102: Launching Confidently with Tasha Booth
What should you have in place before you launch your coaching offers? How long should your launch timeline be? Is there a difference between launching a new offer or doing a relaunch? For today's episode, I had the fantastic opportunity to talk to one of the foremost experts on online launches, Tasha Booth, who's answering all your questions about launching.
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Show Notes
What should you have in place before you launch your coaching offers? How long should your launch timeline be? Is there a difference between launching a new offer or doing a relaunch?
For today’s episode, I had the fantastic opportunity to talk to one of the foremost experts on online launches, Tasha Booth, who’s answering all your questions about launching.
Tasha Booth is an agency owner, coach, and podcaster. She is the Founder & CEO of The Launch Guild, a full-service launch support agency working with established coaches and course creators with course & podcast launches. Her team is over 30 members strong and works together to support their clients in being able to focus back onto their zones of genius.
I’ve been connected with Tasha for a few years and she is just as warm, caring, and whip-smart in person as she is online and on her podcasts. We really get into the nitty-gritty of online launches and I suspect if you've got a question about launching, it'll probably be answered in today's show.
Topics covered
- How Tasha supports her clients through her business, The Launch Guild
- Why Tasha pivoted from virtual assistant to launch specialist
- The critical connection between an engaged community and a successful launch
- What goes into a launch?
- The elements of a successful launch
- Thinking about launching as a long-term strategy
- The difference between relaunching and launching a new offer
- Finding the right support for your launches
Resources mentioned
- The Launch Guild
- The Launch Guild on Instagram
- The Launch Guild’s Podcast | Love Your Launch
- Coach with Clarity Collective Waitlist
- Coach with Clarity Podcast Facebook Group
- Connect with Me on Instagram
- Email Me: info@coachwithclarity.com
Now it’s time for you to show the world what it means to be a Coach with Clarity! Screenshot this episode and tag me on Instagram @coachwithclarity and let me know what you’re more excited to explore in future podcast episodes!
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TRANSCRIPT
Well, hello my friend. Welcome to the Coach with Clarity Podcast. I'm your host Lee Chaix McDonough. And as always, I am so grateful that you are showing up for today's episode. I want to give a special welcome to those of you for whom this is your first time ever listening to the show. I am thrilled to welcome you to the Coach with Clarity Podcast and I know that you are going to find such value not only in today's episode, but in the 100+ episodes that we have in the Coach with Clarity Podcast archives. I still cannot believe we've crossed triple digits. That is so exciting to me. And you can find all of our shows at coachwithclarity.com/podcast, or just scroll back in whatever podcast player you are using to listen to the show and you will find a treasure trove of material about the art and business of coaching. And of course, if you've been listening for a long time, and if you've been listening since day one, special thanks to you as well. You are the reason I create the show. I have such fun with it. And today's episode is no exception, because I get the opportunity to talk with launch expert Tasha Booth. Now I've been connected with Tasha for a few years now, we run in some very similar entrepreneurial circles. And I had the opportunity to meet her in person at the She Podcasts live conference in October of 2020. And I can tell you she is just as warm and caring and whip smart in person as she is online and on her podcasts, which we'll be talking a little bit about at the end of today's interview. So Tasha is the founder and CEO of The Launch Guild, which is a full service Launch Support Agency for established coaches and course creators. She has almost 30 people on her team who are devoted to helping coaches and course creators support their clients through the launch process. And she also trains and mentors other professionals who are interested in becoming launch support experts. So Tasha really does it all. And as you are about to hear in today's conversation, Tasha particularly knows her stuff when it comes to supporting coaches who are launching programs, courses or services. We really get into the nitty gritty today. And I suspect if you've got a question about launching, it'll probably be answered in today's show. Now, before we get started with the interview, I do have a quick caveat. It figures that a couple minutes into recording this interview. We had a huge thunderstorm roll through New Bern, North Carolina, where I am recording and as a result there may be about 10 to 15 seconds in the middle of the interview where things get a little glitchy. So when we get to that point, please accept my apologies for the sound quality that is not up to our usual standards. But again, it's only for a few seconds. So I know that you will still get so much value out of today's episode. So thanks in advance for your understanding about that. And without further ado, I am thrilled to introduce you to Tasha Booth.
