Should cold DMs be your main coaching acquisition channel?

If your DM strategy is not converting, or your ads are not producing results, there is a good chance you are skipping the most important step in the process.

This article explains the acquisition model we teach at Propane, why we do not recommend cold DMs, and what to do instead.

The model we teach

The system is built around an automated challenge sequence:

Ads, then a 14-day automated challenge sequence, then a mid-ticket programme, then recurring revenue.

No cold DMs and no sales calls. A repeatable system that takes strangers through a defined path to becoming clients.

Many coaches hear 'automated' and assume they can go straight to running ads. They cannot, and the reason is offer validation.

Validate before you automate

Before you spend anything on ads, you need to know that your offer works. Ads and automation do not create demand. They amplify what is already happening. If you make no sales through direct methods, running ads accelerates the loss. You cannot multiply zero.

There are almost certainly people in your existing circle who are ready to buy from you now. You have not put the right offer in front of them yet.

Phase one: get paid to do market research

Start with your warm network: people who already know you, follow you or have asked about training. Make a clear offer to them at a price you can justify from your own service and capacity. Take on a small number of clients you can serve well.

From those early clients you learn:

• What objections come up before someone buys
• What questions they have during the programme
• What results they get and how they describe them
• What your actual conversion rate looks like

All of that becomes the foundation of the automated programme. You are building from evidence rather than guessing.

Phase two: scale with evidence

Once the offer is validated, build the challenge sequence from what your first clients told you. Their objections become your emails, their questions become your content and their results become your proof.

Then run ads to the challenge. Track what happens after the invitation and through the follow-up. Do not assume a fixed percentage will buy immediately or within a set number of months. Measure the actual conversion, adjust, and increase spend only when the numbers hold.

Recurring revenue from the programme is what makes the model stable. Each month starts with income from existing clients rather than from zero.

Why we do not recommend cold DMs

Cold DMs are messages sent to people who do not know who you are. For most coaches they come across as spam, damage your reputation and produce little return for a large time investment.

We recommend warm DMs only: messages to people who have already shown interest. They have engaged with your content, joined your list or asked a question. A warm DM continues a conversation. A cold DM interrupts a stranger.

The role of contact points

One principle underpins the model: the more contact points someone has with you, the more likely they are to buy.

That is why email sequences matter. It is why podcasts work so well. You are in someone's ears during their commute, building a relationship over time. By the time they are ready to buy, they already trust you.

It is also why cold outreach struggles. You are asking for a buying decision from someone who has had no contact with you. The trust is not there yet.

The full process in summary

1. Validate your offer with your warm network before spending on ads
2. Deliver an excellent experience to your first clients
3. Use what you learn to build your automated challenge sequence
4. Increase ad spend once you have proof the offer converts
5. Build a recurring revenue base that gives the business stability

The coaching relationship starts the moment someone enters your world. Selling, done properly, is another form of coaching: helping someone make a decision that is right for them.

Related guide: How to get leads and clients as an online trainer.