CONSUL — 30-DAY GTM WAR PLAN
Launch: February 14, 2026 Deadline: March 13, 2026 Objective: 82 founding members. Zero excuses.
THE MATH
82 spots ÷ 30 days = 2.7 conversions per day.
At 5% waitlist→paid: need 1,640 waitlist signups (55/day). At 10% waitlist→paid: need 820 signups (27/day). At 15% (aggressive nurture + scarcity): need 547 signups (18/day).
Every single project below exists to hit 18-55 signups/day. If it doesn't feed that number, it doesn't exist.
STACK-RANKED PROJECT LIST
Everything is ranked by expected revenue impact per hour invested. Work top-down. Never skip to a lower-ranked item while a higher one is incomplete.
🔴 P0 — LAUNCH INFRASTRUCTURE (Feb 11-14)
These ship before anything else. Non-negotiable. 3 days. No sleep if necessary.
| # | Project | Owner | Ship By | Why It's P0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Email capture + nurture wired | Ops | Feb 12 | Every visitor that hits the site and doesn't get captured is burned money. 5-email waitlist→founding member sequence live in Beehiiv/ConvertKit. Triggered on signup. This is your 24/7 closer. |
| 2 | 3 cold email domains purchased + warmup started | Ops | Feb 12 | Warmup takes 14 days minimum. Every day you delay = one day later you can send at volume. Buy domains TODAY. consulhq.com, joinconsul.co, tryconsul.com. Google Workspace on each. Instantly.ai warmup ON. |
| 3 | LinkedIn Sales Navigator active + first 500-lead list built | Founder | Feb 13 | Your highest-ROI channel at <$1M ARR. Filter: title contains "fractional" + C-suite titles + US + posted in last 30 days. Build 500 leads. Save to list. This is your outbound fuel for the entire month. |
| 4 | Clay connected + first 200 leads enriched | Ops | Feb 13 | Emails verified. LinkedIn URLs confirmed. Company data appended. Recent activity pulled. These 200 are your Day 1 outbound targets. |
| 5 | First 14 LinkedIn posts written and scheduled | Founder | Feb 14 | 2 weeks of content in the bank before launch day. No scrambling. Content mix: 4 TOFU, 6 MOFU, 4 BOFU. At least 2 lead magnets. Scheduled in Taplio or LinkedIn native. |
| 6 | Lead magnet #1 created | Founder | Feb 14 | "The Fractional Executive Inbox Playbook" or equivalent. Outcome-focused title. PDF, 8-12 pages. Opt-in page built. Email delivery sequence connected. This is your LinkedIn engagement flywheel. |
| 7 | Tracking pixels installed | Ops | Feb 12 | Meta Pixel + LinkedIn Insight Tag + GA4 on every page. Takes 20 minutes. Do it now. Every visitor from this point forward is retargetable. |
| 8 | Calendly + demo booking flow live | Ops | Feb 13 | When someone wants to talk, there should be ZERO friction. Calendly link on landing page, in email sequences, in DM templates. |
Infrastructure cost: ~450/mo recurring.
🟠 P1 — LINKEDIN BLITZ (Feb 14 - March 13, continuous)
LinkedIn is your #1 channel. The data proves it: 40% of <$1M ARR companies rank it in their top 3. Your ICP lives there. This is not a "nice to have." This is the engine.
| # | Project | Cadence | Expected Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Post 7x/week — no exceptions | Daily | Algorithm rewards daily posting. 5 days invisible = 5 days of lost pipeline. Batch write every Monday. Content mix: 2 TOFU (stories, hot takes), 3 MOFU (pain points, frameworks, how-tos), 2 BOFU (lead magnets, case studies, founding member CTAs). |
| 10 | 200 connection requests/week to qualified fractional execs | 40/day M-F | 800 connections sent in 30 days. ~400 accept. 400 warm DM opportunities. Manual only — no automation tools. LinkedIn detects and shadowbans. 30 min/day. |
| 11 | DM every new connection within 24 hours | Daily | Problem-first opener, not a pitch. "Quick question — how are you managing inbox triage across your clients right now?" If they bite, send a personalized Loom. If they don't, trigger follow-up sequence. |
| 12 | 3-message follow-up sequence on non-responders | Every 3 days | Day 0: Initial DM. Day 3: Value-add (share lead magnet or relevant content). Day 6: Direct but short. Day 9: Graceful close. This recovers 15-20% of dead conversations. Most founders quit after message 1. You don't. |
| 13 | 2 lead magnets posted per week | Tue + Thu | Comment-to-get format. "Comment 'INBOX' and I'll send it." Comments boost algo → more reach → more profile visits → more waitlist signups. Fulfillment: DM with opt-in page link → captures email → delivers resource → triggers nurture sequence. |
| 14 | Engage 30 min/day on ICP posts | Daily | Comment on posts from fractional execs, AI thought leaders, and competitors. Thoughtful, value-add comments only. This puts your face in front of your ICP's network without spending a dime. |
30-day LinkedIn math:
- 800 connections sent → 400 accepted → 400 DMs sent
- 400 DMs → 40 conversations (10%) → 12 demos (30%) → 6 founding members (50% close on warm)
- 8 lead magnets posted → ~300 comments → ~200 email captures → 20-30 founding members (via nurture)
- 30 posts → ~50K impressions → ~500 profile visits → ~100 waitlist signups → 10-15 founding members
Conservative LinkedIn total: 36-51 founding members in 30 days. This channel alone could get you halfway.
