I lost a $12,000 consulting deal last year.
Not because my offer was weak. Not because the prospect wasn't qualified. I lost it because I assumed I knew why they hadn't said yes yet.
I assumed they were balking at the price. So I offered a payment plan. Which made me look desperate. Which made them trust me less. Which ended the conversation.
The actual reason? They were waiting for their business partner to be available for a joint session.
One question would have saved the whole thing. Instead, I let my assumptions drive the car.
Assumptions are the silent killer of coaching businesses.
The Assumptions Coaches Make Every Day
I see it constantly. In my own business and in the coaches I work with.
Assumption: "My prospects need more information before they can decide."
Reality: They need trust, not information. They've already done the research. They're not on your page to learn about your methodology. They're trying to decide if you're the kind of person who will actually help them.
Assumption: "They'll reach out when they're ready."
Reality: No. They won't. Your job is to create enough connection that "ready" happens on your call, not before it. If you're waiting for them to be sales-ready before you talk, you'll be waiting forever.
Assumption: "My pricing is too high for this market."
Reality: Your pricing might be fine. Your packaging and positioning might be the problem. I see coaches charging $200/hr when they should be at $500. The market can bear it. The problem is the prospect can't see the transformation clearly enough to justify the investment.
The Cost of Assuming You Know
When you assume, you stop asking. And when you stop asking, you stop learning.
I worked with a coach who was convinced herIdeal Client was burned-out corporate women who wanted to "find their purpose." So all her marketing pointed at that.
But her actual converters were different. They were women who already had purpose — they just needed someone to help them build the business around it.
Same demographic. Completely different pain. Completely different offer.
She spent two years running ads to the wrong message because she assumed she knew what her clients wanted.
How much time and money have you spent marketing to assumptions instead of data?
The Simple Fix: Ask More, Assume Less
This isn't complicated. It's just uncomfortable.
Before your next sales call, ask yourself:
What am I assuming about this person? What am I assuming they know, want, fear, or need?
Then: What's one question I could ask that would prove or disprove that assumption?
On calls, I tell clients: "I have a hypothesis about why you're here. Tell me if I'm wrong."
Most of the time, I'm partially wrong. Sometimes I'm completely wrong. And every time I find out, I serve them better.
Last month, a prospect came to me wanting "business coaching." My assumption: she needed help with marketing and lead generation.
My question: "What's the hardest part of your week right now — the thing that keeps you up at night?"
Her answer: "I'm terrified of making the wrong decision about my business model. I've been stuck on this fork in the road for four months."
Not a marketing problem. A clarity and confidence problem. Completely different conversation. Completely different outcome.
Assumptions close conversations. Questions open them.
Stop Assuming Your Content Is Working
Here's where assumptions kill coaching businesses quietly.
Coaches write blog posts, record Reels, send newsletters, and assume something is happening. Leads will come. People are engaging. It's working.
Is it?
I ask coaches: "How do you know?"
Crickets. Or: "I get likes." Or: "People comment sometimes."
Likes and comments are not business outcomes. Revenue is a business outcome.
If you're not tracking how people find you, what content led to the conversation, and what finally got them to say yes — you're flying blind. And you're almost certainly assuming things are working when some of them aren't.
I track every inquiry. I know which content generates conversations and which content generates applause but no buyers. If something isn't producing actual leads, I stop doing it.
ruthlessness beats hope every time.
The Assumption That Costs Most Coaches the Most
Drumroll please.
"I need to be more established before I can charge what I'm worth."
This one. This is the big one. The assumption that keeps coaches undercharging for years.
Here's what I've observed in 23 years: Clients don't pay for how established you are. They pay for how confident you make them feel.
I've seen coaches with one year of experience charge $1,500/session and book consistently. I've seen coaches with 15 years of experience charge $150/session and struggle.
The difference isn't credentials. The difference is whether the prospect feels like this person has solved their specific problem before.
If you can communicate that — through your messaging, your content, your discovery call, your confidence — you can charge what you're worth. Right now. Before you're "established."
Stop waiting for permission to be expensive.
A System to Catch Your Assumptions
Here's what I do. Every week, I review my conversations and look for moments where I assumed something that turned out to be wrong.
It's humbling. It's also the fastest way to improve.
After every sales call, I write down: What did I assume going in? What did I learn? What assumption do I need to update?
Over time, you start catching yourself in the moment. Before the assumption drives your response. That's when things really shift.
If you're tired of assumptions running your business — if you're ready to build on data, clarity, and real feedback — I can help. Wealthy Coach Academy is my $197/month coaching community. Or start with a $4.95 class and see what happens.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I'm making assumptions versus having valid insights?
There's a simple test: Have you asked the person directly? If you've talked to your prospect or client about something and they confirmed it — that's data. If you've decided it in your head without checking — that's an assumption. The difference is whether you've actually asked.
What if asking too many questions feels pushy?
It only feels pushy if you're asking from a sales agenda. When you ask from genuine curiosity — "I want to make sure I understand your situation correctly" — people feel heard, not interrogated. Curiosity is the opposite of pushy. Most people are starving for someone to actually listen to them.
My assumptions usually come from past experience with clients. Isn't that valuable?
It can be — but only as a starting point, not as a conclusion. Your past experience tells you what has happened. It doesn't tell you what will happen with this specific person. Use your experience to form hypotheses. Then use questions to test them. That's using your experience wisely.
What assumptions do most new coaches make about pricing?
The three biggest: 1) "I need more experience before I can charge premium rates. 2) My price should be based on my costs, not the transformation value. 3) If I charge too much, nobody will say yes. All three are assumptions that cost coaches tens of thousands of dollars over their careers.
How does this connect to the fear of rejection?
Many assumptions are actually fear wearing a logical mask. "They probably can't afford me" might actually be "I'm afraid they'll say no and I'll feel rejected." When you separate fear from fact, you make better decisions. And you ask the questions that actually need to be asked.
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About Jeremiah Krakowski
Jeremiah Krakowski is a coaching business mentor who helps coaches, course creators, and consultants scale from $3k/mo to $40k+/mo using direct response marketing, AI systems, and proven frameworks. He runs Wealthy Coach Academy and has 23+ years of experience in digital marketing. Learn more →