At Acquisition Ace, a client survey led to a premium version of the main offer. It sold over 1,000 times in a little under a year.
That is what a feedback survey in a coaching program is for. It shows what to fix and what to sell next. A survey that only collects ratings shows neither.
What questions should a coaching feedback survey ask?
Start with the two we run in every offer. Both are open questions, so the answers come back in the client's own words.
- If something could be done for you, what would it be?
- What do you wish this offer helped you with?
The first finds the parts clients would pay to have done for them. The second finds the gap between what clients need and what the program covers. Both point at the next offer.
I look at what people bought first and why, and what they could buy next. In every offer I run a survey: if something could be done for you, what would it be? What do you wish this offer helped you with? That is how the offers get better, and that is where I saw this opportunity.
When should you send a feedback survey to coaching clients?
At moments the client can answer from experience. Add a short set of questions at each one, and keep every set to a few minutes on a phone.
Send each set in the channel the client already uses, from the client success manager they know. A survey from an unknown sender reads like marketing and gets ignored.
| Moment | Example questions | What you do with the answers |
|---|---|---|
| After onboarding | Was it clear what to do first? What was confusing? | Fix the onboarding step that confused people |
| At each milestone | What helped most in this stage? What was hardest? | Rewrite the hardest part; the win goes to proof |
| 60 days before the end | Where are you against your goal? What do you want next? | A next offer for winners, an extension for clients close to the goal |
| Any time | The two questions above | A list of what to build next |
Why not ask clients for a rating instead?
Because a rating is a mood on a given day. For example, a client can score you 9 out of 10 and be weeks overdue. Another can score you 6 and be one step from the result.
Results are measured on the board: stage, milestone, on track or overdue. The survey explains the numbers; it does not replace them. Net promoter score tracks referral intent, not results.
What do you do with the answers?
Sort them. Fix what blocks a stage. Build what many clients ask for and would pay for. Leave out requests that make the program bigger without making results faster.
Then check the answers against the board. If clients say a stage is hard and the board shows them piling up overdue there, that stage goes first. If many clients ask for the same thing done for them, that may be a premium tier.
Put each answer on the client's row as well. A client who says a stage was hard is a client to check in with that week.
That is how the Acquisition Ace premium version started. It cost almost double the main offer and nothing extra to fulfil. That premium version is now the main offer.
Result from a named client with written permission. Typical clients of this cohort saw a range of outcomes; nothing here is a guarantee. How we handle claims.
What goes wrong with client surveys?
Changing the offer the week the answers come in. Any change that affects the client causes chaos, even a free upgrade. We once added chat support for free, and clients asked whether it was part of their offer.
Or asking too much. A long survey gets skipped. Keep each set short, and ask only what someone on the team will read.
Or reading the answers without the board. A loud request from a few clients can outweigh a quiet stage where many are stuck. Count both before you decide.
Further reading: The upsell that became the front-end offer, and sold 1,000+ times · How often to update your coaching program, and how to change it
Diego Miescher
