Industry Guide: How Solopreneurs Track Leads and Sales Pipelines

Coaches: How Business, Health and Other Coaches are Using Pretty Simple to Track Their Potential Sales

There are several hundred thousand coaches in the US alone, including fitness, business, marketing and health coaches. In this multibillion dollar industry, many coaches are solopreneurs and Pretty Simple might be the best option for tracking their leads and potential clients.

As a Co-Founder of Pretty Simple and a Marketing Coach myself, I am particularly interested in how coaches use our software because I know how I use it!

How I use Pretty Simple as a Marketing Coach:

I get most of my leads for my coaching business from speaking engagements, networking and social media. I grow my audience on social media and through my email list, but I keep track of potential clients that have been referred or expressed interest in Pretty Simple. I don’t keep track of contact information in pretty simple, just the name and where the conversation is happening so I can quickly refer back to it.

A good example would be if I was referred a potential client named “Susan” and she DM’d on LinkedIn. We’ve been messaging there and so I am keeping updates of when I’ve talked to her or sent a message on LinkedIn and making a note of when to follow up if I haven’t heard from her already. (See Photo)

How I Calculate The Lead Of The Value in Pretty Simple as a Marketing Coach:

For the value I add what a typical contract might be until I have a little better idea of what they need. Since I have courses for $100 and coaching for several thousand dollars, I don’t want to inflate prices. If I am fairly sure that they would be a fit for a $5k coaching package, I’ll put that number there, but if I’m not sure at all, I’ll just put $100 until I get more information.

Why You Should Use Pretty Simple as a Business Coach or Health Coach:

A couple of the biggest perks to using Pretty Simple as a marketing/business coach are knowing how much money is in my pipeline, knowing who my popular sources are and using the reports to make better financial decisions. Here are a few blogs that might help you continue learning about sales as Solopreneur and a Business or Health Coach: Click here to view articles and blogs.

How Lawn Care and Home Care Companies Are Using Pretty Simple to Track Potential Clients

For just lawn care alone, there are over 600k companies in the United States, with a majority being solo operated. I have been surprised at this industry the most, where I hadn’t really considered it a major industry for us, but it turns out it is!

How Lawn Service Companies Track Clients With Pretty Simple:

The main attraction for Pretty Simple seems to be how easy it is to use, and not a huge need for complicated follow up systems.

If you are using Pretty Simple to manage your leads you can simply add the potential clients and the amount of the yard service fee, an example would be $100. These could be referrals from current clients, from Yelp or other directory services, website or Google Business Lead.

From there you could use it two different ways:

Why you should use Pretty Simple to Track Leads as a Lawn Service Company:

The top reasons that lawn care or home care companies like using Pretty Simple to track their potential customers are affordability. We keep competitive pricing and charge per phone device, which comes with desktop access. Secondly is because it is truly easy to use since there is no fancy setup required. To get started you do two things: you sign up and add your first lead. Easy.

How Realtors and Mortgage Brokers Are Using Pretty Simple to Track Referrals and Pipeline

There are nearly two million real estate agents in the U.S., and tens of thousands of mortgage brokers — many of them operating independently or with small teams. I assumed, once again incorrectly, that realtors would be using more industry specific leads tracking software. They often do, but what I found is that if it was a very small boutique agency who did most of the outreach manually and one-to-one, they preferred using a more simple CRM.

How Boutique Realtors and Mortgage Brokers Track Clients With Pretty Simple:

Above I mentioned that very small real estate agencies might choose to use a more simple CRM based on their needs, but another scenario in which we see professionals using Pretty Simple is that they DO have access to large, industry specific CRM’s, but they actually need something that is more simple and accessible in their day to day. They can then use that information to update their bigger databases or enter clients into their sequences afterwards if that makes sense for that particular client.

