| Episode Type | Expert Insight Interview |
| Guest | Chad Coe, Founder, Coe Financial Group |
| Guest Website | coefinancial.com |
| Listen | View on Sales POP! Podcast Page |
Sales professionals chase quotas, ghost-proof scripts, and shortcuts to trust. Chad Coe argues that the approach gets it backward. The founder of Coe Financial Group built his practice on a counter-instinctive idea he calls people tithing — giving connections, referrals, and attention before asking for anything in return.
In this conversation, Coe explains how that mindset reshapes outreach, accelerates trust, and turns cold prospects into long-term clients. He shares the running-pace lesson, the silence trick, and the simple question that converts hesitation into yes.
Key Insights
1. Here is what you need to know about people tithing as a sales strategy.
Coe coined the term in 1997 to describe a giver-first networking habit. Instead of pitching, you share your database, make introductions, and connect people who need each other. The sale follows the relationship rather than leading it. Prospects feel seen, not hunted, and the financial planner pitch lands only after authentic rapport gives it permission to land.
2. Here is what you need to know about building trust at sales speed.
Coe believes trust can form almost immediately when generosity comes first. Give a referral, share a contact, or offer a book, and the dynamic shifts from suspicion to receptivity. He turns rivals into allies by doing something for them before asking for anything. That small act of giving rewires the relationship faster than any pitch deck or follow-up sequence ever could.
3. Here is what you need to know about owning your sales identity.
Many advisors hide behind softer titles. Coe rejects that. He embraces being a salesperson and treats every consultative call as service. The prospect knows you sell something regardless of the label on your card, so pretending otherwise erodes trust. Confidence in the role lets buyers self-qualify, and the right ones arrive at meetings already prepared to commit.
4. Here is what you need to know about persistent outreach without burning bridges.
Coe calls prospects 10, 15, even 20 times over six to twelve months. People rarely complain, because anyone who truly objects will text back and ask to be removed. Silence signals permission to keep trying. Open with is now a bad time rather than is now a good time, and prospects will offer a better window instead of ending the call.
5. Here is what you need to know about slowing down to scale faster.
Speed kills sales conversations. Coe learned this running, where dropping his pace from 4.5 to 3.5 mph let him cover more distance. The same applies to calls, golf swings, and presentations. Pause after a question. Let silence work. Authentic, unhurried connection beats frantic pitching every time, and it compounds into the kind of network that fills calendars without cold calls.
Pull Quotes
“What if you stop thinking of everything as a competition and just look at the world as a place where it’s your goal to make somebody smile or make their life better because they now met you” — Chad Coe
“In order to speed up and go further, you need to slow down” — Chad Coe
“I love embracing the fact that I’m a salesperson” — Chad Coe
“How do you make an enemy become a friend? It’s to give them business or give them a connection or give them a referral” — Chad Coe
People Tithing: Key Statistics from Coe Financial Group
| Statistic | Detail |
| 1997–1998 | Year Chad Coe founded his first networking group, before networking became fashionable practice. |
| 15 → 80 members | Growth of his original networking group within just two months of launch. |
| 100 calls per day | Cold outreach volume Coe maintained early in his financial advisory career. |
| 10–20 touchpoints | Typical follow-up cadence Coe uses over a six- to twelve-month window per prospect. |
| 40-person group | Size of his current entrepreneur peer network, grown organically over three years from 10 attendees. |
| 5–20 referrals | Names Coe routinely gives unemployed executives who visit his office for guidance. |
Related Resources
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Coevera. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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