Don’t be a douchebag coach

Did you know there’s a secret blacklist of names that get whispered and texted in DM’s every time a story about a scammer coach circles around social media.

It’s always the same names over and over…

• Did you mean XXX?
• I had problems with YYYY? Is that who you were talking about?
• I wasted 20K with XXX…
• YYYY promised a money back guarantee and then ghosted me….

People who’ve been around in the industry for longer than a few years know the repeat offenders.  Unfortunately I can’t share these names publicly because that would make me vulnerable for libel lawsuits as I’ve never been a paying customer myself, I just hear the frustrated stories from my own clients, colleagues and friends. 

The only way we can out these people who are being dodgy is make a public review stating the facts of your experience as a customer when you have a bad experience.

Here’s the sad and frustrating thing…. I know all these people. I have spoken to some and invited them to raise their standards. They are in the masterminds. They are held up as experts. They get associated credibility from being around other ethical operators.  Every one I’ve met seems like a nice enough human in the flesh. Which is why it’s so hard to reconcile.  This article is not a personal attack on any specific person. So don’t DM me to ask me who this is. I am naming a festering cancerous archetype in our industry in the hope that it teaches people to be more discerning and protect themselves.

Psychology stats say that about 5% of the population have anti-social personality types that mean that they can appear charismatic and caring, but actually have selective empathy. Perhaps some of these coaches fall into that category or perhaps not. I don’t know, I’m not in the business of diagnosing people with psychological issues. I just know that statistically it’s possible.

What I do know is that each one of these coaches do get results for some people. So often they feel justified in saying that “the client was uncoachable” or “they didn’t show up”, or “didn’t work hard enough”.  That all may be true, AND it does not negate manipulative sales and marketing. 

For Coaches.

If you are feeling a twinge here, “Is she talking about me?” Please take a good hard look at your business practices and make changes where necessary asap.

• Can you say with your hand on your heart that you look after 100% of your clients and customers?
• Are the success stories you screenshot and promote outliers or typical results?
• How compassionately do you look after people who complain about your program?
• Do you get defensive and blame the client? Or do you look for where you could improve your service?
• Do you adhere to your own claims and promises made in the sales calls? 

Money Back Guarantee.

If you are actively referring to your money back guarantee often in your sales process as a way to reverse risk, you are on thin ice already. You may get more sales this way, but you are also leveraging the claim that you will wear the risk for your client. Be absolutely clear with your clients BEFORE they pay what they need to do to claim on the money back guarantee if they are unhappy or unable to get results. Offer a 15 day cooling off period for the client to read the terms and choose in a sober way if they are up for the work involved to get results.

If you offer a money back guarantee, honour your terms. Don’t be a douchebag and offer more time in the program instead of money back if you have offered money back. 

Making people sign an NDA that they won’t speak badly about you in order to get their refund is highly unethical. Don’t do it. 

Program pays for itself.

If you’re in a make money niche and claiming that the program will help the client pay for the program, you are selling people on their hopes and dreams and making them pay from future money that doesn’t exist yet. This puts you in the category of preying on desperate people who are looking for a way out of a bad situation and highly vulnerable. In some rare instances people can pay on credit and hustle to make it work. In most cases people are grasping to make a change that is beyond their current ability. When it doesn’t work it crushes hopes and leaves people demoralised, ashamed and in debt. Don’t do it.

CLIENT CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS

If you are on sales calls selling a high ticket program, ensure the client is actually a good fit to get results. Have highly specific criteria that all your sales team are trained on and your sales process outlines clearly. Selling an elderly person into a make money online program is sketchy territory. Making them pay on a credit card claiming they will “make the money back” and “there is no risk” and then dropping them into an online program to fend for themselves is highly unethical.

Karmic consequences

There is a special place in hell for people who scam vulnerable people. Karmic consequences are real and will affect you sooner or later. If you are taking advantage of people, you might make a lot of money in the short term. You might even get away with it for a while. But your soul knows, the word gets out, and you will find yourself very lonely and people will not want to have anything to do with you.  There is a reason step 8 and 9 of Alcoholics Anonymous is about making a list of all the people you have harmed and becoming willing to make amends to them all. And then actually making amends. Your heart holds the ledger, your life will pay the price eventually.

For Clients to Protect Themselves.

If you have bought a program and you think you got in over your head, don’t just shrink away in shame. Speak up. Be noisy in the program. Show up to calls. You have paid for a service, don’t be afraid to demand you get what you paid for. If you do not get a reasonable response, ask for a refund.  Within 60-120 days is a usual time limit for financial complaints.  Keep all conversations documented. Go to your credit card company and report the merchant as selling “goods not as described”.  Report a charge-back via your credit card, or PayPal. 

