Creating Coaching Programs

Creating and selling your coaching programs can be the key to growing a successful practice. With the CoachVantage 'Aha!' and 'Coaching Teams' plans, you can create an unlimited number of programs, while the 'Clarity' plan allows you to create up to 2 programs.

In CoachVantage, you can create coaching programs and we will generate and host a webpage (the registration page) where your prospects/clients can register (or sign up) for your programs, make payment and schedule sessions, all in one seamless flow.

Any associated files / resources that you wish to make available to your clients after they sign up will also be made accessible to them from within a client account portal.

Once the sign-up/registration process is complete, your clients will receive an email confirmation along with an invitation to create a client account portal. This enables you to manage the onboarding and client coaching journey seamlessly and professionally.

How to Create Coaching Programs

CoachVantage makes it easy to create and publish your coaching programs online, even if you don't have a website. All of your program information, associated files, payment acceptance and scheduling can be configured and set up.

Once you've created and saved your coaching program, a public-facing program registration webpage is automatically created by CoachVantage. Each registration webpage has a unique URL link where clients can sign up instantly to your program.

The registration webpage can be embedded into your website or you can simply share the URL link, for instance in a coaching newsletter, in your marketing emails, on your social pages such as Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

The image below illustrates the coaching programs' registration page for "Acme Coaching" company. It shows a synopsis of two coaching programs that have been created: "Business Coaching" and "Financial Coaching". You will notice that each coaching program has its own unique registration page link.

Step 1: Set up Program Info

Creating a Coaching Program in CoachVantage is a snap! Go to Main Menu>Programs>Coaching Programs (see yellow arrow in image below) to open the Coaching Programs page.

Click Create Coaching Program button (refer to the image above, the (1) highlighted in yellow). The New Coaching Program page opens, displaying the Set-up program info step shown below.
NOTE: where there is a red asterisk (*) next to a field entry, this indicates that it is a mandatory field and must be filled in.

