EP 293 - How To Sell Coaching in 2026 (Without Feeling Awkward!)
If you want to learn how to sell your coaching without feeling awkward, scared, pushy, or uncomfortable, this episode is for you. Debbie and Nicole from the Business Building Boutique are breaking down what actually works when it comes to selling coaching, especially if you’re a coach who hates feeling salesy, sleazy, or pressured.
Whether you want to get more coaching clients, overcome sales resistance as a coach, or learn how to sell coaching without feeling pushy, this episode will show you simple, proven strategies that work in 2026.
Selling your coaching doesn’t have to feel awkward or uncomfortable. There are real reasons why coaches struggle with sales, and once you understand what they are, selling becomes easier, lighter, and more fun!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How to sell your coaching without feeling awkward, scared, or salesy
What’s really causing sales resistance for coaches (and how to fix it)
How to talk about your coaching so clients feel connected instead of pressured
Why “trying harder” doesn’t work, and what to focus on instead
Sales tips for online coaches that feel genuine and authentic
The mindset shift that helps you sell coaching with confidence
… and so much more!
If you’ve been wondering how to actually sell your coaching in a way that feels aligned instead of uncomfortable, this episode will help you take the next step with clarity and confidence.
Ready to build your coaching business in 2025? Register for our upcoming LIVE workshop here: https://coaching.debbieshadid.com/workshop
Want to grow your coaching business by becoming a speaker at our upcoming Design, Live, Thrive Summit? There’s only a few spots left! Apply now: https://www.debbieshadid.com/apply
Free Resources for coaches:
- Free Masterclass to Grow Your Coaching Business: https://coaching.debbieshadid.com/masterclass
- Canva Workshop: https://coaching.debbieshadid.com/register
Tools I recommend for coaches:
- Flodesk (email marketing): https://flodesk.com/c/DEBBIESHADID
- Descript (video editor): https://get.descript.com/cj4n2vzke4vu
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Transcript
If you've ever felt like selling makes you feel pushy or fake, or you just don't like it, this episode is gonna change how you think about it because selling when done right is one of the most loving things that you can do for someone. I'm Debbie Shaddid I've helped over 10,000 coaches not only build, but grow successful and profitable coaching businesses. I'm excited to be joined by my business manager and friend Nicole. today we're gonna talk all about sales. Nicole, tell us your story about selling. Yeah, so you know, when I first wanted to get into the online business world, start my own business, become a coach, all of that, I started to realize that e selling makes me feel really gross. And also selling is literally the lifeblood of your business if you're not making sales your business isn't alive. And so I realized, okay, if I want to make this difference, if I really wanna provide transformation for people, this is a skill that I'm going to have to learn. So I actually dove deep all the way in. I got trained in high ticket sales, which is sales for any sort of programs, usually over a thousand dollars, but in the 5k to 10k range, more so. so really creating massive transformations for people, and so I felt so uncomfortable at first. before my sales calls, I would literally be sweating buckets the night before I would be up all night rehearsing it over and over again in my head, and I started to realize that you really need to shift your perspective on selling in order to be present on a sales call and really provide the best conversation and transformation on that call. So yeah, that actually launched me into the world, got me into, okay, now how do we book more sales calls? How do we build the business as a whole? But sales really is if I would say one key skill to have. It is so important as a coach. What about you, Debbie? Well, that's funny. You're right. There is no business without sales. I'll tell you, I feel like I've been selling my whole life, and I would love to bring that perspective to everybody here because the truth is you've been selling. My grandkids are downstairs right now, and at 18 months and three years old, I can promise you they can sell us on what they need to do. So if you think about all the things that you have sold somebody on in your life. Not a career that you earned a commission on, but just how you really sell yourself everywhere you go, it can begin, I think to make selling feel lighter. I actually happen to love selling, kind of like you, Nicole, and I really have been honestly, wildly successful at selling, my whole life. And I always made it in a way, whatever the script was that they provided for me, I made it in a way, feel like something that was more comfortable for me. So I love selling. I don't get nervous unless I'm selling something that I'm not aligned with. Yeah, that alignment is key. And I think it's amazing that you love selling. I'd be curious how many of you listening can relate to this? Like, do you love selling? Are you on the opposite spectrum? And like, e selling makes me feel stressed out or maybe a little bit scared. We'd love to hear