🟡 P2 — COLD EMAIL MACHINE (Live by Feb 26)
Your domains need 14 days to warm. That means cold email goes live Feb 26 at the earliest. You get 15 sending days. Make them count.
| # | Project | Ship By | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Write 2 cold email sequences (3 emails each) | Feb 18 | Sequence A: "The Inbox Problem" — targets fractional execs managing multiple inboxes. Sequence B: "The Scheduling Tax" — targets the back-and-forth scheduling pain. Both end with founding member scarcity CTA. |
| 16 | Build 1,000-lead enriched list in Clay | Feb 20 | Beyond Sales Nav: scrape Vendux, Catalant, fractional exec directories. Enrich with Clay waterfall. Verify emails with ZeroBounce or built-in Clay verification. Segment by role (CFO, CMO, COO, etc.) for personalized icebreakers. |
| 17 | Ramp sending: 20/day → 50/day → 100/day | Feb 26 - Mar 8 | Start conservative. Monitor deliverability daily. If bounce rate > 3%, slow down. If reply rate > 5%, speed up. Target: 100+ emails/day by March 1. |
| 18 | Layer in unconventional lead sources | Feb 22 | LinkedIn job postings for "executive assistant" or "chief of staff" = companies that need Consul. Crunchbase recent funding = overwhelmed execs with budget. G2 reviews of Reclaim/Motion/Clockwise = active evaluators. These leads get 5-12% reply rates vs. 1-2% on Apollo lists. |
15-day cold email math:
- ~1,200 emails sent (ramping from 20 to 100/day)
- 3-5% reply rate = 36-60 replies
- 30% positive reply rate = 11-18 warm conversations
- 50% demo rate = 6-9 demos
- 50% close = 3-5 founding members
Conservative cold email total: 3-5 founding members. Small but additive, and the system scales massively post-30 days.
🟢 P3 — SEO & AEO BLITZ (Start Feb 15, compounds forever)
SEO won't close deals in 30 days. But pages you publish NOW index in 2-4 weeks and compound forever. AEO (getting cited by ChatGPT/Perplexity/Claude) is the cheat code nobody's running yet — 56% of sub-$10M companies are increasing investment here.
| # | Project | Ship By | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Deploy 20 programmatic SEO pages | Feb 22 | Template: "AI Assistant for [Fractional CFO / Fractional CMO / Fractional COO / Management Consultant / etc.]" One page per persona. Each targets long-tail keywords your competitors aren't touching. Use AirOps or manual templating. |
| 20 | Deploy 10 comparison pages | Feb 25 | "Consul vs Reclaim AI", "Consul vs Motion", "Consul vs Clockwise", "Consul vs Hiring an EA", etc. These capture high-intent bottom-funnel search traffic. |
| 21 | Publish 4 pillar blog posts | Mar 1 | (1) "The Complete Guide to AI Executive Assistants 2026" (2) "How Fractional Execs Use AI to Manage 4+ Clients" (3) "The True Cost of Email Overload for Consultants" (4) "AI vs Human Executive Assistants: A Data-Driven Comparison." Each 2,000+ words. FAQ sections for AEO. |
| 22 | Implement llms.txt + schema markup | Feb 16 | Takes 1 hour. Improves AI crawlability dramatically. Add FAQ schema to every page. Add Organization and Product schema to homepage. This is how you get cited when someone asks an LLM for AI assistant recommendations. |
| 23 | Submit to 15 directories/launch platforms | Feb 20 | ProductHunt, MicroLaunch, BetaList, Uneed, SaaSHub, AlternativeTo, Peerlist, DevHunt, LaunchingNext, IndieHackers, HackerNews, Toolfolio, StartupStash, Fazier, SideProjectors. Each is a backlink + exposure + potential traffic spike. Batch submit in one sitting. |
🔵 P4 — REDDIT + COMMUNITY INFILTRATION (Start Feb 15, continuous)
Reddit converts 10x better than other platforms because people are actively describing their problems. You're joining conversations that already exist.
