The funnel & offer glossary for coaches

The words behind growing a coaching, therapy or mentoring business — explained in plain English, with examples. Start with an order bump or a value ladder, then follow the links into the deeper guides.

Sales Funnel: A sequence of steps that moves a stranger to lead to customer to repeat buyer. Each step removes friction and builds trust toward a purchase.
Value Ladder: A staircase of offers at rising prices — lead magnet, tripwire, core offer, high-ticket. Each rung builds trust and increases customer lifetime value.
Lead Magnet: A free, specific resource (checklist, assessment, mini-workshop) given in exchange for an email. The first step on the value ladder and the top of most funnels.
Tripwire Offer: An irresistible low-price offer (typically $7–$47) that converts a free lead into a paying customer. The first paid rung on the value ladder.
Order Bump: A low-cost add-on offered at checkout, after the buyer commits to the main offer. It raises order value with one click and zero new friction.
Upsell: A premium version or add-on offered to a customer who has just bought. Upsells ask for more spend; downsells offer a cheaper path.
Downsell: A lower-priced alternative shown when a customer declines the main offer or upsell. It rescues the sale at a price the buyer will accept.
Cross-Sell: A complementary offer from a different category sold alongside the main one. Cross-sells expand revenue per customer without replacing the original purchase.
One-Time Offer (OTO): A special deal shown only once, usually at checkout, with real urgency: take it now or it disappears. Common as a one-click post-purchase upsell.
High-Ticket Offer: A premium offer (roughly $2,000–$50,000+) sold to qualified buyers, usually with custom implementation or 1:1 work. The top rung of the value ladder.
Signature Offer: Your flagship, named program that defines your brand and converts best. Usually the core or high-ticket rung of the value ladder.
Order Form: The checkout page or sequence where a customer enters payment and details. Well-designed order forms cut friction and cart abandonment.
Recurring Revenue: Predictable income from subscriptions, memberships or retainers. More stable and more valuable than one-time sales, and the basis for most platform pricing.
Average Order Value (AOV): Total revenue divided by number of orders. Order bumps, upsells and bundling are the main levers that raise AOV.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): The total profit a customer generates over the whole relationship. CLV sets the ceiling on what you can profitably spend to acquire them.
Cost Per Acquisition (CAC): Marketing spend divided by new customers acquired. When CLV is at least 3x CAC, paid acquisition is profitable and scalable.
Discovery Call: A structured first conversation that qualifies a prospect and presents the offer. The conversion event for most high-ticket coaching and therapy funnels.
Customer Journey: The full path a person takes from first awareness to repeat buyer and advocate. Mapping it reveals where leads stall and where to add an offer or nurture step.