from you. So comment below, 'cause I know, everybody falls on different ends of the spectrum of sales. You know this one thing you're talking about, like loving sales or feeling yucky about it, is gonna be key to you having a business or not. So I really wanna encourage you to think about shifting your mindset around that because if you don't sell your coaching, you will never have a business. So I'd love to talk about reframing the concept of sales nicole, how did you do that? Yeah, so originally when I first thought about sales, I felt like it was almost manipulative because many of us have this picture of like the pushy car salesman in the back of our head when we think about sales. But while that is one form of sales. It's not how sales conversations need to go. And so what I realized is that selling is not actually something that you do to somebody, which is what can make it feel manipulative. Like I'm convincing them to do this. I'm convincing them to take the next step. Whereas realistically selling is actually something that you do with somebody. So it's very collaborative. It's right alongside of them. And when you reframe it this way, it just becomes a lot more comfortable to talk to them because now you're not trying to force anything. You're actually walking alongside of them, just how you do in your coaching partnership with them down the line, but actually coaching them through this first initial step, which I would argue is one of the most important, committing to the transformation, actually saying, yes, I wanna make the change, and I'm willing to invest in myself to create that change. So Nicole, when it comes to a sales call, I try to show up in the same way that I would as a coach. And you know, I love coaching, I wanna be able to get to know people and. At the forefront of my mind is how can I serve them? I want people to feel like I'm listening to 'em, that they're finally being heard, that, you know, whatever's going on for 'em, they're being validated. And also I want 'em to see what can happen for 'em as a result of coaching. I do wanna caution you though, I don't think you should coach people all the way to the answer of whatever their problem is on a call, because. That's not gonna actually help them long term. Of course, you're coaching them into understanding the value of what it would be like to work with you. Right. And in the work that you do with someone as a coach, like most of the time, you're not actually creating that whole transformation in one call. And if it is one call, it's not the first time you met them and you don't know anything about them. So it doesn't make sense to try to give them the whole transformation, but. To get them to that first step to say, yeah, this is something that I want for myself and I want it now. This isn't something 10 years down the line. This is for me, and I think it's beautiful that you show up in the same way that you do as a coach, because I know one of the things that our clients love so much about you, Debbie, is just how authentic you are and warm and non-judgmental. So no matter what they come with, even questions that can feel so silly, you treat it just. This is a real question. This is totally valid. Like I can understand why you're asking that. and I think that this just brings it back to the whole idea that every human on this planet, I believe, has a core need to feel known, seen, and loved. just truly understood for who they actually are, being loved for where they're at, and so you get to give this gift to somebody on a sales call because you're actually asking them questions about what's going on with you. Oh wow. What have you tried? What is that like? How does that show up in your life? And these are questions they've probably never been asked before. So when you come across it that way, you really get to feel like, oh wow, I'm creating a real transformation for people on these calls and I get to do it from a place of love. I'm thinking about people telling me how nervous they are on a consultation call, and that always, is an interesting reminder for me because that's not the way I feel when I'm on a consultation call. But it's important to think how somebody might be. So many coaches don't realize that when somebody comes to a consultation, it might be their first time they've ever done this, they don't know what to expect and so they are nervous and there's that selling at them, talking over 'em, not listening to 'em, having them not feel heard, or that kind of working with them through the call. That's the difference when I think about that comfortable conversation that you can have with someone. And I like how you talk about it as a comfortable conversation. I think a big key here is that like, yes, you're actually walking alongside them. As we mentioned, sales is something that you do with them. And like you said, they might not actually know what to expect. They might feel nervous, they might feel like, are they gonna judge me? Can I actually open up? So there's a little bit of this balance of walking alongside them and having that. Slightly leadership roles that you can hold the container for them to open up to really introspect and say, is this a transformation that I wanna make? So I feel like that's why it's important to have some sort of a structure. Yeah. Because a lot of