4 Questions to Answer Before Investing in a Course, Group Coaching or Membership Program

If you’ve ever invested in a large sum of money in a course group coaching program or high-end membership and found yourself disappointed that didn’t help you achieve tremendous success, then this episode is dedicated to you. I’m sharing the 4 questions you must ask yourself before you invest in another course, group coaching or high-end membership program. These questions will make sure that you are making the right choices for your business and your pocketbook.

One of the best ways to fast-track your progress in growing and scaling your business is to get someone to help you learn what you don’t know and to warn you of potential pitfalls that may show up along the way. In fact, investing in yourself and your business is one of the smartest things you can do to reach success quicker and easier.

And there plenty of people who have achieved tremendous success who have packaged up their process and created a program to help you do the same. Their methods absolutely can work. Many of their clients will get the same or better results by investing in these programs.

Of course, it’s never a sure fire guarantee that what they are offering will work for you, but it is a possibility. In fact, it could be exactly what you needed. You won’t really know until you try, right? If you’ve ever purchased a program and regretted the investment, you may have a severe case of buyer’s remorse that still impacts you today. Maybe you have become a skeptic about purchasing any program, or, even worse, maybe you no longer trust yourself to make these types of decisions. I know both of these feelings very well.

That being said, there are some questions you can ask yourself before you buy that will help to make sure that you’re investing in the right program for the right reasons. They will help you think clearly before you hit the “Enroll Now” button.

To begin, we should take a look at why we are tempted to enroll in so many programs in the first place. There are a few reasons that I see time and time again.

First, I’d like to address something I see all the time and have done myself. Many entrepreneurs invest lots and lots of their money in courses, group coaching and high-end memberships because they believe that there is something they are missing that is preventing them from having outrageous success. They think this investment will give them the one secret they’re missing to skyrocketing their business and creating amazing results and revenue.

The truth is, that’s totally possible. Some of the people who enroll in these programs will achieve the exact success that we desire for ourselves. Their testimonials remind us of what is possible for us and our business. When we see someone else building our dream business, it’s easy to be seduced by that type of success. It’s no wonder we’re ready to hand over our credit card by the time the presenter gets to Bonus #3.

For most entrepreneurs, that’s simply not the case. There’s not one missing piece to the puzzle.

Before you sign up for your next course, group coaching or high-end membership, take a moment to ponder the 4 questions in this episode. They will help you to discern if you’re making the right choice for you and not experiencing an emotional response to perfectly executed marketing.

This is not to judge anyone who has been tempted by a beautiful sales pitch or judge those who use a beautiful sales pitch. At the end of the day, we are all entrepreneurs who want to help other people achieve success or get results in their life. Marketing and sales are part of the process. I’m pointing out how you can avoid common pitfalls and make the choices that are right for you, your business, and your wallet.

Another common reason we sign up for programs that aren’t the right fit is because we are seduced by the potential outcomes we believe it would create for us. That could be increased revenue, more free time, or a more streamlined way of working. As I said in episode 10 of Setting a Vision, we are always being either pushed into the future by our circumstances or we’re being pulled into it by our hopes and dreams. The idea of starting something new, something that is filled with possibility, is really exciting. Our brain is wired to delight in possibilities and it responds positively to these types of opportunities. When they’re presented to us in a lovely complete package, it pings our own desires. Our brain releases dopamine and we get a rush of emotional energy that makes us feel amazing. Which is why engaging our pre-frontal cortex before we buy is very important. It will, quite frankly, kill our buzz and allow us to use logic and intuition before we make the choice.

There is also the opposite emotion that can trigger us to circumvent logic and make an emotional decision. That is the fear of missing out. We don’t want to be left behind while others build successful and profitable businesses. If they’re hopping on the success train, we want to join them. Again, this desire is part of how our brain is wired. Participating and keeping up with the “Tribe” is one of our basic psychological needs. Even though a Tribe may look different in today’s modern society than it did thousands of years, the primitive desire to be part of a group is still deeply embedded within our psyche. When people just like us declare “Yes, I’m in!” we want to be in too. We want to be a part of the tribe, even if that tribe isn’t the right tribe for us. FOMO can absolutely guide us to making the wrong choices.

Still, for some there’s another reason why investing in a course, group coaching or a high end membership is tempting. It’s because we are feeling desperate to get different results, usually these are money results. The important part here is the air of desperation. All of us are willing to learn something new because it will help us reach next level results. But when we make these decisions in desperation, we making an emotional choice and not using our CEO mind to decide. I’ve noticed, and I assume you have too, that a lot of current marketing practices appeal to this type of desperation. The really good ones are super subtle about it by appealing to both what’s possible and how awful your life and business will be if you don’t invest. If you are in a place where you make business decisions in desperation, it’s even more important that you ask yourself these 4 questions before you make your choice.

