The One Skill Every Coach Needs If You Actually Want to Make Money
Many of us entered this path with a simple, unwavering desire: to help others.
We studied. We honed our craft. We invested in mentors and communities that nourished both heart and mind.
But the reality is you didn’t become a coach because you wanted to “run a business.”
If you want coaching to become a business—not just a passion—you need one skill that makes or breaks that next level.
And it isn’t getting another certification
Nor is it bartering more hours with another fellow coach to get the experiences
Not even an impeccably designed a fancy website that no one visiting.
It is the art of selling.
Yes. Selling is the single most important skill you need if you actually want clients and consistent income.
Why Selling Matters More Than You Think
I see this all the time with brilliant women in this space.
Coaches with deep intuition, empathy, and wisdom. Coaches who create genuine shifts for their clients. Women who know how to hold space where real change happens.
In the coaching session, they are in their zone.
Clients leave feeling empowered, seen, expanded.
But when it comes time to move the relationship forward—when it’s time to make the offer, to invite the client into a paid container—this is where things stall.
Suddenly, there’s hesitation.
Thoughts like: “I don’t want to come off as salesy.” “I just want to be of service.” “If I keep giving value, the right people will find me.”
I get it.
Selling can feel unnatural—especially for heart-centered coaches. You got into this work to help people, not to “sell.”
But here’s the reality: if you’re not selling, you’re not building a business. You’re running a passion project.
You can have a stunning Instagram feed. You can collect certifications. You can grow an engaged community.
But none of those things—on their own—convert to paying clients.
The bridge between "I love coaching" and "I get paid well to coach" is sales.
And until you learn to confidently and consistently sell your offers, your business will stay stuck at the “hobby” level—no matter how talented you are or how valuable your work is.
What Selling Actually Is (And What It’s Not)
One of the biggest reasons coaches avoid selling is simple: they misunderstand it.
Somewhere along the way, the word “sales” became tangled up with images of pushy tactics, sleazy scripts, and manipulative pressure.
And as a result, many talented coaches shy away from it entirely.
To get better with selling, let’s start from what it is and what it is NOT
Selling is not:
Manipulating people into decisions that aren’t right for them
Forcing anyone to buy something they don’t need or want
Sending cold DMs to strangers or even those you just connected with canned pitches
Using false scarcity or over-hyped promises
That is not sales.
That is bad marketing—and none of us need to operate that way.
Now, here’s what selling actually is:
Clearly communicating the value of your work
Showing prospective clients what outcomes they can expect
Leading someone through a decision-making process with clarity and integrity
Creating intentional opportunities for the right people to say “yes” to working with you
Receiving payment in exchange for the results and transformation your coaching provides
At its core, selling is about service.
It is about helping someone take the next step toward the change they desire—and getting paid for the value you deliver.
When done well, selling is not something you “do to” a client.
It is something you do with them—through leadership, transparency, and trust.
Why So Many Coaches Struggle With Sales
Now, if selling feels uncomfortable for you—you are far from alone.
In fact, most of the coaches I work with come up against the very same challenges. And when you unpack them, they make perfect sense.
Here are four of the most common reasons why this skill trips coaches up:
1. You want to help—not “market.”
You entered this work to make a difference in people’s lives. You value connection, transformation, service. And somewhere along the way, you may have internalized the belief that “marketing” is separate from service—or even in opposition to it.
Marketing and selling, when done with heart and integrity, are powerful acts of service.
They are how you help the people who are looking for what you offer find you, trust you, and say yes.
2. You fear being judged.
This is a common inner dialogue:
"What if people think I’m being pushy?"
"What if my audience gets tired of hearing about my offer?"
"What if I turn people off?"
These are natural human fears. But if they go unchallenged, they will keep you from showing up boldly. And the cost is this: the very clients who need your work may never hear about it in a way that moves them to action.
3. You think clients will just “find you.”
There is a romanticized idea in the coaching industry that if you simply “serve,” the right people will magically appear.
Yes—consistent value matters. But without clear invitations and offers, most people will not take the next step.
People are busy. They are inundated with content. They need you to clearly articulate: here is what I offer, here is who it is for, here is how to work with me.
4. You think selling is about you.
It is easy to make sales feel personal:
“What if they reject me?”
“What if they say no?”
“What does this say about me and my work?”
But this mindset puts the focus in the wrong place. Selling is not about you. It is about your client.
It is about their needs, their goals, their dreams—and how you can help them achieve those outcomes.
When you center your client, selling becomes an act of leadership and service—not self-promotion.
The Good News: Selling Is 100% Learnable
Here is the part I want every coach to understand—selling is a skill.
Just like coaching, it is something you can learn, practice, and improve over time.
No one is born knowing how to sell.
And you do not need to have a “sales personality” to succeed.
You do not need to force yourself into a persona that feels inauthentic.
You do not need to follow a cookie-cutter script that strips the humanity out of your conversations.
In fact, the very qualities that make you an excellent coach—empathy, listening, curiosity, intuition—can make you an exceptional salesperson when applied the right way.
But here’s what you do need:
You need to learn how to sell in a way that aligns with your values.
You need to build language and processes that feel natural to you.
