The Trust Recession: Why Coaches Must Sell Differently in 2026

Have this willingness to be a beginner, no matter where you're at in business, to have proof of service, to really make sure you can curate results at the level that you want to, and work out those kinks, and then the sky's the limit on you know where you can take it from there.

You welcome back, my friends. I'm so excited to share another special guest episode of entrepreneur school today. Meet Amanda Walker. She is the coach that coaches, coaches with over 25 years of experience and a teaching brag background that makes her the queen of clarity. Amanda helps business owners cut through the fluff and build trust that actually converts her strategies have been featured in Forbes today online and top podcasts like one of my favorites, cubicle to CEO today, she's bringing us the truth about what it really takes to get clients in a market where everyone is skeptical, and how to create trust that actually sticks. Thanks for being here. Amanda. I'm so excited for this conversation.

I'm honored to be here. Thank you so much for having me.

All right, I've been doing a really fun thing with guests lately, and that is handing you a soapbox immediately, right off the bat, so that we can have hear like, what's most important on your mind right now that you want to share.

I love the soapbox opportunity. I just hosted a workshop about this very thing. I spent 55 days off social media recently. We brought in 52k and I broke down exactly in this workshop, exactly the how. But my soapbox is that you do not have to be on social media consistently in order to build a business. And I'm just seeing this repetition when I speak to prospective clients, I'm like, Hey, how are you getting clients? And they're like, Well, I post on social media five times a week. And I'm like, how's that going for you? And they're like, well, that's why I'm talking to you. It's not and so I think sometimes I think of it as this iceberg, like what we see on top of the waterline are things like posting on social and fancy branding shoots and networking events and all these kind of things and fancy websites. The reality is effective business owners are doing so much under the surface, like having conversations about sales, talking about their offers, building an ecosystem, growing an email list. And so that is my soapbox moment of I want you to be in the needle moving tasks in my world, we call them rgas revenue generating activities, because that is where the profitability and the fun and the freedom totally come from.

Oh, amen. I I also took the entire summer off of social media, and I'm a as a visibility strategist. It's weird to say, like, Hmm, that didn't actually have a negative impact at all. In fact, I had the best summer of my business in several years. So love that you are on the same page, and we just need to keep having this conversation out loud more often, totally.

And it's so funny because our account grew like 500 followers, but all of that was because of visibility work I did before that, right? The acquisition of new clients isn't coming from social, it's coming from other places most often, and then social just becomes your nurturing tool.

Oh, I totally agree with that. So yeah, okay, I have to ask you, though, specifically on that, how did you feel about getting off social media and like, what like Are you back on and what drew you back?

Yeah, I felt like trash the first few days. I felt like trash just to be really transparent. I second guessed myself. I definitely had FOMO. I felt, Oh, my goodness, am I gonna become irrelevant. And then I had to settle into the discomfort of the decision. For me, it was kind of like a very spiritual led Converse like reason. I wasn't planning it. I didn't feel burnt out from social media. Even I don't actually consume much social media, it was just a very divine like nudge. And so then I had to get out of my stuff and then ask myself, for what purpose Am I taking this break? And for me, what I got clarity around it was to redirect my attention towards things that mattered more. And so then I just had to say, like, what are those things? For me, it went it was deep email segmentation, working on getting hyper specific in some of my email communications, which have become so fruitful in our business, and then it became glorious. It was once I got through the discomfort and the realization, and I kind of like felt in my brain. This is what I teach always. So if I can't do this, then I feel like I'm not modeling the exact thing that I teach. Much. So it was really cool to just watch it all unfold and show that exactly what I teach is what happened. You know, we booked, you know, half of our income came from new clients. I wasn't launching anything. It was a testament to the ecosystem we've built. So it ended up feeling marvelous. And instead of picking up my phone in the pickup line when I was picking up my kids, I now to this day, throw a book in there, and I never pick up my phone to scroll. I just there's so many great things, I mean, presence, awareness, so many great things that did come of it. But the initial couple days of like, oh gosh, this feels miserable. I didn't think that that would be the case,

