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Sell By Chat Playbook

Dan Martell • Elite Entrepreneur Coaching

Overview

SourceDan Martell -- Elite Entrepreneur Coaching Program
DocumentThe Ultimate Sell By Chat Playbook
FormatSales Operations Playbook (SOP)
AudienceCoaches, consultants, and online service sellers using social DMs
This playbook lays out a complete system for generating sales directly from social media DMs -- without funnels, ads, or cold calls. The core idea is that trust drives purchasing decisions, and trust is built through genuine content and real conversation. The system runs through five stages: creating attention-commanding content, sparking conversations, qualifying leads, making tailored offers, and following up without being pushy. Martell structures the selling role into two distinct functions -- Openers and Closers -- each with specific scripts, decision criteria, and handoff protocols. The playbook doubles as an onboarding manual for a sales team running this process at scale.

Key Points

Scripts & Conversation Flow

These are the core message sequences used at each stage of the conversation. Read the whole conversation before responding. Never repeat yourself. Short sentences, minimal punctuation, emojis when appropriate, always end with a question.

Opening a Conversation
Standard Open [Name]!
Appreciate the [follow / share / like / etc.]
[Personalized comment about their profile -- something a chatbot could not write]
What's up?

Are you here for the vids or looking to grow your business?
Qualifying Questions
Relationship Building Tell me a bit about the business. Team size?
How long have you been building?
How big is it currently?
What do you love most about it?
How long have you been following my stuff?
What are you struggling with?
Want to dig in a bit and see if I can help?
A-B Method (Gap Discovery)
The Three Questions Where is the business now? (Point A -- Current State)

Where would you like to be in 12 months? Or... where SHOULD you be? (Point B -- Ideal State)

What is the primary roadblock between Point A and Point B? (Biggest challenge)
Current State Questions (Closer)
Use These to Open Discovery What are you currently doing to [get to outcome]?
How satisfied are you with [your progress / outcomes / process]?
Where are you at today on those dimensions?
How do you generate leads now?
How satisfied are you with [current situation]?
Desired State Questions (Closer)
Paint the Vision In 12 months, what kind of life would you like to create?
What's the big goal with it?
What kind of lifestyle would that allow you?
How will you spend your time?
How would your family benefit from that?
If [X] wasn't a problem and you had that part nailed, where would you want your [X] to be?
If we were to work together, what are some ideal outcomes in the next 12 months?
Probing Pain
Deepening the Gap How long has that been going on for?
What do you think is causing that?
What have you tried to fix it, if anything?
How has this been impacting you?
How is this affecting you personally though?
How will you feel if you are in the same place a year from now?
How much money have you missed out on because of that?
Testing Commitment Before the Offer
Qualify Intent How important is this to you on a scale of 1-10?
Is this a now or a later thing?
I only work with action-takers. Are you ready to commit or would you rather settle?
Is this a NICE to have or a MUST-have?
Making the Offer
Rapid Succession Message Sequence Just launched a new [offer] -- weekly calls with me / playbooks / support
Help accelerate + accountability
Working with some of the best in the [their industry] space
Small curated group by invite only
Only working with the winners
Interested?

Here's what I got -- 2 options.
Regardless you get [Outcome]
And you'll get that in 90 days or I'll give you your money back
Once you read, let me know if you are IN or have any questions. Only got a few spots left.
Post Close
After They Send Payment Screenshot Super pumped to work with you!!
How are you feeling? Nervous? Excited? Ready?

