Why you shouldn’t create your group programme before you sell it
The biggest risk with creating a group programme isn’t that you’ll mess it up.
It’s that you’ll never actually launch it.
Not because you’re lazy or distractible. Not because you’re not ready.
But because once you start building content without a single buyer in sight, it’s very easy to get stuck there (for years).
You tweak. You tinker. You second-guess.
You convince yourself that if you just finish the videos… the workbooks… the slides… then you’ll feel ready to sell.
But it rarely works like that.
What gets your programme out into the world isn’t perfection.
It’s pressure. Accountability. A real person waiting for what you’ve promised them.
That’s why I’ll always say: sell it first. Build it after.
Is it ethical to sell a programme before you’ve built it?
This is usually the first fear people bring to me.
“But how can I sell something that doesn’t exist yet? Isn’t that dishonest?”
No. What’s dishonest is pretending it’s a fully road-tested programme when it isn’t. Making up testimonials. Acting like it’s a proven system when you’ve never delivered it before.
But if you’re upfront and say:
this is a beta round
you’re offering a lower price
you’re actively gathering feedback as you go
That’s not just ethical. That’s one of the best ways to build a programme that actually works.
Even if you’ve never taught this exact programme before, you’ve probably delivered the work in some form - through 1:1 clients, done-for-you services, or your own lived experience. What you’re testing is how it lands in a group setting.
(That’s exactly how I built the first round of Amplify. The core structure was there, but I built the details live, as people moved through it. The result was stronger because I wasn’t guessing - I was responding.)
Creating your content first won’t make you feel ready
A lot of people think they’ll feel more confident selling once everything’s created.
You won’t.
The doubts you have now:
Will people buy?
Will it work?
Will it help?
These don’t disappear just because you’ve recorded some videos.
Instead, they just shift.
What if nobody buys after I’ve spent months building it?
What if my content isn’t good enough?
What if I wasted all that time?
You’ve just handed your fear something very concrete to latch onto.
Confidence doesn’t come from having a finished product. It comes from delivering it. Seeing people go through it. Watching it help. Tweaking as you go.
You don’t know if people will buy until they buy
Until someone pays you, you don’t know if your programme will sell.
You might have loads of people tell you, “This sounds amazing, I’d love to join!”
But until they pull out their card, it’s just nice feedback.
I’ve had so many clients come to me after they’ve spent six months building a programme, only to launch to crickets. And when we pull it apart, we realise:
the niche isn’t tight enough
the messaging isn’t landing
the offer doesn’t feel urgent
And by that point, they’ve built 12 modules, recorded hours of video, and feel completely stuck about how to pivot.
One client I worked with had spent nearly a year before working together building her ‘signature course’. She was convinced that by having it fully ready, selling would be easy. But when she finally opened doors: zero sales. And by then, she’d built something she didn’t even want to run anymore. We ended up stripping it right back and starting with a live beta, which filled quickly and gave her real-world data to shape the content properly.
When you sell first, you give yourself room to refine it before you sink months into content creation.
You create your best content mid-delivery, not before.
It’s easy to assume you know exactly what people need.
And there’s some truth in this - when you’ve done this work 1:1, you often have a pretty good idea.
But until people are actually inside the programme, doing the work, you don’t really know what’s going to land or where they’ll get stuck.
I’m seeing this right now in my group programme Say What You Think. We’re three modules in, and when I asked for feedback last week, I realised most of them are struggling with something I hadn’t expected.
Not their point of view. Not the content itself. But the structure around it - the habits, the routine, actually sitting down to write.
So I’m pivoting session four to focus on that.
Because it doesn’t matter how good the teaching is if people can’t find a way to show up for it consistently.
That kind of insight doesn’t come from planning.
It comes from being in it. Watching what’s working. Tweaking as you go.
That’s how your programme becomes not just good in theory, but good in practice.
So what do you actually need to start selling?
You need to solve a clear problem - one that feels urgent for your people to solve.
You need to offer a tangible result - something they can picture and want.
You need to explain how you’ll get them there — your method, your perspective, your way of doing things.
You need a simple outline of what you’ll cover.
And you need the logistics — price, format, length, how it’ll run.
That’s enough.
Not a polished portal. Not hours of video. Not a full set of worksheets.
You don’t need to feel 100% ready - you need someone waiting.
Because once someone’s paid, the excuses fall away.
You show up. You deliver.
And the programme gets built - with real people shaping it from day one.
Want more support to shape and sell your group programme?
Serve at Scale School is a great place to start.
It’s a free training where I walk you through:
✅ The business model that’s helped me grow a sustainable, spacious business with just one core offer
✅ How to design a group programme that delivers results and is easy for the right people to say yes to
✅ The simple systems I use to bring in clients consistently, without feeling like a sleazy car salesman.
You’ll learn how to build a group offer that fits you, serves your clients deeply, and grows in a way that lasts.