oh yeah. And totally needing to replace the habit was something else. I also started reading. I read like, eight books this summer because I didn't go on social media. Oh, and just so much, what I'm hearing you say is, like, there's just so much negative energy, like, that's drawing you back there. It's not like a positive energy where you want to be there in a connecting way. It was just like, Oh, what am I missing out on? Oh, what's gonna happen if I'm not there? And then shifting that like there's total I just want to acknowledge this too, like that you're saying this. This is what I've said on my show before, and this is what everybody who's listening needs to hear about. This particular element of growing our business growth strategy that we all feel so compelled to prioritize,

yeah, the obligatory feelings around it. And also, I asked my clients all the time, like, show me evidence that this is moving the needle for you. And like, show me your KPIs. And I say, oh, like, I grew 10 followers this week. All right, tell me where did those 10 followers come from? Most often, it's not from social media, right? It's because they met them at the grocery store or at a networking event, or they spoke on a podcast, and then looking at those conversions, let's go to the last 90 days. Where did your clients come from? And most often, the answer is not social media. So I think it's also living in the truth. And if you're not tracking your business metrics, if you're not understanding where your leads are coming from and where lead generation is more fruitful, then I just want people to work smarter and not harder. And that, for me, it comes with, you know, time and understanding of of how you're operating in platforms and what your strategy is?

Oh, yes, all of that. And what we really came here to talk about today is this whole concept of of the importance of building trust, right, that people essentially are not going to work with you until they trust you. And there's a lot of different approaches to how to build that trust. But first of all, before we get into like, the tactical sort of stuff and the things that you see working best, let's just talk about the whole era that we are in right now, with respect to online business coaching in particular, has gotten a bit of a bad reputation because of experiences that people have had. I've definitely been to say a harsh term, almost like a victim. Yeah, me too of spending way too much money with promised results that did not come, and they were not as they were not because I didn't try. Like, girl, I'll tell you, I do all the things, I follow, all the steps, I'll do all the checklists. Tell me the way I'm going, I'm trying, and it didn't work, right? And so that's kind of happened out of there in the world, and now we're in a space where there's a lot more people who are more skeptical before making a buying decision. Yeah.

I mean, I agree on all those fronts. I feel like I kind of saw this coming. I've been doing this for nine years. I started my first company in health and nutrition coaching, and that grew so rapidly I realized that, like my heart and passion is actually teaching people how to build an aligned business. And I was a high school teacher. I had no marketing, no sales experience, never sold a thing. I mean, the first clients I ever coached, I charged $50 a month for because I was so afraid to charge and had my own money stuff. And what I saw happening nine years ago to what is happening today is very different. And the the influx of coaches is, you know, the projections around the coaching and even online education industry are massive. Even in course creation, you used to be able to, like, launch a course and people would buy it. Now it's very different, because there is such, you know, competition and saturation. And I want to say this not to cast doom and gloom by any means. It's that's not the conversation I want to have. I actually think it's an opportunity in our world. We call them gap opportunities. And the reason is, is we can identify there is a trust recession because of what you've just said. Not only have we maybe invested in things with promise results, but for me, I invested in a $25,000 program only to be stripped. Much of the opportunities for coaching, because they changed the format, and then when I asked a question in the Facebook group, they turned off the comments and left me hanging. And I was devastated. I was like, what just happened? I can't believe I was kind of naive. I was operating in this like everybody is just of service and of like a full heart and taking care of people like I was. And so while it was an expensive learning, it was one of the best learnings years ago. Was like, I will never have a student in my world that experiences that, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to help people understand that, you

know, I love my people and also that they can trust me. And so I kind of made it my mission to start studying, you know, buyer behavior and understanding what what's the difference between why some people take action quickly and some people take action a little bit more slowly, and some of it is just people and buying patterns and the way they found you. But I think a great example of this is one of the greatest catalysts for purchases. And I'm sure you've experienced this. If I teach in a community, the buying speed is much faster than if somebody starts by listening to our podcast and then binges podcast, they may stay in consumption of that podcast for a year before you finally say the right thing at the right time, their readiness level increases and they're like, Okay, that's for me. And so there is a level of trust that exists in different formats, but what they all have in common is it's an opportunity to build rapport, to establish authority, and now, more than ever, we need that, and we need to showcase that in ways that people can be like, okay, Kelly's my person, or Amanda is my person, because that's the ultimate thing that leads to them, like dropping their credit card and saying, Yes, I'm ready to invest Yeah.