us try to do it super intuitively and then we end up feeling panicked and like, am I listening to everything? Did I gather everything that I need to know? So I would actually be curious. Debbie, do you feel like that is one of the reasons that you feel more comfortable on sales calls is the framework that you've created? A hundred percent. And I can tell you this is something just briefly that we do inside of the business building boutique. We teach everybody a framework for selling. And here's the thing, if you get somebody on a consultation. You better know what you're doing. in the beginning, Nicole, you mentioned the word practice and I love that because we often don't think about practicing about having this comfortable conversation, and the framework helps you do that. You know, don't get somebody on a consultation call and waste their time by not being able to have a proper conversation with them because you weren't prepared for it. Yeah, exactly. And it's difficult because, well, how do I prepare? Right? it's not like how I mentioned at the beginning, staying up all night and playing over all the iterations of the conversation in your head. I can tell you from experience it does not work and it is not helpful, but having sort of a structure that you can lean on, that you can be present and flow with them and go on a little bit of their tangents, but then bring them back. Oh my goodness. That's another key point. You have to know how to control the call, and this is something we talk about often because you'll get somebody on a sales call who could talk the whole entire time, and you can't get a word in edgewise. So you've gotta really learn the skill to comfortably say, okay. Let's move on to, you know, however you're going to say it, but you are the one, again, you mentioned the word leading. You're leading in the conversation to be able to help them get through all you need to get through, to really be able to help them make a good decision, and also to allow plenty of time for you to actually make the offer and handle the objections. Yeah. And so I think it's a little bit funny here because we talk about practice, but then a lot of the time there's this thought of, okay, well I'd love to practice, but how do I get people on a call? How do I even book said calls to get this practice? So I'm curious what you'd recommend there, Debbie. Oh my goodness. I have to tell you about our summit. I can't be in this conversation without bragging about what we do for our clients. We have something called the Design Live Thrive Summit, and many of the people that come to work with us, they've never had a sales call, And we teach 'em all the marketing. Of course, you have to be able to. Build some know, like, and trust, help people understand what you do, be able to communicate effectively. But yes, you've gotta get 'em on your calendar. And the summit that we have for our clients where they're featured speakers, we actually help them get booked calls. So we just finished up a summit, and we're preparing for our next, right now, and We actually had clients before this summit was actually over who already had calls booked on their calendar. We had a client by Monday morning. They spoke on Saturday by Monday morning, had 16 calls booked on their calendar. So yeah, getting calls booked on your calendar is an important piece of the puzzle for sure. Yeah, no, I love that you actually help your clients to book a call on the summit. It not only helps them to practice, but it creates such a deep transformation for all the people who attend the Design Live, thrive Summit. And I know that's one of the reasons it's so loved. but you know, aside from speaking, like this is one of the ways that you can book calls, we also talk a lot about having conversations. It doesn't always start with the call, but having a little bit of a conversation that can lead to the call. so giving sort of a structure to how are you marketing your business? This is something Debbie talks about all the time. If you're not marketing and putting yourself out there, then what is there to talk about? Who's gonna reach out and start these conversations? Well, and there's even the follow up. I mean that There's the pre-consultation or pre-conversation as I like to call it. Then there's the actual time that you're talking to somebody. And you know, I hope that you can close every sale on the call, but realistically, there's gonna be some people that need some follow up and what does that even look like? So there's gonna be a follow up process that's gonna be, it is actually part of our framework, but also something that you have to figure out works for you and that feels comfortable for you. But really it's our job to be the ones to follow up. It's our job to be able to help them with whatever it is that they need to make that comfortable decision, of how to move forward with us. Yeah, and I think it's key as well that you mentioned follow up, not just for the fact that, you know, they actually say the fortune is in the follow ups. If you're not doing follow up, you're missing out on all this money. But beyond that, it's just, you know, sales is a journey. It's a process. Sometimes it's short and sweet because they've already heard you on YouTube and they already know all your frameworks and they're like, let's just do