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Lee: Well, hi, Tasha, thank you so much for coming on the Coach with Clarity Podcast.
Tasha: Thanks for having me! I'm so excited.
Lee: I am too! I've been looking forward to this for a while. So before we get into all things launching, which I know you are known for, I suspect there may be a few listeners out there who don't have a whole lot of experience with you and your fabulous business. So I would love to hear a little bit more about who you are and the work that you do for the world.
Tasha: Yeah, absolutely. So I am Tasha Booth. I'm the CEO and founder of The Launch Guild, we do full service launch support for established coaches and course creators. And that includes podcast launches, memberships, group programs, all the kinds of launches. I have a team of almost 30 at this point, which is absolutely crazy town. But yeah, we have done some huge launches for clients and some smaller launches as well. In addition to what I do in terms of launching, I also coach and mentor launch managers. And we have a certification program for launch managers as well as a program for agency owners. So those who are basically building or growing agency model businesses like I have.
Lee: I love that. So you really have both front facing and back facing services, you help people who are looking to launch and then you also help people who want to support others who are looking to launch as well.
Tasha: Exactly, exactly. Yes.
Lee: Very cool. Now, has that always been the type of work that you've done?
Tasha: No. So going way back, my degree is actually in musical theater. So how did I get here? Still not exactly, sure. But I started my business about five years ago. I was just looking to do some VA work on the side, I had a full time job at the time and I was looking to like pay off my student loan debt and some credit card debt. And my business grew really, really quickly to the point of where I left my full time job within eight months of starting my business.
Lee: Oh wow.
Tasha: I know it was like, it grew insanely. I think part of that was my husband was actually deployed while I was growing my business. So right when I was about starting my business, and so I had a lot of like evenings, weekends, all of that stuff to really intentionally work on it. And so by the time he was almost on his way back from deployment, I was like, :Hey, can we talk about like, me quitting my full time job?” which was a fun and interesting conversation. But yeah, it wasn't anything that I like really had all that much experience in in the beginning. And I just really love – I found pretty quickly that I wasn't a huge fan of like general VA stuff, but I loved launches and I loved the tech of it, and just figuring out all the nuance of it. And so that's why, you know, eventually when I decided to have a team and everything, we decided to go full in on launches.
Lee: That is such a smart way of approaching it too, because I think you know, and there's nothing wrong with being a VA who has more of a generalist approach. But the fact that you were very quickly tuned into the fact that “I love launches.” and “I can do this, and I'm good at it and I want to help other people.” really allowed you to carve out an area for yourself in the online space. And now you're really seen as one of the foremost experts when it comes to online launching. So well done on that.
Tasha: Thank you, thank you.
Lee: And also, as an aside, I knew that we shared a couple things in common, I knew that we both are or were Air Force spouses, my husband's now a veteran. I didn't realize you had a musical theater background. I was also a theater major in college. I've been doing musical theater since I was like eight, so we share that in common as well.
Tasha: I love it. That's why we get along so well.
Lee: I think so! I think so! I am just so excited to have you here because I would say I get a ton of questions from coaches about launching. Many of them feel pretty confident about what it is they have to offer. But when it comes to actually sharing that with the world, that's when it starts to feel a little overwhelming. And so I'm curious, before we even get to the launch piece. What do you feel like coaches should have in place before they even start thinking about launching?
Tasha: Yeah, I think it's a matter of making sure that you have a community that you've already been kind of cultivating and nurturing so that you have somebody to launch to. I think that that's one of the biggest things that we see not so much from our clients. But more so from like the discovery call people that we get and everything. That they sometimes have done the work ahead of time you have those people to launch to, and then it's a matter of like who's actually going to buy these, you know? Who's gonna buy your program? Who's gonna buy your course? So way ahead of time, as before time as you can get in terms of starting to cultivate that community in a really intentional way. Your launch, we always see that like our clients have a better launch outcome when they've taken as much time as possible in order to do that on the front end.
