Why Free Coaching Sessions Don’t Get You Paying Clients (and What to Do Instead)

If you’ve ever thought, “Maybe if I give away some free sessions, people will see the value and sign up…” — this episode is for you.

Free sessions don’t create paying clients.

They create freebie seekers, drain your confidence, and leave you wondering if coaching can ever be a real business.

In this episode of the Make It Visible Podcast, I’m breaking down why free sessions don’t work and what you should be doing instead if you want to fill your calendar with paying clients.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• The 3 reasons free sessions keep you stuck in confusion (instead of building momentum).
• The mindset shift you need to stop proving your worth and start owning your value.
• What to offer instead of free sessions that actually leads to discovery calls and paying clients.

Because yes — you can build your coaching business and sign clients without giving away all your time for free.

Links & Resources:
🎯 Join the free masterclass: Your First $5K Month: How to Market, Get Clients, and Build an Online Coaching Biz (Even if You’re New) → https://coachwithclients.com/5kmasterclass

If this episode hit home for you, share it with another coach who’s stuck in the “free session cycle.” We’re in this together.

Drop me a line and share your thoughts!

Support the show

Meet Your Host:

Hey, I’m Michelle — The coaches’ coach.

I'm a visibility marketing strategist who helps female coaches simplify their message, stand out, and scale their business without the hustle.

I believe your coaching business should feel beautiful and profitable — without sacrificing your sanity, your weekends, or your personality.

Through magnetic messaging, simple marketing systems, and smart visibility strategies, I help you build a brand that clients can’t help but say, “OMG, that’s who I need!”

More clarity, more clients, more champagne moments. 🥂

Because building your dream business shouldn’t be a nightmare — it should feel like coming home.

🐦 SOCIAL STUFF:

Instagram ➔ / elevatelifecoach
Facebook ➔ / coachmichellekuei
Linkedin ➔ / michellekuei
Website ➔ http://elevatelifecoaching.org

Episode Transcript

Michelle Kuei (00:00):
If you ever thought, if I could just let
them test drive coaching,they'll see the value and sign
up.
This episode is for you.
Free sessions are not the magicmarketing strategy you think
they are.
In fact, they're one of thefastest ways to burn yourself
out and end up with azero-paying client.
So today I am going to breakdown exactly why free session

(00:23):
they don't work, what they'redoing to your confidence and
your business, and what to doinstead.
By the end of today's episode,you're going to have a clear
plan for how to shift out of thefree session limiting belief
and work your way into realpaying clients.
Hey coach, welcome to Make itVisible podcast to real paying

(00:44):
clients.
Hey coach, welcome to Make itVisible podcast.
I'm Michelle Kuei, yourvisibility marketing coach, and
I help female life coaches toget seen in all the right places
, attract happy paying clientsand build a coaching business
that actually feel good to run.
Even if you are still trying tofigure things out, each week
I'm giving you visibility tips,simple marketing strategies and

(01:06):
showing you how to create thekind of content that connects
with your audience so that youcan stand out, build your
authority and attract clientswho's already feeling like a yes
, before they jump onto yourdiscovery call.
So grab a notebook, pouryourself a favorite drink and
let's make your coachingbusiness visible.

(01:28):
So today we are talking aboutwhy free sessions don't work,
what they're actually doing toyour confidence and your
business, and what to do instead.
So first of all, let's talkabout why free sessions don't
work.
The first reason is that theytrain your people to expect free
.
If I give you a full freesession and then turn around and

(01:51):
say now it's going to be $2,000to keep going, you know what
most people are going to think.
They're going to think whyshould I pay for something that
I just got for free?
You're training them to seecoaching as something that they
can get without investing, andonce someone have experienced
something for free, it's very,very hard to assign a dollar

(02:14):
value to it later.
The second reason why freecoaching doesn't work is because
they confuse your role.
Instead of being seen as aprofessional, someone with
expertise who can guide themthrough, help them on block, you
end up being seen as a freeresource, more like a friend who
give out advice than a trustedcoach who's worth paying.

(02:37):
And I know that's not theposition that you want to be in
because you just got friendzoned by the potential paying
client rather than being seen asa coach that they wanted to
work with.
Reason number three of why freesessions don't work is because
they actually chip away at yourconfidence, and this is a big
one.
Every time someone says thanks,that was great, and then never

(03:02):
book a call with you, your brainstarts to collecting evidence
that you are not worthy ofpaying, and it doesn't take long
before you start wondering ifyou'll ever make this coaching
thing work.
So, instead of building themomentum, free sessions actually
drains your energy, yourconfidence and, clearly, your

(03:24):
time.
So here's a quick mindset shiftthat you need to take in order
to get over offering freesession, because this is the
part where most coaches miss.
You don't have to prove thatyour coaching works.
Let me just repeat that.
You don't have to prove toanyone that your coaching works.
Coaching works, period.

