Does adding eager prospects to your waitlists make you feel like you’re cutting off your nose to spite your face? Let the green flag system give you the tools for guilt-free waitlisting when at full operating capacity.
Here’s a familiar scenario: You’re looking for a marketing agency to help grow your organisation.
You find two options. The first has immediate availability but a broken contact form and outdated social media. The second has a two-month waitlist but impeccable credentials, local presence, and rapid response times.
Which one interests you more?
At Growth Experts, we recently realised something fascinating: after two particularly promising sales calls, we discovered we wouldn’t have the capacity to start work immediately if both prospects signed. Instead of seeing this as a problem, we recognised it as an opportunity.
Here’s why.
Research shows that perceived scarcity increases perceived value. It’s why sought-after restaurants maintain waiting lists even when they have tables available, why business class seats often show as “almost full”, and why luxury watch dealers maintain carefully curated waitlists for their most coveted timepieces.
But here’s the crunch: in business services, scarcity only works when backed by credibility. You need both the waitlist and the green flags that make people willing to wait.
Think about the last time you were looking for a service provider – whether for marketing, HR, office renovations, or accountancy. You might not realise it, but your brain was unconsciously scanning for signs of credibility:
One missing element might not deter you. But three or four red flags? You’re already looking elsewhere.
When used authentically, waitlists can be powerful demand generators. Here’s where they work best:
Rather than hiding your busy schedule, be upfront about it. At Growth Experts, we can only take on two new clients per month. This isn’t a limitation. It’s a commitment to quality!
Before launching something new, build anticipation. A waitlist creates demand and simultaneously validates your offering. If people are willing to join a waitlist (or better yet, pay a deposit), you know you’re onto something.
Here’s an insider secret: start building your waitlist before your content is ready. Involve your audience in the creation process. Ask for their input on topics or titles. You’ll not only create anticipation but also ensure your final product meets actual market needs.
The key word here is authentic. Your waitlist shouldn’t be artificial scarcity – it should reflect genuine capacity constraints that benefit your clients. For example, we’re currently hiring another growth marketer to increase our capacity, but we won’t compromise our onboarding experience just to grow faster.
Start by auditing your business presence. How many green flags are you flying? Where could you strengthen your credibility markers? Then consider where waitlists might naturally fit into your business model.
Remember: a waitlist should do more than manage capacity – it should demonstrate value. When someone tells you they can’t take on your project immediately because they’re committed to delivering quality to their current clients, that’s not a red flag. It’s a very green one.
As markets become more crowded and attention spans shorter, the combination of strong credibility markers and strategic capacity management becomes increasingly powerful. At Growth Experts, we’re seeing this firsthand – our next available start date is two months out, and that’s creating more interest, not less.
Need help building a marketing strategy that creates genuine demand? As an all-you-can-eat marketing agency, we might ask you to wait a bit, but we promise it’ll be worth it.
We’d love you to share it with your friends, colleagues or your marketing team.
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