You need to develop the mindset and confidence to show up consistently, speak about your offers, and invite people to work with you.
And this is absolutely learnable.
You already have what it takes—you simply need to refine the skill set.
The coaches who master sales are not the ones with the flashiest brands or the biggest audiences.
They are the ones who learn to sell with clarity, with integrity, and with a deep belief in the value of their work.
And that is available to you too.
Three Shifts That Will Change How You Sell
If you want to strengthen your ability to sell—and in turn, grow a thriving coaching business—this is where to begin.
These three mindset and strategy shifts will make a tangible difference:
1. Shift from “I hope they like me” energy to “I know this is valuable” energy
Many coaches enter sales conversations subtly seeking validation—hoping the prospect will like them, approve of them, or affirm their worth.
But this puts all the power in the hands of the potential client—and unconsciously communicates neediness.
A far more powerful stance is this: I know the work I do is valuable. I trust that for the right person, this is an incredible opportunity.
When you show up from that place—steady, clear, and grounded—you become naturally more attractive to those ready to invest.
2. Talk about your offer often—and clearly
Here’s one of the biggest reasons coaches stay stuck: they aren’t talking about their offer nearly enough.
Your audience is not sitting around studying your every post. They are busy, distracted, and often overwhelmed by content.
If you’re not speaking clearly, consistently, and frequently about your offer—don’t be surprised when people don’t buy it.
Here’s what your audience needs to hear, again and again:
What you do
Who you help
What results or outcomes you deliver
What it looks like to work with you
How to take the next step
If you aren’t saying these things out loud and often, your audience is left to guess. And guessing does not drive buying decisions.
Clarity wins. Consistency wins.
3. Shift from “closing a sale” to “qualifying for alignment”
When your focus is simply on “getting the sale,” it’s easy to slip into convincing energy.
But that is not what serves you—or the client.
Instead, adopt this mindset: your role is to qualify whether this client and this offer are a fit.
You are not trying to make everyone say yes. You are discerning whether the person in front of you is an aligned match for your work.
This not only creates more integrity in your business—it builds deeper trust with your audience, because they will feel your commitment to alignment over chasing revenue.
How Your Social Media Presence Is Meant to Work For You—And How It Ties to Selling With Alignment
If you truly want to sell from a place of alignment, it begins long before you get on a sales call or send a DM.
It starts with how you show up in your everyday presence—your social media content, your emails, your voice online.
Think of it this way: your content is the first layer of your sales process.
Every post, story, video, or email is an opportunity to do three things:
Communicate your core values and beliefs
Educate your audience on your perspective and methods
Pre-qualify the right clients—while gently disqualifying those who aren’t a fit
When you show up consistently and transparently in your content, here’s what happens:
By the time someone reaches out or applies to work with you, they already feel aligned with your message. They already understand your style. They already resonate with your approach.
Which means—you are not trying to “convince” or “close” on the sales call. You are simply continuing the conversation they have already been having with you through your content.
You are qualifying for alignment.
And this is why it’s so important to show up authentically and consistently—your content should do some of the filtering work for you.
When done well, here’s what happens:
The clients who reach out already know what you stand for.
They already understand the transformation you offer.
They already feel called to your way of doing things.
And they are not comparing you to a sea of other coaches. They are choosing you—because your message, values, and presence already created a sense of trust and resonance.
In other words: your social presence should serve as an aligned filter—drawing the right people in and gently repelling those who aren’t meant to be your clients.
When you approach it this way, sales calls feel natural, relaxed, and clear—because you’re simply qualifying for alignment, not trying to manufacture desire on the spot.
The Bottom Line: If You Want Clients, You Must Learn to Sell
You can be the most skilled, most insightful coach in your niche.
You can have a great signature offer and coaching package
You can pour your heart into content—posting daily, writing emails, sharing stories.
You can invest in a beautiful brand, build the perfect funnel, hire a designer, polish every corner of your online presence.
But none of that matters if you are not actively selling.
It is not talent alone that creates a thriving coaching business.
It is not visibility alone that brings in clients.
It is not being “good enough” that gets you paid.
It is sales.
Selling is what turns passion into profit.
It is what transforms “I love coaching” into “I run a successful coaching business that supports my life.”
Selling is not optional.
It is not selfish.
It is not manipulative.
Selling is leadership.
Selling is service.
Selling is an essential skill for every woman who wants to make an impact and an income through her work.
And once you lean into it—truly lean into it—everything begins to shift:
You sign more aligned clients
Your revenue becomes consistent and sustainable
Your work reaches more of the people it is meant to serve
Your confidence as a business owner deepens
So if you are ready to stop circling the edges of this skill—and start mastering it—this is exactly what we focus on inside my upcoming Visibility Challenge.
How to sell in a way that feels natural and authentic.
How to attract clients who are truly a fit for your work.
How to build a coaching business that actually generates income—not just likes or engagement
If that is what you want, I would love to support you.
Join us here: Join the FREE Visibility Challenge.
Let’s turn your visibility into paying clients—and your passion into a thriving business.
P.S. I would love to know—what is one outdated belief about selling you’re ready to leave behind?
Share below. I’m listening.