(03:46):
Your job is not to convincesomeone, especially if you're
just starting out, that coachingas a profession it's legitimate
.
Your job is to help yourpotential client, your audience,
anyone who's following you,your friends and family to see
that you are the person who canhelp them with their specific
problem and that, my friend.

(04:08):
It's a huge change and hugeshift in your mindset work.
So instead of giving away freesamples like Costco chicken
nugget, you want to be able toshow them.
One I understand where you are.
Two is I know where you want togo.
Three is and I have a clearpath to help you to get there.

(04:28):
And that is it.
That's what creates trust, notyour one-off free session to
demonstrate that your coachingworks.
So what should you do insteadof free session?
Here are three things thatactually lead to paying.
Clients tested it.
I've tried them all and herethey are.

(04:49):
First one is you want to offerfree values, not free session.
Let me just repeat that youwant to create free values or
offer free value and not freesession.
How do you create free values?
Creating content, hosting aworkshop or running a
masterclass, like I'm doing nextweek.

(05:10):
That way, people get a taste ofyour expertise in a group
setting.
You're giving away values, butyou're not burning one-on-one
time and energy.
You help them to decide whetherto take the next step forward
or accept what they can receive,without pressuring them or
making them feel uncomfortablehaving to commit, and it is

(05:32):
refreshing, to be honest, toactually know that they don't
have to feel pressure on thatcall to commit to you, and it
allows them to actually trulyprocess the cost of staying at
the same after they attend yourwebinar or your workshop or
maybe just reading a piece ofyour content.

(05:53):
Two is to use your discoverycall as the logical next step.
Notice the difference.
Discovery calls are aboutexploring whether or not you are
the right fit to work together.
It's not providing coachingwork.
You're not coaching them forfree.
You're leading them through theprocess that helps them to make

(06:14):
that decision to sign up withyou.
Three is you want to packageyour coaching into a clear offer
, and this is a big one.
If you want people to pay you,they need to know what they're
saying yes to.
That means your offer needs tobe specific.
Who is it for, what problemdoes it solve and what are the

(06:34):
results that your potentialclient can expect.
When you have a clear offer andbeing able to articulate why
you specifically throughouttheir journey with you, from the
moment that they come acrossyour social media profile to the
moment that they decide toactually book a call with you.
People don't need free sessionto decide.
They need to see the valueright away.

(06:56):
In other words, you'll need toget their commitment before
they're actually hopping ontoyour discovery call.
Because, going back to my pointnumber two is that discovery
call is really just the nextlogical step.
If I want to hire you, I justneed to know that if we're going
to be a good fit.
So here's the takeaway Freesession don't create more paying

(07:18):
clients.
They actually create morefreebie seekers.
It also causes your role to beconfused.
Instead of seeing you as theexpert, now people see you as a
friend and, trust me, you don'twant people to friend zone you
if you're looking for payingclients.
Free session also creates awhole lot of self-doubt.
If you want real clients, focuson giving values in the way

(07:41):
that builds authority, invitespeople to the conversation about
working together and create aclear offer that you're able to
articulate and get them toeasily say yes to.
Those are the things that'sgoing to matter more, instead of
creating all these freesessions, that giving away just

(08:03):
so that they can do a test right, and if you want more help
doing exactly that, I got you.
This week I am hosting a freemasterclass called your First 5K
Month how to Market, getClients and Build an Online
Coaching Business, even IfYou're New Inside, I'm going to
show you the three lies that webelieve that kept new coaches

(08:25):
stuck.
You'll also learn a simpleframework to package and price
your coaching so that people cansay yes, and the five questions
that every live coach mustanswer if you want a business
that actually get clients.
It's happening live next week,with three sessions to choose
from that best fit your schedule.

(08:46):
And even if you can't make itlive, register anyway because
I'll be sending you the replay.
There's a link inside the shownotes to save your seat, and if
you know another coach who'sstuck and giving away free
session like it is charity workthen share that link with them
too.
All right, coach, that is itfor today.
Go sign up for the masterclassand I will see you there.

(09:12):
Thank you for listening to Makeit Visible podcast.
If you love this episode andwant deeper support for your
coaching business, head over toelevatelifecoachingorg and see
how we can partner together toturn your passion into a
profitable business.
I help female coaches launchand scale their coaching
business faster than ever,without wasted time and money,

(09:33):
filling the gaps in yourmarketing strategies, creating a
simple and easy to followsystem so you can accelerate on
the path of coaching businessthat you love to wake up, to
Head over toelevatelifecoachingorg and grab
a free strategy audit today.