There’s a marketing technique I’ve seen used by several coaches. But it’s one I reckon most of the ICF Master Coaches I know would consider more than a wee bit dodgy practice.

How it goes is this: they wait untill they hear about someone attractive who is wealthy and going through a life transition of some kind.

Then they befriend you. They slide into DMs. They initiate uninvited voice calls. They rely on their relatively high profile for this to be considered charming, not creepy. They compliement. They listen. They praise.

The caveats slowly seep in: you are brilliant, and they wonder why your community has never given you the full credit you deserve. But they see your true value, they appreciate you like no one else. Over time, there are suggestions that maybe they can right this wrong. They could help your brilliance be recognised. Of course, and only if you think it’s right, maybe you could join their programme, invest in some coaching…

Now, this might sound exactly like a reasonable marketing scheme: identify people who will want what you sell, and offer it to them.

But it’s not. It’s a very targeted bait-n-switch.

Watching it play out in real time is startling. I once had the opportunity to see it at an event, and to hear the target’s feedback afterwards.

The target was a pleasant guy. We sat together through several sessions, chatted a bit. The coach was also an attendee. We laughed at how they homed in on the wealthiest people in the room and whisked them off for private lunches each day.

Then it happened to my pal. He casually mention his highly-regarded career and a time of transition in a group session. I’d known about it all weekend, so not a surprise. Next break, this coach practically climbed over chairs to be the first person to talk to him, having not even said “hi” before that. The lunch invitation followed.

The debrief: lunch went exactly as expected: lots of priase and interest, lots of self-promotion, then the programme slipped in almost as an afterthought. My pal says it felt a bit like a timeshare presentation, but it was a free lunch.

That coach isn’t the only one. I personally know of at least three who I’ve watched follow the same protocol.

I’m not a natural target for this approach, which is one reason I’ve been able to observe it from the outside. I’ve got my own vulnerabilities, but I’m not enough of a catch for this tactic, and for that I guess I should be grateful.