And I think such an important thing to acknowledge, right? Like, we're all on our own journey in our own timeline. And it's not about like, over analyzing that and and trying to, like, hack, buyer psychology and all this stuff that you could definitely probably take courses on, and people are trying to teach that on the internet as well. But like, I think where you're coming from is a place of more a genuine trust, and what creates those relationships? What are the opportunities that remove some of the barriers that allow people to trust you faster?

Yeah, for sure, and you're doing one of those things right now. I mean, if we study and understand people, one of the best ways to establish trust is through our voice. And we know this. I don't know if you're the same way, but when people reach out to me on Instagram, the first thing I will do is actually leave an audio rather than a text, and that's just because so much is lost through text, that if I want them to hear the tone of my voice, understand who I am, that I'm a human being replying to their message. And I think that's so critical, and now elevated the nonverbal of even seeing us in video, right? That's even more, you know, important. But I think when we come to the actual, let's say the offering suite of what we do as service providers, I think a huge opportunity now more than ever, is to give people a lower investment point. I call it a small buy offer, but a lower ticket way to come in and experience your magic and feel like, okay, she is my person. I love her style, I love her energy. I love the results I get with her. And then that's a much easier, faster jump into a higher ticket program. I see a lot of coaches being coached around, like high ticket is the only way get them on a call. It's very like masculine energy, kind of salesy, and that may work for some people. And of course, there are people that are going to meet you and be ready to invest at a higher level immediately. And there are so many great clients out there that are a little bit more skeptical. And if you have an embedded way in your world where they can experience, you know, a hyper specific result in a quick way, it gives you an opportunity, I think, to serve at a much greater capacity.

I love that you went there. I was totally going to ask that question next, like, how does this play out when you have different price points and and I think you nailed that for sure, as far as people are being coached to just, you know, increase your rates and charge more because you're worth it, and that is true. But also, if somebody doesn't know you and they haven't experienced you in some way, like even through, you know, the connections and all the opportunities to do that, it's still going to present a bear an obstacle, right to actually them making a purchase, and then ultimately, what that means is that they don't get the result that you can help them with, which is what we're really here for. Yeah,

I think there's a lot of suggestions. I don't. Love the term like charge your worth, because I don't think there's a monetary value that we can put on our value and worth as human beings. It's, for me is at this season of business, charge a price point that reflects your experience and the value you bring in the transformation. And the cool thing about that is, what I could offer six years ago versus what I offer now does look different because I have, you know, I've served hundreds of clients between now and then. I know more, I understand more. I can get results faster, but I see so many coaches being coached around the sticking point of, yeah, you got to charge the 5k and now they've gone a year of being uncertain, lacking confidence, uncertain about how to articulate that, and they've served zero people. So I would much rather people start at a lower price point, gain confidence, gain the reps, and reps, beget confidence. Reps, beget more results. Then price increase is just this organic flow of what happens. And so where you start is never where you finish. And I think that's for great purpose,

yeah, and back to kind of that iceberg analogy that you were sharing at the beginning. These are the things that are happening underneath the surface. We are doing the reps. We are, you know, having beta groups and doing like tests and small things and lower ticket things, and we have to go through those experiences too. That's, that's one of the challenges with not just social media, but just having this public world where we can hear other people's experience, which is great because we have people to learn from, and we can, you know, follow in other people's footsteps in a way, but you're still, you still have to go down the journey yourself, right?

