One of the number one reasons that consultants and coaches don’t get more business is because they are not properly niched. They have no clear idea of which industry needs them the most and what one specific specialty they need to be focusing on to make more money.
Worse yet are businesses that have niched but have chosen that niche based on their passion. Listen to what Don Charlton, CEO of recruiting platform Jazz says about this “You don’t start a business because you love something. You start it because there’s a market for it.”
Why People Are Niching In Their Passion
Mostly they don’t know any better. They assume that everyone in the market is like them. After all, if they think enough of the niche to base their whole business on it, why wouldn’t the market open their wallets for the same thing?
The other issue I’ve seen is even when presented with cold hard evidence that there’s not enough market demand for their niche, passion nichers refuse to let it go. They go from solution to solution, hoping that new business development tools will change the basic fact that there simply is no market demand for their niche.
How To Avoid Blindly Picking Your Niche
Be strategic about it. Shortlist the industries you have access to and interview key decision makers for buyers of your service. Ask them about their biggest pain points that aren’t currently being served. Think about the Swiffer mop which became a household name overnight. Manufacturers of Swiffer cleverly did consumer research that told them of an unmet need for convenient, disposable cleaning mops. Then voila, you had the multimillion dollar success story of Swiffer that spawned a gazillion knock-offs. When you blindly let your assumptions, passions and acquaintances pick your niche, you risk not knowing if there’s a true market demand for it.
Your Hope Addiction
When you are seduced back into your passion niche by the stories that you keep telling yourself, it is very difficult to let it go. Most likely you’ve invested time, money and heart into selling and marketing this niche. You’ve lived it and owned it, possibly for decades with no real success. Well, consider the consequences of not changing what you’re doing. Often, the long term implications are going out of business, bankruptcy, loss of home, comfort and possibly even your dignity.
So stop letting your passion pick your niche. Market Demand should make the decision instead.
Want to find out if the market needs you? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, watch me on YouTube or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk
