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Have you ever asked yourself why some consultants seem to have it so easy? Why they are able to charge premium rates and still have prospects jumping at the chance to work with them. One reason is, many highly paid consultants have established themselves as an expert in their niche. They are "the" consultant that everyone in their niche turns to for answers. They have established a brand in their niche that attracts new clients with much less effort. On the reverse side, consultants who don't find a niche to fill will find developing new clients quite slow and much more difficult. They aren't know for anything or known by anybody, so they have to work much harder to sell themselves. They are constantly chasing after prospects hoping for work. I met a coach not that long ago that called himself The Profitability Coach. I asked him what type of work he does and the answer I got back was rather vague. He told me he helps people who want greater profitability identify what is keeping them from being more profitable. Then he removes those barriers to profitability. Now, that may sound good to him but to the rest of the world this is very confusing. From that description you can't tell what he does or who he works with. If I wanted to refer someone to him I wouldn't even know who would be a fit. So, to find out more I asked him what types of customers he works with. And, he told me that he works with any small or medium sized business who wants greater profitability. What this man just told me is he works with everyone and he does everything. Even if a prospect was sitting next to us listening to this conversation and they had a dying need for his help, they would not know that they were a good candidate for his services. This is a sure road to failure. You must always identify which prospects you are speaking to and what need you are satisfying. If a dentist goes into a book store searching for a book on business and he sees the title "How To Make Your Business More Profitable" and he sees another title right next to it "How To Make Your Dental Business More Profitable", which one do you think he wants to buy? The book about the dental industry of course, because it speaks directly to him and his unique situation. Your business and your message should speak directly to the person that you want to attract. The should know that what you offer is specific to them and their problem or their desires. Another reason to niche is that marketing to the general market is expensive and takes a lot of effort. To be successful in any kind of marketing you must be known by your market and they must know what you stand for. In order to carve out your niche in your prospects mind you must be visibile to them and this visibility must be persistent. If you are visible and then go away people will never remember you or what you are about. If you are going to get consistent visibility to a mass market, over an extended period of time you better have some money to spend and a lot of man hours to work your plan. Establishing yourself in a niche, on the other hand, makes it much easier to reach your niche market. You know where they go, you know what they read, and you know who they talk to. This means it is much easier to create persistent visibility in your niche, and you can do it very cost effectively. If you're a small firm or a solo practitioner you probably don't have the deep pockets necessary to create the same persistent visibility in a bigger market. Also, when you know your niche market you also know what your marketing message should be. You know what things are important to them, what challenges are at the front of their mind, and what pain they are motivated to alleviate, right now. From this knowledge you can develop a service offering and marketing message tailored directly to your niche. This type of marketing will resonate with your market and make them jump off their seats to contact you. Not only is it easier to get them seeking you out for a solution, they are ready to pay more for one that is customized to fit their exact needs. Niche marketing will also quickly build your credibility in the market, which is important in creating new clients at higher rates. They must believe that you not only understand them and their issues but that you know how to solve their unique problems. A solid niche strategy and a niche marketing strategy will establish that credibility. In addition, it will raise your visibility at the same time. Your niche market will come to know you as the consultant with the answers to their problems. It will establish you as the go to consultant in your niche and you will find that prospects seek you out for work and are willing to pay higher rates.
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