How to Value Your Leads in Pretty Simple (for Realtors/Mortgage Brokers):

Assigning a dollar value to each lead helps you see just how much potential money is in your pipeline. For example, if you estimate the typical commission from a lead might be $8,000, then that becomes the value you enter in Pretty Simple. If you don’t yet know how big the deal will be, use a conservative number to start, maybe $2,000 makes sense or feels like a safer estimate, and update it later as you learn more about that potential client.

What are Favorite Features of Realtors and Why Should They Use Pretty Simple as a Realtor or Mortgage Broker:

Hands down the favorite part of Pretty Simple is going to be the money on the table! Knowing your potential commissions, tracking follow-ups, and keeping tabs on where your best referrals come from can make a big difference. Pretty Simple makes that part easy without all the noise of a full CRM.

How Website Designers Are Using Pretty Simple to Manage Leads and Projects

The second original Co-Founder, Michael “Monty” Morgan has been a website developer for over 10 years! Freelance web designers and developers make up a large portion of the solopreneur economy, and most manage multiple client projects at once but usually only a couple of dozen leads at once. Due to the nature of being a solopreneur website designer who gets most of their business from networking or referrals, Pretty Simple might make sense for them to track their leads.

The Biggest Issue that Website Developers Have With Sales and Tracking Leads:

One of the issues that they come across is often long sales cycles. From my experience in running a digital marketing agency for over a decade, website sales cycles can be from 3 months to over a year, depending on what types of businesses you are working on! Staying top of mind then becomes the hurdle, because potential clients spend so much time planning a new website (and making the decision) that by the time they are ready, they might not even remember chatting with you 6 months ago!

How Freelance Web Designers Track Clients With Pretty Simple:

Designers often add new project leads as soon as someone fills out an inquiry form, or makes a referral introduction. The actual lead tracking is going to be pretty straightforward for this industry – make sure you follow up every month or so, and you can add value by sending blogs, articles or even website ideas based on their industry. Setting the value for the lead is also pretty simple – I would suggest using either your average price of the website or your smallest website package as beginning value in Pretty Simple, unless you have enough information to use a more specific number.

# 1 Feature For Website Designers and Why They Should Use Pretty Simple To Keep Track of Their Potential Website Clients:

The two key features are reports and reminders! When Monty and I were designing Pretty Simple, that is what he was most excited about. The reminders were helpful and the following reports were his favorite: Average Sales Cycle, Top Referral Source and Closing Rate.

How Construction and Contracting Companies Are Using Pretty Simple to Track Estimates And Potential Clients

Another one of the surprising industries that we’ve seen using Pretty Simple software are construction and remodeling companies. We thought they might be popular, but were surprised to see how many construction and remodeling companies were using us, from all over the world!

It makes sense though, they do follow our general guidelines for target market:

1. They don’t track hundreds or thousands of leads, they track a few dozen at a time.
2. They have high ticket sales and often only need to close under 25 per year.
3. They receive many of their leads through referrals or word of mouth.
4. They like simple sales data that will help them make decisions about their business in the future.
5. They don’t need a complex, bulky system to send out automated email sequences.

Here are some sample notes they might make in Pretty Simple:

• New deck estimate request — $8,000 project value, follow-up in two weeks.
• Met with Mike and he is going to remodel his house early next year. We scheduled a walkthrough for the 24th and will send a bid after.
• Sidney the realtor said that their commercial client is going to be looking for a contractor next month. Follow up on the first via text with Sidney. 555-555-5555

How to Value Your Leads in Pretty Simple (for Construction/Contracting):

You probably won’t have a super clear idea of what the bid is in early stages, so you can choose a method that works best for you, but I would recommend using a slightly than lower than the average cost for the type of job they are requesting. If you don’t know what type of job yet, you can, when you receive an estimate request, enter the value of the potential job (for example $8,000). If that lead moves toward proposal and you learn additional scope (permit costs, materials upgrade), bump the number (say to $10,000). Seeing that number in your pipeline motivates you to keep the quote moving.

