The Spectrum of Ethical Coaching

In the coaching industry there is a wide spectrum of ethical conduct ranging from exploitative scam coaches to what I am labeling “ethically exclusive coaches” who operate within high-integrity.

Persons with invisible disabilities and other marginalized persons, are at increased-risk for exploitation within scam coaching practices.

Understanding the difference is critical for both coaches and potential clients who want to engage in legitimate personal or business growth without being manipulated or financially exploited.

Scam Coaches =

The Cult-Like Side of the Coaching Industry

Tactics Used:

Pressure, behavioral psychology hacks, coercion, gaslighting, and strategic exploitation.

Target Audience:

Psychologically vulnerable individuals struggling with self-worth, mental health, or systemic challenges.

Sales Methods:

High-pressure tactics that prey on pain points and induce fear-based decision-making.

Scam coaches don’t just sell coaching… they sell a dream that is always just out of reach. They weaponize personal development by convincing clients that their struggles are NOT caused by systemic issues, past traumas, or real-world barriers but rather by their own lack of belief, energy, or mindset.

SCAM COACH RED FLAGS:

False Urgency and Scarcity:

"Doors close in 24 hours! If you don’t invest now, you’re choosing to stay stuck!" Some programs are exclusive and do have limited enrollment, but implying a potential client is “staying stuck” if they honor their own timing and autonomy is manipulative.

Magician Archetype Branding:

The details of the program are vague. Buyers don’t know what they’re actually purchasing. This archetype branding is typically reserved for premium or luxury audience segments who focus more on the buying experience and don’t worry about pricing because they have an abundance of disposable income. With scam coaching, low income client segments are targeted and in play with no pre-screening process, even encouraging low income clients to go into deeper into debt.

Endless Upselling:

Clients are never fully “fixed” and are funneled into higher-ticket offers with the promise of the real transformation that never delivers.

Financial Guilt-Tripping:

"If you really wanted success, you’d take out a loan, max out your credit card, or sell your car."

Manipulative Mindset Coaching:

Systemic barriers (racism, ableism, classism) are dismissed as "blocks," "crutches," or "self-limiting beliefs."

Induced Financial Ruin:

Clients mortgage homes, take payday loans, and go into massive debt chasing the “next level.”

Scam coaches operate like modern-day cults, mirroring structures found in MLMs and organizations like Scientology.

The core strategy?

Keep clients chasing a mystical transformation that is never actually delivered, but magically enough… always just one more payment away.

ETHICALLY EXCLUSIVE COACHES =

STEWARDS OF THE ART AND LUXURY OF INTENTIONAL INVESTING

ETHICALLY EXCLUSIVE COACH: GREEN FLAGS

Tactics Used:

Aspirational, empowerment-driven marketing without coercion or deception.

Target Audience:

High-level clients who are truly aligned and ready for transformation, not desperate or financially unstable.

Sales Methods:

Transparent, autonomy-affirming sales practices that ensure the client is a good fit before they invest.

“Ethically Exclusive Coaches” recognize that high-ticket investments should be thoughtful, not impulsive.

Their approach is client-centered, transparent, and empowering.

These coaches create clear boundaries between who they serve and who they won’t accept into their programs.

Ethically Exclusive Coaching Standards:

Transparent Offerings:

Every client knows exactly what they’re getting before investing. No “mystical” Magician Archetype branding combined with uninformed/random/or intentional down targeting on the income spectrum.

Pre-Enrollment Screening:

Potential clients must apply and qualify, not everyone is a fit.

No Trauma Exploitation:

Emotional activation is not used as a sales strategy to induce impulse buying.

Respect for Financial Well-Being:

Coaches discourage debt-driven decisions and ensure the investment aligns with the client’s resources.

Clear Scope of Practice:

They do not claim to heal mental health issues or replace licensed therapists. Further, they explicitly state their credentials, if/when they are not formally trained if working in a mental health related field so buyers can make an informed and empowered investment decision.

Buyers Maintain Autonomy:

Sales calls, marketing, and messaging empower clients to make independent and aligned decisions.

Unlike scam coaches who prey on pain, Ethically Exclusive Coaches speak to possibility. Their marketing is aspirational, not fear-based. They don’t shame people into buying, they attract clients who are already prepared to step into the transformation being offered.

Where the Coaching Industry Goes Wrong:

The Blurred Middle

Many coaches exist somewhere between these two extremes.

They may unknowingly use a dialect of marketing they picked up that contains harmful sales tactics that they were taught in business programs or fall into coercive selling habits without realizing the psychological harm they cause.

The Gray Zone Between Ethically Exclusive

& Scam Coaching Includes:

- Coaches who use pain points excessively without offering autonomy-affirming sales tactics.

- Coaches who inflate the effectiveness of their program and overpromise results.

- Coaches who don’t vet clients properly and accept anyone willing to pay.

- Coaches who blur the line between coaching and therapy, offering trauma work without proper qualifications.

Ethically Exclusive Coaching needs to be a standard, especially for the high-ticket coaching industry, not a selling point.

Ethically Exclusive Coaches do not sell coaching by shaming, deceiving, or pressuring. They believe in financial responsibility, client autonomy, and sustainable transformation.

I believe that the future of coaching must b, and will be built on...

- Transparency over mysticism.

- Empowerment over manipulation.

- Thoughtful investments over financial recklessness.

- Real transformation over endless upselling.

What are more specific ways that you can think of, that we can we hold the coaching industry accountable and make ethical coaching the norm instead of the exception?

I’d love to know your thoughts.

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#invisibledisabilities #neurodiversity #mindset #BusinessCoaching #coaching #EthicalSelling

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