I am struggling with my marketing. I can’t seem to find the right clients or customers. I get visits to my sites, but sales are lagging. It’s like no one seems to care about my fabulous products/services.
How can I take my business to the next level? Where do I find clients? How do I determine how much to charge? And can I make a profit in this saturated market? It’s so hard to get anyone’s attention. I’m stuck.
In Part 1, we discussed the first of the 3 Biggest Blunders Most Entrepreneurs Make That Keep Them Overwhelmed, Overworked and Underpaid. Specifically, the “[l]ack of a crystal-clear, powerful vision.”
However, business women, coaches and entrepreneurs are not immune from making mistakes that could torpedo even the most powerful business vision. When it comes to building a highly profitable business, some knowledge of the market is key. And when it comes to the market, none of the mistakes are as big as this second blunder.
2. Failure to identify a Niche.
What do a fashion designer and a coach or consultant have in common? At face value, it seems like, not much. But for the designer to sell her products at a faster rate, and the coach to build a sustainable business, they both need to identify a niche. And not just any niche; a viable niche.
Imagine yourself at a dinner party, and the host announces
“Tonight, we are serving dinner,” or
“Tonight, we are serving chicken,” or
“Tonight, we are serving Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken with Buttery Pine Nuts, Sautéed Asparagus, and a slice of Key Lime Pie.”
Which one of those dinner descriptions inspires, motivates you, and excites you? Feel free to assume you love chicken.
It’s true they are there to eat, and they know they will eat food. But drilling down to the exact type of food they will be served will probably have them salivating and excited for their dinner, instead of just knowing that some food will be served.
It’s no different with niching. As a fashion designer of handmade clothing and accessories, I know how hard it was for me to identify my niche. I wanted to make everything for every woman. I was happy to just narrow to down to “woman,” but I realized that I would have to go deeper.
What type of woman? What does she like? What does she wear? What is she looking for? What results does she want when she dresses herself? How bold and unique does she want to be? Does she want to blend in and be a fly on the wall or does she want to stand out and make a lasting impression?
It took some time to go beyond just identifying my target market. But once I did, I could tailor all my marketing materials and products to fit what “my particular woman” wanted in her life. It was easier to decide what to make each season and how each of the pieces went together. It was easier to take chances and get into my creativity flow zone.
The same goes for coaching. While I work mostly with women, I tried dating a few niches to see the type of coaching I enjoyed the most, and “WHO” I would serve best with my training, skills, personality, talents and passion. It has been one of the most challenging parts of growing my coaching business. I want to serve everyone. I want to help everyone. But I find its so much easier to market to a specific client.
Have I gotten it right? No.
Is there a right or wrong? No.
Does everyone have to find a niche? Not at all.
Does it make it easier to target a particular niche? Heck yeah.
Is it easier to grow faster with a defined viable niche? Heck yeah.
Does it save more time with marketing when you have a niche? Yes.
How does the overworking show up?
If you’re a coach, it takes longer to find a marketing message that speaks universally to everyone than it does to come up with something targeted specifically for single women seeking love or women that are struggling to lose 20 pounds.
How does the overwhelm show up?
It’s challenging to find out what everyone in the world wants and give it to them. What works for one, may be an epic fail for the other. Talking to everyone at the same time is like standing in front of the mall with a bullhorn asking everyone to shop from you without telling them what you’re selling.
Keeping clients or customers guessing is like a slow loading retail web page. It sends clients running to the next best thing.
How are you underpaid?
Lack of ideal clients + too much time spent trying to figure out the perfect marketing message = low sales or a limited number of clients.
Can you still build a thriving product or service business without nailing your perfect niche? Definitely!
Are you open to the option of niching, and noticing its impact on your business and your life?
If you’re a coach, or a consultant or entrepreneur in the services business, however, I invite you to consider dating a few niches for a while and see what difference, if any, it makes in your business.
If you’re a products business woman or entrepreneur, then some market research could be beneficial and save you time, money and burnout.
How can a life and business coach help you?
Support you to be more focused, more effective, and more productive.
Nailing your perfect niche helps you create your ideal clients because you’re able to craft your winning marketing message.
You know what your clients want, and you know how and where to find them. You know what results, if any, they are looking for. When people know exactly whom you support/help, they can easily refer clients to you. If you’re at a networking event or cocktail party and tell people you help single women find Mr. Right, you may have a better chance of referral/getting hired without further explanation than just saying you’re a relationship coach.
Is it possible that a single woman looking for love will be more interested in hiring a “Find Mr. Right” Coach versus a Relationship Coach? Does the specificity make a difference?
You charge premium prices because your consistent experience in that area could help people to see you as an “expert” or someone with a lot of familiarity within that niche.
You build a highly profitable business with a better quality of life because you have steady clients at premium rates.
I love hearing from you! Comment below and share your thoughts.
Want to connect? Email me at mimidabo@lifecoachforwomen to share your story, your perspective, your comments or your questions.
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Peace and Love,
Your Life and Business Coach
MiMi Dabo, MBA, CPA, JD
**************
I help women entrepreneurs, coaches and business owners create successful businesses without burnout and overwhelm, create ideal clients in their viable niche, confidently charge premium prices for high-end programs and packages, and double, triple or 10x their income with less work, less guilt and a bigger impact.
Take the FREE Life Purpose and Business Vision Quiz at www.lifecoachforwomen.com.
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