Why You Should Use Pretty Simple as a Construction Company:

The top reason you might use Pretty Simple Software is that you can keep track of your long sales cycle potential clients. We’ve all had that client that you forgot to follow up with, and then you heard about them going with a different company. For you, that could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Your $5 a month investment could save that one job you might have forgotten about and pay for itself 1,000x over!

How Cleaning Companies are Using Pretty Simple to Track Both New and Repeat Clients

Residential and commercial cleaning services are often either solopreneurs or family-operated. I did try, but it was a little bit harder to find recent stats since so many cleaning companies are micro-businesses. These smaller businesses and smaller part time gigs don’t necessarily get counted in major research studies.

That being said, the residential cleaning industry is a $4 billion industry in the U.S. and continues to grow! It was posted on Jobber that “The global cleaning services market size was about USD 415.93 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at a rate of 6.9% from 2025 to 2030.”

How Do Cleaning Companies Typically Keep Track of Clients and Sales?

The biggest answer is probably notebooks, spreadsheets and memory, the last of which isn’t super helpful. Cleaning companies can use Pretty Simple Lead Tracking Software to keep track of potential clients.

Leads can come from Yelp, referrals, or word of mouth, and keeping tabs on who’s interested or due for renewal can help maintain steady income.

How do the Pretty Simple Reports Help Cleaning Companies?

The most popular report for cleaning companies might be the lead sources or the “New Leads Added by Month.” The sources help keep track of where the leads are coming from. Are your leads coming from Yelp, Google My Business or maybe even your website? Pretty Simple will help keep track of all of it!

With our two new reports, New Leads Added by Month and Won Leads by Month you can easily see trends that happen year over year, one for when you are “winning the most leads” and the other when you are adding the most leads. This can help you plan for when there might be more dry seasons.

How to Value Your Leads in Pretty Simple (for Cleaning Companies):

There are three primary ways you can track leads for a Cleaning Company: You can either track the average price for a cleaning, you can track for the LTV (Lifetime Value) of a client or finally you can put the value of the amount of a contract for an average amount of time.

When someone inquires about cleaning services, set the value based on your monthly fee (for example $400/month). If you expect them to stay for 12 months, you might value it at $4,800 initially. As you clarify their needs (commercial vs residential, extra rooms, frequency), update the number. The visible value helps you track your future revenue rather than hope it comes.

Why You Should Use Pretty Simple Leads Tracking Software as a Cleaning Company:

It’s affordable, simple, and quick to set up — you can start tracking leads the same day and finally get a handle on who’s ready to book next. The reports are designed for a solopreneur and can help you make important decisions moving forward.

How Personal Trainers Are Using Pretty Simple to Track Inquiries, Referrals, and Long-Term Clients

Personal training is one of the most rapidly growing solopreneur industries, with over 300,000 trainers in the U.S. alone. Many of these trainers operate independently through gyms, apartment complexes, or their own home studios.

There are some personal trainers who Pretty Simple is not for:

• Trainers who only sell digital products
• Trainers who rely heavily on sales funnels to close leads
• Gym owners who have hundreds of leads

However, here are some person trainers that we would be perfect for:

• A trainer who is just getting started or has chosen to keep their clientele list relatively small
• A personal trainer who gets many of their leads through networking and word of mouth
• A personal trainer who has several dozen leads instead of several hundred
• The bigger industry specific CRM’s are too expensive or too overwhelming

How Trainers Track New Clients With Pretty Simple:

Leads typically come from client referrals, networking, Instagram DMs, or people who fill out forms on their websites. Trainers generally track the name of the potential client, their fitness goal, and where the conversation is happening. (DM, text, email, or in person). When a consultation is scheduled, they make a note and set a reminder to follow up afterward—Pretty Simple makes this part easy because you don’t need a heavy CRM, they need to know the following information:

• How many leads do they currently have
• What is the potential value of their pipeline
• Who they need to remember to follow up with
• What has already been discussed with that potential client
• Basic sales stats, like closing rate and average sales cycle, to make business decisions

How to Value Your Leads in Pretty Simple (for Personal Trainers):

A personal training client usually has an average monthly value. If your training package is, for example, $300–$600 per month, you can use that to start. Some trainers track the LTV (like the 6-month or 12-month contract), while others prefer the cost of the first month only. If you’re not sure where to begin, start with your lowest program price and update the value as soon as you learn more about what they want.

