5 questions you need to have good answers for

Back in the summer I was asked to help troubleshoot a course offer that wasn’t selling.

It’s not my favourite situation because I feel like I’m arriving too late in the process.

• The course idea has already been chosen.
• The course content has already been built.
• The course marketing has already been created.

In other words, the most important decisions have already been made.

What the creator hopes to hear is that 95% of what they’ve done is solid, and if they just fix the 5% that’s not working, then the sales will suddenly start flowing in.

But it’s rarely that simple.

Usually they need to unwind at least some of their hard work and put it back together in a different way.

In this particular case, there were multiple issues to solve.

One example: the marketing was trying to address three different audiences at the same time.

(It’s not impossible to sell essentially the same course to multiple audiences, but you need to adjust your marketing for each one.)

And that was just one of the problems I could see.

However, I sensed that “here’s a big list of things you’ve already done wrong” wasn’t the most constructive response to give the course creator!

So instead, I presented a few slides on what typically needs to be in place for course success.

(The idea being that they could join the dots and spot some of their issues for themselves.)

One slide was titled: “Questions to Answer Before Building a Course”

And I thought those questions might be useful for you to see too.

So here you go:

Questions to Answer Before Building a Course

1. What problem are you solving and exactly who are you solving it for?

A basic but foundational question. Most creators don’t have enough precision here.

2. How will you find and attract enough of those types of people?

Your success is directly proportional to the number of the right people you can reach.

3. How will you nurture them until they are ready to buy?

Most people (even the right people) aren’t ready to buy from you… yet. They need to get to know you better first, and the timing needs to fit with their other priorities.

4. What will you offer them when they are ready?

Even when people are ready to get help, they’re not obliged to get it from you. Can you solve their problem in a way that’s appealing to them at a price they can stomach?

5. How will you ensure that your course meets expectations?

What methods will you use to solve the core problem? What proof do you have they’re effective? How will you package them up as an effective course?

So, how many of these questions can you answer?

Some of these will be familiar. Others will make you think a little harder. But they all need a good answer.

Ultimately, I’m all about the fundamentals. If you ask the right questions before you build your course, your chances of success skyrocket.

See you soon,

Glen