Lee: That makes a lot of sense. So really focusing on cultivating an audience and building that sense of community. Which makes sense, because, you know, I generally don't buy something from someone if I don't feel like I know them, and that I'm connected to them. And so taking the time to really create that strong foundation in your business before launching a major program, or course or so forth, it makes sense that that would be step one.
Tasha: Yeah, exactly. And I think it even can be harder in the online space because, you know, in person, we can feel like we get to know people a little bit faster. In the online space, it's harder to vet people. And so people are usually going to take a little bit more time, especially if they're buying into something that is a higher ticket offer. Which most coaches you know, it's not going to be a $200 something, we're talking about $1000s or multiple $1000s. And so that is a place where people have to really think about that decision. And the more you've given them the opportunity to get to know, like and trust you, the easier that's going to be for them.
Lee: Exactly. And then you can kind of pull in some of that into your launch because you've already built that relationship.
Tasha: Exactly, exactly. Yes.
Lee: So when we're talking about launching, this might be kind of a new term or, or a new concept for some coaches. And so I'm curious to hear from you – What elements do you feel like go into a launch or into a launch plan?
Tasha: Yeah, so I think of launches in and of themselves, as you're just putting kind of a spotlight moment in time on that program course, or whatever you are doing, and you are creating. So I think a lot of people think that launches have to be these huge, gigantic events, sometimes they are, and sometimes it's just a matter of, you're writing a number of emails over the course of a week to your list, right. So they can be as big or as small as you want them to be. I think that that's one of the things that like sometimes immediately, people kind of get overwhelmed in the idea of launching, because they feel like it has to be this huge, multi-week event kind of thing. I want you to really release that feeling, and make it what you want it to be. So I think at the base of it, it's just a matter of how can you amplify what you're already doing, or how you're already showing up for your audience for a period of time.
So that usually when we're thinking about launches, our team thinks of it in terms of like the pre launch, which is when you're kind of gearing up for it, the sales event, which is a webinar, or a challenge, or maybe something as easy as a few extra emails or something and then the actual open cart where you're inviting people into your program or your course or whatever. So when you're thinking in terms of what do you actually need for that, one of the things that I see people doing when they're launching on their own is that they don't think about all the minute details of it. And so we see people take too short of a time in prepping for their launch, and then all of a sudden, they're overwhelmed, because they don't have enough time to do all the things. So I'll give you an example really quickly. If we're thinking in terms of like, oh, I probably need a sales page, right? If we just put down like in our little agenda, like create sales page. That is overwhelming, because we're not thinking in terms of like, “I have to write the copy for the sales page, I have to write the frequently asked questions, I have to write the terms and conditions, I have to decide which testimonials I'm going to use, I have to decide which pictures I'm going to use,” you know, all of those different pieces are all in the create the sales page, but these are things that take weeks, not just a day of compiling. So you want to look at the macro in terms of okay, what is the linear? From, my audience knows about what I'm offering and they need a way to learn more about it. And then they need a way to buy it, right? That's the linear of it. And then what are all those little pieces that go with letting them know about it, learn about it, and then actually buy it?
Lee: That makes so much sense. And it's interesting, because another question that I get asked a lot is like, how long should I plan for a launch? And when people ask that question, typically what they're asking is, how long should my cart be open? Like how long is that sales period? And really launching goes way earlier than that. We need to be looking at all the prep that goes into it too.
Tasha: Absolutely. And that is the piece that people get overwhelmed with. We get people sometimes that fill out, you know, lead capture discovery call forms for us, and we ask them like “When's your anticipated or your projected launch date?” And they'll be like “Two weeks from today.” We’re like, “Absolutely not.”
Lee: Uh, no. No, no. What do you feel like is the ideal sweet spot then for working with someone who wants to launch something? How early do they really need to be thinking about this?