[WAIT FOR ANSWER]

Hahaha, all good emotions.
Here's the deal -- calls are every [day]
Lock it in your calendar
Get into the app and complete the onboarding checklist
You are going to be part of a community that are givers and creators
Just show up to weekly calls
If you commit I'll make sure you don't fail
Let's rock it!
Follow-Up Bumps (If Ghosted Mid-Conversation)
Reactivation Sequence After 30 min: Like one of their messages or engage with their profile
After 60 min, pick one:
-- Get my note?
-- Ping ^
-- [Name]?
-- Sorry I got busy (play dumb)

Day 2: [Name]?
Day 4: [Name] I'm worried about you -- I've reached out a few times but haven't heard back. Could you reach out and let me know you're alright?
Day 6: Meme / GIF / funny photo
Day 10: NAME, haven't heard back from you... Would you like to continue this conversation or should I close your file?
Leaning Out (When to Pull Back)
Use When Prospect Cools Down Not a problem
Can only help people swimming toward me
Only working with doers
Here when you're ready to level up
Circle back when you want to move faster
Typically only work with those who are 110% committed to their vision
Unlocking Pain When None is Visible
If They Seem Happy With Their Situation Sounds like things are going pretty well for you then!
Just out of curiosity, is there anything you would change if you could?

The 9 Buyer Types

Every prospect carries a different resistance pattern, decision bias, and emotional trigger. Identify the type early and adjust your tone, pacing, and framing accordingly. When your language matches how they think, the close feels effortless.

1. The Sprinter
Psychology: Values time, hates friction, makes quick calls if it feels right.
Signals: "Just tell me what I need to know." -- "How fast can we get started?" -- "Send me the link, I'll sign today if it makes sense."
How to close: Keep it short. Show the fastest path to ROI. Remove every roadblock.
Reframe: "Love that you're an action taker -- let's make sure this is the right action for you." Move them from impulse speed to sustained momentum.
2. The Skeptic
Psychology: Doubts everything. Pride in not being fooled.
Signals: "Why should I believe you?" -- "This sounds too good to be true." -- "I've heard pitches like this before -- prove you're different."
How to close: Acknowledge skepticism openly. Use radical transparency. Turn their doubt into curiosity.
Reframe: "Good -- you should be skeptical. Skepticism is 100% acceptable until it turns into self-sabotage." Move them from resistant doubter to proud, discerning decision-maker.
3. The Analyzer
Psychology: Needs certainty, facts, and a clear path. Buys with the head first.
Signals: "Can you walk me through the ROI numbers?" -- "What's the exact step-by-step process?" -- "How does your solution compare to [competitor]?"
How to close: Stack undeniable proof, frameworks, and numbers. Use case studies and risk reversal.
Reframe: "The most rational decision is to stop overthinking and start compounding results." Show them emotion is the logical choice.
4. The Dreamer
Psychology: Buys on desire, identity, and vision. They want to feel something.
Signals: "I just want to feel excited about this again." -- "I've been stuck for years -- I need something that lights me up." -- "This feels like the kind of thing I've been waiting for."
How to close: Paint vivid "after" scenarios. Anchor the decision to their identity and transformation.
Reframe: "This isn't about feeling good today -- it's about becoming the kind of person who doesn't settle."
5. The Fearful Buyer
Psychology: Hates loss more than they love gain.
Signals: "What happens if this doesn't work for me?" -- "I've tried programs before and they burned me." -- "What's the worst-case scenario here?"
How to close: Show the cost of inaction. Reframe risk so that doing nothing becomes the bigger danger.
Reframe: Move them from fear of the past to fear of the future. Doing nothing is the real risk.
6. The Seeker
Psychology: Seeks validation from others -- partner, team, peers.
Signals: "I need to run this past my business partner first." -- "What do other clients say about you?" -- "Do you have testimonials from my industry?"
How to close: Arm them with social proof, testimonials, and authority signals so they can sell it internally.
Reframe: "Your people are going to look to you. Do you want to show them hesitation, or leadership?"
7. The Status Buyer
Psychology: Wants to win, look powerful, or elevate reputation. They buy to signal.
Signals: "I don't want to be the last one in my circle to figure this out." -- "My peers are already doing this." -- "My competition is ahead."
How to close: Use exclusivity, scarcity, and positioning. Frame it as a status-elevating move.
Reframe: "The leaders in your space don't wait. They move first." Flip it -- not acting is the status loss.
8. The Connector
Psychology: Trust before everything. They buy the person before the product.
Signals: "I really like your vibe -- I can tell you actually care." -- "I don't make decisions unless I fully trust who I'm working with." -- "Can we talk more about your story?"
How to close: Build deep trust. Share personal stories. Demonstrate loyalty and long-term commitment.
Reframe: "You're not buying me -- you're buying certainty in moments you can't trust yourself. That's what changes everything."
9. The Commander
Psychology: Needs autonomy and assurance they are making the decision, not being pushed.
Signals: "I'll make the decision when I'm ready -- don't push me." -- "Do I get to customize this?" -- "I don't like being told what to do."
How to close: Offer choices. Position yourself as a guide, not a pusher. Give them ownership of the decision.
Reframe: "My role isn't to tell you what to do -- it's to give you the clearest path so you make the most powerful decision for yourself."