this. I know I need your help. You're the one, and sometimes it takes a few more touch points, right? Maybe you haven't been talking about your coaching that much, so it takes like hearing a little bit about you from speaking on the summit and then getting on a free coaching call with you and getting that like no and trust built to then. Book another call that might become a sales conversation. So I'd also encourage you, especially if you're a new coach, don't just be like, I got one call booked and everything hinges on this. It's all about relationship building. You're doing this with the person, you're getting to know them. today I was working on the information for the summit, and one of the things that I did was I created a training video on how to do your calendar set up and how to create a link. For somebody to book a consultation with you, and even this Nicole, is part of the process. Through the link that you make on your calendar, you're gonna have certain messages that the person receives to get prepared for the call. You might even gather some data before the call so that when you come to the call, you're also prepared to help that specific person based on what they completed on the form. So there are literally so many ways. That you can prepare, not just understanding the conversation, but also understanding the person that's coming to have the call with you. What it is that they desire. Their problems are, there's lots of things that go into really effectively selling your coaching and just building the business that you're hoping to build. Yeah, no, those Calendly forms are so helpful. And then you can really get to know the person even before they hop on. Maybe you already get to, I don't know, check out their website or it of course depends on what you're selling. but all in all, I'd say the key to making sales, especially as a coach, is that you need to feel confident. You need to feel confident in your coaching, in your offer, in your messaging, and also in how you're showing up on that call. So if you're not feeling confident, it's not just, okay, well I'm not good enough, but what along the way is. Making me still feel stuck. What am I still not feeling a hundred percent about? What am I still stuck on myself? Because they can feel that even if you're not saying it on a sales call, people can really feel it. So, you know, in the business building boutique Debbie teaches sales, but we also have. So much that goes even before the sales, that once you're actually on the call, you know who you are as a coach, you know your unique value. Like yes, of course. And you know who it's for, right? Because you might be on a call with somebody and be like, you know what? You're actually not really the right fit for me. Yeah. Which is totally fine. Yeah. When you are aligned with the right niche and the way we work clients, you know, through the niching process, through their messaging process, their offer, all of that stuff, it makes a sales conversation easy. It's really not that hard because you really know, you mentioned your value of, you know who you are, how you can help 'em, and you really understand your ideal client. I just wanna mention Nicole, for anybody who's listening that you're like, okay, this sounds interesting. I wanna invite you guys to come to our upcoming workshop. If you'll just come at the word workshop right here, either in the show notes or in the comments on YouTube. Comment the word workshop and we will provide you with a link. We actually do complimentary education twice a month where we teach all the concepts that we're talking about today. So you can learn a little bit more about what it takes to be the person who understands if you've got the right niche or how to write your marketing message, or even how to have a sales conversation because we have sales training workshops as well. Yeah, totally. And the cool thing is, is Debbie actually gives a little bit of coaching on these workshops as well. There's always a q and a at the end, so no matter what the topic is, it's going to somehow come full circle around into exactly what you need to hear that day. So I would love to ask you, Nicole, what do you think the biggest mistakes are that people make when they are having a conversation with somebody or a consultation? What do you think the biggest mistakes are? Hmm. That's a really good question. I would say there's three big ones that really come to mind for me. One is just overall feeling nervous and like you need to figure it out all by yourself. When you're showing up on the calls nervous and you don't, maybe you haven't been taught how to sell before, maybe you haven't actually been taught how to communicate your offer. Of course it's going to come across, and of course those consults aren't going to be as effective. So number one, just letting your nerves take over the whole process. Like it's okay to get some support. You might need somebody to teach you their framework or to help you. Like when somebody says this objection, what do I. Say, and then once you actually hear that and learn it, it starts to click. Just like in your coaching, right? Like maybe you were not as certain about providing the transformation that you're able to provide for your clients now, but because you have learned that structure, it helps you to get over