Smart Trainers Cashing In on Direct Access Instead of Increasing Promotions
In the world of coaching and consulting, the traditional approach of offering multiple distinct products or service packages at various price points, often referred to as an "offer suite," has long been a popular strategy. However, a new approach known as the Proximity-Based Model is gaining traction, particularly among successful coaches.
Andrew Dunn, a renowned expert in marketing, systems, and scaling small businesses into large enterprises, is one such proponent of this new model. Dunn, who has scaled over 450 companies over a period of 10 years, used this proximity-based model to scale his last company.
The Proximity-Based Model focuses on building close, high-engagement relationships with clients, either physically or through very personalized, direct access. This approach emphasizes prioritizing scalable solutions and your own brand, ensuring that growth is not dependent on closely held one-on-one client relationships but still leverages these relationships as valuable supplementary connections.
Unlike offer suites, which aim to maximize market reach and revenue by diversifying what is available for sale, the Proximity-Based Model prioritizes scalable, often group-based or automated solutions with close client relationships as an optional value-add. The key difference lies in their scalability approach: the Proximity-Based Model ensures that the business can operate and grow without relying primarily on intensive, personalized client connections, whereas offer suites may still require managing multiple offerings separately.
The model involves four layers: free content and community, low-ticket workshops, group coaching, and one-on-one consulting. In the free content and community layer, insights, case studies, and frameworks are shared to build a foundation and trust at scale. Low-ticket workshops offer focused solutions to specific problems and are concentrated doses of expertise. Group coaching provides accountability, community, and regular access to the coach's expertise, with everyone having access to all workshops and content as higher tiers. One-on-one consulting includes private access to expertise with maximum accountability and personalized application.
The psychological advantage of the model is that clients understand they're getting the same valuable knowledge, just choosing their level of access and accountability. Moreover, the model creates a self-liquidating marketing system, where workshops and group coaching generate immediate revenue and fund marketing for higher-tier clients. This eliminates the need for endless discovery calls and sales calls, allowing coaches to focus on delivering value to their clients.
Selling proximity to expertise instead of more offers can create a business that scales with the coach's knowledge, not their time. The goal should be to sell different levels of access to the coach's expertise, to build a coaching business that gives the coach the freedom they may have started their business to achieve.
It's important to note that the information provided is not investment, tax, or financial advice, and consultations with a licensed professional are advised for specific situations. Additionally, strategic partnerships provide ongoing access to the coach's expertise with aligned incentives, further enhancing the scalability of the Proximity-Based Model.
In conclusion, the Proximity-Based Model offers a promising approach for coaches and consultants seeking to scale their businesses without increasing complexity or over-reliance on personal client intimacy. By focusing on scalable solutions and leveraging personal relationships, coaches can build a business that grows with their expertise, providing them with the freedom they desire.
Andrew Dunn, utilizing the Proximity-Based Model, scaled his last business by building close relationships with clients and prioritizing scalable solutions, rather than relying on an offer suite in the realm of finance, business, or technology. The Proximity-Based Model, different from traditional offer suites, emphasizes scalable, often group-based or automated solutions, but with the optional value-add of close client relationships.
