Why You Shouldn't Launch a BETA Program and What You Should Do Instead

Are you considering launching a BETA program to get your business off the ground? Well, before you commit, I would love to share with you what I think works even better to give you and your first few clients the best experience possible as you're launching your business. In this series, we're talking about landing your first paying client.

I’m here to give you no-nonsense advice that you can use to get unstuck, out from the overwhelm, and into those first few brave steps of launching your business.

Calling Your Test Program What it is

If you're thinking about getting out there and trying out a program - excellent! That's a great thing to do for your business, but I think it should be called something different. Instead of calling it a BETA program, I think you should just call it what it is. Say whatever it is you're offering, and let people apply for scholarships for that program. I think when we say something is BETA, we believe it offers us some sort of protection; if they hate it or if something goes wrong, we can say, "Oh! It's just BETA," and it can tend to be mostly for us, to save our ego if something goes wrong or was imperfect. But the truth is, you're either doing it for free or for low cost, so, you're really offering a service to these clients, and I feel like you can do them the next level of service by not calling it a BETA program. I feel like you and your clients show up differently when you call whatever coaching package, group offer, or service that you're doing what it truly is.

Scholarship Application: It’s Okay To Be Choosy!

Now, you would still want to be choosy about who you are doing these free services for, and that's why I think a scholarship application can be a great way to do this. You can do this by putting out a little questionnaire asking people a few simple questions:  Why do they want to be a part of this scholarship? How do they think they could benefit from this offer? You will want to pick someone that you feel like would be a good fit for that.

In the beginning of your business, it's such a beautiful give-and-receive: you’re offering free services, and they’re allowing you to get some practice within the role of business owner.

They're getting something beneficial - this free product or service - and hopefully, you're getting something beneficial, too, like a good testimonial if they had a good experience, and if they had a really good experience, maybe they become a paid client of yours!

When someone wins this scholarship, their perceived value of what they're experiencing is higher and more accurate to what you're actually giving, because you are giving them something of value.

We want them to realize they are receiving something of value, be committed, and show up so they get results.

I believe when people pay for something, they show up differently. Winning a scholarship can be similar; even if they're not paying monetarily, by winning the scholarship, they're realizing, "Oh! This is something someone else may have won, so I better take advantage of the opportunity and show up for myself and get the results that I’ve been wanting." That is my advice for you! I know it takes a little more risk, but instead of offering a “BETA thing”, just offer the “thing”, and I would suggest either offering it at a lower cost or offering a scholarship for it, and I think you'll be well on your way.Ready for more help on finding your first (or next) client? Download my free ebook and checklist where I tell you the five things I did at the start of my business to get fully hooked in less than five months. Find it here: www.annafrandsen.com/firstclient