If you have considered starting a membership program, this interview is a must read! We talked with Lisa Princic about her membership program, Scaling Deep and how she was able to build her multi-six-figure membership business.
Lisa shares how to make your offer irresistible, how important communication is to sell and what is most people’s biggest challenge when starting a membership.
Make sure you read to the end to check out Lisa’s links and packages she has available to help you build your dream business, while having more flexibility (and income!).
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to start your business?
I started my business in 2009 when I’d just finished setting up my website and email list after becoming a life coach in 2008. My big impetus was to have more flexibility and freedom to live in a small town with an outdoorsy lifestyle and still do meaningful work.
It’s been a long road from there to here, because I honestly didn’t really have the hunger initially to work hard and make lots of money. Plus, while there were way less people in the market at the time, technology was really challenging.
We didn’t have the integrations or tech back then to connect everything. You had to be really techie or really patient to pull off a true online business. I was neither of those so it took a while to get going.
2. What inspired you to start your membership program, and what were some of the key factors that contributed to its success?
I’d been working with service providers, both online and offline, to develop their offers, funnels with VIP Days.
Despite loving this way of working with people, I knew I was leaving money on the table by not having a follow-up program to continue supporting them.
Plus I wanted more income stability from a 1:many offer. I knew I needed a scalable, signature program and struggled to figure out how I’d develop a compelling group offer that catered to everyone’s needs.
I really wanted a playground for my business that would offer continued support that was less expensive than private. So I launched my first membership and invited past clients.
A number of people jumped in and they showed up regularly for calls. I didn’t provide content, just calls. Knowing I could guide people for a whole year gave me the confidence to create the Scaling Deep Society with a much narrower focus (membership business owners) and I’ve had that program for 3 years.
Critical success factors for any membership program are strong positioning, a clear outcome, copy that converts and understanding how to sell. I use all of my own tools for my own business and teach my members all these foundations.
I also believe firmly in getting membership when scaling. It’s really hard to get perspective and know how to optimize without an excellent guide.
3. What are some common challenges that individuals or businesses face when launching or growing a membership program, and how do you help them overcome these challenges?
I find positioning and sales is the biggest challenge for people.
Clients come to me because they don’t know where to start or what to change and it turns out that they usually don’t have a clear enough value proposition (trying to serve too many people with a vague brand promise) or they simply don’t sell properly one-to-many.
It takes confidence and strong communication to sell without sales calls. Without those, no one knows what the offer is, why it’s for them and how much it can help. And then, they don’t buy.
Positioning is my superpower so I help people on how to make their offer irresistible, price it, write excellent sales pages and create their email sales campaigns.
Yes, I also help people match the value of their offer to the price they want to charge so they don’t over-deliver and undercharge but that’s usually a lot easier for them than creating an awesome sales funnel and sales page that converts.
4. In your experience, what are the most important elements for creating a thriving and engaged community within a membership program?
You just need to have a strong outcome and purpose for the group and a way of attracting members who are really drawn to that outcome and committed to getting it.
If people don’t show up, they won’t get there. I think it’s less about forcing engagement and more about making it easy for them to take action.
Every membership looks different. Some can have chatty communities and others have more mentorship and some only content.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all model. It has to match the zone of genius of the business owner (so it’s easy for them to provide value) and have deliverables that truly move the needle of its members.
5. Could you walk us through the steps you took in creating your membership?
I just launched. I mean, I knew my content so I created a course that walks people through the same steps I’d use with a VIP client and then created a call schedule for Q&A. I started with the simple tech that I had and built upon that.
The nice thing about a membership is that content accumulates so you don’t have to always add new things. There’s plenty of trainings to point people to depending on what they’re working on.
I also find that all you need is a loose plan and the things that work will gel and others will drop off. It’s an evolving program so there’s no need to etch anything in stone.
I started very small with a small list so it’s changed and grown slowly over time. If I had a larger following and was launching a brand new membership, I’d do more planning and walk myself through the trainings that I take people through inside Membership School (the core program inside my membership).
6. What does a typical day look like for you?
I either have meetings in the mornings (I’m on Pacific time) or sneak in a couple of pilates classes in the week and then work on optimizing my own sales campaigns (emails, FB ads or practicing my webinar) or helping my VIP or mastermind clients on Voxer.
If I’m not overdoing it (which I have been but finally slowing down) my schedule is actually very light. A membership business is VERY flexible and delivers a lot with very little time and I really spend most of my time working on my business.
7. How do you approach pricing and packaging for membership programs, and what strategies have you found to be effective in maximizing revenue while providing value to members?
I think the value of the program has to match the transformation they can expect. This will increase engagement and commitment to the program. I have a ton of pricing courses inside my program because it’s just so important to get this right.
I also think we can be creative with how we sell it, because just because the content delivery and cadence of the program is delivered month-to-month, it doesn’t mean we have to have a “cancel anytime” monthly subscription.
My course on pricing talks about the 4 pricing categories and how to decide which one is best for you and your business overall. Whatever people do, don’t undercharge!
A race to the bottom isn’t a competitive strategy and often backfires. That’s why memberships close down! The pricing isn’t sustainable.
Packaging requires in-depth consideration and will be based on your pricing, deliverables, LTV and what it really takes to bring committed people (who will do the work) inside your program.
I have a full module on several packaging options and which ones are best for whom inside Membership School.
8. How much do you earn with your business?
I’m still gaining growth and experimenting with bigger risks and ad spend so while I’d love to share this, I feel like it’s too unpredictable and I wouldn’t want to pull a number out of the air. I am aiming for multiple 6 figures this year. We’ll see!
9. What platform/tools do you use for your business?
Because I’ve been around for so long I have it all. Thrivecart, Mailerlite, Heartbeat, Zapier, New Zenler, Voxer, HelloAudio, DeadlineFunnel, Asana, YouTube, Libsyn.
There are many others but these ones I use regularly. I’m not the kind of person to jump on the latest app. I like to keep it simple.
10. What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own membership?
Start sooner than you think and get paid to learn about your best clients. I don’t think there’s a right time to do it. They just have to take the leap.
I do think getting support through a program like mine, Membership School, takes a lot of confusion and guesswork out of it. They’ll have way more confidence to launch.
11. What is your vision for the future growth and development of your business?
I love my offers and I’m just looking to continue bringing more and more people into them because they are powerful and really help people.
I also love working with people through my membership, mastermind and VIP packages so I don’t plan to run down any bright shiny rabbit holes this year. It’s all about optimizing now. Consistency for the win!
12. How can others find you- as we are all fans of you now?
I love to stay in touch on email with my people. And have a free training that anyone can access and I’ll share the latest things going on with me: https://scalingdeep.com/training/
I’m on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisaprincic/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/lisaprincic
Or find the Scaling Deep podcast wherever you listen.
Wow! Thank you so much Lisa Princic. This information is so valuable and really got our wheels turning when thinking about starting a membership. A membership can be such a useful tool to help so many of your followers. I have really been giving this a LOT of thought. (Hint, hint!!!)
Make sure you check out Lisa’s links and check out her offers if you are thinking of starting a membership yourself. I have personally worked with Lisa and she truly is an expert on memberships!