Sell by Chat: The Complete Guide to Closing Deals in DMs

Quick answer: Sell by chat is a sales method where you close deals entirely through DMs instead of phone or Zoom calls. Popularized by Dan Martell and Brian Mark, it works for high-ticket coaches, consultants, and agencies selling $2K-$30K offers. The framework: create content that drives inbound DMs, diagnose before you prescribe (the “Doctor Frame”), mirror their pain back to them, and follow up until they close or disqualify.

What Is Sell by Chat?

Sell by chat means closing deals through text conversations. Instagram DMs, WhatsApp, Messenger. No Zoom calls. No Calendly links. No 60-minute pitches.

Dan Martell built an 8-figure business this way, closing deals in roughly 7-minute chat conversations. Brian Mark has helped 10,000+ online fitness professionals sign clients through DMs without paid ads, websites, or funnels.

Why it works:

• No scheduling friction. The conversation happens when both parties are available, not when a calendar slot opens up.
• More conversations per day. You can chat with 20 people simultaneously. You cannot be on 20 calls.
• Lower pressure for buyers. They respond on their own time. No salesperson staring at them on camera.
• Faster time-to-close. No waiting 5 days for a calendar slot. The deal moves forward message by message.

This is not about avoiding sales. It is about selling the way high-ticket buyers want to buy.

Who Sell by Chat Works For

Three conditions need to be true:

1. You sell a high-ticket offer ($2K+ per deal). Chat selling takes attention per conversation. If your offer is $47, the economics do not work. Sweet spot: $2K-$10K. Many coaches close $15K-$30K entirely in chat.

2. You have a warm audience. This is inbound. Content pulls people into your DMs. If you have zero audience, start building one first.

3. One person makes the buying decision. Fitness coach selling to a client? Perfect. Enterprise deal requiring procurement approval? Not the right fit.

Business Type	Why It Works	Typical Deal Size
Fitness and weight loss coaches	Clients live on Instagram, emotional buying decision	$2K-$8K
Business coaches	Entrepreneurs engage through DMs	$3K-$10K
Agencies	Prospects research on social, DM for quotes	$3K-$15K
Course creators	Digital delivery, warm audience	$500-$5K
Consultants	High-trust, relationship-driven sale	$5K-$30K

The Sell by Chat Framework

Step 1: Content That Triggers DMs

The sale starts before anyone messages you. Your content builds trust, demonstrates authority, and creates desire.

Results content: “My client went from $12K to $38K months in 8 weeks.” People who see results DM you.

Pain-point content: “Spending 4+ hours a day in your DMs and still not closing?” People who relate to the pain reach out.

Behind-the-scenes content: “This is what working with me looks like.” People who see the process feel like they already know you.

Every post should end with a clear CTA. “DM me SYSTEM if you want to see how this works.” ManyChat keyword automation can handle the first response automatically.

Step 2: The Opener Warms Up the Lead

In Brian Mark’s playbook, the Opener has three jobs: build relationships, warm up cold prospects, and pass warm leads to closers.

The opener script flow:

Open: “Thanks for the follow. Are you a [trainer/coach/etc.] or are you just enjoying the content?”

Gauge temperature with warm-up questions:

• “What’s your story? What got you into [their field]?”
• “What made you decide to reach out?”
• “What about my content do you resonate with the most?”

If cold: Expand the conversation. “You mentioned [something from their story], can you tell me more about that?”

If hot: Pass to the closer. “Mind if I ask a couple of questions to see if I can help?”

The key is that openers are not selling. They are having real conversations and identifying who is genuinely interested.

Step 3: The Doctor Frame (Qualify Before You Prescribe)

Dan Martell calls this the “Doctor Frame.” Treatment without diagnosis is malpractice. Before you pitch anything, you diagnose.

Martell’s three qualifying questions:

1. “Tell me a bit about your situation.”
2. “Where do you want to go in the next [timeframe]?”
3. “What are you struggling with to get there?”

Brian Mark looks for four things:

1. A clearly defined problem
2. How long they have been struggling with it
3. A clearly defined goal with a measurable reason why
4. Willingness to accept external guidance

Then you “push on the bruise.” Whatever pain surfaces, probe deeper. “How long have you been struggling with that?” “What would it mean for you if we solved that?” “On a scale of 1-10, how important is this to you?”

This is where most people fail. They hear “I’m interested” and immediately pitch. The Doctor Frame forces you to understand the problem first, which makes your offer feel like the obvious solution instead of a random pitch.

