Do you know what the hardest part for women when it comes to leading a women’s circle? It has nothing to do with facilitation.
It’s getting women to come to the circle.
Over the past 6 years of leadership development, I have witnessed many incredible facilitators struggle to attract women to their circles, workshops, events and programs.
In fact, I’ll never forget my first facilitator training program when I was so focused on teaching the facilitation skills that I never told them how to get women to come to their circle. And you know what happened? NONE of those facilitators started a circle!
Since making that mistake, I’ve learned that this is the single most important piece of information you need to know if you want to be a circle leader. And while it takes some skill, there are some secret hacks that anyone can use, skilled or not. Simply using these hacks can easily double or triple the amount of women who show up.
These three secrets not only help you to attract women to your circle the first time, but help you continue to grow your circle month after month.
It can be exhausting to feel like you have to always be starting over again each time you do a circle; how would it feel if you simply put an announcement out for your circle and it filled with little to no extra effort?
Here are the three secrets to attracting women and continuing to grow your women’s circle FAST:
Secret #1: Bring a friend (and other discounts)
You don’t have to have a huge network and know a lot of people to start leading circles, and you sure don’t have to do all the sharing on your own. The key is in having women talk about your circle to their friends. The way to do this is to build in a “bring a friend” discount so that they are incentivized to share. You can offer a “bring a friend for free” or “bring a friend for half off” … any of these discounts are great. I also like to have the option to bring 2 friends so for example: 1 woman for $20, 2 women for $30 and 3 women for $40. You can also offer some kind of bonus or even a gift for everyone who brings a friend and give them a raffle ticket, a flower, a chocolate … something to appreciate them at the circle.
Secret #2: Register at the end of circle for the next circle for a discount
So many women miss this opportunity and so they struggle to fill their next circle. At the end of your circle, pass out forms for women to sign up for the next circle that you are offering. Remember, they feel good in that moment from all the oxytocin and are more likely to say yes to coming again. By giving them a discount, you further incentivize them to sign up them and make the commitment because they don’t want to miss out on a lower price. Take payment right then to solidify their commitment. You can also give them free passes to a friend if they register right then, again, giving them an incentive to share with their friends by saying, “Hey, I’ve signed up for this circle because last time was so amazing, and can bring you for free next time. Want to join me?”
Secret #3: Create community partnerships
I’ve saved the best for last. This has been the biggest key to my success in building a local following for my circles as well as building an online following.
Remember, you don’t have to do this alone. You can create partnerships with other community leaders to help draw women into your circles.
Here’s what I mean:
If people love what you do and are inspired by the mission, they want to be part of it and contribute. If they see that there is a win win where they get value for themselves, then they are even more inclined to contribute.
So the best way to partner is to ask other community leaders to co-lead your circles with you. This way, they get exposure with the marketing and at the circle. It’s a win win.
There are various ways you can ask other leaders to co-lead with you. One way would be to select a different woman leader to be your co-leader for a monthly series. The two of you are both promoting and equally sharing the spotlight. This woman needs to be someone who is already actively leading in the community.
Another way is to invite a few different leaders to contribute to a part of the circle. For example: ask one woman to lead the opening meditation, another to lead the movement, and another to do some sound healing at the end. Each leader who help spread the word in exchange for participation.
I created a video that goes further into creating partnerships in our free Facebook group here.
Take Action
Share in the comment below … are their other hacks and secrets that you use to grow your circles? Any of these that I provided resonate with you?
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