Objection Handling

Objections signal interest, not rejection. The prospect is still thinking about buying -- they are trying to swap desire for fear. The goal is not to answer objections but to reframe them.
The 5 Secrets Before You Start
Secret 1 -- Act Like There's a Line Behind Them

When you mentally picture a mile-long line of buyers who want what you have, your energy shifts. You stop chasing and start leading. You don't need to fake scarcity -- the world is full of people in pain and you hold the medicine. This posture alone changes your words and your certainty.

Secret 2 -- You're Competing Against Inaction, Not Other Offers

When a prospect hesitates, they are not comparing your offer to someone else's -- they are comparing it to doing nothing. Your job is not to prove you are the best. It is to show them what staying the same is costing them.

Secret 3 -- Never Make Them Feel Wrong for Hesitating

If they feel judged, they will protect their ego instead of making a decision. Your certainty invites their trust, but your empathy keeps them open. Combine abundance posture with awareness of pain -- without making them feel small -- and objections dissolve.

Secret 4 -- Objections Show Interest

"I need to think about it" means "I want to, but I'm scared to choose wrong." Your job is not to bulldoze that fear -- it is to name it, normalize it, and help them feel safe moving through it. Once they feel understood, fear loses its power.

Secret 5 -- Reframe, Don't Answer

The moment you "answer" an objection, you validate that it is the real issue. Instead, reframe it. "It's expensive" becomes "Most people who said that at first later realized it's more expensive not to fix this." Reframing keeps power on your side while keeping the prospect moving forward.

Common Objections
"I have to talk to my spouse about it."

Acknowledge: Completely understand -- it's important you are both on the same page.

Isolate: Besides getting the green light from your spouse, do you feel we can get you to [result]?

Probe: What do you think their main concern will be? What happens if they say no?

Challenge: You're a business owner. You make hundreds of decisions a day. Are you always going to need your spouse's permission for every business decision?

"I'm too busy right now."

Acknowledge: Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate -- and that's exactly why people do this in the first place.

Isolate: Besides finding the time, do you feel this will help?

Reframe: One of the main benefits is to free up your time. Clients typically free up X hours. Do you want that?

"It's too expensive." / "I can't afford it right now."

Acknowledge: I can understand where you're coming from. Is money the only issue, or do you have other concerns? If money was not an issue, are you ready to get started?

If yes: Could we break it into something more digestible?

If no: What's more expensive -- keeping these challenges, or investing to fix them?

Note: Price is usually only an objection if you rushed to the offer before demonstrating sufficient value.

"It's not the right time."

Acknowledge: Timing is so important.

Probe: What specifically makes the timing feel challenging?

Reframe: What had you consider getting help in the first place? After working with hundreds of clients, it's less about timing and more about priorities. How much of a priority is fixing [XYZ]?

"I tried something like this before and it didn't work."

Acknowledge: Sorry to hear that -- what specifically didn't work?

Find the missing link: So you didn't have a step-by-step plan. If you had that in place, would you be able to get results? This is what we do inside [program] -- a clear plan and someone to hold you accountable. Are you willing to show up and be pushed to win?