| # | Project | Cadence | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Monitor trigger keywords in target subreddits | Daily (automated) | Set up Apify or manual RSS for: r/fractionalexecutives, r/consulting, r/productivity, r/Entrepreneur, r/startups, r/SaaS, r/smallbusiness. Trigger words: "fractional", "inbox overload", "scheduling nightmare", "executive assistant", "too many clients", "email management". |
| 25 | Post 3 value-heavy threads per week | Mon/Wed/Fri | Raw case studies. "I automated inbox triage for a fractional CFO. Here's exactly how." Pure value, no links, no promotion. Let people come to you. If someone asks what tool, mention Consul naturally. |
| 26 | DM warm leads from Reddit | Daily | Anyone who engages positively with your posts or is actively describing Consul's exact pain point → DM them. Reddit DMs have 25% response rates because nobody else is doing it. |
| 27 | Infiltrate fractional exec Slack/Discord communities | Week 1 | Find them. Join them. Be helpful for 48 hours before ever mentioning your product. Then share genuinely. These are hyper-concentrated pools of your exact ICP. |
⚪ P5 — AMPLIFICATION (Week 3-4)
Only deploy these after P0-P2 are fully operational. These are accelerants, not foundations.
| # | Project | Ship By | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | EGC: All 3 team members posting on LinkedIn | Feb 21 | Founder: 7x/week (strategy, build-in-public, takes). Technical: 3-5x/week (how we built it, AI deep dives). Third: 3-5x/week (user stories, product tips). Combined: 15+ posts/week. 3x the surface area. |
| 29 | PLG viral mechanics in product | Feb 28 | "Scheduled by Consul" in calendar invites. "Drafted with Consul" optional email signatures. Every user interaction becomes a distribution moment. Your product markets itself every time it's used. |
| 30 | Referral program for founding members | Mar 1 | "Refer a fractional exec → get 1 month free." Founding members are your best salespeople. They work with other fractional execs daily. Give them a reason to spread it. |
| 31 | Micro-influencer partnerships | Mar 5 | Find 5-10 LinkedIn creators in the productivity/fractional exec space with 5K-50K followers. Offer them founding member access + affiliate commission. One viral post from the right person = 20+ signups in a day. |
| 32 | LinkedIn ads (small budget test) | Mar 7 | $500 test budget. Target: title = "fractional" + C-suite, US only. Retarget website visitors. By this point you have 3+ weeks of pixel data and know which messaging converts. Don't guess — retarget warm audiences. |
30-DAY EXECUTION CALENDAR
WEEK 0: INFRASTRUCTURE (Feb 11-14)
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| Feb 11 (Tue) | Buy 3 domains. Start Instantly.ai warmup. Set up Sales Navigator. Install pixels. Set up Beehiiv/ConvertKit. Wire waitlist→email sequence. |
| Feb 12 (Wed) | Build first 500-lead list in Sales Nav. Set up Clay. Start enriching first 200. Set up Calendly. Write waitlist welcome sequence (5 emails). |
| Feb 13 (Thu) | Write 14 LinkedIn posts. Create lead magnet #1. Build opt-in page. Write lead magnet email delivery sequence. Connect everything. |
| Feb 14 (Fri) — LAUNCH DAY | First LinkedIn post goes live. First 40 connection requests sent. Submit to first 5 directories. First Reddit post. Announce to personal network. The machine is ON. |
WEEK 1: IGNITION (Feb 15-21)
| Focus | Daily Actions |
|---|---|
| Post daily. 40 connections/day. DM all acceptors. Post lead magnet Tue + Thu. Comment on 10 ICP posts. | |
| Cold email | Domains warming (no sends yet). Write both email sequences. Build next 300 leads in Clay. |
| SEO | Deploy first 10 pSEO pages. Implement llms.txt + schema. Submit to 10 more directories. |
| Post Mon/Wed/Fri. Monitor subreddits. Engage in comments. Join 2-3 Slack communities. | |
| EGC | Get all team members set up and posting by end of week. |
WEEK 2: MOMENTUM (Feb 22-28)
