If you’ve spent any amount of time in the coaching industry, you’ve seen it: outdated sales scripts, questionable marketing templates, exaggerated promises, and “everyone does it” advice that simply isn’t legal.
And here’s the hard truth:
There is no defense of “I didn’t know” — or “everyone else does it.”
Online business laws have evolved, regulators have caught up, and clients are becoming more sophisticated. If you want to build a coaching business that lasts, avoids legal trouble, and earns client trust, you must root out illegal selling tactics from your marketing and sales process.
This post breaks down the most common illegal or high-risk practices in the coaching world, what the law actually requires, and what you need to do to sell your coaching programs legally and ethically.
Why Illegal Selling Tactics Are Such a Big Deal for Coaches
In 2025–2026, enforcement actions against online coaches and course creators have gone viral. Consumers are more aware than ever of misleading marketing tactics — and regulators are aggressively cracking down.
Even worse?
Many of the illegal tactics coaches use aren’t malicious… they’re simply inherited from sales gurus, outdated copywriting templates, or industry norms from five, ten, even fifteen years ago.
But the law doesn’t care how you learned the tactic — only that you used it.
And the penalties range from:
- forced refunds
- payment processor freezes
- account shutdowns
- fines
- public enforcement actions
- reputational damage
Let’s walk through the major areas where illegal selling happens — and what compliant selling actually looks like.
1️⃣ Illegal Email & Privacy Practices
Email is still the most powerful marketing channel for coaches — but it’s also where the strictest laws apply.
The Law Requires You to Have a Privacy Policy (with specific disclosures)
A privacy policy isn’t optional, isn’t “nice to have,” and isn’t something you get around to later.
It is the one black-and-white legal requirement for every coach selling online.
Your privacy policy must clearly explain:
- what information you collect
- how you use it
- how subscribers can unsubscribe
- how they can request deletion (“be forgotten”)
- data-sharing practices
- tracking technology (pixels, cookies, analytics tags)
Illegal Unsubscribe Practices
Many older email platforms — and even some newer ones — make unsubscribing harder than it should be. The law requires that:
- unsubscribing must be simple and one-click
- unsubscribing must remove them from all marketing communications
- you cannot require extra steps or hoops
- you cannot keep emailing them under another tag, list, or automation
Failing to honor an unsubscribe is a major legal violation…
and it will trash your deliverability when angry subscribers hit “spam.”
2️⃣ Illegal Handling of Payment Information
This one is simple:
You may never write down a client’s credit card information.
Not on paper. Not in notes. Not in a spreadsheet. Not anywhere.
Coaches who sell over the phone must:
- input payment directly into an encrypted checkout page
- use Stripe, Kajabi, PayPal, ThriveCart, etc.
- let the platform handle all PCI compliance
Payment processors require you to certify every year that you are handling payment data legally.
One mistake can shut your account down instantly.
3️⃣ Illegal Use of Names and Trademarks in Marketing
It is illegal — not just inconvenient — to sell under a name that someone else is already using.
This includes:
- identical names
- similar names
- names in the same or related industry
- names likely to confuse consumers
Before naming a program, product, podcast, or brand, you must check:
- domain availability
- social handle availability
- USPTO trademark database
- marketplace usage
Using a name without checking first can result in:
- a cease and desist
- forced rebranding
- destroyed SEO
- lost ad spend
- legal exposure
Distinctive names also perform better in a crowded market — a business win and a legal win.
4️⃣ Illegal or Misleading Marketing Promises
Marketing must be:
- truthful
- accurate
- not misleading
- supported by evidence (especially for health or income claims)
Two areas where coaches get in trouble:
- Implied guarantees (“If you follow this, you’ll make 10K months”)
- Testimonials used misleadingly (context removed, or not typical results)
Marketing laws apply to:
- sales pages
- emails
- DMs
- webinars
- discovery calls
- social captions
- presentations
- ads
If a claim could mislead a reasonable consumer, it’s illegal — even if the statement is technically true.
5️⃣ Illegal Selling Tactics Built Into Sales Pages and Scripts
Coaches don’t usually invent these tactics — they inherit them from the templates everyone in the industry uses.
But here’s the issue:
Many popular sales templates are full of illegal tactics.
These include:
- inflated “value stacks”
- fake original prices
- bonuses created only to remove them
- “Today only” deadlines that aren’t real
- scarcity tactics that are untrue
- social proof that’s not representative
- excessive future pacing
- exaggerated program value
- coercive or manipulative language
Even if industry influencers push these tactics, using them today is both illegal and reputation-damaging.
6️⃣ Why This Matters More Than Ever
Consumers are informed.
Regulators are watching.
Payment processors have gotten stricter.
This means:
- scammy selling gets flagged
- misleading marketing triggers refund disputes
- terms that used to “work” will cause issues
- clients will call out unethical behavior publicly
- legal actions against coaches spread quickly online
Your safest strategy — and your most profitable one — is transparent, ethical selling grounded in real value and accurate promises.
How to Sell Coaching Legally (and Build Trust While You Do It)
Clean selling builds:
- client trust
- brand credibility
- stronger referrals
- fewer refund requests
- more aligned clients
- long-term business stability
Want to fix your legal setup fast?
Valerie’s Legal in a Weekend course includes the privacy policy you need plus the other foundational legal steps required before selling coaching.
Final Thoughts
Legal compliance isn’t about fear — it’s about clarity, transparency, and running a business that clients feel SAFE hiring.
If you’re committed to selling ethically and legally, hit like and subscribe so you never miss the next video.
And head to the next post or video: What You Can and Cannot Say on Your Coaching Sales Page.