"I'm doing fine on my own."

Acknowledge: That's great to hear -- always a good sign when things are running smoothly.

Reframe: This is less about doing fine now and more about setting you up to win. If there was one thing you'd change to accelerate your progress, what would that be?

"I need more time to think about it."

Acknowledge: Completely understand -- you want to make sure this is the best decision for you.

Isolate: Besides thinking about it, do you feel this will help you get to your goal?

Clarify: What did you want to go over in your mind -- just in case I can help before the next time we chat?

Anchor to pain: How long have you been thinking about solving these challenges? What has that cost you so far?

"I'm not interested."

Probe what's underneath: Curious to know why you've decided to pass. Is it the price? The plan? Me? Could you let me know so we can figure out how to actually help you?

Core Framework

The playbook is built on a set of interlocking frameworks. These are the concepts that underpin how every conversation is structured and why the system works.

Content and Pipeline Foundation
Information is Free, Implementation is Paid
Martell's core content philosophy is to give away your best information without reservation. Prospects who receive genuine value in advance enter conversations with built-in trust. The paid product is your help getting them to actually implement. This inverts the typical withhold-and-pitch model.
Pre-Validation Before You Create
Before producing content, study 10 creators in your niche and sort their posts by popularity over the past four months. List 50 ideas from what has already proven to get traction. Then write your own version. This is how movies, TV shows, and viral posts are all made -- the market has already voted on what it wants.
Formats as Competitive Moats
The best social media growth comes from finding a specific format your audience enjoys and drilling into it consistently. Format recognition builds audience habit. Whether it is walk-and-talks from a truck, podcast-style solo recordings, or before-and-after reveals, the format is as important as the content itself.
Pain Articulation as Authority Signal
When you can describe a prospect's pain more precisely than they can, you become the expert in their mind. The hook is not what you know -- it is whether what you know maps exactly onto what they are living. Content that opens with a hyper-specific pain statement earns the attention needed to teach anything else.
Sales Conversation Structure
The A-B Method
A structured three-part discovery sequence. A is where the business is today. B is where they want to be in 12 months. The gap between A and B -- and whatever is blocking it -- becomes the entire foundation of the sales conversation and the offer framing. No gap, no sale.
The Buying Zone
Prospects make purchasing decisions in a specific emotional state -- close enough to their desired outcome to believe it is possible, but far enough that they know they cannot get there alone. Presenting an offer outside this zone wastes both parties' time. The closer's job is to use discovery questions to move the prospect into this zone before any offer is made.
Discovery Is Where the Sale Happens
The actual buying decision is made during discovery, not when the offer is presented. When a prospect feels truly understood -- when their pain and vision are reflected back accurately -- they self-close. A trusted advisor does not need to sell; they prescribe. The offer is just the formality.
The 9 Buyer Types
Every prospect has a dominant psychology shaping how they evaluate and decide. The nine types -- Sprinter, Skeptic, Analyzer, Dreamer, Fearful Buyer, Seeker, Status Buyer, Connector, Commander -- each require a different communication approach, pacing, and reframe. Misreading the type produces friction even when the offer is a genuine fit.
Follow-Up and Pipeline Logic
Fibonacci Follow-Up Cadence
Follow-ups are spaced at 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and 13 days after a prospect goes cold. This progressive spacing applies enough pressure to stay top of mind without triggering avoidance. After the final message in the active sequence, unresponsive leads move to a monthly reactivation pipeline.
Time Kills Momentum
The best conversations move from open to close in a single day. When conversations stretch across days or weeks, emotional context fades and friction accumulates. Speed of follow-up -- especially within the first hour of a prospect going quiet -- is treated as a core sales discipline, not a courtesy.
Reactivation Pipeline
Leads that did not close are not discarded -- they enter a long-cycle nurture track that receives value-based outreach (new content, case studies, event invitations) once or twice a month. The reactivator message directly references their original stated goal and asks whether they have hit it yet. This keeps old conversations alive without harassing prospects.
Roles and Team Structure
Opener vs. Closer Roles
The Opener is responsible for sourcing leads from all social notifications, qualifying them, and identifying the tip of the iceberg of their pain. Once qualified, the lead is handed off to the Closer, who runs a deeper discovery process, draws out and pre-handles objections, and makes the offer. The handoff point is precisely defined -- qualification confirmed, relationship established, initial pain identified.
5-Star Prospect Model (Dean Jackson)
The playbook defines the ideal prospect as someone who: is willing to engage in dialogue, is friendly and cooperative, knows what they want, knows when they want it (now, not someday), and wants help. Using these five criteria to filter early prevents wasted conversation cycles on people who will never buy.
What Gets Rewarded Gets Repeated
Throughout the conversation, small acknowledgments -- emojis, brief affirmations like "100%" or "love it" or "understood" -- reward the prospect every time they move the conversation closer to a sale. This operant conditioning pattern keeps the prospect engaged and moving in the right direction without overt pressure.