Brian Mark’s playbook is direct about this: test their commitment levels. Do not accept surface-level answers. “Are you willing to take action or are you okay with staying in the same place?”

Step 4: Mirror and Close

Once qualified, you close by mirroring their words back to them.

Brian Mark’s closing technique: Reply to their pains and goals using their exact words. If they said “I want to hit $10K months and stop working 14-hour days,” your close references those specific numbers and that specific pain.

Dan Martell’s “Sell from the Heels”: Give the prospect an opportunity to lean in rather than pushing. “Do you want help so you can [their stated outcome]?”

The close sequence:

1. Mirror their struggle: “So you’ve been stuck at $X for Y months and the biggest issue is Z.”
2. Show proof: Send a screenshot or testimonial of someone in a similar situation who got results.
3. “What would it mean for you if we hit your goal of [their number]?”
4. “Would you like some help?”
5. Present the offer: “I have [program]. Here are the details.” Send video or PDF.
6. Create urgency: “I only have a couple spots available.”
7. Drop the link: “Mind if I send the registration link so we can get started?”

Be short and direct. Brian Mark’s playbook is explicit: overcome the objection before you get to the price. Do not be vague or apologetic. If they are qualified and want help, make it easy to say yes.

Step 5: Handle Objections and Follow Up

Most deals do not close on the first conversation. They close on follow-up 2, 3, or 4.

The four common objections (from Brian Mark’s playbook):

Money: “Finances aside, what did you think about the program?” Then: “If we could get your investment back and you learn valuable skills, would that be worth it?”

Time: “Some of our best clients see results with 2-4 hours a week. Could you find 2-4 hours to [reach their goal]?”

DIY: “Is that what you’d advise your clients to do? Would you rather spend 3-6 months figuring it out alone, or start today?”

Commitment: “Let’s give it 30 days. If you’re not satisfied, cancel no questions asked.”

Ghost recovery protocol (Brian Mark):

• 60 minutes: Like one of their messages
• 120 minutes: Like and comment on one of their social photos
• 180 minutes: “Are you still there?”
• Next day: “Good morning”
• After sending offer details with no reply: “Do you feel like this program is what you’re looking for?”

This protocol is systematic, not random. Every touchpoint has a purpose and timing. DM Tracker’s follow-up board automates surfacing overdue conversations so nothing slips through.

The Sell by Chat Tech Stack

1. Instagram (or your primary platform). Where conversations happen.

2. ManyChat (automation layer). Handles the first touch automatically: keyword triggers, follow-to-DM, comment automation. This scales your top of funnel.

3. DM Tracker (CRM layer). Tracks every conversation through the opener-to-closer pipeline. The follow-up board surfaces who needs attention. Team leaderboards show response times, follow-up compliance, and close rates per person. Outreach analytics reveal which scripts get the highest reply rates.

Without a CRM, the sell by chat model breaks at scale. Once you pass 15-20 active conversations, you lose track. Leads go cold. Follow-ups get missed. Revenue leaks. Spreadsheets fail within weeks.

Measuring Your Sell by Chat Performance

Six metrics that matter:

Reply rate: What percentage of leads reply to the opener’s first message? Benchmark: 30-50% for warm audiences.

Qualification rate: Of those who reply, what percentage qualify after the Doctor Frame? Benchmark: 30-40%.

Follow-up compliance: Is your team following the ghost recovery protocol on time? Benchmark: 90%+ of follow-ups within the scheduled window.

Response time: How fast does your team respond? Every minute of delay reduces conversion. Under 5 minutes for first response.

Close rate: Of qualified conversations, what percentage buy? Benchmark: 10-20% for high-ticket ($2K+).

Revenue per conversation: Total revenue divided by total conversations started. Your north star metric.

The Bottom Line

Sell by chat is how modern high-ticket sales works. Dan Martell and Brian Mark proved the model. Content drives DMs, the Doctor Frame qualifies, mirroring closes, and systematic follow-up catches everyone who did not buy on the first conversation.

The hard part is tracking it all. Who did your opener warm up? Who is your closer working? Who went ghost 3 hours ago and needs a like on their photo? Who said “let me think about it” 3 days ago?

That is what DM Tracker is built for. Every conversation tracked. Every follow-up surfaced. Every team member measured. $39/user/month. 14-day free trial.

Stop losing deals to missed follow-ups. Start selling by chat with a system that keeps up.