Episode 17
17 Coaching Delivery Formats Every Coach Should Know
If you’ve ever felt boxed in by the traditional Zoom-every-week model, this one’s for you.
In this episode of The Solo Coach Podcast, we’re flipping the old coaching delivery model on its head, and breaking open the box so you can breathe again. Or find something that helps you start getting clients immediately.
You’ll get 17 different coaching formats you can use right now, designed to protect your energy and fit your clients' real lives.
If you’ve ever felt burned out, disconnected from your own offer, or like something just isn’t clicking, this episode will help you see what’s really going on (hint: it’s probably the format, not the offer).
We’ll explore:
● Why weekly Zooms aren't the only way to coach
● How to match your offer format with your client’s lifestyle and energy
● What to test if you want more joy and results
As a coach who wants to run your business your way, this episode will empower you to deliver your brilliance in a way that actually works for everyone.
What You’ll Learn:
● 17 coaching formats you can use (beyond just Zoom)
● How to experiment and choose formats that work for you
● A powerful reframe: your offer isn’t broken—it’s the delivery that needs adjusting
Resources Mentioned:
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If this episode gave you fresh ideas or a little coaching relief, would you leave a review? It helps more solo coaches find their flow and fuel their freedom.
Transcript
It's very common that most coaches out there trying to build a freedom based
Speaker:business are doing so inside someone else's structure.
Speaker:You know, you create a coaching program like this and you deliver it like that,
Speaker:and done weekly zoom calls, one hour sessions, everything on the calendar,
Speaker:everyone is doing it the exact same way.
Speaker:And it's no wonder so many coaches feel boxed in, burned out, or just quietly
Speaker:resentful of the thing they used to love.
Speaker:Or for that matter, frustrated that something isn't working.
Speaker:Now.
Speaker:I want to pause to say following a proven approach or format isn't a bad thing.
Speaker:It's actually something I recommend when you don't have
Speaker:any idea where to start, right?
Speaker:It's a matter of doing what works until you get traction and then bringing in your
Speaker:own unique elements to that and refining from there.
Speaker:However, if you follow another approach, a kind of canned system, right at the
Speaker:expense of your own happiness in your business, that's a problem.
Speaker:Or if you're trying to use a traditional approach, a traditional model with a non
Speaker:traditional audience, that could be a problem too.
Speaker:Here's what I know, and this is after years and years of
Speaker:working behind the scenes of multimillion dollar coaching companies witnessing
Speaker:many different approaches and models.
Speaker:However, I will say that for the most part, there's a common
Speaker:thread between all of them, right?
Speaker:If you are feeling unhappy or maybe even burning out, or that frustration of not
Speaker:getting any traction, you don't need more time or to create more content.
Speaker:If you're already creating a lot, you need more delivery freedom.
Speaker:Now this is especially for those who are already getting clients and
Speaker:are just not loving the work as much as they thought they would.
Speaker:Or for those who, as I said, have maybe a unique audience, or
Speaker:you have an audience that you haven't really looked at how they consume content
Speaker:or how they need to be supported and you're not getting the traction needed.
Speaker:The way you deliver your coaching offer should support your energy.
Speaker:Your energy and your client's real life needs, not drain you both.
Speaker:Or for that matter, not speak to your audience, right?
Speaker:So let's flip this whole thing on its head.
Speaker:What if you could create a smorgasbord of coaching options that felt really good to
Speaker:offer and easy for clients to say yes to.
Speaker:I want to give you 17 powerful coaching formats, plus how to choose the ones that
Speaker:work best for you, how you want to coach.
Speaker:And let me be really, really clear, this isn't about offering so much that people
Speaker:feel overwhelmed and they don't choose anything.
Speaker:No, this is about experimenting with different coaching formats and delivery
Speaker:methods until you find what fits you and your clients perfectly and beautifully.
Speaker:You know, you have to be willing to experiment, especially if
Speaker:you have already tried some traditional approaches and they haven't
Speaker:worked well for you, then you have to be willing to experiment
Speaker:to find what does work well for you.