How Architects and Small Architecture Firms Are Using Pretty Simple to Track Leads with Long Sales Cycles

Architecture is another industry where small firms and solo architects often underestimate the need for a simple lead tracking system. With many firms only taking on a handful of clients per year, and with project timelines sometimes spanning months or even years, it becomes crucial to keep track of every inquiry. Because many architects get leads from referrals, builders, engineers, or local networking, Pretty Simple (our leads tracking software) is often a better fit than a large, complicated project management platform.

How Architects Track Incoming Project Leads With Pretty Simple:

Architects typically list the potential client name, the type of project (commercial build-out, home addition, ADU, tenant improvement), and the referral source. They can also use Pretty Simple to track the temperature of a lead, and keep notes of conversations before a contract is signed. Notes will often include discussion topics mentioned during the initial consultation, site visit, estimate preparation, etc. Many architects appreciate that Pretty Simple shows them exactly how many opportunities are in the pipeline, particularly because one missed follow-up could mean losing out on thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

How to Value Your Leads in Pretty Simple (for Architects):

As with many high ticket service based businesses, initial architectural inquiries may not yet have a full scope attached. In that case, you can enter a conservative estimated amount based on your average project type. For example, if ADUs generally run $8,000–$12,000 in fees for you, you might begin with $8,000 and update later as details become clear. What matters is that your pipeline reflects both interest and opportunity—not vague guesses. Give yourself a chance to understand the flow of what is important to you and your business.

Why Architects Should Use Pretty Simple:

Architecture work can be feast-or-famine if you don’t consistently track inquiries. Solopreneur Architects can go months between closing deals because the deals they do close give them business for months at a time. Pretty Simple is ideal for staying on top of slow-moving prospects and making sure no one disappears simply because the project timeline was long. Reminders are especially helpful if you haven’t remembered to follow up with a client.

How Boutique Marketing Agencies (Small and Solo-Run) Use Pretty Simple to Track Pitches and Retainers

Just like coaching and consulting, Marketing Agencies are another industry I am close to – I ran a boutique digital marketing agency for nearly 10 years before moving into consulting, speaking and tech. Several times throughout a decade running an agency, I felt like I needed a fancy CRM and sales funnel, but everytime I would try it out I just ended up wasting a ton of time and money.

Here are a few of the reasons why the big CRM’s were never a good fit:

• These CRM’s were meant to handle hundreds of leads, I generally had a couple of dozen at any given time.
• The bigger CRM’s would cost far too much for the size of my agency. Software and personnel costs were always my biggest expenses, and I learned the hard way, after spending thousands and thousands of dollars, that it’s important to only pay for the software you actually need.
• The bigger CRM’s would have automated follow ups, but what I really needed were reminders. It was simple: I need to know how much money was in my pipeline and who I needed to follow up with. As a side note, when I did try using the automations I found that most of my clients, who were small business owners themselves, didn’t appreciate automated sequences nearly as much as a quick phone call or text.
• The bigger CRM’s were also just ugly. Pretty Simple is called that because it’s both pretty and simple. I like to log into my sales software and know that it’s gorgeous and has a clean minimal dashboard.

If you are a freelance strategist, a 2–8 person boutique agency with only one or two people who handle sales or a solopreneur consultant, Pretty Simple: The #1 Leads Tracking App, fits naturally into the way they already manage conversations—mostly through referrals, LinkedIn, and personal introductions.

How Small Agencies Track Leads With Pretty Simple:

Agencies usually add potential clients after a discovery call, referral introduction, or inbound request. They track where the sales conversation is in the process—first call, proposal sent, quote delivered, internal review, etc.—and follow up accordingly. They also use Pretty Simple to quickly scan where leads came from: networking, speaking engagements, referrals, or social media.

