How Many Membership Levels Should You Have?

During a recent coaching call, one of my members asked me,

“How many membership levels should I have?”

It’s one that I’m often asked and the answer is always THREE!

Regardless of your membership business or niche that you’re in – the answer is still three.

Here are 7 reasons why:

1) Three is better than one.
Many membership businesses have just one level of membership. This sounds pretty simple and easy to manage but what ends up happening is that you will have members who are willing to pay you more.

Plus, your members will feel like they’ve utilized all that you provide and eventually leave your program.

2) It gives you an immediate “Ascension System”.
You can easily point your members toward upgrading their membership and increase their involvement.

Plus, when a member tells you they want to quit, you can “descend” them in your membership program.

3) If you have more than three levels of membership, usually one level is cannibalizing the others.
What do I mean by that?

I’ve seen it again and again where a level of membership is actually taking members away from another level, preventing them from ascending and/or creating a lower profit margin when compared to the other levels of membership.

The additional level (beyond three) becomes a distraction from the overall membership business.

4) A confused mind says, “No!”
When you give people too many options they end up saying No.

How will your prospects know which level is best for them? Will they know how to respond?

You may think you’re making it convenient but what ends up happening is that they get confused and end up saying NO!

5) You try to become all things to all people.
You can’t please everyone. If you try to create a membership level for every need your members have, you’ll decrease the impact of your overall membership.

That’s why you package your benefits into the different levels. The levels dictate the benefits, not the other way around. You can’t have your benefits BE a level. Have the levels of membership and then put the benefits into each.

6) You create an easy to follow “membership pathway.”
When you have three levels, you give your members an easy to follow plan on how to “journey” through the membership.

This is an advanced strategy that I share in coaching.

7) It gives you an indication of growth and health in your membership business.
When you have three levels of membership, you can measure it on a bell curve.

The bulk of your members should be in the middle level of your membership program. If they’re not, then you could be charging too little, charging too much, not offering your members enough (or too little) or any host of other problems.

When you’re able to plot your membership numbers and see the bell curve, you’ll know that your business is setup for maximum impact and profit.

So, how many levels do you have in your membership business?

Put me to the test on this. Pull your numbers and see what is happening (or could be happening.)

Without a doubt, if you have more than three levels, you are cannibalizing your membership levels and losing members.

If you have less than three – you’re not helping your members as much as you possibly can and you’re leaving money on the table.

 

If you’re interested in learning more about if and how I can help you scale your coaching business, here are three ways we can work together:

1. Grab a copy of “High-Ticket Coach.” It’s my brand new book on how to create, launch and sell your high-ticket membership offer. You’ll also get a ton of free resources and tools to help sell your current membership offers.

Go here to get your copy.

2. Get a FREE copy of Accelerate: How to Get Your Next 10, 100, 500 or Even 1,000 Members… Yes, you can get a free copy of my brand-new book! In it, you discover more on how to promote your membership, get more members and increase retention.

Go get your free copy here.

3. If you’d like to work directly with me and my team to help you create and sell a high ticket membership… If you’d like to work directly with me and my team to multiply your membership… just schedule a free strategy session. We’ll map out a strategy and then take a look to see if and how we may be able to grow your business.

Go here to complete this brief survey and schedule your free call.

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Scott Whitaker

"The Membership Multiplier"

Scott Whitaker, founder of Membership Multipliers, has been transforming coaching businesses since 2007. With a passion for helping coaches and consultants scale their impact, Scott’s mission is to empower thought leaders to create, launch, and grow high-ticket membership offers. His proven track record includes growing a coaching organization from 72 to over 3,000 members, making it the largest in its niche, and replicating that success across industries like childcare, lawyers, professional services, services businesses, and more.

Scott’s clients achieve extraordinary results through his innovative frameworks, including the "Seven Membership Multipliers." One client sold over $1 million in coaching in just 21 days, while another skyrocketed from $0 to $1 million in a single year. Others have scaled from $1.5 million to $6 million and many achieve over 90% retention in their programs.

As the author of six books, including High-Ticket Coach, High-Ticket Marketing, High-Ticket Events, High-Ticket Retention and High-Ticket Masterminds, Scott equips coaches with blueprints to grow and scale their business. His practical yet bold approach resonates with successful entrepreneurs ready to take their business to the next level. Whether you’re a consultant or a niche expert, Scott’s strategies help you impact more lives and build a thriving membership.