Yeah, totally. I think for me too, there's a bit of ego sometimes that gets in the way. I know for me, one of my bread and butter program, the framework builder lab, where I come from a teaching background, so one of the key things I teach my clients to do is build a signature framework that is results based. I did it with one to one clients for years, and then what I started to see, right this is where the aha moment can come from us, is that when they had this thing, it unlocked so much for them, like they started talking about their offers more they were more confident, their energy shifted. I was like, I need to get this into the hands of groups, in a group program, so I can scale this particular problem or solution faster. And I simply said to myself, I want 100 people through this program as quickly as possible. And so I priced this six week intensive at only $79 and I'm not suggesting go do this. That's not my point. It was low. It was a no brainer. It was just easy because I wanted to walk through people through and I'm such a fan of monetize as you build, I felt like there was this heightened accountability to get people results, to scale this thing in a group program, and facilitating results to a cohort of 50 students is much different than one. And so I think the reason I share that is because I think there's also like have this willingness to be a beginner no matter where you're at in business, to have proof of service, to really make sure you can curate results at the level that you want to, and work out those kinks, and then the sky's the limit on, you know, where you can

take it from there. Oh, I love that you shared that the I feel like that's the quote for the episode, have the willingness to be a beginner no matter where you're at, and also recognizes that we go through a lot of pivots and shifts, and the market changes, and the world changes, and we change, and all these things happen, and we have to adapt, and it's and the ego does get in the way, for sure, especially with pricing or where we feel like we should be at, or how much money We think we should be making, and all the shoulds that come into play, right?

Yeah, totally agree.

So with respect to the trust building, and I think the other thing that I'm hearing as a theme in what you're talking about is just as an individual, coach, course, creator, service provider, whatever we are, we have to feel confident in our own ability to create an outcome for the people that we help right. And that confidence is also a muscle that's built over time, that's built from experience that we need to lean on for in order for our messaging to resonate with people, in order to be able to have an offer that creates an income for our business and creates results for people, right? So I feel like there's just a lot of like interwoven layers here in this conversation that kind of are coming back together.

Yeah, well, as you were talking, I'm going to go back because you said something that hit me is the word coach. I'm just going to use that because it's such a loaded word for me, and it used to be so effortless for. For me to speak. And now it seems like everybody and their mom is a coach. And also we use the term very loosely. We could be a coach if we're selling health products, or we can be a coach if we're selling travel and so for me, the purest, you know, that's not the version of the word that I, most you know, identify with. But I think that inherently, the word coach means that you are so connected and so in tune to meet the client where they are to facilitate the outcome that you've promised, and so with all the muddiness of running a business. Because I definitely, you know, I think we struggle with that coaches so show up because of that, because they're so obsessed with creating transformation, and usually it's because we had our own transformation, and we're guided into helping more people. But it's like running a marathon. If you have never run a marathon in your life, and you are coming off like couch potato status, the reps to mastery are going to look longer take you longer to prepare, be prepared for the marathon than if somebody who's run a few half marathons or 5k in their life, and now the trajectory is marathon, right? The reps are already in the tank. And so I think that's important to mention only because it just takes reps. That's the cool thing. It doesn't matter where you start. It just takes reps. And the more you can get in front of people, the more there's going to be this snowball of momentum, no matter where you're starting, that are going to take you to that that end destination.

So aligned with everything that you just said, in particularly the terminology around the word coach. I also, I was having that same reflection this morning. I was like, Don't think I am a coach. I don't think I want to call myself a coach right now in this season where I'm at in the way that I'm showing up to serve people. So that's that's a really interesting kind of little thought to take away and stew on as well. So where I want to go? Did you have something you want to say there? No.

I mean, I agree that consultant versus coach. We talk a lot about that, and I know, for me, where I'm at in business, I like to wear both hats, and I simultaneously, you know, take them on and off, depending upon the needs and the demands of my client. And so I think it's important to know that about yourself.

About yourself, yeah, for sure, and where I wanted to go next was just kind of into maybe a more of, like a strategies and tips and tricks, things that you see working well, that maybe aren't like the the out there, sexy things that other people are talking about, that what we really need to be doing in order to create the success that we want in our businesses?