The progress bar on the top of the page shows the progression steps through a total of 4 steps (Set up program info, Add Files, Set up T&C and Fees, and Set up scheduling)
Enter the Program Name of your program. The program name will be displayed on the program registration page. There is a 150 max character limit for the program name.
Add a Program Description. The full description will be displayed on the program registration page. There is a 6,000 character limit for the program description.
A Program Image and Video can be added. These are optional. Use an image that is relevant and representative of your coaching program. (Please comply with copyright laws and ensure that you have the necessary permissions and licences to use the images and videos). The program image is displayed as a banner image on the program registration page. A video can also be added to the program registration page. Paste the URL link of the video source into the Video URL field.
Enter the number of total coaching sessions the client receives with your program.
First Session Duration is the duration of the initial coaching session with the client, in minutes. This may be different from the time allotted for your subsequent coaching sessions, as it is common practice for coaches to have a longer duration for the first session and a shorter duration for subsequent sessions.
Subsequent Sessions Duration is the duration for all subsequent coaching sessions, in minutes. When the Every check box is ticked (off by default), you can specify a number to indicate the frequency of your sessions. For example, every 'X' Days/Weeks/Months/Years. This box can also be left unchecked and sessions can be booked anytime as needed, thus giving you flexibility when setting up your coaching program.
Enter a number into the Program Duration field to indicate how many Days/Weeks/Months/Years the program will run.
The Display info on the registration page is not checked by default, meaning the settings are not shown on the program registration page. This means that the information you have entered for the Total Sessions and Duration is for your reference only. If you check the box, the Total Session & Duration will be shown on the program registration page and will be visible to your prospects/clients.
A Program Intake Form can be added to the program registration page for clients to complete as a questionnaire during the registration process. You will first need to create an Intake Form template from your "Resource Library". If you haven't created an Intake Form Template in your Resources Library yet, you can save this program and return later to add an Intake Form.
TIP: More information on creating Intake Forms is found in the Resource Library section.
Team Access is for coaches who have added team members to their account. Solo coaches who have not added any team members to their account will not need to fill in this field. Your name will automatically be added here.
The Program Registration Page URL name can be customized. Choose a name that best describes your coaching program. Do not use spaces or special characters or symbols. For instance, if your coaching program name is Leadership Coaching, an appropriate URL name would be leadershipcoaching or leadership-coaching (note: no spaces used).
NOTE: Do NOT enter https:// in this field. You only need to enter the descriptive name of your coaching program such as adhd-coaching-for-teens, for example.
A 'thank you' or 'confirmation' message can be customized in the Confirmation Page Settings field. This is the page that your clients will see once they have completed the registration (or sign-up) to your program. Upon successful registration, clients will receive an auto-generated email inviting them to create a client account portal for you to manage the coaching engagement with them. A default message has been added to the confirmation page which can be modified.
TIP: It is recommended that your confirmation message informs your clients to check their inbox for the program confirmation email and to create a client account portal. You can also let them know that any files/resources that you added to this program will be accessible to them in the client account portal.
Display your social icons setting is turned off by default. Moving the button slider to Yes will display your social pages' icons on the confirmation page.
NOTE: Please be sure to set up your Social Media settings in the Business Details page, Social URL section. Once you have done this, your social media icons will be displayed on the program registration page.
Enable Social Share provides your new clients with the opportunity to promote the coaching program on their social pages after they have signed up to your coaching program.
When you enable the Make Program Private setting, the coaching program will not be publicly displayed on your Program Registration Page. However the program is active and the program registration URL link can be shared with your clients and prospects at your own discretion. This setting is set to 'No' by default. You can make a program private by clicking on the toggle switch to set it to 'Yes'.
To automatically log coaching sessions, move the slider to Yes under Log Coaching Hours for this Program. You can select to log the first session in the coaching log or leave it at No to not log the first session. To Log subsequent sessions in coaching log, simply move the slider to the Yes position.
TIP: Some coaches do not wish to log the first session as coaching time because the first session is an introductory / discovery call that does not qualify as a coaching session. Hence, CoachVantage provides the flexibility to log or not to log the first coaching session.
NOTE: The 'Coaching Log' menu item is where you can see a table that lists your clients and the coaching time for each client.
Click the Save & Next button to save your settings and advance to the next step. You can always return to this page for edits later if you need to make any changes.

Step 2: Add Files

Most coaches have a collection of files for clients to work with. When creating a coaching program, you might want to set up the client with specific files or documents that are part of the program and give them access to the files immediately after registration.

With CoachVantage, you can do this seamlessly and productively! There is no need to send clients separate emails or to upload files in other cloud storage providers like Box or Google Drive. CoachVantage manages all this for you and makes the files accessible to your clients from within their client account portal! This saves you and your clients time and keeps everyone organized and efficient.

Once a client successfully signs up and pays for your program, the client will receive an email invitation to create a Client Account Portal. Upon activation of the client account portal, the client has automatic access to all the program files that you added in this step of Adding Files.

Click the Add Files button to open the drop-down to select to add files from:
- Add File From Resource Library
- Add Local File

If you select Add File From Resource Library, the My Resources window opens, as shown below.

1. Files and Folders can be searched by typing the name or part of the name into the Search bar.

2. Tick the box next to the folder name, if you created a specific folder in the Resource Library for the coaching program that should be shared with the client. Ticking the box will make the entire folder contents accessible to the client in the Client Account Portal.

3. Tick the box next to the file name/s that you want to add for this program. The file/s will be accessible to the client in the Client Account Portal.

Click Add on the bottom of the pop-up window to add your selected files/folders.

When selecting Add Local File a pop-up opens inviting the coach to drag & drop any file. Using the Add Local File option you can add documents such as word or .pdf or .xlsx, photos and videos. Using the Local Files option, uploads can be made directly from your computer hard drive, or uploaded from a camera connected to the computer. Uploads can also be made from Facebook, Google Drive, Google Photos, Dropbox Instagram, Evernote, Flickr and OneDrive.

Click Choose a local file, or click any of the provided options on the left to upload files, photos or videos.

