The Mastermind Offer Model: How to Keep Clients for Three Years, Not Three Months (with Jay Fairbrother)
There’s a very specific kind of offer that can quietly become the backbone of your business: a well-designed mastermind. In this episode of The Offer Mojo Show, host Lori Young sits down with Jay Fairbrother — serial entrepreneur, business coach, and self-described “mastermind guy” — to unpack why masterminds are such a powerful premium container for coaches, healers, and thought leaders who want depth, longevity, and aligned income.
Jay shares how masterminds helped him grow his first business from $1M to $10M in revenue, and then later, quite literally helped save his life after losing everything during the 2008 financial crisis. From the emotional safety of long-term peer relationships to the practical “fewer, better, longer” model that supports sustainable income, this conversation offers a grounded and honest look at what it really takes to build a mastermind that works — for you and for your clients.
Key Takeaways
Masterminds can be your premium, long-term container.
Unlike short-term group programs, masterminds can keep clients engaged and supported for years, not months.
Real masterminds are not just glorified group coaching.
Jay estimates that 70–75% of “masterminds” in the online industry are really group coaching with a fancier label.
The true power of a mastermind is the collective brain.
The original Napoleon Hill concept is about tapping into the shared wisdom, experience, and problem-solving of the group — not just the coach.
Masterminds helped Jay 10x his first business.
His fundraising company grew from $1M to $10M in revenue largely due to the insight and support he received in masterminds.
They also carried him through rock bottom.
After the 2008 financial crisis, Jay lost everything and was living in a friend’s basement — the only thing he didn’t quit was his very first mastermind, which supported him emotionally, spiritually, and even financially.
You don’t have to “earn the right” to a high-ticket offer.
Many coaches get stuck believing they must build low-ticket offers and courses first. Jay argues you can move to a high-ticket mastermind faster than you think.
Events are a powerful bridge into high-ticket masterminds.
Jay uses low-ticket (and sometimes free or $1) three-day virtual events to seed and sell his year-long mastermind — and many of his buyers are meeting him for the first time at the event.
Buyers are craving trust and connection.
With AI making information and content cheaper by the minute, people are craving real human connection, intimacy, and psychological safety — masterminds deliver that.
Small cohort size matters for depth.
For a true mastermind, Jay recommends 8–14 people so everyone can have a voice and real relationships can form.
The “fewer, better, longer” model is a path to sustainable income.
You can make more money and have more impact working with fewer clients, attracting a better quality client, and keeping them longer.
Notable Quotes
“My masterminds helped me grow my first business to $10 million in revenue — and then they helped save my life.”
— Jay Fairbrother
“I went from being a multimillionaire living in a mansion overlooking one of the rivers of Pittsburgh to living in my friend’s basement… broke, bankrupt, divorced, alone, humiliated, and frankly ashamed.”
— Jay Fairbrother
“Somewhere 70–75% of what’s labeled a mastermind in our industry is really just glorified group coaching.”
— Jay Fairbrother
“Every single day, the value of content and training and information is going down — because right now AI can train you on anything you want in the world for free in minutes.”
— Jay Fairbrother
“People will join your high-ticket mastermind because of you. They’ll stay because of the relationships they build with each other.”
— Jay Fairbrother
“I was so afraid of being seen as a flake when I pivoted after nine years in business. I was afraid of people judging me online and in networking groups when I said, ‘Guess what I’m doing now? I’m an offer strategist.’”
— Lori Young
“If you’re interested in a program that’s driven by creating more human connection, intimacy, and safety — to me, that leads to better client transformation.”
— Jay Fairbrother
Guest Bio: Jay Fairbrother
Jay Fairbrother is a serial entrepreneur, business coach, and mastermind guru with over 30 years of experience starting, buying, and selling seven-figure businesses. After using masterminds to grow his first fundraising company from $1M to $10M in revenue, Jay sold the business and later lost everything during the 2008 financial crisis. The long-term mastermind he had joined 25 years ago became his lifeline, supporting him emotionally, spiritually, and financially as he rebuilt his life and identity. Today, Jay is known as “the mastermind guy” and teaches coaches, speakers, and thought leaders how to design and launch high-ticket mastermind programs using his “fewer, better, longer” model. He is the creator behind SixFigureMasterminds.com and the story-driven Scalable Coach Magazine.
WEBSITE: https://6figuremasterminds.com
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayfairbrother/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/sixfiguremasterminds
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sixfiguremasterminds/
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@sixfiguremasterminds
HOW TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN CLIENTS FOR 3 YEARS, NOT 3 MONTHS: https://6figuremasterminds.com/clients-for-3-years-bc
Host Bio: Lori Young
Lori Young is the creator of the OfferMojo™ Studio and the visionary behind the AI-powered OfferMojo™ Squad. With over 20 years of experience crafting and launching offers, she blends intuition, strategy, and soul to help heart-led coaches, healers, and experts build aligned offer ecosystems that elevate their authority and support their nervous systems. Known for her grounded integrity, empathetic presence, and sharp strategic insight, Lori guides clients to clarify their audience, structure their core offers, develop magnetic messaging, and step into visibility with confidence — leaving them with everything they need to sell with ease.