Speaker:You have to be able to look at that and say, you know, this coaching business,
Speaker:this business of mine that I want to build and grow is so very important to me
Speaker:that I'm going to do whatever it takes to make it a success.
Speaker:And if that means it's going to take me a while to experiment and throw different
Speaker:things out there until I find what works, then so be it, because it
Speaker:matters to me that much.
Speaker:Stop forcing the boxed in coaching model.
Speaker:Here's a myth.
Speaker:Great coaching equals 60 minute weekly Zoom calls.
Speaker:Now I'm laughing because I have zoom calls in my coaching offer, right?
Speaker:I don't do one weekly in the Mastermind.
Speaker:I do weekly for one to one clients.
Speaker:But that seems to work well so far for me.
Speaker:But there's some other delivery methods that I also have in place
Speaker:that work really well.
Speaker:So for me, I have a hybrid approach, a hybrid approach to traditional delivery
Speaker:methods and some non traditional delivery methods.
Speaker:And I'm constantly experimenting and testing because I'm always looking to
Speaker:refine to get to that point of where this is absolutely perfect
Speaker:for me and my clients.
Speaker:So this, the whole, you know, 60 minute weekly Zoom calls is not necessarily the
Speaker:best coaching delivery method for every coach and every client.
Speaker:That one size fits all model is often the reason coaches start feeling trapped in
Speaker:their own business or how they start feeling like nothing is really working.
Speaker:You know, I can remember years and years ago when I
Speaker:was coaching for one of these bigger companies
Speaker:and every week I had a group coaching call to teach marketing and to coach around
Speaker:building out funnels and developing offers and copy and messaging
Speaker:and mindset and so on.
Speaker:And it was always the same.
Speaker:I noticed that there would be this small percentage of people on the call who
Speaker:always spoke up first, asked their questions, kind of, you know, pushed
Speaker:themselves, themselves to the front of the room, so to speak, the virtual
Speaker:room, and got involved.
Speaker:And then there was the much larger portion of people who were just quietly listening
Speaker:and observing.
Speaker:And you know, that would be me in the room because I am very much the introvert.
Speaker:I am the one who will go sit in the back of the room, right?
Speaker:And I watch everyone, I observe everyone, and I listen and I don't always speak up.
Speaker:And oftentimes that's because I need to process the information and
Speaker:come back later with questions.
Speaker:Like, the questions aren't necessarily going to pop up for me in the moment.
Speaker:And so there are a lot of people, a lot of clients where this is
Speaker:the same thing, right?
Speaker:This is the same thing for them.
Speaker:And in realizing that during that time that I was coaching for that company, you
Speaker:know, I brought that forward with me in building my own coaching business.
Speaker:Because I want to make sure that for me, being
Speaker:this hybrid method that I use, this hybrid delivery method, that I am giving a
Speaker:platform to those who want to be at the front of the room and ask questions
Speaker:steadily throughout our time together.
Speaker:And I also want to give voice to those who need to listen and process and
Speaker:come back later with questions.
Speaker:So keep that in mind as you are learning more and more about your target audience.
Speaker:And sometimes it isn't just that, right?
Speaker:Sometimes it's a matter of how much time do they have in their day, how much time.
Speaker:Maybe they do have some extra time, but at that point, how much
Speaker:mental energy do they have?
Speaker:How can we support them where they are? Are.
Speaker:All right, so that's enough of me ranting or not ranting, but kind of going into the
Speaker:rabbit hole of people and our unique minds and our unique lives.
Speaker:Let's go a little bit deeper into these, into this, this topic and these
Speaker:different coaching delivery formats.
Speaker:So, you know, if the structure of your coaching delivery isn't
Speaker:right for you and your people, it doesn't matter how good your offer is,
Speaker:you'll dread delivering it.
Speaker:You'll keep pushing it off visibility, you know, it won't be appealing and you'll
Speaker:avoid selling it all together because you don't really want to do that.
Speaker:On the flip side of that, if it isn't a match to your audience, it will not
Speaker:grab their attention, because it will. It will not.