Once files are uploaded to the coaching Program Files resources section, they are now accessible by the client on their secure Client Account Portal.

The image below shows uploaded files to the Program Files resources.

Grabbing the drag-and-drop icon, files can be reordered by dragging them up or down.
Files can be deleted by clicking the delete button (the trash bin icon in red).

Step 3: Set up Terms & Conditions and Fees

You have the option to list your terms and conditions for your coaching program, such as cancellation and refund policies. The Terms & Conditions (T&C) will be displayed on the program registration page.

Be default, Terms & Conditions and Fees are not enabled (see below).

To publish your T&C on the program registration page:

Toggle the slider under Terms & Conditions to the Yes position.
A text editor opens, and you can copy-paste your T&C into the space, or you can start typing into the editor. You could also add a URL link to your privacy policy or liability policy on your website if desired.
To get the client to agree electronically to the T&C, move the slider to the Yes position. This way the T&C must be acknowledged and accepted by the client as part of the registration process. If the client does not check the "Agree to Terms and Conditions" checkbox on the registration page, they will not be able to progress to complete the registration.
To charge a Program Fee, toggle the slider next to Are you charging for this Coaching Program to the Yes position.
Select the Payment options, either PayPal of Stripe from the drop-down.
NOTE: You must first have connected your PayPal and/or Stripe account to CoachVantage before you can add a payment option. If you have not done so, Save your program and come back to it later, after you have connected to one of your payment processors in the My Settings > Integrations page.
Click the Add Payment Option to pop up the Add Payment Option window.
Enter a Payment Description (all fields with a red asterisk must be filled), such as one-time payment or monthly payments for a set time.
Select the currency for the client to be billed in from the drop-down menu. By default, the currency will be the currency that you have specified in your Default Currency Settings in My Settings > Invoice & Payments page.
NOTE: If you should ever change your global default currency settings in the future, the currency for your coaching program will need to be manually updated, otherwise it will continue to be in the currency that was initially configured.
Enter the Price for the coaching program
Set to One Time or Recurring from the drop-down menu. You can select One Time and enter the full price of the coaching program.
The payment option can be edited or deleted if needed by clicking the icons in the top right corner of the payment option.
You can offer more choices to prospective clients by clicking on Add Payment Option.
A new Add Payment Option pop up will open. Enter a Payment Description such as 6 monthly payments for example.
Select Recurring from the drop down.
By default, the Every box will be ticked. Select for the payment to be recurring on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis.
Type in the number of occurrences for the payment and click Save.

Now, both Payment Options are made available using the payment provider of your choice. Click Save & Next.

NOTE: For recurring payments, CoachVantage will automatically generate recurring invoices and your clients will receive the invoices in their email as well as the invoices will be available from their client account portal. Your clients will need to take action to pay the invoices by clicking on the Pay Now button on the invoice. Currently, CoachVantage does not support automatic credit card deductions for recurring invoices.

Step 4: Set up Scheduling

You have the option of allowing your clients to schedule the first coaching session with you during the program registration flow. You can give the client the control to self-book the first session with the coach. You are able to configure your available time slots so that you remain in control over when the appointment can be booked.

Allow clients to schedule the first session with you as part of program registration? By default, this setting is set to No, meaning that clients will have to wait for you to reach out to them to make the appointment (see below).
Move the slider to Yes and click Save & Set Up Scheduling (see below), to configure a schedule that works for you.

The Set-up Scheduling page opens, where you can configure your available time slots for clients to pick from when they self-book an appointment with you.
Top of the page displays the name of the coaching program, the coach’s name and a short description of the program.
The session information, such as number of sessions, session duration and program duration are shown.
A clickable link to view the program fees.
A clickable program registration page link to preview the registration page
Location, for the coach to determine how to meet with the client for the first-time session. This can be set to Zoom, Skype or a physical location such as your office or a conference room.
NOTE: If you have integrated your Zoom account to CoachVantage (My Settings>Integrations page), the Zoom meeting URL link will be automatically generated and it will appear in the email appointment confirmation to your clients and to yourself. When you log in to your Zoom account, you will see in the 'Meetings' page, the name of the client and the meeting URL that was generated.
Instructions to Join, such as ‘click on the Zoom link 5 minutes before the scheduled time of the appointment’ or additional instructions. This information will be contained in the confirmation email to your new client.

