The Pros and Cons of Group Coaching: What You Need to Know Before Launching

The Cohort Model

The most popular model: This is where you enroll a group of students together. Cohorts run at fixed intervals throughout the year and typically have a launch period, after which they close when the cohort reaches capacity. 

Marie Forleo’s B-School and Amy Porterfield’s Digital Course Academy, which run once a year, are great examples of cohort-based programs. Cohort programs can be simple to launch, especially if you have a large audience that you can market to.

The Program Model

While cohort programs run at fixed intervals, think of the program model as a sort of evergreen offering.

This is a low-touch coaching program that runs for a specified length of time. Clients can sign up at any time, and the content is drip-fed to them on a predetermined schedule. It begins when a client subscribes and ends when the last lesson is delivered. The key to making this a “group” offer is to provide community and support to your customers who purchase the program. 

The Membership Model

The membership model offers more freedom. 

Your students sign up whenever they want and can access all of the content as they like. This is a popular model for group coaching and for good reason: it’s flexible and scalable for you and your students with minimal overhead on your part. Many coaches run weekly Q&A sessions and an online community to facilitate the coaching aspect of the program, regardless of when people join. 

Pick your model and read on for the pros and cons of group coaching to decide if it’s the right offer to add to your business.

3 Pros of Group Coaching

First, let’s walk through the top three benefits of adding a group coaching offer to your coaching or consulting business:

Pro #1: Accountability

I don’t know about you, but I've started plenty of self-paced programs over the years that I never finished. Most people don’t. I’m sure you can easily rattle off a few that come to mind – but that’s where group coaching can help your clients.

Group coaching offers a sense of community and belonging, as participants can connect with others who face similar challenges. This creates a supportive environment that fosters accountability and motivation for your students. There’s just nothing quite like learning material as a group to motivate you to make progress.

Pro #2: Networking and Community Building

The problem with self-paced programs is just that: they are self-paced. Since 2020, most of the world has gotten used to interacting with others digitally and building online pockets of community, which is where group coaching comes in.

Your group coaching offer doesn’t just give your students material to learn, it gives them the chance to meet like-minded individuals with similar goals, no matter where they may be based. This creates the perfect environment for students to make connections that will benefit them for a long time.

Pro #3: Helps You Scale Your Business

Here’s my favorite: group coaching allows you to serve more clients in less time! 

It’s simple math. Rather than meet individually with a half dozen or so clients, you can condense your “face time” with them to an hour all at once and provide more support asynchronously. This frees up more time for you to go hunt for new clients, create a course, or even take a vacation. 

Group coaching can be a fantastic way to scale your business, but it’s not for everyone. Read on to learn about the cons and make the right decision for your business.

3 Cons of Group Coaching

Before you jump headfirst into the group coaching deep end, here are a few cons to be aware of:

Con #1: Limited Individual Attention

While group coaching is scalable, it removes the personal touch that individual client work allows.

In a group setting, you can’t always provide the same level of individualized attention and support as you can in one-on-one coaching. As a result, your participants may feel that their specific needs are not fully addressed within the group dynamic.

I’ve found that a lower price point sometimes encourages people to sort themselves into a group program — even though they are better off paying a consultant or a coach for a one-time consult, as their challenges are so specific or particular. In reality, the complexity of their situation means they truly need that one-to-one attention.

Con #2: Potential for Conflicts

Group coaching can sometimes lead to conflicts or challenges within the group dynamic. Differing personalities, communication styles, and goals among participants may create tension that needs to be managed effectively by the coach. 

Before you start your first group session, have a written policy in place for how you plan to handle conflicts. I'd even go so far as to set aside a cash reserve to refund someone if they encounter challenges in your group program. Check out my guide to handling conflict in a group coaching program for more tactics here.

Con #3: Varied Progress and Commitment Levels

While training participants as a group frees up time, it can present a challenge if your group is not making progress at the same rate. 

When you bring a group of students together, there will be a sliding scale in the progress they make and their commitment to the program. This can create disparities in your group, and some may require additional support and guidance from you.

You cannot drag your group members across the finish line. However, you need to be aware that some participants may require more nudging than others to be successful.