Now I can do it in a sentence.
Now, in a single sentence, people I'm talking to know if they're in my niche or if they know anyone who is.
Here’s a shorthand way of identifying your niche that many of my clients have found to be profoundly useful. In fact, I would go so far as to say that, until you can do this exercise, you don’t really have a niche.
It’s deceptively simple, you just need to complete the following sentence . . .
“I help __________ kinds of people with ______________ problems.”
Ahh. It looks so simple. But the key here is that you don’t go into the RESULTS you offer people right away. At this point, all you’re doing is telling people two things: who you help and what problems you help them with.
Mark Joyner has something he calls “The Great Formula” which is probably worth mentioning here.
1. Create an Irresistible Offer
2. Bring it to a thirsty crowd
3. Offer them a second glass
Let’s talk about that second one: the thirsty crowd. What’s the point of offering water to someone who isn’t thirsty? Is that the best use of your time and money? Developing marketing campaigns in which you attempt to convince them that they are, in fact, thirsty? You could spend your days trying to sell ice to Eskimos or a double bed to the Pope and well . . .
That’s one approach.
Here’s another: identify upfront which sorts of people are likely to already need and want what you’re offering. The thirsty crowd.
This is the formula:
an underserved or ignored group + an unsolved problem = a thirsty crowd.
You want to find a thirsty crowd. It’s much easier to sell water to them.
NOTE: The niche is all about THEM. It's not about YOU. At this stage you do not talk about the results you produce for them. You don't talk about the methods and techniques you use (they don't care yet). You name who they are and what their problem is. Period. Later you will need to articulate the results, solutions and benefits you offer. But not now. For now, stay 100% focused on the pain, problem or need they are experiencing.
A niche is not defined by what you have to offer them, but by what they are needing.
EIGHTEEN EXAMPLES:
1. Radical Business: We help green, community-minded, conscious, holistic and locally owned businesses that are struggling with their cashflow, not attracting enough clients and keep 'meaning' to handle their marketing - but end up putting it off.
2. Massage Therapist: I work with people in the Seattle BDSM community who feel embarrased when they go to a massage therapist because they have to explain the bite marks and bruises on their body.
3. Realtor #1: I work with dog owning families in
4. Realtor #2: I work with people with disabilities-- who struggle to find a home that they like and can afford and who feel overwhelmed and confused about where to even start in applying for financing.
5. Printing Company: We help the traveling business man who shows up in
6. Low Impact Living.com: We help homeowners who want to become more green and energy efficient in their homes but feel totally lost and overwhelmed with where to even start.
7. www.unlockthegame.com: We help salespeople who are in tremendous pain when it comes to selling. They hate doing it. They are secretly scared to pick up the phone. They hate being rejected but also hate using the manipulative sales techniques they were taught. They feel trapped because they need to make a living but they can’t find a way to sell that doesn’t feel like they’re also selling out their integrity.
8. Rapid Fire Theatre (an improv comedy company): Main Niche for our weekly shows: high school, college and university students. Niche for Gigs: event organizers for corporate events who need a show that is guaranteed to be entertaining and tailored to the client.
9. D-Tox Salon: We help chemically sensitive individuals who can’t go into a regular salon due to the amount of chemicals used. And they feel so frustrated because they’d rally love to get a salon treatment but they can’t. They’ve got nowhere to go.
10. New Leaf Paper: We help graphic designers who are frustrated by the amount of paper-waste in their industry and who are looking for something special they can offer to their clients to set them apart as a graphic designer.
11. Rad Dyke Plumber: I work with women in the lesbian community who are having trouble with their pipes.
12. Joie de Vivre Hotels designs each of their hotels on a particular niche. They do this by picking a magazine (e.g. Rolling Stone) and then picking five adjectives that describe that magazine (e.g. funky, cool, young-at-heart, adventurous and irreverent). And so, people who love Rolling Stone magazine will love this hotel. They called this particular hotel “The Phoenix”. Each hotel was individually branded.
NOTE: If you find your description of the kind of person you want too vague - you might consider adding 2-3 more adjectives to describe them further - or you might reevaluate whether or not your niche is that strong.
A FEW MORE:
Robert Middleton of www.actionplan.com recently sent out an email in which he shared what some of his clients had come up with. Robert is the person I got this notion of the niche being a combination of the Target + Problem from in the first place. Check his stuff out.
13. Healthcare Consultant: We work with healthcare organizations, who struggle with hiring and keeping really good people.
14. Financial Planner: I help people with a six figure incomes who are getting clobbered by taxes, staring at college and retirement and wondering how in the world they're going to pay for it all.
15. Management Consultant: I work with CEOS of small to medium sized businesses who are experiencing a steady decline in productivity with their management teams and employees and are finding training programs ineffective. Lack of personal accountability and self- management skills has led to something that looks like procrastination and productivity loss.
16. Life and Relationship Coach: I work with individuals who have been unsuccessful in finding their ideal partner and with couples who struggle to keep their marriage intact.
17. Retail Consultant: I work with independent retailers who are frustrated with trying to get shoppers to buy.
18. Management Consultant: We work with busy entrepreneurs and business owners of
successful small and medium companies who are frustrated because they are leaving money on the table because they are not getting important back-burner projects completed.
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radical business: marketing consulting for hippies
a blog for green business, eco-business, ethical business, conscious business, sustainable business, and community-minded entrepreneurs who are struggling with their cashflow, not attracting enough clients and have mixed feelings about marketing - www.tadhargrave.com
