The following is taken from David’s interview with Judy Feld in 10 Super Coaches. 

What was perhaps the biggest mistake you made in practice building?

Not exactly practice building mistakes, but here are some “don’ts” based on experience:

When closing a deal, don’t put yourself in a position of ‘negotiating with yourself’. Don’t do work on speculation. Don’t create long responses to complex RFPs. Don’t spend a lot of time “auditioning”. Coaches are different from consultants, and coaches get paid in advance. For career coaching: Don’t let a client assure that the first “exit package” offer received from their company is the best offer they can expect. You can always do better, and a coach can help you see how.