How to Value Your Leads in Pretty Simple (for Marketing Agencies):

Agency retainers can vary widely, so one helpful approach is to value the lead based on the package they are most likely to need. If your average monthly retainer is $2,000, you can initially assign that value. For project-based agencies, use your average project fee. If you aren’t sure what they’ll need yet, start with your lowest package and adjust upward once the sales call clarifies the scope of what your potential clients are needing.

Why Small Marketing Agencies Use Pretty Simple:

Agencies appreciate the clarity around lead sources, because referrals and word-of-mouth drive the majority of small firm revenue. Tracking pipeline value also helps with capacity planning. Add a quick note here about specific Pretty Simple features—reports, reminders, “Won Leads” tracking—that are helpful for consultants and agency owners.

How Consultants Use Pretty Simple to Track Their Potential Clients

Consultants are one of the fastest-growing segments of the solopreneur economy, spanning marketing consultants, HR consultants, operations consultants, financial consultants, and dozens of niche specialties. Many operate independently or with small teams, and the work can be either project-based or retainer-based. As with any small business, tracking conversations, referrals, and follow-ups becomes essential when closing deals. Pretty Simple fits naturally into the workflow of consultants who want a clean, uncomplicated way to manage their pipeline without committing to a full CRM they don’t actually need.

How Consultants Track Leads in Pretty Simple

Most consultants get their business from networking, speaking, referrals, or content. You’ll notice a lot of the advice here is similar to the coaches section above, since they operate in a similar manner. Consultants often have relationship-driven leads and conversations are happening in several places: social media DMs, email, text, or at events. Consultants tend to log only the essentials into Pretty Simple — who the lead is, where the conversation started, and the status of the outreach. Other larger CRM’s will have space for you to keep track of much more data in individual fields, but if you prefer something more streamlined, this would work for you.

Here are some of the notes you might see in a consultants follow up notes:

• “Referred by Carlos, talked on Instagram DM — follow up next Tuesday.”
• “Met at Chamber lunch, wants consulting for Q2 project.”
• “Podcast listener — replied to newsletter, requested pricing.”

Because consultants rarely have hundreds of leads at once, Pretty Simple keeps them organized without added details, fluff or complexity. They open the app, update a note, schedule the next follow-up, and move on. It’s Pretty Simple. (See what I did there? haha!)

How do Consultants Value Their Leads in Pretty Simple

For consultants, valuing leads accurately helps you avoid inflated pipelines while still knowing how much revenue is truly on the table. I would recommend starting with logging the lowest likely engagement tier, unless you are starting the conversation with a clear package or service.

An example would be me – recently I had a request for a very specific sponsorship tier for an event, and so I knew exactly what to put in. Now if that isn’t the case, here is my thought process of deciding what to put in the value section: if your services range from a $150 one-hour strategy session to a $6,000 monthly retainer, don’t assign the retainer value unless the conversation is clearly heading that direction. Many consultants start with a conservative estimate — like $250 or $500 — and update the value as the scope becomes clearer. This keeps your pipeline realistic and helps with planning your financials, and prioritizing who to focus on

Why Consultants Should Use Pretty Simple

I am going to always be a little bit biased towards consultants because Pretty Simple was designed and built by a consultant (me), who is still a consultant, and who loves feedback. This is a great opportunity to connect with software that is being built out fresh with someone who deeply understands your pain points.

Now more generally speaking, consultants love Pretty Simple because it shows them exactly how many cold, warm or hot conversations they have and how much revenue is projected in their pipeline.

The second reason is reports. I love data and here is a current list of all the reports we have.

Current Reports in Pretty Simple

• Money On The Table
• Closed Leads
• Top Sources
• Leads Added
• Top Sources - Won
• Top Sources - Lost
• Won Lead by Month
• New Leads Added by Month
• Top Sales (Highest Value Won Leads)
• Average Sales Cycle
• Closing Rate
• Revenue