How do you build a high-ticket coaching funnel? 

Having a funnel in place is one of the most important steps of building your coaching business. After all, a funnel sells your program without you having to actively sell it.

But how do you build the RIGHT type of funnel?

Today, you’re going to learn the exact steps to creating a coaching funnel that brings you high-ticket clients. 

Want to learn more? Read on.

What is a high-ticket coaching funnel?

A coaching funnel is a type of sales funnel, so let’s start there. 

Basically, a sales funnel is a way of automating, repeating, and scaling your sales process. It’s the ultimate way of sustainably building a successful coaching business. 

Why? Because instead of chasing every client, you have a system that receives traffic (from whatever source you use, such as social media, guest posts, podcasts, partnerships, affiliate offers, ads, or search engines). 

With your funnel, you “automatically” convert people who enter that funnel. Typically, your funnel will contain email marketing, webinars, and sales pages. 

(Down the line, when you have a group coaching program or an online course that you sell, you can use an evergreen funnel. That means you sell your offers with automated traffic coming to your website. This type of traffic is primarily traffic coming from ads and search engines.) 

Now, what does “high-ticket” mean? High-ticket coaching is subjective, but my definition are high-ticket coaching offers that range from four figures to multiple six figures – and beyond. 

An example of a high-ticket offer would be my six-month Empire coaching package that I offer for $25,000. This is a high-value coaching package aimed at high-ticket clients.

Another example is my client, Jasmine. She’s a coach for aspiring 3D lighting artists in the animation industry. Her flagship course is over $2,000, and it teaches people how to get their dream job in film animation step-by-step. That’s exactly the type of offer that you would call “high-ticket” coaching. 

In this video, I talk a bit more about what it means to crate high-ticket offers:

Okay, let’s contrast this with low-ticket offers. “Low-ticket” sales would be the smaller, low-investment offers like cheaper coaching packages, ebooks, digital downloads, and low-cost courses.

So, if you want to sell coaching packages at a high level, do you even need a sales funnel? Let’s talk about it.

Why do you need a coaching funnel?

You need a high-ticket sales funnel for your coaching business for one major reason: It makes everything SO much easier! 

Systematizing and automating your sales process gives you back your time so you can focus on creating results for your clients. 

Think about it: If you can streamline finding and booking clients, you can have more freedom in your business. You’re able to improve your coaching skills and offer your clients more value.

And, of course, more value means you can charge more for your packages. It’s a self-fulfilling cycle. 

So, having a high-ticket funnel means you can work smarter, not harder, to scale your business.

By having a coaching funnel, you also skip all the running you have to do to book clients, like hustling to gain traction on social media and feeling like you have to work around the clock to make sales.

But how do they work? Let’s find out.

Do sales funnels really work?

In a word, yes. For instance, I used to sell my own group coaching program together with my self-study course, Employee to Entrepreneur (ETE), to around 400 people at a time with a high-ticket sales funnel. 

And today, I sell ETE and my other courses with evergreen sales funnels. 

Because of this funnel, I’m now at the stage where I spend less than 3-4 hours working on my business every day. 

In other words? The funnel runs automatically. 

Now, I’m not saying that building a sales funnel is easy. Every sales process takes work in the beginning. But once you have all of the pieces set up and running, you can have profitability and freedom in your business, too.

Ready to dive into the steps? There’s a caveat. You might not be ready to build your coaching funnel–yet. 

Let me explain. 

Are you ready to make a high-ticket coaching funnel? 

You probably got into coaching to build a sustainable business that’s fulfilling and life-changing. You want to transform the lives of your clients and get free of the 9-to-5. 

That’s amazing! You can start by building a coaching package and booking your first clients. 

BUT here’s the thing: To build a funnel, you need to have some experience with 1-5 clients already. 

Why?

Because your first clients will teach you so much about your process. You’ll learn the type of content you need to include in your packages and the questions your clients ask over and over. 

It’s tough to have a perfect coaching program without working closely with real clients first.

So, even though it’s tempting to build a sales funnel at the beginning of your business, hold on.

Instead, focus on booking your first paying clients by using your network or social media. Learn how to coach effectively. Collect those valuable testimonials, and create tangible results. 

Once you’ve developed that secret sauce, you’re ready to build a high-ticket program and market to those high-end clients. 

(If you need help finding your first clients as a coach, check out this article.)

