver what you've prepared. Then you have a full week to prepare week two based on what you learned about your client in session one. You build the program as you go, with real feedback shaping it in real time. The program that comes out the other side is always better than the one you would have built alone.

Step 2: Find your beta testers.

Before you charge full price, find pro bono clients. Two to three people who will go through your program at no cost in exchange for their honest feedback. These are your beta testers. They help you test your offer, your delivery, and your results. Working with them one on one, you will understand your ideal client better than any amount of solo planning ever could.

Step 3: Use staggered pricing to get your first paid clients.

Once you have a few responses to your offer, you don't have to give everyone a pro bono spot. Use staggered discount rates. The first three to five clients might be your pro bonos. The next three get 80% off. The next three get 50% off. The next three get 30% off.

By the time you've gone through one full cycle with these clients, you have a complete program. You have testimonials. You have feedback. And you have been paid to create what you would have otherwise built alone, in the dark, hoping it was right.

What Co-Creation Actually Gives You

Here is what most coaches don't realise until after they've done it.

A program built in isolation is a guess. A program built with real clients is a solution.

When you co-create with your clients, they tell you exactly what they needed and didn't get. They show you where they got stuck. They ask the questions you never thought to answer. And all of that becomes your next version, your testimonials, and your marketing.

Give yourself permission to be bad before you get good. That phrase sounds scary, but it is actually freeing. It means: you don't have to have it perfect before you start. You just have to start. The program improves through delivery. The confidence comes through doing. The testimonials come through serving.

Marketing is testing. Your first launch is not your final launch. It is information. It is research. It is the beginning of something that gets better every time.

So let me ask you this.

What would happen if you stopped waiting to finish building, and started selling first?

Your offer doesn't need to be perfect. It needs to be helpful.

Championing your dreams ❤️