Implementation

Implementation steps are drawn from the playbook content and provided for reference purposes only. They do not constitute professional advice of any kind. Always consult a qualified professional before acting on any information presented here.
1
Set Up Your Content Research System
List 10 creators in your niche on TikTok. Sort each profile by Popular and identify what has gone viral in the past four months. Build a running list of 50 topic ideas validated by the algorithm before you produce a single piece of content. This pre-validation process prevents the post-and-pray strategy and compresses the time to your first breakout piece.
2
Pick One Content Format and Commit to 90 Days
Choose a single format -- walk-and-talk, listicle, story-time, before-and-after -- that you can execute consistently. Post on Reels. After the first 30 days, sort your posts by follow-to-views ratio to identify which format your audience responds to most. Double down on that format for the remaining 60 days before testing anything new. Volume produces data. Data produces signal.
3
Build Your CRM Pipeline Before You Open the First Chat
Set up five pipeline stages in your CRM before sending a single message: Lead, Qualified, Offer Made, Closed Won, Closed Lost. Tag every conversation as it moves between stages. This prevents hot conversations from going cold and gives you a daily processing habit -- at end of each day, all open conversations are classified and tagged. No exceptions.
4
Define Your Ideal Client Criteria and Qualifying Questions
Answer one question before opening any conversation: if your life depended on getting someone a result, which two or three criteria would you insist on? Write them down. Then convert each criterion into a natural question that feels like connection rather than interrogation. Your qualifying criteria become your conversation roadmap for every Opener interaction.
5
Run the A-B Method in Every Discovery Conversation
In every Closer conversation, identify Point A (current state), Point B (desired state in 12 months), and the primary roadblock between them. Write down the exact words the prospect uses to describe each. Mirror those words back in your solution framing. The offer that converts is the one that is built around their gap, described in their language.
6
Identify the Buyer Type Early and Adjust Your Approach
Within the first three to five messages, read the signals and assign a buyer type. Sprinters want bullets and speed. Analyzers want proof and frameworks. Commanders want options and autonomy. Adjust your pacing, tone, and reframe language accordingly. Using a Dreamer close on a Skeptic -- or a status play on a Connector -- will lose deals that should have been easy wins.
7
Wait for 9 Substantive Messages Before Making an Offer
Do not present an offer until the conversation has enough depth to have established trust, identified pain, and confirmed qualification. Rushing to the offer before sufficient discovery is the most common cause of price objections -- because price is only an objection when value has not been demonstrated. Let the conversation do the selling before the offer arrives.
8
Set Up Your Follow-Up Cadence System
Document the Fibonacci cadence (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 days) in your CRM as a task sequence. For mid-conversation ghosts, engage with their profile at 30 minutes and send a bump at 60. Each follow-up in the active pipeline uses a different type of touch -- direct ping, empathy message, humor, file-closing message. Never send the same bump twice in a row.
9
Build a Monthly Reactivation Campaign for Cold Leads
Move all leads that do not respond to the final active follow-up into a monthly reactivation list. Send value-based messages tied to new content, fresh case studies, or program announcements. The reactivator message references their original stated goal and asks directly whether they have hit it yet. A lead that went cold six months ago is not a lost lead -- it is a prospect whose timing has changed.
10
Review Closed Won and Closed Lost Chats Weekly
Schedule a weekly review of both won and lost conversations. For Closed Won: identify the moment the prospect shifted from skeptical to committed and note what question or reframe produced it. For Closed Lost: identify where the conversation stalled and what was missing. Over time, this pattern review produces a data-backed refinement of your scripts that no training program can replicate.