After you have a little coaching experience and know what your clients want, you can start building the system that will take your business to the next level.

How do you build a high-ticket funnel? (Step-by-step)

Now that you’ve worked with a few clients, you’re ready to systematize your sales process. Here’s how to do that.

1. Define your ideal client

Ever wondered how to get high-ticket coaching clients? It starts by knowing exactly who they are. 

And that’s something you learn through your coaching. After working with a few clients, you’ll get to know if you’re reaching the right people or if you need to tweak things. 

Remember: Your ideal client is more than just a profile. She’s the person you speak to with every marketing email. She’s the person you design your social media graphics around. She’s the person who wants and needs your coaching. 

So, who could that be for you? We’ll go into this in more depth below.

But first, let’s start with your niche. 

Choose a profitable coaching niche

I talk about niches a lot because they are the key to growing a successful business. 

Becoming a life coach is way less profitable than becoming a health coach for diabetic women. Do you see how that works? Having a defined niche makes you stand out in the crowd of thousands of coaches. 

Did you know that there are over 23,000 certified coaches in North America? And that isn’t even counting the thousands of uncertified coaches out there. 

The coaching industry is growing fast, too.

So, to set your coaching offer apart, you need a niche that suits your skills. 

Here are some examples of high-ticket coaching niches:

• Business coach – help business owners launch and grow their businesses
• Executive coach – help high-level executives improve leadership and performance skills
• Mindfulness coach – help people improve their lives with mindfulness practices
• Wellness coach – help people improve their physical and emotional wellness with holistic techniques
• Health coach – help people improve their physical health
• Spiritual coach – help people with their spiritual goals 
• Career coach – help people through career transitions 
• Financial coach – help high-net-worth individuals manage their personal finances
• Relationship coach – help individuals and couples improve their love lives
• Mindset coach – help people improve their mindset and achieve their goals

(If you want a list of over 100 high-ticket coaching niches, check out this article!)

Want more help defining your profitable coaching niche? Take a look at this video:

Define your ideal clients

So, now that you know the type of coaching you want to do, hone in on the exact person you want to serve. 

Consider these questions:

• What are their basic traits? 

Age, gender, marital status, education level, etc.) These all factor in to how you market to your chosen client.

• How much do they earn? 

Essentially, you want to know if your ideal client can afford your high-ticket prices. For example, you could be a career coach for college students, but they probably wouldn’t be able to afford a coaching package that costs thousands of dollars.

Beyond that, do they want to spend their money on coaching? There are plenty of people who could afford it, but it just doesn’t speak to them. So, are you targeting an audience that will be receptive to your message?

• What social media do they use? 

Social media is a game-changer once you know who you’re talking to. So, think about which social media platforms your client uses, and when they use them.

For example, do they check Twitter first thing in the morning to get the latest business news? Or do they wind down in the evening by scrolling on Pinterest? Use that information when you’re thinking about where to promote your services first. 

• Why do they need your coaching services?

You’re looking for the person who needs the results you can offer. So, if you’re a financial coach, you might appeal to someone who has made their first six figures and wants to know how to grow their wealth. Or maybe you’re a parenting coach for new, high-net-worth parents. Who is the perfect fit for your services? 

• Why would they want your coaching services?

Look: All selling is emotional. We buy things we want, not what we need. So, your coaching package needs to appeal to your client’s dream result. Think about why your client would look for a coach like you and what they want out of the coaching relationship. 

But to really know your clients, talk to them.

Get on a video call and ask them questions about why they want the results they want, what they look for in a coach, and so on. 

It’s fairly easy to get people to answer your questions by offering something in return, such as a short coaching or consulting call.

Once you have a clear idea of who your client is, it’s much easier to design a high-value coaching package they must have. Here’s how to do that.

2. Create an amazing coaching package

So, how do you create a high-ticket coaching program?

It’s easiest to start with the structure. 

How to structure your high-ticket coaching package

Keep things simple. 

For example, a 90-day coaching package could include monthly, biweekly, or weekly calls that are about 45-60 minutes long, plus in-between support through email, Voxer, or text messages. 

Why does this work so well? 

First, three months is the sweet spot for coaching. It’s not too long of a commitment, but it’s long enough to see some real results from your guidance. It’s also not too short, which makes the high price tag more in line with the value on offer. 

Weekly calls give your client a good amount of support and accountability to help them achieve their goals. 