Speaker:It will not be appealing to them either, because the way it is set up can suck the
Speaker:energy out of you instead of fueling your momentum.
Speaker:If you've got.
Speaker:If you're just, you know, following someone else's format without testing to
Speaker:see if that really works for you or not, it could be.
Speaker:There could be some energy under the surface there that's
Speaker:really working against you.
Speaker:So here's your reframe.
Speaker:Instead of building a rigid coaching offer, think of yourself
Speaker:like a chef designing a menu.
Speaker:Not everyone is going to want the same thing.
Speaker:You don't want to get bored by creating the same thing over and over.
Speaker:And a little creativity can go a long way in the same way, you may be someone who
Speaker:does really well with having a very predictable, consistent
Speaker:format that fuels you.
Speaker:Just make sure that that also matches your target audience.
Speaker:You don't need to reinvent your business to make it lighter.
Speaker:So if you've been doing this a while, you don't need to change everything.
Speaker:You just need to rethink the how of your delivery.
Speaker:And I want that word lighter to be key.
Speaker:You will know how it feels when you maybe even just listening now, as we go
Speaker:through these 17 coaching formats, you may hear it and you may feel it in
Speaker:this moment when it feels lighter.
Speaker:But as you're developing it and as you're experimenting with it, you're
Speaker:going to feel a difference, right?
Speaker:And you'll know in that sense what is more aligned with you.
Speaker:And so then you're just finding that sweet spot between what is aligned with you
Speaker:and what is aligned for your clients.
Speaker:So the first one is there's phone coaching ideal when video is too much.
Speaker:Clear, focused, no zoom fatigue.
Speaker:Remember phones, Remember the thing that we could pick up
Speaker:and dial a number and call someone and talk to them and it didn't matter what we
Speaker:looked like because we aren't on video, we aren't on all the time.
Speaker:My goodness, how refreshing would that be, you know, so phone coaching
Speaker:is still a viable option.
Speaker:Think about your audience.
Speaker:Maybe you work with an audience who has a very grueling work schedule and
Speaker:when they're off, they're off.
Speaker:Like they really don't have a whole lot of energy to present themselves well.
Speaker:Or I should say feel like they have to present themselves well.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:Maybe, yeah, just think about it that way.
Speaker:Like really dig into the life of your ideal client and maybe
Speaker:phone is just fine for them.
Speaker:Voxer is a number two or any voice note platform.
Speaker:There are others out there for sure.
Speaker:So async, energy, friendly, personal, flexible support without scheduling.
Speaker:This is part of what I use in my coaching delivery format.
Speaker:As I said, it's hybrid.
Speaker:So I have zoom calls, but I also have voxer because what that enables your
Speaker:client to do is at any point in time that they have a question,
Speaker:they can simply voxer you.
Speaker:And as long as you're clear on what the your response time generally is like I
Speaker:give myself, if it's something I'm reviewing for with,
Speaker:with feedback, I give myself 48 hours.
Speaker:It's generally same day, but I still give myself that because sometimes, you know,
Speaker:schedules get super busy and then anything else, any other General
Speaker:question is 24 hours.
Speaker:Again, I'm Usually answering same day, sometimes you know, 24 hours.
Speaker:But I just give that flexibility because I know that there are times when
Speaker:I may need that extra time. Respond.
Speaker:Number three, text based coaching.
Speaker:Great for quick support, accountability or helping over thinkers move forward.
Speaker:Again like if you're, you know, you think about what I was sharing about myself
Speaker:and how I process information.
Speaker:You know, text based coaching would be great for me because I need to think about
Speaker:something and process it and come back and, and for me especially
Speaker:because I, I do write a lot.
Speaker:I am a writer, a copywriter and more.
Speaker:Sometimes I find that I write better than I speak.
Speaker:So thought to written words sometimes is more thorough and expressive than thought
Speaker:to spoken words, if that makes sense.
Speaker:Number four, email coaching. Very similar.
Speaker:So you can have time to reflect.
Speaker:And this also creates a written archive, something that tracks everything
Speaker:and is easy for your people to find. Hybrid coaching.
