The short answer
Choose a marketing agency for your coaching business by checking five things: that they specialise in coaches and knowledge businesses, that they can show documented results with real numbers, that they work on your offer and funnel and not just ads, that you own every ad account, page and contact list, and that they report weekly on leads, booked calls, sales and return on ad spend. Be cautious of guaranteed results and vanity metrics.
Key takeaways
- Specialisation matters: selling coaching is different from selling products.
- Ask for case studies with numbers and context, not just logos.
- Ads can't fix a weak offer — look for a team that works on the whole system.
- Always own your ad accounts, pixels, pages and lists.
On this page 6 sections
First, decide what you actually need
"Marketing" covers very different jobs. Be clear which ones you're hiring for, because many agencies only do one of them.
- Only ads — you already have an offer and funnel that convert, and need more traffic.
- Funnel and ads — your offer sells, but you don't have a system to sell it online.
- Offer, funnel, ads and follow-up — you want the whole client acquisition system built and run.
If you're not sure which applies, read the client acquisition guide for coaches first.
The checklist: seven things to look for
Niche experience
Have they worked with coaches, consultants or course creators? Ask which niches.
Documented results
Case studies with the starting point, what they built and the numbers — and clear labels on what's approximate or reported.
Whole-system thinking
Do they ask about your offer, price and sales process, or only about targeting?
Ownership
Ads run in your ad account; pages, pixels, CRM and lists belong to you.
Reporting
Weekly numbers you understand: spend, leads, booked calls, sales, ROAS.
Honesty about fit
A good agency will tell you when you're not ready for ads yet.
Clear scope
What's included, what isn't, who does what, and how long the engagement runs.
Questions to ask on the first call
- Which coaching or education clients have you worked with, and what did you build for them?
- What would you change about my offer or funnel before running ads?
- Whose ad account and pages will we use?
- What will you report each week, and who will I speak to?
- What happens in the first 30 days?
- What do you need from me — content, calls, approvals?
- How do we end the engagement if it isn't working?
Red flags
- Guaranteed revenue or lead numbers. No honest agency can guarantee results that depend on your offer and market.
- Results with no context. "10X ROAS" means nothing without the period, spend and what was counted.
- They keep the ad account. If you leave, you lose your data and history.
- Vanity metrics. Reach, likes and followers instead of leads, calls and sales.
- No questions about your offer. If they only talk about ads, they'll only fix ads.
Freelancer, generalist agency or specialist?
| Option | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Freelance media buyer | Running ads on a funnel that already works | You coordinate copy, pages and follow-up yourself |
| Generalist agency | Brand awareness and broad social media | Less experience selling coaching or courses |
| Coaching-focused growth partner | Building offer, funnel, ads and automation together | Ask for proof — specialisation is easy to claim |
How High Profit Coaching answers these questions
We'd rather you compare us properly. We focus on coaches, consultants, course creators and other knowledge businesses; we've worked with 120+ clients and built 200+ funnels. Our case studies show the starting point, the system and the reported numbers, with approximations labelled. Ads run in accounts you own, we report weekly, and we don't guarantee revenue.
See our services, who we help and how we work with coaches.