AI Master Prompt

The AI prompt below is generated from the playbook content and is intended to support further exploration and practice. It is provided for informational purposes only. The user is solely responsible for all outcomes resulting from its use.
Master Prompt -- Sell By Chat
You are a Sell By Chat coach trained on Dan Martell's Sell By Chat Playbook, a field-tested system for closing high-ticket coaching and consulting clients directly through social media DMs -- without funnels, ads, or cold calls. The system operates on one foundational principle: people buy from people they trust. Trust is built through genuine content that speaks directly to pain, and through real conversations that make prospects feel deeply understood before any offer is made. The framework runs through five stages: (1) content that commands attention by speaking to non-obvious, observable pain rather than showcasing the seller; (2) conversation opens that are personal and end with a question; (3) qualification using the A-B Method -- identify current state, desired state, and the gap between them; (4) offers made only after discovery has moved the prospect into the Buying Zone; and (5) follow-up using a Fibonacci-spaced cadence until a definitive outcome is reached. Sales conversations are divided between two roles. Openers source leads from all social notifications, warm them up, qualify them, and identify the first layer of pain before handing off to a Closer. Closers run full discovery, challenge limiting beliefs, draw out and pre-handle objections, make the offer, and follow up relentlessly. Core operating principles include: what gets rewarded gets repeated (acknowledge and affirm every step toward the sale); lean out when they lean out (never oversell or chase); the sale happens in discovery not after the offer; and objections are interest signals to be reframed, not answered. Key principles in this system: - Pre-validation: research what is already working in your niche before creating content - Pain articulation beats credentials -- describe their problem better than they can and you become the expert - The Buying Zone: offer only when the prospect feels enough pain to act but enough hope to believe change is possible - The A-B Method: current state, desired state, primary roadblock -- these three pieces drive the entire conversation - Nine distinct buyer types each require specific language, pacing, and reframing approaches - Follow-up cadence: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 days for active pipeline; monthly for reactivation - A conversation needs at least 9 substantive messages before an offer is appropriate - Discovery is where the buying decision is made -- the offer is the formality This is not a cold outreach spray-and-pray system. It is not a funnel or a VSL strategy. It is not about pressure, scarcity manipulation, or closing tricks. The system works by engineering trust at scale through content and then converting that trust into sales through structured, empathetic conversation. How to use this chat: 1. Role-play conversations -- give me a prospect type, industry, or buyer type and I will simulate the DM conversation as the prospect. You play the Opener or Closer and I will give feedback on your technique. 2. Script refinement -- paste a real or draft DM conversation and I will identify where it drifted, what question was missing, or why the prospect may have gone cold. 3. Objection drilling -- name an objection and I will walk through the full reframe sequence, then quiz you on it until you have it internalized. 4. Buyer type diagnosis -- describe how a prospect is responding and I will identify the likely buyer type and recommend how to adjust your approach. 5. Content hook writing -- give me a niche, pain point, or topic and I will produce hook options using the non-obvious, observable pain framework. 6. Pipeline review -- describe where a lead is in your pipeline and I will help you determine the right next move and the right message. Tone: direct, grounded, practical. No sales hype, no motivational filler. Point to what is working and what is not. Treat the conversation like a sparring session, not a pep talk. To get started, I have one question for you: are you currently using social DMs to sell, or are you building this system from scratch?