But remember: The in-between support can be delivered however you want. Not all clients will use the in-between support option, but it’s good for clients to have access to you when they need you. 

This is even more important when selling high-ticket coaching packages. 

What should you include in your high-end package? 

If you’ve been coaching for a while and you’re ready to make a sales funnel, you’ll know the most important information that your ideal client needs. 

When designing your package, think about: 

• The key milestones for your program
• The resources you’ll give each client
• Done-for-you services (if any)

I would give the above advice to any coach. But what is high-ticket coaching?

Let’s take an example of a health coach who helps people lose weight in a healthy way. 

A “typical” coach focuses on the features – the meal plans you’ll get and the calls you’ll have. 

But a high-end health coach focuses on results. In other words, the features are there just to help their clients get those results.

So, they will zero in on clients’ progress, adapt the program as the client works through it, and make implementing the program as easy as possible.

The more value you can include in your coaching package, the more you can charge. 

Here’s more on how to create coaching packages:

Pricing your coaching package

Speaking of pricing, I mentioned that a high-ticket coaching program is four figures and up. There are coaches out there charging six figures or higher for their coaching packages. It all depends on the value you can deliver and the transformative results you can create. 

Pricing has to make sense for the amount of experience you have, the clients you work with, and the results you promise in your program. 

If you’re still relatively new to coaching, I recommend starting within the $1,500 – $3,000 mark for 3-5 months of coaching. 

You can always scale from there when you have more experience and client success stories to promote to new clients.

In this video, I talk more about pricing strategies: 

Once you’ve designed an amazing coaching package that’s perfect for your ideal client, it’s time to create a lead magnet.  

3. Create a valuable lead magnet

The first step in your coaching funnel is your lead magnet. 

A lead magnet is a valuable digital download that helps people get a quick and easy “first win.” (For instance, a strategy overview or a guide on the first step they’d take to implement your program.)

Usually, it’s a free PDF or video masterclass that your client can access by giving their email address. Sometimes, it’s a low-cost offer like a $10 eBook. 

I recommend free lead magnets because they widen your pool of potential clients on your mailing list. 

Remember: Your lead magnet should be valuable and perfectly suited to YOUR client. 

Here are some examples of compelling lead magnet ideas: 

• Meal plan template if you’re a health coach
• Guided meditation audio file if you’re a mindfulness coach
• Net worth calculator template on excel if you’re a financial coach
• List of 10 best dating tips if you’re a relationship coach 
• A video masterclass on somatic breathing if you’re a spiritual coach

You can market your lead magnet on your landing page. Create an email sign-up form to display on the page, and use an email service to automatically send out your lead magnet. 

Once you’ve created your lead magnet, it’s time to get it into people’s hands. Here’s how!

4. Design a high-converting landing page 

A landing page is where your client interacts with the first step of your coaching funnel, your lead magnet. 

You can host your opt-in page on your website, or you can use web apps designed specifically for landing pages, like LeadPages. 

Once it’s set up, share the link on your social media profiles, send it to interested people, and include it in your podcasts, interviews, and guest posts. You can also direct traffic to your landing page through ads.

So, what does your landing page need to focus on to see high conversion rates?

The transformation people get when they sign up for your lead magnet. That’s the most important thing.

Make it clear what value your lead magnet offers. Also, make it easy for people to give their name and email and sign up for your email newsletter as this is how you get qualified leads to your business.

Once you have a landing page, it’s time to build your email sequence. 

5. Build an email sequence 

Is email marketing dead? 

Not at all! Email marketing is still a major player in marketing and selling techniques for businesses large and small.

In fact, 4 out of 5 marketers said they’d rather give up social media than email marketing. 

That might sound crazy to you and me, but email marketing has two major things going for it: 

1. It’s a list YOU control. Remember: If Instagram disappears tomorrow, so do all of your followers. But your email list is yours forever. 
2. 99% of people check their inbox every single day. That gives you many opportunities to build trust with your dream clients directly in their inboxes. 

So, having an email sequence will help you automate the entire funnel. But how do you create one?

Here’s an email sequence that works for selling high-ticket coaching packages:

1. Introduction

Your first email should be an introduction about you and what you do. Try to make this email inviting and friendly. It’s likely your client has read a little about you on your website, so this is a more intimate setting to build trust with them. Show your personality.