Speaker:Just as I've shared about my own.
Speaker:You can combine formats.
Speaker:Start with zoom, then shift to async support accountability coaching momentum
Speaker:based, focused on support, not solve.
Speaker:You don't have to solve everything.
Speaker:You're simply there to hold someone accountable who has a plan
Speaker:and is able to move forward.
Speaker:You know, we all need accountability.
Speaker:I need accountability.
Speaker:And so it could be a great feature that you add into a hybrid delivery format.
Speaker:Just make sure that it's something you can maintain.
Speaker:Number seven, daily or weekly check ins.
Speaker:Lightweight but effective consistency boosters.
Speaker:And that could be done via voxer email text DM like you could, there's, there's
Speaker:many ways that you could add that in.
Speaker:Number eight, progress tracking plus feedback.
Speaker:So use shared tools to track and coach weekly.
Speaker:So let's say that you, your clients have a plan and you want to add in progress
Speaker:tracking so some sort of measurement ability to really dig deep and see where
Speaker:they are in their plan and how they're moving forward.
Speaker:And you can also provide feedback.
Speaker:It could be as simple as a Google Doc with a list of to do's and you're able to go in
Speaker:there and make comments on the to do list.
Speaker:Like for example, this is something that I have considered
Speaker:adding and I have experimented a little bit with in my own group.
Speaker:So you, it could be as simple as a Google Doc where they have a weekly to do list
Speaker:and you're checking in to see how they're doing on that to do list you can go into
Speaker:the doc and leave comments and anytime that you see where they are kind of
Speaker:getting stuck like they're, you know, I think about this for myself where what Are
Speaker:the to do's I'm resisting the most and you're popping in to provide coaching
Speaker:to get them over that hurdle.
Speaker:I think this can be a really, really great tool and coaching format.
Speaker:I think that it would probably work best if you have a team member, a VA who can
Speaker:assist and keep this flowing and keep people moving.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:I think there's some, there's some real potential there.
Speaker:Number nine, project coaching.
Speaker:So help them finish something.
Speaker:Clear timeline, clear outcome.
Speaker:I have this in my ready in three.
Speaker:So this is three weeks of coaching, three calls and there is voxer support
Speaker:for in between the calls.
Speaker:This is when let's say that you have been, you have been wanting
Speaker:to get a course built.
Speaker:I need this for myself.
Speaker:I need this for myself.
Speaker:You've been waiting to get this, you've been trying to get this course
Speaker:created and launched out there.
Speaker:You've got some of it done but you know, one month became two months became six
Speaker:months and it's still just sitting there.
Speaker:This is something that like ready in three could be really, really helpful.
Speaker:Meaning we're gonna, we're gonna push hard, we're gonna get this done and I will
Speaker:be here to support you in getting that out the door.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:But it isn't necessarily a long term coaching arrangement and you know that
Speaker:you, your people have the opportunity then and the option to
Speaker:run through one project coaching scenario and then do another one and
Speaker:another one and another one.
Speaker:Maybe that's the way you prefer to do things altogether rather than a
Speaker:long term ongoing arrangement.
Speaker:Number 10, VIP day or intensive one.
Speaker:Big day, big win, deep dive done.
Speaker:So I know coaches who do something like this and some of them
Speaker:will do one a VIP day.
Speaker:So one day some will do a VIP weekend or it doesn't have to necessarily be on the
Speaker:weekend, but I know some coaches who will do like a two to three day kind of thing
Speaker:can be similar to the project coaching. Right.
Speaker:But this is three days rather than three weeks.
Speaker:Again, if this fit your audience right, then that would be ideal.
Speaker:Number 11, one time audit and follow up.
Speaker:So provide deep feedback, follow up after simple and high impact.
Speaker:An example of this would be since I am a copywriter, I could do a one time
Speaker:audit on let's say website copy.
Speaker:So I go through and look at your website from top to bottom in terms of copy and
Speaker:look where maybe it's not converting well or if it isn't converting well across the
Speaker:board, look to where we need to change things and improve the copy, the
Speaker:messaging, the call to actions, etc.
