Finding a niche that is the “right fit” with your client will set you on the path to success.
Many coaches, consultants and solo-professionals have a challenge with finding their niche market because they want to serve as wide a range of people as they possibly can.
The purpose of choosing your niche, is so that you can do your best work and be the fullest expression of yourself.
When you narrow down your niche, it becomes much easier to “romance your clients” and build a fulfilling relationship with them.
I say, “romance your client” because it’s not too different to being in a romance. If the other person isn’t the right fit, you’d simply say good-bye, wouldn’t you? With a romance, you want the other person in your relationship to be a great fit such that you both feel good about yourselves and each other, and your relationship grows and expands over time.
The premise is exactly the same when it comes to marketing, because marketing is exactly that – knowing who you most resonate with, and then letting people know about who you are, so that they can gauge whether they fit your bill or not.
The realm of the New Consciousness Entrepreneur is about expansive and high energies that are in alignment with who they are. Looking at it from this angle, who most resonates with you, who do you most resonate with? Who do you really understand, in terms of the challenges that they experience and the problems that they encounter…such that when you help them solve those challenges and problems, you will feel most expansive?
One other key attribute of the New Consciousness Entrepreneur is taking clear decisions. The New Consciousness Entrepreneur knows that they are powerful creators and once they have clearly made a decision, the opportunities show up. And then it is up to them to step fully into the opportunity. We sometimes call those synchronicity. But it is you who must take the first step – to decide and then to step fully into it when the opportunity comes to your door. It often takes courage and that is the invitation for you to grow.
The key thing to know is that you are not stuck with your niche forever. But it is key that you decide and choose and then stick with it until you have generated the results you want.
So how do you choose your niche? Here’s the easiest way to do it. Think about that client of yours who makes you feel expansive and really good about yourself and your work, your best client. When you talk about them, you light up, almost as if you’re in love! This client is the one whom you think about often, you know them well, you know what their main concerns are, their problems and challenges, and you know how you fit into the picture in relation to all that. Make a list of all the attributes of that person.
Now, review your list and consider it in relation to all of current and past clients.
(1) What are the patterns that you can identify? There may be more than one pattern that you might spot. For example, they may be primarily female, and mostly come from the corporate world. They may also be at a certain “level” within the corporate structure.
(2) Is there a common thread in relation to the problems and challenges that you help your clients to resolve? As a coach, let’s say that most of your clients are managers in a corporate environment. You may realize that the focus of most of the work you do with them relates to leadership or team-building. If you’re a chiropractor, perhaps most of your clients come to see you for a particular kind of back pain.
Write down everything you notice. Then put that list aside for a few days.
After those few days, review your list and imagine if your entire client base was made up of the same “types”. Does the prospect of that feel good? Does it feel easy for you to relate to them?…because that is the essence of the New Consciousness Entrepreneur’s business – building strong and meaningful relationships. Does it feel easy for you to have an open conversation with them?
If you find yourself saying “no” to any of the above, what is the resistance you are feeling? What is it that you are really saying “no” to? Your resistance gives you clues to the answers you are looking for.
Choose your niche market. Decide. When you do this, you open up the opportunity to then romance your potential clients and build a business that is easier, more expansive, filled with purpose and aligned with you.
About the Author
Using her Business Success Circle, workshops, products and coaching programs, Veronica Lim shows her clients how to create passive and other income streams to make more while working less. She also offers teleclasses, workshops and other resources to help coaches achieve business success.
