This may be hard to believe, but just because a client invests in your product, program or service doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll actually show up for it.

For instance, a really good friend of mine recently had 400 people registered for his event and only 220 actually came.

That’s a big problem if you planned catering or even coffee, which can run $8/person. Also, if only half of your registrants show up, that is half the audience you may have promised a guest speaker or sponsor.

Then there are the breakthroughs that just won’t happen because people weren’t there to experience your gifts.

So you made the sale — that’s great. You have registrants for your program or event, but your job is not done. You need to get them to stick.

Here are two of the best stick strategies that we employ before our own virtual courses and live events. (If you’ve ever been to one, you’ll probably recognize them!)

1. Start the breakthroughs right away.
When someone registers for your program, they’re excited, but in 30, 60 or 90 days they may forget why they registered in the first place. This can result in refund requests or they just don’t show up. Both very sad options when you think about the transformation they are about to miss out on.

To keep registrants excited about your program, you want to give them an immediate pre-course assignment so that they start receiving value right away.

If people experience transformation before they even start the official class, they’ll be talking about it with their friends, who may also be tempted to enroll.

And when they arrive for session one they will have more of a connection with you and your work, which may increase the likelihood that they’ll want to continue working with you on a deeper level when the program is over.

2. Get people connected.  
Another way to create anticipation and get registrants to show up and stay committed is to connect them online before the course through Facebook or a private online forum.

That way, registrants have already made new friends and connections and can’t wait to meet those people in person or virtually. At a live event, networking becomes more lively, fun and fruitful for everyone.

Also, groups of new friends formed this way are more likely to stay connected after your program and go on to become your biggest fans.

As you can see, it’s not difficult at all to employ those two stick strategies, and you—and your participants—have everything to gain.

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Before I get started, let me say that you don’t have to be a world-renowned expert before attracting people to work with you in a deep, lasting and meaningful way. If you feel inspired to offer a six-month or year-long mastermind, mentorship or group coaching program, consider doing it.

And if you are considering offering a group program, let me save you thousands of dollars and countless hours right now.

When working to fill your high-end program, I DON’T recommend using the following strategies:

1. DON’T use the same Internet campaign you’d use for a product launch.
I see people trying to do this all the time. Those campaigns are great for programs costing under $2,000, but if you want to fill a 5-figure year-long mastermind program with deeply committed clients, they generally don’t work. Your ideal clients need to feel inspired enough to say yes to making a big investment of money and time in themselves, and that generally doesn’t happen from a video series or preview call.

2. DON’T try a rolling month-to-month program.
I’ve seen people get clients into a $500 or $1,000 a month coaching relationship, and then get enough people on the bus at the same time to turn it into some kind of a group mastermind. The problem is when you frame it from the beginning as a month-to-month commitment, people will drop on and off all the time and you can never gain momentum, nor trust and intimacy among the group.

3. DON’T use one-on-one calls, strategy sessions, momentum sessions.
Think about it. To fill your group, you would have to make enough calls to collect enough people at the same time to get a group program going. That’s very difficult to pull off unless you’re truly a master of phone sales. Then, while you’re gathering your group, you also have to start serving people right away to get them to stick. It’s a complicated equation that I’ve only seen a few people master, and they did endless free calls to fill a 6-8 person group.

There is a much easier way.

I suggest that you employ the number one strategy that actually works.

1. DO host a live event.
With a live event you can literally fill your high-end group program in just one weekend.

Gather people together in a room, give them amazing content and the best of what you have for two to three days, and then make an offer for them to keep working with you for the rest of the year. Do this right on-site and get everybody on the bus at the same time.

The first time I realized this was THE way to fill a long-term program, I was a participant in a course with 18 people and 6 of them signed up to keep working with the mentor for a year.

I did the math ($1,500 a month x 6 people x 12 months) and thought, “Holy cannoli, he just broke six figures!”

I also thought, I can’t believe what I just saw. I can totally do that.

And I did, over and over.

In fact, over the past 36 months, by adding live events to our model, we’ve done more than $10 million in sales and served thousands of people all over the world.

And you can too.

All is takes is the right guidance and information and your own leap of faith.

If you’d like to learn more of my secrets for filling and structuring your mastermind, mentorship or group coaching program, find out more about Event Profit Secrets here.

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