Yeah, I want to say that the things I share are what are working for myself and my clients, which I'd like to think is across the board, but I just want to work through that lens and make sure that when I share it's just with within integrity. I think things that are working right now are hyper specific language and communication Gone are the days where vagueness and vanilla language are effective. You just drown into the sea. And so when we're talking strategy, I am teaching my clients to get to hyper specific by both the who and the problem, and so we really want to just think about, when we're talking I'm just going to use health because it's easy. I mean, you could, you used to be able to say, I help women over 40 get healthy, but there's a lot of that now. So differentiation comes when you can get even more clear. And maybe it's I help moms of toddlers hyper specific who build a seven day meal plan hyper specific problem, right? So when it comes to coaches, I'm always looking at what they do, and I want to, I want it that to be super clear, and then that hyper specificity can lead into all the other cool stuff that you do, you know, in the back end once they become your client. So my most profitable coaches right now are those that we can drill down into that hyper specificity on the front end so that clients can experience a win in their world, and that opens up to kind of like their signature coaching on the back end. Does that make sense? They do a good job explaining

that totally. I'm like, perfect. Yes, that is. It's so true. I keep seeing like the my biggest pet peeve in any kind of marketing is something for everyone. I was in a town and they literally had that on the town, and was like, No, it's not something for everyone. There's like a hamlet. There's like a little hamlet in the woods. This is not something for the person who likes to stay at five star hotels. There's not something Yes, don't say that.

Yeah. And I think there's an inherent fear that I I definitely had when I first started coaching at when I was doing weight loss coaching, I served men and women my first. Decision was I could serve women the best, and that felt like I was so afraid to eliminate, you know, a huge portion of the population. But it only became more profitable, more fun. But the cool thing is, I just I got even better. It was like full send on my skill set. And so I think that's, you know, part of, part of it. And then going back to the trust recession notion, I think people are craving transparency and intimacy, I literally tested a workshop before interviewing with you. I mean, I've done hundreds of webinars. Teaching is the way I get clients. That's just like a truth in our business. The more I teach, the more I speak, the more clients come into my world. But we are testing what I'm calling pop up workshops, which are very intimate. I send only a couple emails to specific segments of my list, and they're on hyper specific topics. Today was how you know, behind the scenes of how I made, you know, 52k and 55 days without a post posting on social media. So it's calling in a very specific desire, because now I know everybody on that call does not want to spend their time posting on social media, and I've identified them. And instead of doing generic webinar like we invited them into the Zoom Room with faces so I could see them, and I gave like, not a pitchy pitch at the end. It was super transparent. I screenshotted pictures of financials. And so I believe that compound effect will have massive, massive momentum in my business, because you like what I say is what you get, not hiding behind smoke and mirrors. I'm not using, you know, it's for me. Talking about money is actually kind of a new thing to me, because I focus on clients, but I feel like I have to combat the rhetoric and the industry with these big numbers that aren't really showing the numbers behind

the scenes. So if I can be a truth, and I can show exactly where things come from, then I think that trust is built at a more rapid pace with my people.

Yeah. And again, I just, I keep hearing like permission to do things your own way, in a way that feels actually good, right? Because that that's the energy that you're putting out then,

yes, and I think it's a huge transition in language. Again, this is something I teach my clients, is, don't get caught up in the how to get into the how I like. How does Kelly use AI show me exactly how it works for you, because then there is no misalignment. I'm not trying to teach something that I'm not I'm saying this is how it works for me. And if you want to know my process, I want to teach it to you right now, and I'll give you the roadmap to it. And so for me, the more I can get people into it, the less they feel imposter syndrome or confusion because I'm like, your life is evidence that you know how to do this. You just lost 100 pounds. You've kept it off for 10 years. Clearly, you know how there might have been mentorship or learning, but you've figured out your own process. It was a distillation of all the things that came into your life, and that's where we need to focus.

I love this conversation so much it was this has been like, you know, sometimes I feel like people just come into your life at the exact right time, like you needed this today, actually.