The Highlights: Why Masterminds Are a Premium Offer Coaches Can’t Ignore
Most coaches are told the same story: start with a low-ticket offer, build your list with a “quick win,” then someday — after enough people have trickled through your funnel — you’ll be “ready” to launch a high-ticket program. Jay Fairbrother followed that script for a while. He resurrected an old pricing program, created a low-ticket offer, and then tried to build a sales training course for coaches based on his decades of building sales teams. On paper, it made sense. In his body, it felt completely out of alignment. At a three-day event, when asked what he truly wanted to be known for, he realized: he didn’t want to be “the sales guy.” He wanted to be the mastermind guy.
Jay’s relationship with masterminds goes back 25 years. Early in his entrepreneurial journey, he hit a ceiling at around $1M in revenue. Coaches, consultants, and business books weren’t moving the needle. Joining a mastermind for entrepreneurs changed the trajectory of his business and his life. What started as a space to grow his business quickly became something deeper. Within a few months, he watched grown men break down and cry as they opened up about struggling marriages, kids, anxiety, and depression caused by the pressure of running a business. It wasn’t what anyone signed up for — but it was what everyone actually needed.
Because of the insights, accountability, and human connection in that group, Jay grew his fundraising business to $10M and a couple hundred employees. He eventually sold the company in an eight-figure deal and built the kind of lifestyle that looks like the online dream: travel, investments, multiple business acquisitions. Then the 2008 financial crisis hit. By 2012, he had lost everything. He went from multimillionaire in a mansion to living in a friend’s basement, broke, bankrupt, divorced, and deeply ashamed. He quit just about everything — networking groups, relationships, even other masterminds. The only thing he didn’t quit was that very first mastermind he’d joined.
That decision became pivotal. The people in that mastermind supported him far beyond a place to crash or a borrowed car. They showed up emotionally, spiritually, and financially. Jay describes them as brothers and sisters. He stayed in that group for 17 years because, month after month, it continued to deliver value. That experience is at the heart of why he believes masterminds are not just a nice offer to have — they’re a model that can both scale a business and powerfully hold humans through real-life seasons.
When Jay re-entered the coaching industry, he did what most of us do: he followed the “industry model.” Low-ticket offer. Signature course. Maybe a three-day event. Then, finally, a high-ticket program. He built out his courses, launched multiple times, and then looked at the numbers. His mentors told him he was hitting industry averages — and that was exactly the problem. At those averages, the business wasn’t sustainable. It was still more of a hobby. He realized he’d spent about 18 months building low-ticket and mid-level offers when he could have gone to his high-ticket mastermind much sooner.
The shift came when he finally did launch his high-ticket client mastermind. Within six months, he tripled his revenue. He did it using live events as the bridge: three-day virtual events with low-ticket entry points (around $47 for a basic ticket, upsell to VIP with extra sessions and recordings). He also experimented with free and $1 tickets and found his show-up rates were still high — well above what “industry wisdom” would predict. The interesting twist? In his events, about 70% of the people who joined his high-ticket mastermind had never met him before the event. This flipped the traditional model on its head: instead of needing a lower-ticket course to “warm people up,” the event itself created enough trust and clarity for right-fit clients to step into a year-long mastermind.
A key distinction Jay emphasizes is the difference between true masterminds and what’s often sold under that label. In his view, 70–75% of the “masterminds” in the coaching and thought leadership space are really just group coaching programs. The structure is familiar: show up, ask the guru questions, get a few hot seats, call it a mastermind. A real mastermind, he argues, is rooted in Napoleon Hill’s original vision — a space where you tap into a “master mind” created by the collective experience and wisdom of the group. It’s not about one person on a pedestal. It’s about peers in mutual respect.
This is especially crucial in the age of AI. As Jay points out, content and information are being devalued by the minute. AI can train you on almost anything in minutes, and with the rise of AI-generated content, many people are tuning out generic how-to advice on social media. At the same time, we’re experiencing a global crisis of isolation and loneliness. People don’t just want information — they want belonging, psychological safety, and real connection. That’s the gap masterminds are uniquely positioned to fill.
From a structural standpoint, Jay recommends a small cohort of 8–14 people for a classic mastermind. Fewer than eight and you lose diversity of perspectives; more than 14 and it becomes difficult to give everyone a meaningful voice in each meeting. One key principle he teaches: in a mastermind meeting, every person should have a voice. That might mean well-facilitated group discussions, intentional go-arounds, and practices that invite both extroverts and introverts into the conversation. The goal is to create an environment where members feel safe sharing the real stuff — not just the polished wins.
For many coaches, the sweet spot is a hybrid model: part mastermind, part group coaching. That means clients still get your expertise, frameworks, and content, but you also intentionally design for peer connection and collaborative problem-solving. Hybrid models also make it possible to grow beyond that 8–14 size while preserving a mastermind feel. People join primarily because of you, but they stay because of each other. That’s what turns a mastermind from a one-year commitment into a multi-year ecosystem.
Finally, there’s the enrollment piece — and this is where many coaches breathe a sigh of relief. A well-designed mastermind isn’t about letting anyone with a credit card join. Jay is clear: you vet people. You use applications. You’re intentional about protecting the existing group dynamic so you’re not bringing in a “white blood cell” that disrupts the red bloodstream. Over time, this model becomes a dream scenario for coaches who don’t love selling: you’re no longer trying to convince people to join; you’re interviewing them to decide whether you want to invite them into the container.
If you feel drawn to creating a program with more depth, intimacy, and longevity — one that holds both the humanity and the strategy of your clients — the mastermind model is worth serious consideration. As Jay puts it, for coaches, healers, and thought leaders who are driven more by transformation than by hype, masterminds might just be the most aligned way to scale.