2. Valuable email no. 1

Value emails are key to showing your potential clients that you know what you’re talking about. So, your first value email needs to show how generous you are with your tips and your willingness to help. You can structure your value emails in multiple ways: You can make them connected (like a free mini course), or they can be isolated, quick pieces of advice that will show how knowledgeable you are in your niche. 

3. Valuable email no. 2

Quick tip! Space out your email sequence every few days. This keeps up the momentum with your audience. Your second valuable email can be an original piece of content or even a repurposed blog. 

4. Soft sell email

It can be jarring to send a super direct sales email this early into your email sequence. So, test the waters with a soft sell first. It could be a sales pitch for a low-ticket offer, like an eBook, or you could introduce your services in an open-ended way. Whichever works best for you, steer clear of overly salesy language.

5. Valuable email no. 3

After your soft sell, overload your clients with value. Remember: These value emails should be evergreen. This will help systematize your sales process without too much intervention from you. In other words, make sure that these emails will apply to your dream clients today, next week, or next year. 

6. Valuable email no. 4

A great idea for a value email is to use one of your client’s stories as a case study. Show how you helped a client transform their life and reach their goals. Just make sure it’s a story that your readers can learn something from and apply to their own lives. That way, you’re creating a desire for your services while adding value. 

7. Valuable email no. 5

Your final value email could include a free template, video, or PDF. Again, make sure these freebies are evergreen and tailored specifically to your dream clients. If you can help them solve a problem or make their lives easier, they’ll be much more likely to buy from you.

8. Direct selling email

Finally, your direct sell. Tell your client about the transformative power of your high-ticket coaching package and why it’s perfect for them. The email should end with a clear call to action to book a discovery call with you. 

To make this email sequence effective, you need a reliable email marketing provider so that you can schedule your email sequence to start automatically whenever someone signs up for your email list. 

Choose a provider that gives you clear analytics and makes email scheduling easy. I recommend ActiveCampaign (or, if you want a simpler tool to start out with, MailChimp is a good option).

Ultimately, you want this email sequence to run in the background. That’s how the sales process becomes automated and easy.

So, now that you have your email sequence set up, how do you get people to join your mailing list? Here are a few ideas!

6. Promote your lead magnet

To grow your email list and get more people on your email sequence, you need to promote your lead magnet. 

Just starting out? I recommend starting with organic ways to increase traffic to your lead page. 

Pitch to podcasts

There’s a podcast out there for every niche, and they need YOU.

So, if you want an easy way to build your authority as an expert in your field, pitch yourself to industry podcasts.

There are podcasts of all sizes with different audiences, so choose the right podcast for your dream clients. 

One easy way to get started? Send a personalized email to the podcast hosts on your shortlist pitching a specific topic and giving your credentials. 

After you’ve recorded the podcast interview, ask if you can add your lead page link to the show notes of the podcast episode. As people listen, they’ll check out your links and join your mailing list. This is a great way to get traffic from interested people in your niche.

Reach out to your network

Want an easy way to gain traction with clients? Leverage your network. Let your friends, family, and business associates know that you have helpful downloads available – for free. 

You’d be surprised by the number of people in your circle who know someone who could use your services. 

Use a social media platform 

Choose a social media platform where your audience hangs out. Start providing value to your audience (without expecting to sell – your core objective here is to build relationships and add value). 

So, what does that look like?

If you’re on Instagram, create helpful stories and posts and comment on people’s images to connect. And in your profile bio, link to your lead magnet.

Same for TikTok. Post relevant videos about questions people have about your services or about the results they can get. 

Use paid ads 

Paid ads are great for creating a fast result and high return on investment… IF you know how to use them. 

I don’t recommend paid ads for beginners because it’s a learning curve to get them right. In the beginning, consider hiring someone to help you so you don’t lose money. 

Once you’re at the level where you’re able to leverage ads, you can possibly 3x or even 10x your email sign-ups. Here’s my guide on how to use Facebook ads. 

7. Set up a free webinar

Once you have people on your email list, you can direct them to a free webinar that shows how your program will help them get the results they want. 

If you’re confident with live streams and delivering your message to an audience, a webinar can be a great way to connect with people and sell your coaching package at the same time. 

In fact, 95% of marketers consider webinars an important part of their strategy. They’re more relevant than ever.

So, how can you make webinars work for your business? Create a lead page around your coaching and embed an email sign-up form for your webinar. 

Your email sequence should have information about your webinar event. 