Speaker:So what this would mean is I do the audit, I go through and look at everything, I
Speaker:provide feedback and maybe then there's one more up on that.
Speaker:So you receive the feedback, you go through and make changes.
Speaker:I go through and look at it one more time. Another pass.
Speaker:That could be whatever you wanted it to be.
Speaker:Number 12 implementation sprint.
Speaker:Oh, and let me go back to that one time audit and follow up.
Speaker:This could work for any, I mean it could work for a business coach.
Speaker:You don't have to be a copywriter or you know, a web designer or nothing like that.
Speaker:It could work for anything. Right.
Speaker:Where you go through.
Speaker:I have a client years ago who would go through and do an
Speaker:audit of their people's signature program and she would go through that whole
Speaker:program and come back and say, you know, this, this and this needs to change.
Speaker:So really you can apply it to anything.
Speaker:So number 12 implementation sprint.
Speaker:This is similar to the project coaching.
Speaker:It's very energizing short term coaching, three to seven days.
Speaker:Great for launches or creating new habits.
Speaker:So it can be implementation of something around marketing and in business or it
Speaker:could be more personal development approach where you're
Speaker:putting a new habit in place.
Speaker:Number 13, personalized video coaching library.
Speaker:So send one to one video responses to client questions.
Speaker:Reusable and high value.
Speaker:So think about something like loom where you can do screen share and get
Speaker:again like as a copywriter I could do this instead of one time audit and follow up
Speaker:where I am providing loom videos where I'm reviewing something
Speaker:specific and giving feedback.
Speaker:You could still do this with something that again that is maybe
Speaker:a mindset approach.
Speaker:Right where you're sharing, you're just talking on the video, kind of like
Speaker:a vlog style providing that support.
Speaker:And the cool thing about that is as, as I said they can, your clients then begin
Speaker:to build a library of video responses.
Speaker:It could be one to one, it could be small group, right.
Speaker:But then they have this library of videos that they can go back and re listen to
Speaker:whenever they need to, whenever they need to get back on track.
Speaker:Number 14, coach on call office hours.
Speaker:So open communication blocks for real time access.
Speaker:This can be done a couple of ways.
Speaker:We see this when using something like Voxer, a voice note platform.
Speaker:So you know, I have a coach whose office hours are every Wednesday 9 to 5.
Speaker:I can pop in there at any time.
Speaker:I can actually pop in there at any time and ask a question and then I know that
Speaker:she's going to respond to me during those business hours.
Speaker:On Wednesdays you could take this a step further depending on how many clients
Speaker:you have and offer this as a call in. Right.
Speaker:Or a zoom call.
Speaker:Pop on a 15 minute.
Speaker:You'd have to set some parameters there, write some rules like 15 minute laser
Speaker:sessions, you know, any nine to five.
Speaker:So that if you know you're going to be at your desk then you're available
Speaker:to jump on these quick calls.
Speaker:It's a great way to connect with your people, especially if you are
Speaker:someone who really loves talking to.
Speaker:If you're very extroverted that this, this could be, you know, a perfect fit.
Speaker:All right, so number 15, almost there.
Speaker:Pop up coaching experiences, short themed events with live or async support.
Speaker:So themed events is the key thing here.
Speaker:So let's say that you're going to do a, I think of this in like pop up events.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:So let's say that next month I'm doing a four week
Speaker:manifesting coaching, manifesting pop up coaching experience and I could lay
Speaker:out the rules of what that looks like.
Speaker:Maybe I have some laser coaching spots open in there.
Speaker:Maybe it's a zoom call that anybody can jump on.
Speaker:Maybe it's a, it's voxer based only.
Speaker:Maybe it's email based. Who knows?
Speaker:You could mix and match. Right.
Speaker:16 coaching subscription.
Speaker:Unlimited access with boundaries.
Speaker:Predictable steady support.
Speaker:So this is similar to, if you think of it from a service based
Speaker:perspective, retainer. Right.