Oh, that's music to my ears. Yeah, you're so welcome. Thank you for just being open to having this type of conversation. Because sometimes I jump on podcasts, and, you know, we've met a couple times. I mean, I've been consuming your content, but you never know how people sit with certain things. But I think that at the end of the day, this is the cool thing about podcasting, is I get to be me. You get to be you. Like, there's usually great synergy most often, but sometimes there's not. I'm sure you've been on episodes where, like, Ooh, okay, that didn't work out. So I really appreciate your just openness to share and be in alignment together.

Oh, yeah, I feel like that's, I think it's what the world needs more of. Is just the it's just everybody, letting everybody do them, like, do you,

and respect and respect the model of the world, right? That was like one of the greatest gifts, one of my certifications from the life coaching school that I went to years ago is this notion of manuals. Like Kelly has a manual for how she operates life. Amanda has a manual when we when we got married, my husband had a manual. I had a manual. We didn't exchange manuals. So the conflict in our world comes because we aren't all reading each other's manuals, but it's the inherent understanding that each of us has a manuals, and that they're not wrong or right. They just are. And I feel like that's such a freeing place to live, where you can like, love people, even though they're totally not in agreement with you sometimes, but I agree with you so in lies, yeah. The opportunity in the world,

right? And the more that we can be there and be comfortable with where we are as individuals, and that allows that, like, I feel like this is going kind of wooey, but that vibration that's okay, I'm here for it, right, to be there, and then ultimately, like, that's those are the things, the micro things, that are actually helping to build that trust with people. Like, I feel personally that the more I'm in a in a room, like, what, what is the biggest needle mover in my business being in a room with somebody like, when I'm in a room, if I'm at the front of the room speaking, or if I'm in the room, like circulating, meeting people that like physical connection that comes energetically from being your people. That's what allows me to, like, deepen a relationship 10 times faster than even if they're just, like, listening to my podcast, or, you know, they saw me on trusts like, that's where it comes from, right?

Yeah, totally. Like the deep, the deep crevices of trust exist in that, in that space, for sure.

Yeah, you get somebody's vibe way more. Yep, totally, yeah, totally even, like, I like to have these conversations with with podcast guests, because we can get each other vibe very easily in this kind of context as well. So I'd love to, I'll check in with you and see how that, what, how the little pop ups are going, because I love that idea too. Yeah, absolutely, please do yes. And so as we wrap up, I just want to give you an opportunity to share any last words of wisdom and make sure that you tell everyone where they can find you, how they can get more of you.

Okay, here's what's downloading for me right now. Is I just coming off of reading a really great book, and something hit me last week that has been really sitting with me is just the reminder that you're only always ever 80% certain. And so I think that when we make decisions, sometimes in our business, we're waiting for complete certainty. And even in complete certainty, I noticed there's still a little bit of right at that 80% so I don't know. I just feel like I needed to offer that reminder of trust, you know, trust your gut. And when even that semblance of certainty exists like, allow that to be the momentum that carries into the next like decision, and allow that to be like a win collective of how you make future decisions. I just see so many people wasting time in business over overthinking and waiting for certainty, perfection, whatever the case is. And just be willing to, you know, let it be b plus work.

That's so good, yes,

and I'm an A plus kind of girl, so that's been a deep learning for me.

Oh, absolutely okay. Favorite place to connect with people. Where do you want? Oh, yeah, links will add show notes.

Well, since I am back on social media, the only place I hang out is on Instagram, at a walk, a walk, my away is my handle, send me a message. Would love to chat there. And just a really powerful resource that is totally free for you guys, is my limited series podcast. It's 21 episodes less than 12 minutes. You could put me on 2x get it done in less than two hours. But it is called How to get clients, and it is for coaches, service providers and the place you can grab you can search it actually, or you can get the workbook, a company workbook at Amanda, hyphen walker.com, limited series freebie, and we'll give you those links, or hit me up with those links. But it's a really powerful teaching for sure.

Amazing. Thank you so much for being here, Amanda.

I am so grateful. Thank you for having me.