How is an upsell different from a downsell in coaching?

An upsell sells a client the next problem solved, usually after a result and at a higher price. A downsell sells a lighter version, such as the video training only, to someone who cannot take the main offer. Upsells carry the back-end revenue; downsells stay small and rarely sold.

What is a good upsell for a coaching program?

The client's next problem, solved. At Video Business Academy, clients who reached a $10K month were offered the step from $10K to $25K. A premium tier also works: at Acquisition Ace, a version at almost double the price sold over 1,000 times in under a year.

What is a good downsell for a coaching program?

The video training without the calls, chat or check-ins, offered as a last chance on a sales call. It covers the closer's time and liquidates ad spend. Keep it low-maintenance. Add live calls and it starts competing with the main offer, and fewer people buy the big one.

Should a coaching upsell be cheaper or more expensive?

Usually more expensive, priced on the bigger result. Clients who paid a high-ticket price to get in prefer to buy another high-ticket offer. A cheap monthly plan for the same access rarely sells to them. The one cheaper next offer that works is an extension for clients close to the goal.

Upsell and downsell examples for a coaching program.

Upsell and downsell examples from coaching programs we run: a premium tier, a next-problem offer, an extension, a mastermind and a video-only downsell.

Acquisition Ace added a premium version of its main offer at almost double the price. It sold over 1,000 times in a little under a year.

That is one upsell. Below are the others we use, and the downsells under them, each with the client situation it is for. An upsell sells a client the next problem solved. A downsell sells a lighter version to someone not ready for the main offer.

What are examples of upsells in a coaching program?

Five, in roughly the order a client meets them. Each one is built for a client situation read from the client board, not for a date on the calendar.

Upsell	Real example	Who buys it
Premium tier	Acquisition Ace: the main offer at almost double the price, nothing extra to fulfil; 1,000+ sold in under a year, now the main offer	New buyers who want the best version
Next problem	Video Business Academy: after the first $10K month, a second offer from $10K to $25K	Clients who hit the goal
Extension	Video Business Academy: more time for clients close to the goal	Clients who are close and want a bit more time
One-to-one tier	Group around $7K, one-to-one in the premium offer, calls booked by the client	Clients who take action and want coach time
Mastermind	A small in-person room, 10 spots, priced well above the main program	Winners who want peers at their level

Upsells in the programs we run, with the client situation each one is built for. · Source: Resell Engine, the system

The premium tier is what we call the lobster on the menu. It costs nothing extra to deliver, and the buyers who want the best version pay for it. At Acquisition Ace it sold so well that it became the main offer, with the old main offer under it.

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 are examples of downsells in a coaching program?

Fewer, and smaller. Downsells are low-maintenance and sold rarely. They are a last-chance offer, so a sales call with someone who cannot afford the main offer is not for nothing. They liquidate ad spend and cover the closer's time.

Video training only: the main program's training without the calls, chat or check-ins. Video Business Academy ran this under a main offer that grew from $4K to $7K.
A $97 a month community as the last, last downsell, for people who did not have the money at all. One we had made a couple of thousand a month with almost no maintenance.

Both stay small on purpose. Put too much value in a downsell and it competes with the main offer. Give the $97 community live calls, and people ask why they would sign up for the big one.

Neither downsell is for existing clients. A client who paid $7K and finished does not want the training they already have at a lower price. They have a new need, and the upsells above are built for it.

The worst upsell or extension is $97 a month for the same thing they already have. People who paid a lot to get in prefer to buy another high-ticket offer, not $97 a month for the same access. It rarely sells. I do not do it; I build a real next package instead.

Diego Miescher

Founder

What makes an upsell sell?

Relevance. If the next offer is relevant, up to 30% of all clients buy it, and 40% or more of the clients who won. If yours sells to far fewer, look at the offer first. It probably misses the new need.

Timing is the other half. Start the conversation no later than 60 days before the program ends, or you miss the extensions and the resells. And sell from results: a client who is behind or upset will not buy anything.

Find the next offer in the clients' own words. In every offer we run a survey with two questions. If something could be done for you, what would it be? What do you wish this offer helped you with? The Acquisition Ace premium tier came out of those answers.

Which back-end offers should you not build?

Three come up often, and none of them sell to clients who already paid a high-ticket price.

The same program again at the same price. Winners feel done and want the next chapter.
A discount to stay. It makes no sense, and it does not solve a new need.
$97 a month for the same access. People who paid a lot prefer another high-ticket offer.

Further reading: Upsell, downsell, continuity: the coaching money model · What a downsell is for in a coaching business

This week. Write your offers in one column, top to bottom: premium tier, main offer, next problem, extension, downsell. Next to each, write the client situation it is for. Cut any offer that has no situation.