Tasha: Yeah, so we like to work with our clients for at least eight weeks. And we always work within an eight week time frame for most of our clients. If they are either a newer client and new to launching, we might give it 12 weeks, or if they have a smaller audience, and they are going to need some more lead time in order to get their audience prepped and maybe build a larger audience, we might do about a 12, or even we've gone as far as a 16 week launch for brand new to launching people. But that eight week is usually a good amount of time, if you know that you have the capacity and the space in your schedule to be able to really stay on a schedule and carve out some dedicated time, probably every day to be doing things like writing the copy for your emails, writing the copy for your sales pages, and really staying on track in terms of that timeline.
Lee: That makes a lot of sense. So on average, we're looking at eight to 12 weeks give or take maybe a little longer if that audience building that we talked about earlier needs to be factored into that as well.
Tasha: Exactly, yes.
Lee: Excellent. I also love how you broke it down into phases. So you have the prep, you have the sales event, and then you have the actual open cart, where people can enroll. And one thing that I was thinking about as you were talking about sales events was, “Okay, so I'm curious if you feel like there's a given type of event that tends to work better? Whether for coaches in general, or for a particular type of program or course?” Like, do you prefer to see webinars for courses? Do you prefer to see challenges for memberships? What are your thoughts about the actual sales event itself?
Tasha: It's so interesting to me that every audience is so different. Like we have coaches that sell their programs out in a one hour webinar, like that's all people need from them, right? And then we have coaches that need to do like a three to five day challenge to really warm people up and really get people to be able to see them. I'm actually one of those people that my audience does better when they can be online with me for multiple days in multiple touchpoints. And they just like, that resonates with them more than you know, me just doing a one off webinar, kind of thing. So it really depends on your audience. But the great thing about launching is I want people to think about launching as a long term strategy, right? Meaning that you are going to launch multiple times in order to get to your desired goal. Most of the time. Most people I would say 90% – I was gonna say 100%, but we did have one unicorn client. But like, she launched a new course, it was her second course, but she launched it and she made like one and a half million dollars. And she is an outlier, like way outlier. So most people are not going to hit like that, you know, six/seven figure in their first launch. And so know that going in, and know that that allows you to play in a sandbox, and to try a webinar this time, collect the data, see how that resonates with your audience, then try a challenge next time, collect the data, see how that resonates with your audience until you get something that works well enough that you can rinse and repeat it.
Lee: I love that approach Tasha. The idea that we can experiment and play and try new things, and that we don't have to pin our hopes, or the health of our business on a single launch. And in fact, it's probably not a great idea to do that. Like let's really play the long game.
Tasha: It's a really terrible idea. Because when all of your hopes are on that one single launch, there is a constriction that happens in how you approach things. And so every little thing that doesn't happen, you know, ideally, if there's a mistake or something, it all of a sudden gets blown out. Because you're only thinking in terms of like, if this doesn't happen, then my business is like messed up for the rest of the year, you know, and so really being unattached to the outcome as much as we can, having a plan but also being like, “Okay, if this doesn't work out the way that I expected to, I know that it's not the be all or end all.”
Lee: Yes. And a lot of times when those things don't work out, and it happens to all of us, it's happened to me, it's not because my program isn't strong or there's something wrong with me – oftentimes, it's because of an external variable that I just didn't factor in. And now I know and when you know better you do better. Right?
Tasha: Exactly. 100%.
Lee: So it's, this kind of leads me into my next question perfectly, because sometimes we're launching something brand new, brand new program that we've never offered before. But more often than not, we're going to be launching something that is already established. And I'm curious if there are any differences we should keep in mind when approaching a launch for a brand new program or service versus something we've already offered before.
