Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Enrollment
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I've been reflecting on enrollment lately—
what it used to look like for me,
and what it's becoming now, shaped by some new insights and discoveries.
There seem to be two approaches I see:
Top-down and bottom-up.
Top-down is the traditional path—one I was trained in and taught for years.
It starts with giving someone an experience of coaching.
2 to 4 complimentary sessions. Serve generously. Then ask:
“Would you like to continue?”
This can be powerful. It's built on service, generosity, and helping someone see what's possible.
But it's often a mind-based process.
The prospective client experiences the coaching, sees that they're lacking a skillset or system of some sort, and makes a logical decision from there.
That's what top-down is about: the mind understanding something new—and having a clear, mental reason to move forward.
It makes sense on the mental level.
Often, this gap in knowledge shows up during the free sessions.
What was once unknown becomes visible—and with that visibility can come an unspoken pressure to continue.
Even if the intent is service, a subtle hook can form—especially if the client is now thinking:
“I didn't know I needed this, but now I do.”
And their mind jumps to secure the coaching, hoping it will resolve the gap they've just seen (aka fix the “problem”).
I've taught this method.
It was aligned for a long time.
But recently, it's stopped resonating.
Because the work I do now is deeper.
More sacred.
And that means the way I invite people into it must evolve too.
Enter the bottom-up approach.
This way doesn't start with a free coaching session.
It starts with presence.
With a genuine intake conversation—not to convince, but to connect.
I want to learn what's really happening for the person.
What they're challenged by.
What they've tried.
What's worked. What hasn't.
What they're longing for—inside and out.
Maybe there's a little coaching, but that's not the focus.
The focus is:
Listening.
Understanding.
Honoring the sacredness of their experience.
Sharing how I might work with it—and how I work in general.
This isn't about “closing a sale.”
It's about seeing if there's alignment.
It's about tuning into a felt sense of resonance. Key word: felt…not thought.
The process often isn't logical.
In fact, sometimes the mind doesn't fully understand what's drawing someone to the coaching.
And that's okay—because the pull isn't coming from reason.
It's coming from somewhere deeper.
A knowing that lives in the body.
A quiet “yes” that doesn't always have words attached.
The truth is: coaching can open people up.
It can awaken deep emotions, reveal uncomfortable patterns, memories, insights.
And when that happens in a free session, without a container in place, the client is often left to navigate it on their own.
That no longer feels aligned with how I work.
These days, I don't begin the coaching until there's a clear agreement—both energetically and practically.
Clarity. Boundaries. Consent.
That's what creates the safety for the work to truly begin and blossom.
I used to work more on the surface.
Teaching invitation techniques. Objection work. Enrollment steps.
And while there's nothing wrong with any of that, my own understanding of the human experience has expanded.
Now I work with the nervous system.
With patterns, conditioning, and coping strategies.
And what lies beneath and beyond those.
Strategy and skillset still matter.
But they come after.
After the deeper work has revealed the most aligned, authentic path forward.
Because the work has changed, so has my enrollment.
It's less about "giving them an experience of coaching"—and more about honoring the sacred exchange from the very beginning.
Neither of these approaches is right or wrong.
This isn't about picking sides.
It's about honoring where you are in your own evolution as a coach.
If you're finding that your old approach doesn't fit like it used to… that's ok.
You have full permission to explore, experiment, and discover what feels most true for you.
In my next coaching newsletter I'll share Part Two, a framework I call The 5 A's of Enrollment—a more spacious, intuitive way to approach the process.
For now, I'll leave you with a simple invitation:
As you take in this writing, what do you notice in your body?
Is there a softening… a sense of ease or relief?
Or perhaps a tightening—tension, a subtle pulling back?
Whatever is there, let it speak.
Your system may already be pointing you toward what's true.
And that truth might hold a clue about your relationship with enrollment… or how your work is wanting to evolve.
With loving,
Amber