the nervousness. So that's number one. Number two, I would say is sticking too much to a script. Because as much as you wanna have a framework, if you're just like, oh yeah, hello, welcome. And you know, your next question doesn't even lead on to anything that they just said, then it feels weird for you and for them, that's not a conversation, you're not doing it with them. So having a structure, but again, one that allows you to flow through it so that it can feel natural, feel comfortable, and feel authentic. And then finally I would say it often comes down to the offer, and I see this more often than not, is I actually don't even know what my coaching offer is, or I don't know what I'm gonna charge, or I don't know how to explain what that transformation is. If you don't have that baseline knowledge, then how are you supposed to present it in a way to another human that they're going to say, yeah, this makes me feel held and supported and I can see myself in that transformation that you can provide. So I think even sometimes, just like taking a little bit of. Step back to really understand who am I here to serve? What am I helping them to transform through? How are we gonna make that happen? so just really having that whole structure of what we would call a boutique style coaching business. Right. Debbie And I was thinking the same thing, like people make the offer up in their mind on the call with the client. They're basing their offer based on what the client is saying. So if the client's like, well, yeah, it's been a stressful week. My car broke down. All of a sudden they're changing the offer in their mind of what it's gonna be, and they're making it up on the fly. That is like a big, big mistake. The other thing that I would say is that, people discount. You know, I'm in favor of offering value. I'm in favor of, having some great discounts. and we do that too, but I'm talking about offering a discount, trying to get somebody to buy. That's a different kind of way to sell if you're like, it's this much money and you think they didn't respond the way you wanted them to, like they needed a moment to process the price. And then you're like, but listen, I wanna work with you, so I'll give it to you for this price. Terrible, terrible move. And I know that new coaches really, when it gets to the money part, that is a place where they get all tangled up. Yeah, that is such a good point. The pricing piece is huge and the thing is, to say, ah, I think it's a little bit outta my budget is actually like the easiest out. And most of the times it's not true, right? So I think just really understanding like how can we overcome that objection and not just thinking about overcoming it.'cause sometimes when you say that people feel like it's kind of broy or sleazy, but more so like, how can I go through? Through the smokescreen that they're putting up to get to that real problem that they're feeling.'cause more often than not, it's, I don't actually know if, even with the support, I'm gonna be able to make this happen. Yeah. Or other fears like that beneath it. oh, we could go on a whole conversation about that, Debbie. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and then, you know how often I hear a coach who has had a sales conversation and then they're like not prepared to give 'em a link to pay. This is another really big rookie mistake. These are all things again, that we kind of work people through. All those things that you're not thinking about. If you don't have a link for somebody to pay right then, you're not prepared to be having a sales conversation with them. Totally. Yeah. So I mean, we've covered a lot here on sales, and I hope that this is helpful because sales has been such a thing on my heart in terms of I've went from feeling so gross and sleazy about it to really loving it and seeing as such an important transformative part of the coaching process. So Debbie, what sort of like closing thought would you like to leave us with? Well, I know you are here because you are passionate about what you do, and I am so passionate about coaching too. But here's the thing. Unless you get comfortable with selling, unless you can maybe not learn to love it like I do, but unless you really feel like I have to get comfortable with selling because I wanna work with people, I wanna serve people, I wanna change lives, I know I'm meant to do this, you're not gonna get to do what you want to do. Unless you get comfortable with having this conversation, unless you're good at overcoming the, said money objection. So I really wanna encourage you to learn to love sales. Again, come at the word workshop. If you wanna come and learn from us. We'd love to have you. Be in our presence. I would be happy to coach you after a workshop and maybe even help you overcome one of your own objections around selling. So Nicole, thank you so much for being here. I absolutely love having you here as a guest. I can't wait to have you again. You guys make sure you listen to our episode that we recently did. It'll be linked below. Yes. And thank you again, Debbie. This has been amazing. All right, you guys have an amazing week. Now go do something about your business. Go have a sales conversation, make an offer to somebody, connect with somebody and do it in a loving way. Okay? Have a beautiful day.