Tasha: Yeah, I think it's a matter of, so there's a couple things. I love this question. I think one of the big things is remembering that if you are really launching something, let's say you had amazing, like, everything worked amazing the first time and you got amazing results and everything. You can't necessarily base the metrics off of that previous, that first launch. The reason is, let's say you have an audience of 1000 people. You have 1000 brand new eyes on your program or your course or whatever. And so a lot of times in that first launch, we see a higher than average, like a return basically, right? We see the fact that like more people than average are going to buy into that? Because your audience is excited and prepped for it. Now, if you only have 1000 people on your list for that next launch, if you haven't grown your list for that next launch, then what's going to happen is you now have 1000 people that have already seen that thing. Some of them, let's say, 200, out of the 1000. That's a really high ROI. But 200 out of the 1000 have already purchased. And so you're really looking at 800 people who have already kind of made the decision on that first launch, whether or not this is right for them. So what that means is, as in between launches is a perfect time to grow your audience so that you have new eyes on that program, on that course, so that you're not just relaunching and relaunching and relaunching again, to an audience that's stale. I think that that's a huge thing that people don't think about, they think like, oh, I have 1,000 or 10,000 people on my list. Well, if you're not growing that list in between launches, those people have already kind of made a decision, and may not be an ideal, not really an ideal audience for you. But just may not be ideal for that relaunch of that program.
Lee: That makes so much sense. I mean, sometimes we do need a longer nurture period. And it takes people a longer time to say yes, but at the same time, we don't want to like over work our existing audience, like we constantly need to be bringing new people into the pipeline.
Tasha: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. The pipeline piece is so super important. And you know, like, even as a launch expert, I've made that mistake in my own launches before where I haven't taken as much care in between launches to really get on top of my lead generation. And we see the difference when like I am on top of my lead generation in between launches. And when I'm not, the difference is just there. The other thing that I want to note about the difference between a relaunch and maybe a brand new thing is when you have a brand new thing, you probably want to take more time on the front end, to start priming your audience, right? To make your audience “problem aware”, as we like to say, in terms of either understanding the step zero. What is that first thing that they need to do or accomplish in order to be primed and ready for your course or your program? Or, what is the thing that they need to know or understand or like the mindset hump that they need to get over in order to know that they are the ideal person and the perfect person for that program or course? So really, it's a lot, that first step, for a first launch is a lot around just prepping your audience and getting them ready for the program or the course,
Lee: That makes a lot of sense. You know, and I'm just thinking, again, back to what you were talking about before, when we create a community that knows us, that likes us, and that trusts us, then when we have an offer, when we're launching. It's just like the natural next step. And so really taking the time to do that nurturing, and to make sure that people are not again, like you said, not just aware of the solution, but aware of how it connects to the problem and the relationship there. And then they see you as the natural next step will ultimately then just bring them in. And it just makes things so much easier when it comes time to actually selling your program, your course, even your one on one coaching.
Tasha: Yeah, it totally does.
Lee: So I think the last question that I wanted to ask you, Tasha was about support. Because as you alluded to, there's a lot that goes into a launch, lots of small details, lots of things that I know the first time I launched there, there were some some oops’es that happened, because I just didn't know. And so I'm curious what support you think coaches should consider incorporating when they are looking to launch a program or a service?
Tasha: Yeah, I think it depends on, we like to think of any person launching into four levels. So, we think of level one, or newer launchers all the way up to level four, which they have launched that same program or service in the past, and now they're just trying to scale what they already know is working. So those level one launchers are probably going to need a much smaller team than like a level four who's got more bells and whistles and everything in terms of Facebook ads, and maybe you know, affiliate program and everything like that.
So when you're thinking in terms of you those first few launches being a level one or even a level two, you probably at least want to have a virtual assistant who is tech savvy and who understands launches. And the reason for that is what often happens when you try to do it completely alone, is that by the time you get to your actual launch, like open cart week, you're exhausted. Right?
Lee: Yes.
Tasha: And the last thing you want to do is show up on social media, be present, be there. And that is the only thing that you specifically need to do. That somebody else can't do on your team for you, right? So if we can alleviate some of that pressure, some of that stress on the front end in terms of just having even a VA, maybe set up all of the emails, maybe put the, you know, sales page copy into the actual sales page, those little things to connect the cart and check everything and you know, check the tech and connect all the stuff, those little things add up, especially if that's not your zone of genius. And then you've taken so much energy, so much time, so much brainpower, to not have to do those things and to have somebody else do them that you can prep, that you can rest, that you can show up as your best self.