Slick sales marketing is designed to take you away from your inner wisdom and appeal to your emotional mind because emotions drive our actions. Everything we do and don’t do is because we want to feel or not feel something.

I came up with these questions as a way to help me step away from the emotions and step into leadership energy as I make decisions on how I invest in my business. I learned the hard way about how my own inspiration, desperation, and fomo led to me spending money on programs that were not right for me. I’ve paid lots of money to learn this tough lesson and I hope I can help you avoid my mistakes.

Before I begin, there’s one concept I really want you to understand. If you can get this concept at the deepest level, you’ll find yourself much less tempted by the next sexy offer that comes your way.

Here’s what you must know:

Investments in gurus and programs do not create results – YOU create results.

Investing in the perfect program with the perfect mentor will not get you the perfect results if you’re not showing up fully and completely. YOU are the missing piece to the puzzle. Not their program. You are perfectly capable of creating a compelling vision for yourself. Their program may help make the process faster or easier but it will not create it for you. You have to do the work. You are the creator of your reality.

This brings me to the very first question we must ask before investing in a course, group coaching or high-end membership program.

1 Does this program align with the vision I have for my business?

As the CEOs of our businesses we are the keepers of the immediate, intermediate and long-term vision for our business. The vision is the rule book by which we make all of our business decisions. A lot of times entrepreneurs can go off the rails because they forget what the vision is for their business and they make decisions without thinking of the near term impact. They’ll either shift the vision in the moment as part of an emotional decision making process or they’ll rework the vision by shifting things around to justify making the decision to invest in a specific program right now rather than waiting until when it fits into the Vision timeline. I did this a lot in the beginning and it slowed my business growth considerably. Consistent and persistent action to achieve results only works if it’s towards the same target, not one that changes with each launch cycle.

This is why having a clear and specific vision for your business is so important. When it’s time to decide “Should I do this?” we first must ask ourselves “how does this serve, honor, or create the Vision?” Every decision, every action, every step along the way is to serve the Vision. I cover all of this in episode 10, Setting a Vision to Achieve Success.

2 What problem am I trying to solve?

If your answer is more revenue, then I invite you to check in to see if this is a desperation decision. In my experience, when money is the first thought that comes up when asking about a problem, then there’s an emotional stronghold tied to finances. Which isn’t to say that increased revenue isn’t the ultimate goal, it’s to say that if your brain defaults to thinking of money instead of a specific outcome that will lead to increased revenue, then there’s something going on inside your brain that you may not realize is there. It could be affecting you well beyond this decision and it’s worth exploring.

If your first thought was a specific problem that you are facing right now in your business, then you have the level of clarity needed to evaluate the decision objectively. At this point you will know that the program is in alignment with your vision and if it addresses the specific problem you want to solve.

3 Is this solution the right solution for me and my specific problem?

If you dodged the emotional bullets before, then here’s where you may trip up. Good marketing will sell you into believing that this one person or program has the best and perfection solution for you. They will have compelling copy and fabulous testimonials. But above all else, you have to learn to trust your gut in these situations. I can tell you without a doubt, the business decisions I regret the most aren’t the ones I made when I didn’t listen to my intuition. In those cases, I didn’t listen to that instinct that told me to pass on the opportunity but my logical brain overrode that voice.

Here are two examples that happened last year. A business coach I admire offered a 6-week group coaching program to help other coaches write better copy to sell their 1:1 coaching packages. I’m not confident in my ability to write compelling copy and it’s a skill I want to develop as I promote my coaching packages. This means his program fit into my Vision and solved a specific problem that I have. Both greenlights. My instinct told me that this wasn’t the right choice for me but I couldn’t come up with a tangible reason why. I decided to sign up. Within the first 2 weeks, I knew that this program was not for me. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it, it was a great program, but it wasn’t delivered in a way that made it easy for me to absorb and implement. I stuck with it and did every assignment to the best of my ability but I was working against my nature the whole time. I didn’t create my best work and ended up having to find a new program that brings out my natural voice.

Fast forward a few months later to a different goal I had for myself. I decided to launch this podcast in 30 days and I knew I wanted to get a mentor to help me fast-track my results. I’m smart enough to know that I don’t know what I don’t know and investing in someone to guide me through is a great way to side step a lot of unforeseen hurdles. In researching courses and memberships about podcasting, one person’s name came up time and time again. I watched their YouTube videos, downloaded their free content and researched their offers. This person has a rock solid program with lots of happy clients. My instinct told me they weren’t the right choice for me. This time I listened. I reached out to my business network and asked what program they recommended to learn about podcasting. 90% of them mentioned the same person I had already researched. The other 10% shared someone else, a woman named Krystal Proffit. I researched her and her offerings and knew very quickly that she was the right choice for me. I enrolled immediately and I was able to hit my goal with ease. I trusted my intuition and went with the right person who offered the right solution for me.

