At Acquisition Ace a premium version of the main offer sold over 1,000 times in a little under a year. It costs nothing extra to fulfil.
That is the whole design brief for a tiered coaching offer. More price, more value for the client, and close to zero extra delivery cost. A tier that needs its own team is a second offer, and the two end up competing.
How many tiers should a coaching offer have?
Start with two: the main offer and a premium version above it. Add the next level only once the premium one sells. At Acquisition Ace the premium version became the main offer, and the old main offer now sits under it as the lighter option.
The next step there is a premium version of the premium version. Over time the front end becomes a level system. Every offer is different, but the order holds: one tier proves itself before the next is built.
| Tier | What it adds | Delivery behind it |
|---|---|---|
| Downsell, below the main offer | The video training only | Almost none; no live calls |
| Main offer, group | Training, community, chat support, group calls, client success managers | The core team |
| Premium version, almost double | What the survey asked for, on the same delivery | The same team; nothing extra to fulfil |
| One-to-one, very premium | One-to-one calls the client books | A coach's time for the clients who book |
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.
Disclosure: Diego also builds Ben Kelly's website. There is a material connection beyond this engagement.
What goes into the premium tier?
Whatever your clients said they wish the offer did. Every offer we run has a survey: if something could be done for you, what would it be? At Acquisition Ace the answers pointed straight at a premium version of the main offer.
Then check each item against delivery. If it runs on the client success managers, the training and the community you already have, it belongs in the premium tier. If it needs new hires, it is a different offer.
We added what I call the lobster on the menu. It is a premium version of the main offer at almost double the price, and it costs nothing extra to fulfil. Ideal package. It sold over 1,000 times in a little under a year. That premium version is now the main offer, and the old main offer sits under it.
Where does one-to-one coaching sit in the tiers?
At the top. Group is for the lower high-ticket offers, around $7K. One-to-one is for the very premium offer, and it should be exclusive. Most coaches do the opposite, which is not smart: you can charge far more for one-to-one.
Let clients book their own one-to-one calls. Not everyone books, so a big offer needs far fewer calls than the seat count suggests. The clients who take action get the most out of it, which is the point.
How should the tiers be priced?
On what each tier adds for the client. At Acquisition Ace the premium version is almost double the main offer, and we do not publish the exact prices. The rule is that the price gap has to be earned by what the client gets. The delivery cost gap should stay close to zero.
What breaks tiered coaching packages?
A lower tier with too much in it. When the cheap tier gets live calls and a real community, clients ask why they should pay for the big one. That kills the reason to upgrade, and it happens faster than you think.
The other is changing tiers under existing clients. We once upgraded every client to chat support for free, and it caused chaos; people did not know what their offer covered. Write down what each tier includes before you sell it, and change it for new clients first.
Further reading: The upsell that became the front-end offer · How to sell a one-to-one upgrade to your group coaching clients
Diego Miescher
