If you’re like most consultancy leaders I speak to, marketing feels unnecessarily hard.

But it’s not because you’re bad at it. It’s because you’re overcomplicating it.

Your genius lies in simplifying complex problems for your clients. Marketing is no different. You just need to strip away the noise and focus on what matters most.

Let me show you how.

The traffic light system

Imagine you have 1,000 perfect-fit prospects out there.

Most don’t know who you are.

Maybe they connected with you on LinkedIn once or downloaded something years ago.

They’re out there… but they’re cold. These are your Red prospects.

Now, some have interacted more recently, maybe they attended a webinar, downloaded a lead magnet, or had a conversation with you at an event.

They’re warmer. Let’s call them Orange.

Then, there’s a smaller group who are regularly engaged. They read your newsletters, attend multiple webinars, maybe even reply to your content.

They’re your Yellow prospects.

And finally, you have the few who are asking serious questions, taking real action, and hinting at working together.

They’re Green - ready to go.

Here’s a simple visual that sums it up:

What this means for you

Not everyone is ready for your full transformation. And that’s okay.

Your job isn’t to convince them - it’s to meet them where they are and guide them to the next step.

Here’s how that breaks down:

• Marketing time & budget? Focus on moving Reds to Oranges and Oranges to Yellows.
  

• Sales time? Focus on Yellows and Greens. Understand where they are in their journey and work on helping them take the next logical step.
  

• Tracking? Identify disengaged prospects and move them back down the funnel if needed. That way, you always know where you stand.

When you simplify your pipeline like this, you gain clarity.

You know who to focus on, where to invest your energy, and which prospects are worth pursuing - and which aren’t (yet).

Meet your prospects where they are - and they’ll trust you to take them further.

If this sparked an idea (or if you totally disagree), hit reply and let me know: stephen@consultancygrowthclub.com