Speaker:That might help you understand the concept of this.
Speaker:So someone pays a monthly subscription to have a certain amount
Speaker:of access to coaching.
Speaker:Ongoing 17 laser coaching.
Speaker:So I've mentioned this before and the idea behind laser coaching is to have
Speaker:unlimited short sessions with rules.
Speaker:So for example, if I offered you unlimited laser coaching sessions every month for
Speaker:the way that I have seen this done is it's something like, you know, $1,000
Speaker:for six months of laser coaching.
Speaker:And you may think what that's like really, really inexpensive.
Speaker:And that's really, that's too low. Right?
Speaker:Like that's the value is so high.
Speaker:But you need to understand how laser coaching works and this would enable you
Speaker:to take on a lot of clients in this format.
Speaker:So laser coaching is usually like 15 minute sessions.
Speaker:So you could say 10 to 15, 15.
Speaker:And clients have access to book their own sessions.
Speaker:So they have access to your calendar and they can, you know, you can set that up so
Speaker:that nobody can book within in under 24 hours.
Speaker:Right. So that you're not.
Speaker:Your calendar doesn't become a nightmare.
Speaker:But they book the session, you have the quick session so they have to come to
Speaker:this session with their questions ready. That's key.
Speaker:They already know what they're coming to work on on that session.
Speaker:They ask their questions, you answer them, you give them an assignment and they
Speaker:cannot book another session until they have completed that assignment.
Speaker:So this is part of the, the rules that are in place to keep this from getting out of
Speaker:control or overused to the point where it's not helpful to your client.
Speaker:Because if people were able to just book all the time, it's unlikely first that
Speaker:people would do that because we know enough from observing behavior.
Speaker:People don't typically do that.
Speaker:However, if they did, it wouldn't be the best service to them if
Speaker:they didn't have a requirement to go and implement
Speaker:because that's what moves them forward and helps them to create
Speaker:progress and get results.
Speaker:So that must be in place.
Speaker:Otherwise they're just getting more information overload
Speaker:without any implementation.
Speaker:So they have to get their homework done.
Speaker:Then they can book another session and so on and so on.
Speaker:And you can see how that could be really, really powerful.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:To help people experience progress and real results.
Speaker:Okay, so let's talk a little bit about how to choose the right format
Speaker:without overthinking it.
Speaker:You don't need to use all 17 formats and actually I do not recommend
Speaker:that would be overwhelming to you and your people and chances are people
Speaker:wouldn't choose anything.
Speaker:Just choose the ones that feel good and work for your clients.
Speaker:Choose a few that you're going to experiment with and see where you get
Speaker:takers and that will give you an idea of what to lean into more of.
Speaker:Ask yourself these questions.
Speaker:Want fewer calls but still connection?
Speaker:Try hybrid email or voxer or another voice note platform.
Speaker:Do you want less on time?
Speaker:Remember I said about like being on video and having to be on all the time.
Speaker:Then go async with check ins video replies on your own schedule or a subscription
Speaker:model or phone only need fast income.
Speaker:Offer a pop up VIP day or one time audit and then ask what will work best
Speaker:for my clients and their lives?
Speaker:What do they have time for?
Speaker:How do they process?
Speaker:What kind of mental energy do they have?
Speaker:So think that through what's going on in their lives.
Speaker:If this is for busy moms, there's not a whole lot of me
Speaker:time and chances are the time they do have to focus is going to
Speaker:be late in the evening.
Speaker:So that made like a zoom call is and and then at that point in time
Speaker:she's going to be wrecked.
Speaker:She's not going to want to have to be on video.
Speaker:Unless, I mean, she has school age children, then that could be, you know,
Speaker:another, like during school hours would be key.
Speaker:So you really have to think about your ideal client and their what's
Speaker:going on in their life.
Speaker:Remember that sometimes, and often, actually, oftentimes, the problem isn't
Speaker:the offer itself, it's the format.
Speaker:And changing it can change everything.
Speaker:Choose the format, serve your people, protect your energy.
Speaker:That's a win win and one you've probably been craving.