I admit, this has been the hardest thing for me to learn for myself because it’s not a logical process. It’s a level of trust in myself that I am still developing. I invite you to develop it too and to keep track of what results you create when you listen to your own innate wisdom.

Some additional questions that may help you as you decide if this program the right solution for you are:

Do I believe this person is the right person to teach me that solution? Is the way the solution delivered the way that works best for me?

It’s important to be true to yourself and know what type of environment allows you to thrive. Are you at your best in a self-paced program or a structured group program? Or are you at your best with a personalized experience that comes with 1:1 coaching? Before you invest money in a solution to your problem, it’s important to know if the way it’s delivered will give you your best results.

4 Am I someone who follows through and commits fully to the investments I make?

For some of you, this will hit you square between the eyes. Like many of us, you may have a library of programs that are partially complete. There are many reasons why we don’t follow through on something we paid a lot of money to access. Here are a few that I learned about myself and see with my clients:

We fall out of love with the program – remember that dopamine hit we get when thinking about what’s possible for us and our business? That wears off eventually. We discover that must-have program comes with a lot of work. Without the hyped up good feeling to keep us going, we sputter out.

“I don’t have the time” – this is a really, really common reason. As a goals and accountability coach, my clients come to me to help them solve this problem. One of the best commentaries I’ve heard about the concept of not having enough time to do something is to rephrase it as “it’s not a priority to me.” This is a tough concept to accept about ourselves and it’s even harder to admit it to someone else. The truth is we do have time, we are choosing to not spend our time on certain things…one of which is completing programs that we’ve purchased. Being honest with ourselves about this is so unbelievably important because it forces us to acknowledge our own priorities and time limitations. Anytime we identify a part of our personality that we previously pretended didn’t exist, we get back into alignment with our true selves. That acknowledgement allows us to decide if we wish to honor and accept this part of ourselves or do the work to change it. Living in denial consumes an enormous amount of emotional energy and can create subconscious blocks that can sabotage our efforts.

If you have the habit of not following through with commitments that you make to yourself, or you find that you’re not doing the things you know would help to grow your business, or you label yourself a “procrastinator” I want to tell you that there is probably a subconscious emotional block that is keeping you trapped in inaction. The thing about subconscious blocks is that we don’t know we have them. They show up externally in completely unrelated ways.

I’ve seen this time and time again with my clients. They come to me with an external problem – they’re not taking action to grow their business or they need help managing their time. The problem is never the problem. There’s always something much deeper that is presenting itself as procrastination or unproductive work practices.

It’s really similar to planting a lovely garden filled with gorgeous flowers and discovering a weed. We don’t want the weed so we pull it out. That weed is not gone for good; it’s going to come back because we haven’t dealt with the root that is buried underground.

Our subconscious emotional blocks work in the exact same way. We think we’ve solved the problem because we’ve dealt with the external manifestation, but we haven’t. The subconscious block is still in there. Until it’s addressed and resolved, it’s going to reappear again and again.

If you’re struggling to do the things that you know would grow your business, or if you’re not making time for the activities that are your priority, or if you’re trapped in indecision and confusion, I invite you to schedule a Business Breakthrough Session with me. In these sessions, I use my Intuitive gifts to uncover the exact blocks that are preventing your success. These are highly impactful sessions that get results. You’ll walk away knowing exactly why you are struggling. My clients’ businesses’ are completely transformed after the session. They’re finally launching their products, signing multiple clients, and achieving the success that once seemed so elusive. I am so completely confident in my ability to get results in just 1 session that I offer a 100% money back guarantee. You can go to www.yourexcellentyou.com/breakthrough to learn more and sign up for a session.

Here’s the thing, as you consider taking me up on my offer, I encourage you to walk through the 4 questions I discussed in this episode. I’m not here to take your money, I’m here to help you make smarter, better choices for your business. My Business Breakthrough Session may be one of those choices .

As I wrap up this week, I highly encourage you to use these 4 questions to make sure that any investment in a course, group coaching, or high end membership is the right choice for you and your business. As I’ve said time and time again, I believe that success comes from the inside out. When you’re willing to improve your own understanding of what you want for your business, who you want to be as the entrepreneur behind that business, and strategic ways to invest your money and make both of those happen, you will naturally step into the next best version of yourself. That’s the secret to creating a business and life that you love.