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Creating a group program is easy. Creating one that actually works? That’s where most people mess up.

I see it all the time. Coaches who are ready to ditch the exhausting launches and the razor-thin profit margins, who know they need to charge more and work smarter, so they create a group program. And then it flops. Or it sells okay but the delivery is a nightmare. Or people don’t get results and they don’t renew.

And the worst part? It’s usually not because they had a bad idea. It’s because they made one of four really common mistakes that completely tank the success of the program before it even starts.

I’ve been running group programs for over six years. I’ve made over $5 million from them. And I’ve learned a lot of lessons along the way—some of them the hard way.

So if you’re thinking about creating what I call a Leveraged Live Experience (which is way more than just a group program), this post is going to save you time, money, and a whole lot of frustration.

Let me walk you through the four biggest mistakes I see—and how to avoid them.

Mistake #1: Bundling Everything Together Without a Clear Outcome

This is the most common mistake I see, and it kills programs before they even launch.

People think that to charge premium prices for a group program, they just need to bundle together a whole lot of stuff. So they’re like, “Here’s all my courses, plus you get access to me in a community, plus there are some calls.” And they think that’s enough.

But here’s the problem: it doesn’t have a clear, specific promise or outcome.

It’s just… here’s all my stuff.

And sure, back in 2020, you could get away with that. I did that the first time! I literally just bundled my courses together and added on a higher level of support. But that doesn’t cut it anymore.

Now, you need to engineer this strategically. You need to be really clear about what the outcome is, what the transformation is, and what the pathway to success looks like.

Why This Kills Your Program

First, it’s going to be hard to sell. When you’re trying to sell something that’s just “here’s everything I have,” it doesn’t have cut-through. It doesn’t stand out. It doesn’t create a clear “yes, this is exactly what I need” moment for your ideal client.

Second, it’s going to make it harder for them to succeed. When someone joins and there’s just loads of stuff—no clear pathway, no clear starting point—they get distracted. They get overwhelmed. They don’t know what to focus on first. And then they don’t get wins.

And when they don’t get wins? They don’t have a good experience. They don’t become raving fans. They don’t give you testimonials. And they don’t sign up for your next offer.

What to Do Instead

You need people to come in, get the outcome you promised them, and do it as quickly and easily as possible. That’s how you create an experience that actually works—for them and for you.

So instead of bundling everything together, you need to be really strategic about what goes in this program. What’s the one clear outcome? What’s the transformation? And what’s the most direct path to get them there?

Mistake #2: Promising Way Too Much, Way Too Soon

The next mistake I see—and this one’s a big one—is that people promise way too much, way too soon. Especially when it comes to the live elements.

They’re like, “People are paying me more, so I need to add in way more.” And so they jam-pack the schedule with all these different community elements: accountability calls, co-working sessions, mastermind sessions, training calls, pop-up events—there’s so much stuff.

And look, some of these things might be good. Some of them might be bad. But the problem is this: when you’re starting out, you’ve got small numbers. You don’t know how many people are actually going to show up to each of these things.

So people turn up to a co-working session and there’s no one else there to co-work with. That’s terrible. That’s not a good experience.

Or you’ve scheduled five different types of calls every week, maybe you’re even paying guest mentors to host them, and you’re the only one showing up to half of them because people are overwhelmed and don’t know which ones to attend.

Why This Is a Problem

And then here’s the other problem: it’s really hard to wind these things back. Once you’ve promised all this stuff—even if people aren’t using it—you’re now committed to providing it. You’ve set the expectation. And if you try to remove things later, people feel like they’re losing something.

What to Do Instead

Start with the really core stuff. Keep it simple but potent. What are the one or two live elements that are going to have the biggest impact? For most people, that’s a weekly or bi-weekly group call where people can get coaching, ask questions, and get real-time support. That’s it. That’s the core.

Then, as your program grows, as you see what people actually need and want, you can test out adding other things. You can do a one-off pop-up event and see how people respond. But don’t jam-pack it all from the start.