| Focus | Daily Actions |
|---|---|
| Same cadence. Lead magnet #2 live. Analyze Week 1 data — which post types performed? Double down. | |
| Cold email | Domains nearing warm. Final sequence QA. Load first 200 leads into Instantly. Begin sending Feb 26 at 20/day. |
| SEO | Deploy 10 more pSEO pages + 10 comparison pages. Publish first 2 blog posts. |
| Increase to 5 posts/week. DM any warm leads. | |
| PLG | Ship "Scheduled by Consul" in calendar invites. Ship "Drafted with Consul" email signature option. |
WEEK 3: ACCELERATION (Mar 1-7)
| Focus | Daily Actions |
|---|---|
| Same cadence. Ramp DM follow-ups (hundreds of non-responders from Weeks 1-2 now get follow-up sequences). | |
| Cold email | Ramp to 50-100/day. A/B test both sequences. Monitor deliverability. Kill underperformers fast. |
| SEO | Publish remaining 2 blog posts. Total: 40+ pages indexed or indexing. |
| Referral | Launch referral program for existing founding members. |
| Influencers | Reach out to 5-10 micro-influencers. Offer access + affiliate. |
WEEK 4: CLOSE HARD (Mar 8-13)
| Focus | Daily Actions |
|---|---|
| Everything | Full volume on all channels. Every sequence at max send rate. |
| Scarcity | Start counting down founding spots publicly. "47 spots left." "29 spots left." "Last 12 spots." This drives urgency across every channel simultaneously. |
| Email blast | Send dedicated "last chance" email to entire list. |
| Daily posts about the countdown. Founding member testimonials. Product results. | |
| Ads | $500 LinkedIn retargeting campaign to website visitors — founding member CTA. |
| Close | Personal outreach to every warm lead that hasn't converted. Loom videos. Direct DMs. Leave nothing on the table. |
CONSOLIDATED 30-DAY PROJECTIONS
| Channel | Waitlist Signups | Founding Members |
|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn content (organic) | 300-500 | 15-25 |
| LinkedIn outbound (DMs) | 100-150 | 6-10 |
| Cold email | 50-80 | 3-5 |
| Lead magnets (email capture) | 200-300 | 10-15 |
| Reddit + communities | 50-100 | 3-5 |
| Directories + ProductHunt | 100-200 | 5-10 |
| Referrals (Week 3-4) | 30-50 | 3-5 |
| Retargeting ads (Week 4) | 20-40 | 2-3 |
| TOTAL | 850-1,420 | 47-78 |
Gap to 82: 4-35 spots. The scarcity countdown in Week 4 + personal outreach to warm leads closes this. If projections hit the upper range, you fill all 82 before Day 30.
THE RULES
- Ship > Perfect. A mediocre LinkedIn post published today beats a perfect one published Thursday.
- Daily non-negotiables: Post on LinkedIn. Send 40 connections. DM new acceptors. Check email warmup. That's 90 minutes. No excuses.
- Cut ruthlessly at Day 14. If a channel shows zero signal after 2 weeks, kill it and reallocate hours to what's working.
- Scarcity is real, so use it. 82 spots is not a marketing gimmick — it's your actual constraint. Count down publicly. Create FOMO. People act when the door is closing.
- Founder face on everything. No brand accounts. No corporate voice. Your face, your name, your story. People buy from people, especially at this stage.
- Batch or die. Content on Monday. Leads on Tuesday. DMs daily. Never context-switch mid-day.
- Measure weekly, adjust weekly. Every Friday: what worked, what didn't, what changes next week.
TOOL STACK (FINAL)
| Tool | Cost/Mo | Status |
|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn Sales Navigator | $99 | Set up Day 1 |
| Instantly.ai (Growth) | $97 | Set up Day 1 |
| Clay (Starter) | $149 | Set up Day 1 |
| Beehiiv (free tier) or ConvertKit | $0-49 | Set up Day 1 |
| 3x Google Workspace (cold email) | $18 | Set up Day 1 |
| 3x Domains | $36 one-time | Buy Day 1 |
| Apify (Starter) | $49 | Set up Day 3 |
| Loom (free) | $0 | Already available |
| Calendly (free) | $0 | Already available |
| Notion (free) | $0 | Already available |
| Monthly total | $412-462 | |
| Remaining budget for ads (Week 4) | $500 |
Built for speed. Designed for compounding. 82 spots. 30 days. Go.