To configure your Availability Settings, go to Availability Settings for ‘your name’ (see image below).
Availability Settings are always based on your time zone, i.e. the one that you have configured in your CoachVantage account. However, your clients will see the available time slots in their own time zone when they make a booking, as CoachVantage will automatically do the time conversion.
In this field a number of rolling days can be set starting tomorrow. You might only accept first-time booking for this program on a day-to-day rolling basis. Check the button and type ‘30’ into the box. This will make your available time slots for bookings available for 30 rolling days starting from the following day. If you don't disable the program, your availability will continue to be displayed on your booking page continuously on a rolling basis. Alternatively, you can set up your availability for a fixed date range, or indefinitely, as described below in points (11) and (12), respectively.
You can set up a fixed date range for your availability to be displayed on your program booking page. Check the button and click in the from field to get a drop-down calendar to select your starting date. Click the to field to select the end date.
TIP: This setting is useful if your coaching program is available for only a limited time period.
You can set your availability to Indefinitely, meaning this schedule availability will remain always on. This may be the case for ongoing evergreen coaching programs.
By default, weekends are not part of your schedule availability. To enable your weekends to be available for appointment bookings, check the Availability on Sat & Sunday and select the appropriate box below for either Saturday or Sunday, or both.
Depending on the dates set in the Availability Settings, you can now configure the exact hours for each day or days as needed in the schedule. By default, the selected dates start with a 9:00AM – 5:00PM schedule Monday through Friday (unless you selected Saturday or Sunday as well, in which case the time slots will also display for the weekend).

Simply click on any of the time boxes in the calendar to open the Edit Availability pop up window and configure the time blocks that you want to be available for appointment bookings.

Set the From and To available hours. For instance, in the image above, the time is set from 8:00 AM to 11:00AM. To add an additional time interval:
Click on the Add New Interval to create a second From and To time row. To remove these rows, simply click the red ‘X’ next to the box.
You can also select I’m unavailable if you do not wish to be available for appointment bookings for a particular day, or repeating days of the week, or for specific dates, as described below in points (4), (5) and (6):
Apply to a specific date
Apply to repeating days of the week by checking the boxes next to Monday through Sunday.
Apply to specific dates - checking this box will open a pop-up calendar where you can configure the dates by clicking on specific dates in the calendar that pops up.

By configuring the availability settings for one day and making other days unavailable, you can create a custom availability schedule, for example as shown below on Tuesdays between 8:00AM-11:00AM and 3:00PM-7:00PM. This means that your public-facing booking page will only display these slots as your available slots.

NOTE: if you have integrated your external calendar to CoachVantage, and if you have a busy event in your external calendar, CoachVantage will automatically exclude that time interval as an available slot for booking.

Advanced Settings are also available to configure. This will affect how your available slots appears on your public-facing booking page.

Configure Show available time slots on your scheduling page in increments of 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 or 60 minutes.
NOTE: If you set availability increments as 15 minutes, for example, and if your available time interval is set at 9-11 AM, then available slots will be displayed on your booking page as 9AM, 9:15AM, 9:30AM, 9:45AM and so on, until 11AM.
Set the Maximum number of bookings you will accept per day for this event to your preferred number of maximum appointments you want to have for that day.
The Minimum scheduling notice: gives you control of how much advance notice you want to have before a booking can be made. You can set this to any number of hours that works best for you.
Configure the Buffer before appointment to give yourself time padding before an appointment, or
Configure the Buffer after appointment to give yourself time padding after an appointment, for example to finalize notes after a coaching call, or as a buffer for appointment over-runs.

Click Save to save the settings.

Once you have completed setting up your coaching programs in CoachVantage, you're on your way to start offering and selling your programs and start earning income!