Lee: I love that. And I love too, like that's why you talk about making sure that the coach stays in their zone of genius. And so all of these other details, like if you can delegate them to someone who that's their zone of genius, then it just allows you to really double down on serving your clients and showing up as your best self.
Tasha: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I've seen I've seen it again and again, where you know, coaches don't do that. Or just, you know, clients in general don't do that. Or they wait until the last minute to write the emails and to do all of the things. And then they, you know, they forget to show up and be themselves on social. And that's what your community is looking for, that connection.
Lee: Yes. Well, Tasha, I'm so grateful that you have come on the show. There's, I know, we just spoke for like 20 minutes but there's so much wisdom packed into this episode. I know it's going to be one that people go back to over and over again. And I suspect people are going to want to connect with you as well. So where is the best place to find you?
Tasha: Absolutely. So our website is thelaunchguild.com. We are also on social @TheLaunchGuild, especially on Instagram, we hang out there a lot. And we have a new podcast called The Love Your Launch Podcast – what I love about it is it's not just me, it's actually my entire leadership team. So we're kind of tag teaming in and having conversations every other week about launches. And I'm so excited for it.
Lee: Oh my gosh, I'm really excited for that, too. I can't wait to hear it.
Tasha: Yay.
Lee: Well, we'll make sure that we have links to all of that in the show notes. And again, I just want to say thanks for coming on the show. It's been so great to talk to you today.
Tasha: Thank you.
Lee: I so enjoyed that conversation with Tasha, it's clear that she really knows her stuff when it comes to launching. And I loved getting to know her better and realizing that we shared even more in common than I suspected. I knew we had that Air Force background, I didn't realize we were both musical theater kids. So very cool on that, we will have links to all of the ways you can connect with Tasha and her team in our show notes. And of course, Tasha is going to be the guest expert in the Coach with Clarity Collective this month. So, if you are already a member of the Coach with Clarity Collective, then you already have your invitation to Tasha’s private training just for collective members. And if you're not yet a Coach with Clarity Collective member, don't worry because your opportunity is coming up very soon. In just a few short weeks, we will be reopening enrollment for the Coach with Clarity Collective. I will be sharing much more about that on upcoming episodes of the Coach with Clarity Podcast, but in the meantime, head on over to coachwithclarity.com/collective and you'll see a button to get on the waitlist. Go ahead and sign up for the waitlist now and that way you will be the first to know when we reopen enrollment for the Collective. As a Collective member, you will have access to all of the past trainings and call recordings for our spotlight coaching calls, our q&a calls and of course, our fabulous guest expert trainings and you'll receive an invitation to every single call that we hold in the future. That's right every single call, because moving forward in 2022 you will have unlimited access to everything inside the Coach with Clarity Collective for good. As long as the program stands, and I fully intend on it being around a while you will have access to everything. No more never ending monthly fees to maintain your access. Nope, you pay one flat fee and you're in for good. And of course we have payment plans available. So head on over to coachwithclarity.com/collective to learn more and get on the waitlist. That way when we reopen the doors in March you will be the first to know and I cannot wait to welcome you as the newest member of the Coach with Clarity Collective.
All right, my friend, that is it for me this week. Thank you so much for joining me for today's episode. I will be right back in your feed next week. So if you have not already subscribed to or followed the Coach with Clarity Podcast, be sure to do that now. Just look for that subscribe or follow button wherever you listen to your podcasts whether that's in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, you name it, there should be an option to follow or subscribe to the show. And it is free to do so, this podcast is a free service just for you. So when you follow and subscribe, you can ensure that you continue to receive this free content in your feed every single week. I will be back on Monday with a brand new episode. I hope you have a wonderful week. And until then My name is Lee Chaix McDonough, reminding you to get out there and show the world what it means to be a Coach with Clarity.