Plan out all your great ideas, sure—but plan the rollout strategically, and in phases as your group grows. Start simple. Add as you go. That way, you’re building something sustainable that you can actually deliver on without burning out.

Mistake #3: Not Designing for Your Actual Ideal Client

The next mistake—and this one’s so important—is that when people sit down to plan out what’s included in their program, they don’t actually stop and think about what the ideal experience is for their actual ideal client.

And here’s the thing: when you’re creating a premium group program, you might need to shift who your ideal client is. It may no longer be, “I’m just going to serve absolutely everybody who has this problem.”

The people who are the ideal clients for this kind of offer? They’re the ones who are going to take action. Who are happy to invest. Who value this particular problem or solution enough to actually put their hand up and take that next step.

That might be a smaller portion of the market. But if that’s truly who your ideal client is, they might also want different things than what you think.

Understanding What They Actually Want

For example: they might be people who really value their time. Or who really value privacy. They might not want a big community. They might not want a bunch of group calls where they have to show up live all the time.

What they might value more is the ability to submit things for private review and get personalized feedback from you. Or maybe they want to be able to send you DMs at certain times rather than posting in a community.

You really have to understand who your client is and what they want—not just what they need, but what they actually want.

Because the experience you design needs to match the client you’re serving. And that’s going to look different for everyone.

So take the time to really think through: Who is this for? What do they value? How do they want to be supported? That’s how you create an experience that feels like a no-brainer for them—and that they’ll rave about to everyone they know.

Mistake #4: Not Thinking About the Bigger Picture

And the final mistake I see—and this one’s huge—is that people design their Leveraged Live Experience without thinking about the bigger picture of their business. They don’t think about how this actually sits in their offer suite.

What Comes Before

You need to think about what happens before this program. What’s the promise of this offer? What does someone need to have already done or already believe for them to be ready to invest in this? Are they coming from a lower-ticket course? Are they coming from working with you one-on-one? What’s the pathway that gets them here?

What Comes After (This Is Where the Real Money Is)

And then—this is where the real money is made—you need to think about what happens after it. You don’t always have to have the next step ready on day one. But you need to be thinking about it strategically.

Is there an option to renew? Is there an option to uplevel and solve the next problem or work at a higher capacity?

Because here’s the truth: if you’ve done a good job with your first program, you should be able to upsell 20% to 30% or more of people into either staying on longer or doing something else with you. And those things—particularly if they’re higher-priced—can almost double your revenue.

What Happens When You Don’t Think About This

So if you’re not thinking about that strategically, here’s what happens: You generally don’t have a clear endpoint to your program. You’re not planting seeds for what’s next. You’re probably overstuffing your initial offer with things that should actually be in the second offer, not the first.

And that makes everything harder—for you and for them.

So before you finalize what goes into your Leveraged Live Experience, sit down and ask yourself: What’s the transformation this delivers? What comes before it? What comes after it? How does this fit into the bigger ecosystem of my business?

When you design with that bigger picture in mind, everything becomes clearer, easier, and way more profitable.

Want to Hear the Full Breakdown?

I go way deeper into each of these mistakes in my latest podcast episode, including specific examples and exactly how to avoid them when you’re creating your own program.

Listen to the full episode here.

Ready to Create Your Own Leveraged Live Experience?

If you’re ready to turn your existing online course or your one-on-one coaching framework into a Leveraged Live Experience—and you want to do it right from the start—doors are open right now for The Pivot Project.

It’s a 4-week live mini-mind where we’re going to work together to get your program designed, structured, and ready to sell. We’re going to help you skip all of these mistakes and more. And we’re going to make sure you have something that’s actually going to sell, get results, and be profitable.

Places are limited because it’s live and hands-on, plus we have access options from just $97 so there’s literally nothing standing in your way.

Save your seat here: hellofunnels.co/pivot

P.S. Next, I’m breaking down the exact numbers you need to know to scale a group program to 6 figures—including why you need about 10X fewer sales than you think. You won’t want to miss it!