When you have an experience with a coach, get in the habit of posing a public review of your experience. Good, bad or ugly, talk about it. You can post reviews on google, trust pilot, linkedIn, reddit.  Remember to post positive reviews of the people who you have great experiences with. Where you can, please go to the effort of posting on impartial review sites for extra credibility rather than just your own socials. This will ensure the review has a lasting impact and shows up in search in future.

If you have had a bad experience, post it everywhere. Every post you make could save another person from a heart-breaking experience. These people get away with bad behaviour because clients either take it on the chin, chalk it up to a lesson, don’t want to cause drama, and don’t want to look silly that they got taken in by a scam. 

Often the most expensive bad experiences go unreported because the clients tend to fall into two categories: Those who can afford to lose the money and keep going, and don’t want to waste time on drama. And those who can’t afford to lose the money, but are too ashamed that they got scammed to say anything. 

How to post a negative review

Stick to the facts, keep it specific, and centred on your experience of their service.

EG: on XX date, I paid $$$$ and was promised x,y,z in my sales call. My experience was… I was disappointed by… I found that…  the service was not as described in this way… When I asked for a refund this is what happened…

Avoid absolutes, or making unprovable claims about the person. “they are a scammer”, “this person is bankrupt”, “in my opinion this coach is a criminal” These sweeping generalisations can fall into defamation even if you have had a legitimate bad experience as a customer.

You can also go to independent consumer protection authorities in your country even if the seller is from a different country.

How to take it further.

there are consumer protection bodies in most countries.

Australia

• ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) or your state Fair Trading office (e.g., NSW Fair Trading).
• Under Australian Consumer Law, if goods/services are not as described or don’t do what they should, you’re legally entitled to a refund or remedy.

United States

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for deceptive practices.
• State Attorney General’s Office for state-level disputes.
• Better Business Bureau (BBB) for complaints (can pressure companies to resolve).

UK

• Trading Standards via Citizens Advice.
• Protection under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (refund if goods/services not as described).

EU

• European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) if you bought from another EU country.
• National consumer protection authorities within your country.

Beware before buying coaching

Watch out for the tactics of manipulative sales tactics that talk about massive results with little effort, or proven systems that you just need to follow step by step to success.  If the only positive reviews of the coach are the ones they self-report, you need to wonder about that. 

1. Pause whenever urgency or scarcity is pushed.
2. Ask for the refund policy in writing.
3. Research reviews outside the seller’s website.
   – Ask chatgpt is NAME a reputable coach?
   – Ask friends and associates before investing in a high ticket program.
   – Ask to speak to a few clients about their experience.
   – Google search for NAME + scam, and NAME + review to see if there are any negative reviews online.
4. Look for balanced testimonials (not just miracles).
5. Trust your gut. If it feels rushed or manipulative, it probably is.

WHAT PAYMENT METHOD OFFERS YOU THE BEST PROTECTION?

For high-ticket coaching/services always pay by credit card (not debit), ideally via PayPal using your credit card (so you get two layers of protection: PayPal dispute + credit card chargeback).  Always keep screenshots of sales pages, promises, contracts, and communications — these are your best evidence.

1. Credit card (especially Visa, Mastercard, Amex) is the overall best protection.
   they have strong chargeback rights. and legal frameworks in many countries add extra coverage.
2. PayPal is very good for online purchases, especially if the seller accepts PayPal directly. It’s good for disputes under $20k. But some categories not covered, and the outcome depends on evidence.
3. Debit card is a weaker protection option than credit card.
4. Bank transfer, cash, crypto avoid for new or unverified sellers, as it offers almost no protection if there are problems down the line.

Ultimately it’s up to the customer to do due diligence and be skeptical. We’re in a trust recession in our industry because too many people have gotten away with these shady practices for too long.  Sadly we cannot assume that everyone is doing the right thing, and making good on their promises because quite a few are not. The  environment itself is ripe for manipulation and shady tactics.

Vulnerable, coachable people + Unregulated industry + Massive Income potential + easily manufactured social media authority

You can review me here:

If you are a past 1:1 client or customer of my company My Mind Coach, I invite you to write a google review here:

WRITE A GOOGLE REVIEW HERE:

https://g.page/r/CW6FDiSPcfA0EBM/review

WRITE A TRUST-PILOT REVIEW HERE:
https://au.trustpilot.com/review/mymindcoach.com.au