At the end of your webinar, include a sales pitch for your coaching package. This should give a good overview of your package, the results you’ve created for clients in the past, and how to contact you for a sales call. 

After your webinar, follow up with a short email sequence that sells the benefits of your coaching package. 

Your final email should be the same invitation to have a consultation call to see if you’re the right fit for them. This is the part of the sales process that you can’t automate but that you can systematize. Let’s talk about it.

8. Perfect your sales process

Selling doesn’t need to be scammy, salesy, or sleazy. In fact, selling in itself isn’t any of those things. The key is to find an approach that feels organic to you. I recommend having a strategy call with your potential clients to help them figure out if working with you is right for them or not.

A discovery coaching call is a conversation to see if you’d be a good fit to work together. 

Is it an interview? No. 

It’s better to think of it as a conversation to get to know each other. 

Is it free coaching, then? Definitely not!

This is a sales call for the sole purpose of figuring out if you should work together or not. It’s not a taster session of your services, so don’t go into it expecting to lead a coaching session. 

Are you trying to persuade your potential client to work with you? No! 

There’s no end to the number of coaches out there who will teach you “tricks” or pop psychology to get someone to hire you. I don’t believe in that at all. 

A great sales call is open, honest, non-pushy, and even fun. On the other hand, you are making a connection with someone who you’ll potentially work closely with for 3-5 months, and that can feel like a huge deal. 

Don’t worry, though. Everyone starts somewhere. In fact, I scripted my first-ever sales call word for word because I was so nervous. 

High-ticket coaching might feel more difficult, but it really doesn’t have to be. 

Trust me, whether I’m selling $2000 coaching or $20,000 coaching, my discovery call strategy is the same. It goes like this: 

1. Why did you reach out to me?

With this question, you want to discover a few things: Why did they reach out to you specifically? Why do they want coaching? What is their motivation for wanting to work with you?

2. What are your goals?

With this question, you want to understand what your client’s expectations for coaching are. Are they realistic, and are you the right person to help them achieve those goals? Establish what the achievable end result looks like. 

3. Here’s what I can do for you

The third part of your discovery call is about outlining how you can help your client reach their goal. So, list what that looks like. For example, “In month one, we’ll focus on A. In month two, we’ll focus on B. And then, in month three, we’ll focus on C.”

4. Does that sound like a good fit for you?

Once you’ve outlined what you can offer, let the person share their thoughts. If they’re in, great! You can close the call by talking about the payment options available to get the ball rolling.

Want to hear how this discovery script works in practice? Check out this video where I explain each step in detail:

If you’ve automated the rest of your coaching funnel right, the only participation you have is the discovery call part. Everything else can be scheduled and run in the background. Here’s how.

9. Automate the process

Automation is where the magic happens. You can have discovery calls automatically appear in your diary from potential clients who have gone through the whole funnel without you lifting a finger. 

Yes, it takes time to write all the emails, schedule the social media posts, reach out to your network, and so on. But once the upfront work is done, you can let your funnel take over. That way, you’ll only appear to take discovery calls and close sales. 

Here’s how to automate it all.

Work on your SEO

If you want to drive consistent cold traffic to your website, you need good SEO. 

SEO (or search engine optimization) is the system Google uses to push your website to the top of relevant search results. It’s a long-term strategy, but within months of consistent blogging and optimizing, you can rise to the top within your niche. 

Once you’re there, all you need to do is promote your lead magnet on your most popular blogs to get more qualified leads to your mailing list. You can also advertise your next webinar in a pop-up on your website.

Automate your email sequences

Scheduling is your best friend when it comes to email! Write out your email sequence in advance and schedule it using your email marketing software. 

You can update the content once or twice a year, but the goal is to make it as evergreen as possible. 

Use a diary scheduler to book sales calls

Want sales calls to magically appear in your diary? That’s totally possible with the right tools. 

In the final direct sales email in your sequence, you can add a link so people can book a call with you. 

To make this easy, use diary apps like Calendly to create automatic calendar requests and reminders about the call. These can save you a lot of time and help you automate your high-ticket funnel so you can focus on the parts of your business that truly matter.

Next steps

Now you know how to build a high-ticket coaching funnel that automates and systematizes your sales process! 

However, building a truly sustainable and profitable business comes down to having a strategy in place.

Want to know what that strategy is?

In this PDF, I share my proven six-figure blueprint to building a successful coaching business: